Casino International December 2011

What can multiplayer games do for your casino business, and how are suppliers rising to the challenge of updating old favourites with new technology?

Multiplayer games meld the old with the new, usually providing the gameplay of traditional stalwarts such as Roulette and Blackjack through the latest screen-based, digitally-driven technology. So, while the essence of the play that they offer hasn’t changed much (although there is the occasional all-new game), the means of delivery to the consumer is constantly being updated.

In this feature, we take a look at the latest developments in multiplayer gaming from a selection of suppliers.

DigiDeal Corporation

One of the first to introduce new technology to table games back in 1999, DigiDeal continues to present innovations for the multiplayer market, including its automated X-Table.

Powered by the company’s patented Digital Table System (DTS), the X-Table was originally designed to deliver all the key gaming functions within a rich interactive graphical environment. Highlights include a personal 15-inch LCD touchscreen for each player, bill validators and ticket printers, as well as full network compatibility with SAS-enabled accounting and player tracking systems.

New for the X-Table is the ability to be expanded not only with different games but also with extra player seats.

The game library now ranges from classic Baccarat, Texas Hold’ Em, Blackjack, Roulette and Poker to a line of proprietary new games such as Royal Roulette and Racing Card Derby. And to add even more adaptability and to fit a wider range of gaming operations, the company has introduced its new modular X-POD play-on-demand wagering terminals.

The X-POD terminals provide an easy and affordable way to expand to just the right number of players and seats for a property.

Each terminal offers plug-and-player operation with its own bill acceptor/ticket printer and connectivity to operational and tracking systems. The terminals can connect to the X-Table to increase the total number of position, or they can be configured in a custom stadium seating arrangement with a large flat-screen display to create a standalone game area.

Why multiplayers?

• They contribute directly to the bottom line by speeding up play. Estimates suggest that games on multiplayer systems can be two to three times as fast as on conventional tables.
• Headcount requirements are reduced, again improving profitability. Even with a live dealer many tables can be served simultaneously.
• By combining aspects of both slot and table game experiences, the can attract players from both groups, and may help to convert slot players to table games.
• They are a legal way to provide a table game in jurisdictions where only slots are permitted. Multiplayer games may be called Roulette or Blackjack, but essentially are still networked video slots, and usually fall under the rules governing these.
• As a networked gaming system, they allow play and outcomes to be monitored, and games to be changed quickly.
• Many systems allow players to switch between games without physically moving from table to table – dead time during which they are not contributing to revenue. Research by Amaya suggests that where multiple games are available on a terminal, most players will try their hand at more than one.
• Physically, they can be laid out in almost any way, to maximize space on the casino floor – and the per-square-metre profitability. Although often players are placed around a real table, individual terminals can be used too.
• Fully automated systems do away with dealer error and dealer or player cheating.
• Taken together, all these factors mean that profits from multiplayers can be three to five times greater than from the comparable conventional table games.

TCSJohnHuxley
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Earlier this year, TCSJohnHuxley also signed a distribution agreement with DigiDeal, enabling it to supply the full range of DigiDeal products in specific regions around the world. The addition of DigiDeal products to the TCSJohnHuxley portfolio allows it to introduce traditional table games like Blackjack to “slots only” gaming venues; many jurisdictions in the US and around the world do not allow table games using paper cards.

DigiDeal’s digital table game technology, however, mixes digital play with a live dealer/host with traditional chips to retain the live game feel. The DTS (Digital Table System) platform can be played with real chips, but can also employ money-handling capabilities like ticket-in, ticket-out and virtual chips, with the option to operate in auto-host mode or fully automated. Players are offered on-screen virtual chip selection and betting, real-time card peeking plus up-to-date credit and player bank information.

The hybrid L2V (live to virtual) e-table features TCSJohnHuxley’s Value Verification Unit (VVU card scanning shoe), and the DTS-V hybrid touchscreen live card table offers real card play at electronic speeds. Dealers can draw cards from the shoe at their own pace, and operators can allow players to buy in using any available casino method, including slot tickets, cash, and chips from other tables.

In a nutshell: what are multiplayer games

Multiplayer games are electronic versions of table games that allow players to participate through a screen rather than by physically handling cards, chips, and so on Blackjack, Roulette and Poker are the most common products, although many others are available.

Usually the players sit round a physical table as they would in a conventional game, although some multiplayer systems allow remote playing.

Often, multiplayer gaming takes place entirely on-screen, but real Roulette wheels and dice can also be employed.

Most major gaming vendors offer multiplayer systems of one kind or another, although firms dedicated to this type of gaming are few and far between; it’s much more common for the same supplier to offer both conventional table game equipment and multiplayers.