Massachusetts considers skill-based slots to lure millennials

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) is considering whether gambling machines made to look and play like real video games are a good fit for the state’s casinos.

The commission has released draft regulations that could put video and arcade-style slot machines into Massachusetts casinos. The move is intended to attract a younger generation of gamblers, who have been found to gamble less in favor of other casino offerings like nightclubs.

Executive director of the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers Marcus Prater said that the so-called “skill-based” slot machines are meant to appeal to millennials who tend to skip over traditional machines because they see them as old-fashioned.

“This is something totally new,” Prater said. “Players have never had the option, in any market in the world, to influence the outcome of the game.”