Philly.com – In a bid to attract younger crowds, Greenwood Gaming & Entertainment Inc. is planning to introduce gambling on smartphones and tablets at Parx Casino in Bensalem.
“The idea is to try to expand our business, create more revenue both for us and the state by offering something that would appeal to a whole new generation of slots players,” John Dixon, Greenwood’s chief technology officer, said Wednesday at a Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board hearing in Harrisburg. Greenwood Gaming’s attorney, Alan C. Kohler of Eckert Seamans, told the board that the company would like to file a petition in the next three to six months seeking permission to introduce a system called betcloud.
It would allow gambling on mobile devices only in the casino – with a Bluetooth system that would disconnect the device if it left the casino – and would connect directly into the statewide computer network that ensures Pennsylvania gets its share of gamblers’ losses.
The games would be taxed at the same rate as slot machines: 55 percent. Betcloud, owned by WMS Gaming Inc., is available on Norwegian Cruise Line ships and will soon be up for approval by gambling regulators in Colorado, Steve Beason, WMS’s chief technology officer, told the board.
“We will not be first here. We will be a fast follower,” Beason said. Michael Cruz, chief technology officer for the gaming board, said he did not know of any other Pennsylvania casinos that were looking at the mobile-gambling technology.
Dixon, of Greenwood Gaming, said that on the casino floor the company was trying to avoid the fate of horse racing, which has failed to attract younger gamblers. He said attempts to attract younger slots players to machines with “themes that we think would appeal to younger people” had failed.
FULL STORY
In a bid to attract younger crowds, Greenwood Gaming & Entertainment Inc. is planning to introduce gambling on smartphones and tablets at Parx Casino in Bensalem.
“The idea is to try to expand our business, create more revenue both for us and the state by offering something that would appeal to a whole new generation of slots players,” John Dixon, Greenwood’s chief technology officer, said Wednesday at a Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board hearing in Harrisburg.
Greenwood Gaming’s attorney, Alan C. Kohler of Eckert Seamans, told the board that the company would like to file a petition in the next three to six months seeking permission to introduce a system called betcloud.
It would allow gambling on mobile devices only in the casino – with a Bluetooth system that would disconnect the device if it left the casino – and would connect directly into the statewide computer network that ensures Pennsylvania gets its share of gamblers’ losses.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20140501_Parx_owner_to_seek_OK_to_introduce_gambling_on_smartphones_and_tablets.html#3bpJyLDUHDtWUdPE.99
In a bid to attract younger crowds, Greenwood Gaming & Entertainment Inc. is planning to introduce gambling on smartphones and tablets at Parx Casino in Bensalem.
“The idea is to try to expand our business, create more revenue both for us and the state by offering something that would appeal to a whole new generation of slots players,” John Dixon, Greenwood’s chief technology officer, said Wednesday at a Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board hearing in Harrisburg.
Greenwood Gaming’s attorney, Alan C. Kohler of Eckert Seamans, told the board that the company would like to file a petition in the next three to six months seeking permission to introduce a system called betcloud.
It would allow gambling on mobile devices only in the casino – with a Bluetooth system that would disconnect the device if it left the casino – and would connect directly into the statewide computer network that ensures Pennsylvania gets its share of gamblers’ losses.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20140501_Parx_owner_to_seek_OK_to_introduce_gambling_on_smartphones_and_tablets.html#3bpJyLDUHDtWUdPE.99
