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The casino industry’s enduring popularity did not falter in recent years. The last couple of years have shown that people are even more willing to spend time and money in casinos. For many, the casino experience is associated with quality time, excitement, and glamour.

Every game drives a sense of anticipation, and winning brings an adrenaline rush that keeps players engaged and entertained.

Let’s analyze what keeps this big machine of an industry running.

Types of casino gaming equipment

No casino is able to generate profits without the proper casino equipment. On top of that all of those gaming machines need to be kept in check and, if necessary, replaced by more modern and better versions to keep attracting new players.

Gambling or casino equipment refers to any equipment these types of venues employ to run their business.

Usually, this category includes playing cards, dice, chips, tokens, card-dispensing shoes, dice cups, amusement games, punch boards, pull-tabs and pull-tabs dispensers, shuffler machines, tiles, gaming plaques, table layouts, any mechanical or electronic gambling or other devices that may or may not be directly or remotely connected to a casino management system (CMS).

Cards and accessories

Card games are a staple in every casino venue. Every gambling establishment has at least one room dedicated to poker and its variations, Baccarat, Blackjack, Texas hold ‘em, or Pai Gow.

Every card game also requires specific equipment. For card games, these fall under the category of:

• playing cards
• card-dispensing shoes
• gaming tables
• chips
• dealer button
• chip tray

Craps and accessories

Craps is another popular casino game that can be found everywhere. Dice in all its forms can be observed even outside of gambling venues as it is a favorite pastime in many communities around the world.

To run a successful craps game, casinos usually use:

• dice
• on/off puck
• dice balancing caliper
• dice cup

Roulette and accessories

Roulettes are synonymous with casinos, and as such, they enjoy an undying interest from casino patrons. They are easy to get into and can offer countless hours of entertainment.

Here are a few accessories casinos need in order to run a successful roulette game:

• roulette wheel
• roulette table
• roulette ball
• roulette markers
• poker chips
• rake

What is a casino system?

Countless operations are executed on a daily basis in a land-based or online casino. These could be running and managing games, offering and distributing bonuses, handling various forms of payments, and tracking customer accounts and behavior.

Usually, all of these operations are carried out by different software programs. The smooth running of all of these operations simultaneously requires a different type of software that can seamlessly integrate with all other systems, and unify all operations under one environment via an API. What we are referring to is collectively known as a casino management system (CMS).

Casino management systems are utilized to run daily operations, account management, and security systems among other things. The day-to-day transactions and payments all go through a CMS, which analyzes and manages the entire operational IT infrastructure.

What are the machines in a casino called?

Casinos employ a large number of machines, and not all of them are recreational. From roulette wheels, gaming tables, shuffle machines, slot machines, video poker machines and video lottery terminals to baccarat, bingo, keno, craps, betting terminals, and live dealer games are all commonly referred as casino equipment.

Slots

Slots are among the most popular and profitable casino machines worldwide. They grab the attention with their attractive look and multiple bonus awards.

Slot machines (or slots as they are collectively known) are gambling casino games with spinning reels. Each reel has a symbol on them, which could randomly appear after a bet is placed, and the reels are spanned.

Slot machines can be grouped into several categories.

Multiple Payline Slots

Old slot machines typically used to have one payline in the middle of the screen where the winning symbols align. With the advancements in casino technology, providers introduce machines that offered more than one payline, adding to the action and excitement.

Extra paylines are activated by the number of coins inserted, and the winning combinations could be anywhere from 2, 3, and 5 to 20, 25, 50, or more. However, playing on more paylines does not guarantee more winnings. Each slot has a different payout ratio, depending on the casino’s requirements.

Wild Play Slots

Wild play machines are quite popular because they offer players a chance to double, triple, or even quintuple their winnings. Wilds are special symbols that can substitute for others on the payline, helping the player get more winning combinations. In some cases, Wilds could also unlock special features and bonus levels.

Progressive Slots

The progressive slots are usually part of a machine group that pays out a joint jackpot. The jackpot increases with the number of inserted coins in any of the linked slots, and it will go higher until it is won.

Multi-Game Machines

Touch-screen technology is slowly becoming the industry standard for slot machines. Since their inception in the world of gambling, touch-screen slots have proven to be a big hit with players, especially those with the screen embedded directly into the shelf.

