The Chief Executive Officer of Mohegan-Sun Speaks About the Future of Casinos

In the light of the latest achievements in the field of virtual reality and artificial intelligence, the casino gaming content is completely changing. Developers in the gambling industry are trying to integrate new technologies into gambling establishments to the maximum.

Recently, Ray Pineault told us about how casinos will look like the future for operators and software vendors. Mr Pineault is the CEO of the American destination resort Mohegan Sun, which is located in Connecticut. The casino of this resort is considered to be one of the largest gambling establishments in the USA. More than six thousand five hundred slot machines, three hundred seventy-seven gambling tables ― and this is not a complete list of all services of this casino.

The Succession of Generations and Changes in the Casino World

Ray Pineault believes that the future of gambling should be considered in the context of the succession of generations. People born in the 50-60s are retiring, and even generation X is already passing the baton to the millennials ― representatives of the era of modern technologies. Young people who have grown in parallel with information technologies understand more about current trends and feel the market better.

If the favourite game of previous generations were horse racing and sports betting, then now, eSports and various social games are much more popular. Classic sports betting in betting shops are a thing of the past.

Therefore, the main task of the operators today is to keep up with the times and focus on modern youth, maintaining the authenticity of casinos.

Operators and Software in the Casino Evolution

Gone are the days when clients were choosing from what they were offered. Now, players have become picky and require only what is interesting to them. For this, of course, we must “thank” marketers, who carefully divide the audience into segment and train consumers to get used to the fact that the content or products should answer their wishes and preferences. On the other hand, managing the client relationship and providing them with the advertence give the casino a significant competitive advantage. Therefore, operators must implement all kinds of monitoring systems, communicate with players, and conduct market research and research of the viral content. And providers and software vendors should create high-quality gambling software and promptly respond to technological innovations by introducing them into the gambling field.

The Influence of Gaming Entertainment on the Concept of a Casino 

As an expert on the gambling industry, Ray Pineault divides US casinos into two categories. The first category is local casinos, which are focused on potential clients within a radius of 100–150 kilometres. Transport communication and roads in the United States make it possible to travel long distances for the sake of entertainment. But the current situation that we see can upset any casino owner. Gambling halls are empty, and restaurants, hotels, and small entertainment clubs are full. Casinos have become meeting points for friends and places for family leisure, and not gambling establishments.

The second category is such places as Mohegan Sun, Foxwood or Mystic Lake. Some resorts are located far from big cities or in Indian reservations where guests come from all over the world to play games for money. Such casinos provide atypical services, such as cyber competitions, social games, fantasy sports, and other new types of gambling entertainment. Of course, there are swimming pools, nightclubs and restaurants but it is just a nice addition to the casino. Establishments of this type are not just entertainment centres for the whole family, they are real gambling resorts.

Casino Regulation. Problems and Prospects

Judging only by the situation in the USA where casinos are not prohibited, it is difficult to get a true picture. Mohegan Sun is located on the territory of the Indian reservation, which means that the state carefully controls the operation of the gambling establishment. The law book that regulates the activity of casinos can hardly be called something new. But in order to introduce new technologies and launch new projects, one has to be inventive. Unfortunately, the implementation of some ideas is impossible due to strict legislation. However, it is possible to conduct a dialogue with government regulation and create legal precedents.

Modernisation of Casino Services

Ray Pineault has still caught the time when coins were given out in casinos and there worked specialists whose duties included filling the slot machines with the currency of a casino. Today, there is no need for this. Slot machines give tickets, for which you can cash out winnings, and sometimes, players are assigned a unique number.

Betting is now much easier. Even traditional games like poker, blackjack, and roulette are automated, and they offer a huge number of bonus bets. The casino service system is developing, and it allows casino owners to expand the flow of customers, who, in turn, are more active in gambling. And, of course, the number of the game sessions is increasing as well.

Standards for the Game Content or Focusing on the Region

There are games that are extremely popular all over the world: blackjack, baccarat, sports betting, and poker. They are legal in many countries, and people are well aware of their rules. Video slots or social innovative games appear in the casino on the basis of the customers’ requests. If your marketing department has done research and found out that the casino audience became younger, you will have to update your game content. A variety of solutions is closely connected to the competitiveness of the gambling establishment.

Generation Y in the Gambling Industry

Ray Pineault suggests that golden years for millennials will come in a few years. Now, these people are more interested in building their careers, therefore, they are less solvent than generation X. But it is important to study this group of players right now: what they like, what lifestyle they have, and what global goals they set for themselves. Casino operators can use special methods to determine the psychological profiles of their clients. It is necessary to prepare for them the game content and gambling halls according to their interests already now. Millennials are more serious about life than the previous generation at the same age. They will not play for their last money, and they are not interested in building their hopes on a lucky chance. But casino operators can try to attract this category of users with interesting content.

While the millennials are building their careers, Ray Pineault offers casino owners to focus on their parents, who have grown up on the casino cult.

AR/VR Technologies. How Much Time do They Have?

Ray Pineault speaks ambiguously about the virtual reality in the casino field: he does not recommend operators to rush to throw away the old slot machines and replace them with Oculus Rift. Virtual reality for humanity is still a daydream. AR/VR technologies are not used in everyday life, and they have not yet proved their usefulness. But the moment is close when the virtual reality headset will become as common thing as a smartphone. Therefore, it is important to use all possibilities of technological innovations.

Entry Into the Asian Market

The team of Ray Pineault got a license to operate in the casino in the airport of Incheon, a major city in South Korea. The first difficulties in cooperation with Asian partners were the language curtain and legislation. But the stable economic situation in South Korea contributes to the fact that connections with new partners are establishing, and the country is not putting a spoke in the Pineault’s team’s wheel.

The goal of Pineault is to create a full-fledged entertainment resort for visitors to the casino. And Incheon is perfect for this project. There is absolutely everything: sports entertainment, parks, ecological zones, museums, recreation centres, and even health care facilities. Pineault says that Koreans are a creative nation, and it is very pleasant to work with them, so the entry into the Asian market is a very rewarding experience for him.

Contact us:

• by e-mail: [email protected]
• on Skype: twowinpower
• in Telegram: @Win2Power
• via the feedback form.