GameCo gets green light to bring skill-based video games to Atlantic City

Atlantic City casinos are about to get their first taste of skill-based slot machines.

On Wednesday night, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement gave New York-based startup GameCo the green light to start deploying its new video game gambling machines (VGM) on the casino floors of Caesars Entertainment’s three AC properties, according to the Associated Press.

GameCo has been planning to install 21 gaming positions in “high-traffic, prominent locations” at each of the three Caesars’ properties. There will be three triple-unit carousels at Caesars Atlantic City, two at Harrah’s Resort and two more at Bally’s. The VGMs will still have to undergo testing, which is expected to be completed in a couple of weeks, before they can be deployed.

The go signal from New Jersey’s gambling regulators marks a shift to a new era of gambling in the United States—one that is aimed at attracting the younger demographics who grew up playing video games. GameCo’s VGMs are “officially the first skill-based video game gambling product approved by any U.S. gaming jurisdiction regulator,” according to CEO and co-founder Blaine Graboyes.