Fitch analyst echoes Ader vie on millennials

Investment expert Jason Ader’s comments on gambling and the rising millennial demographic earlier this week (see previous  report) were echoed Friday by the respected Fitch Ratings director, Alex Bumazhny, who told the publication Street.com:

“Millennials seem like they are a little bit less interested in gambling in the [land] casinos. They’ll still go to casinos quite a bit, but they spend their money on food, beverages, nightclubs and entertainment, and less so on the slot machines.”

However, this key demographic does enjoy playing table games involving a stronger element of skill, such as poker, he observed – scant comfort for casino operators, because the return for them on these games is not as good.

Bumazhny claims that the casino industry is reacting to this challenge by investing in the sorts of games Gen Y gravitates toward, such as social casino games as operated by IGT and Caesars Entertainment through online operations like DoubleDown Casino.

IGT and Caesars Entertainment generated $80 million and $167 million respectively in the first quarter from their social gaming divisions, the analyst observed.

Savvy operators and game developers are also introducing more skill-based and interactive elements into slot machines, Bumazhny says.

These include bonus rounds which require players to reach certain levels through interacting with the game, and appeal to the younger demographics now starting to dominate the market.

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