Video Slot Machines

This type of slot is basically a computer representation of spinning reels with winning paylines varying from 5 to 100 different combinations. Oftentimes, video slots offer numerous bonuses during play, like free spins, bonus games, and progressive jackpots that can bring players extra winnings.

Video poker

Video poker is the soul successor to the ever-popular game of poker. The electronic card game’s goal is to draw the strongest possible card combination. Players place wagers and are paid if they manage to get a stronger hand than the computer or the other players.

Video poker is second only to slots when it comes to popularity and player interest.

Video baccarat

Video baccarat is designed to emulate the look and feel of the original game. Players play their cards and place bets on the terminal in front of them. The game itself could be observed on another terminal, which also shows other players’ progress.

Video blackjack

Video blackjack could be seen in more casinos these days. In its electronic variant, the blackjack card deck is shuffled after each hand, then cards are played and then reshuffled again. The advantage of this particular blackjack compared to a live table game is the low bankroll required to play.

Less popular casino slots

Single-coin Slots

An absolute classic, the single-coin slot machines are hard to come by these days. Their credits last longer than those of their electronic counterparts, but they are not as profitable as the more modern slots.

These are mostly a thing of the past and can be found in very few places. Most casino establishments have moved away from coin-operated machines in favor of electronic machines that accept paper currency or player cards.

Multipliers

Slots that require more than one coin and have a payout ratio matching the played coins are called a Multiplier.

Multipliers pay out equally on all winning positions, except for the most profitable ones, where the payout is bigger if the slot is played with maximum bet. These types of slots are becoming less common, replaced by more modern video and touch-screen variants.

Buy-Your-Pay Slots

These slots work with one to five coins per spin. The number of winning combinations equals the number of coins plays. This type of slot machine has seen its fair share of popularity, but lately, it has been pushed away by more modern iterations of the slot, that do not use coins.

Other types of popular casino equipment

Casino venues vary greatly in size and gambling offerings. Pretty much in every establishment, one could find such staples as poker, blackjack, craps, roulette, and baccarat. But depending on state regulations and jurisdictions, some casinos might offer a slightly different type of entertainment.

Here are some of the more popular examples of alternative gambling entertainment.

Bingo

Bingo is a casino game where the goal is to cover a specific pattern of numbers with random numbers from a mechanical or electronic number generator. Despite being considered gambling, bingo is played even in places that have forbidden gambling practices.

Keno

In Keno, each player has to choose numbers from 1 to 10 from a preselected table of numbers going from 1 to 80. Numbers are then drawn by the casino. If the drawn numbers are matching those of the players, then they receive a payout.

Sportsbooks

Given its rising popularity in the USA, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, many casinos have installed sportsbook terminals offering players to bet on their favorite sports teams or a specific sports event. Many of these ask for low wagers, making such betting quite attractive for first-time casino visitors.

How to buy casino machines?

Casino establishments can purchase casino equipment directly from machine manufacturers. Purchasing such equipment also depends on the national regulations. Different markets represent different jurisdictions, and as such impose a different set of regulatory procedures on local gambling operators.

The criteria upon which casino equipment is selected and purchased boils down to a few key points:

product features

reliability 

after-sales service and customer support 

pricing

The casino industry is constantly evolving, looking for new and innovative ways to keep players engaged and entertained. Casino providers are releasing new products to answer the growing need of casino establishments for diversification.

Euro Games Technology understands that as markets are changing, so are customers’ needs for casino entertainment solutions. That’s why EGT offers its clients cutting-edge casino products to satisfy even the most exquisite tastes.

Conclusion

The casino industry attracts millions of players each year. Many factors contribute to that. From advertising and marketing to floor renovations and investing in gambling innovations. In order to stay afloat and be profitable, casinos need to constantly invest in the latest product to keep players engaged and to stimulate annual profits.

Investing in casino products means acquiring the latest and best in gambling equipment and ensuring all those machines run smoothly. Despite the higher cost of running a casino, strategic investments and a sound business plan are what could turn any brick-and-mortar gambling venue into a profitable business.

With so many casino equipment providers, choosing the right one is hard. Fortunately, Euro Games Technology offers high-quality casino products and after-sales service.