Will Skill-Based Games Replace Traditional Slots?

If you’ve been keeping an eye on gambling trends, you’ve likely noticed that many players have begun to prefer skill-based games over traditional slots. But will these games replace traditional slot games entirely?

In our opinion, traditional slot games will never disappear. Not only are they easy when someone needs a break from skill-based games, but they are also still a favorite among many older generations, and the easiest for a casino to install. Read on to learn more about skill-based games and how they will never truly replace traditional slots.

1. Traditional Slots Are Easy to Play

There is no doubt about it: despite the sometimes confusing line payouts and bonuses, there is something to be said about the absolute ease of playing slots. You just choose a bet, push a button, and watch.

Even the best skill-based players need a break, and some nights even professional players simply don’t feel like sitting at the table. Instead, they’ll put up at a tried-and-true slot machine and drop a $20 bill just to see what happens.

2. Slot Machines Are a Favorite

Although poker and dice are the two oldest gambling games, slot machines have their own long and varied history. The reality is, slot machines are older than any individual on this earth currently, and we know people who fell in love with them decades ago won’t suddenly be falling out of love with them just because skill-based games are becoming more popular.

Just because a trend changes doesn’t mean that everyone will bandwagon onto that trend, and the same goes for slot machines. No matter what millennials and Gen Z decide to play, Gen X and the Boomers will still have their favorite slot machines they visit every Saturday morning. While the roll and development of new slot machines may slow as time goes on, they will always have an audience—for the foreseeable future anyway.

3. Skill-Based Games Aren’t the Only Reason Slots Are Less Popular

Unfortunately, the world economy as a whole is currently in a downturn, and as a result, people are choosing to gamble less overall. As we mentioned above, many gamblers find themselves having to choose between slots and skill-based games, and when the budget becomes limited, they may choose skill-based games just because of the fact that gameplay often goes on for longer than a traditional slot machine.

The reality is, everyone is gambling less right now, meaning there are fewer people playing slot machines as a result. However, we believe this is truly a temporary situation and we expect things to bounce back fairly quickly once the economy does. Casinos are aware of this as well, so we don’t expect they will be getting rid of their slot machines just yet.

4. Slot Machines Are Easier for Casinos

We believe that slot machines will always be around simply because they are the easiest for casinos to manage. Not only do they not require employees to run them, but generally, after you install them, they carry very little overhead other than the cost of electricity. This means, in a recession (as is currently happening), the casino is less likely to get rid of slot machines than they are table games, or activities like bingo, which require humans to run the games.

Even though skill games are becoming more popular, they have lower margins and carry higher risk for casinos—meaning we find it unlikely that there will be a total takeover of any of these types of games anytime soon. In fact, we assume casinos will continue to purchase and push slot machines purely to pad their bottom line.

5. Slot Machines Tie In With Brands

Even if the popularity of slot machines dropped very steeply, one thing that will continually draw people to them is their branding. Large corporations have long found that people are drawn to their favorite things and will play them solely for clout or nostalgia’s sake. For example, someone who barely gambles may still stop at the Lord of the Rings-themed slot machine solely because they love the movie.

As such, although some brands (most notably, Pac-Man) have found ways to tie themselves to skill-based games, it is still a more challenging task and not always possible for all brands. Therefore, brands with large followings will likely continue to commission slot machine deals, and people will continue to play them, just because they like the brand.

Examples of this include the Friends slot machine, as well as the Big Bang Theory one, both of which can be found on Las Vegas casino floors. People love these TV shows and will continue to play these machines—even though they won’t become skill-based games anytime soon.

6. Humans Are Creatures of Habit

Humans love their habits. And even if we say we love change, the result is we don’t. In short, humans will continue to play slot machines because we always have. Sure, fewer people may play slots because they are drawn to play something else, but as we mentioned above, casinos won’t be removing their slot machines because, as long as they are there, people will continue to come and will continue to play.

7. Not All Trends Are Permanent

Trends come and go. Just look at the low-waisted jeans. They were all the rage in the early 00’s, then disappeared for a while, and now they are back. Just because skill games are all the hype right now, that might not always be the case.

Overall, we would be idiots not to acknowledge the current shift in the gambling industry. But again, there have been many shifts before, and most of the games are still around. Here at MintDice.com, we like to offer our customers exactly what they ask for: meaning you can play a skill-based game like Bit.Rocket, or you can dive into some traditional slots or dice—whatever suits your fancy. The choice is, and has always been, yours, trends aside.