'Pac Man' for cash: States weigh rules for new kind of slots

BOSTON -- It's like "Guitar Hero" that pays you back, if you're any good.

At least, that's the pitch gambling regulators across the country are hearing as they consider whether to allow casinos to offer slot machines that mimic video and arcade games in an effort to attract younger gamblers.

The latest is Massachusetts, where the state Gaming Commission released draft regulations governing the new machines Thursday.

Marcus Prater, executive director of the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers, a Nevada-based slot machine industry trade group, said 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."

People try out a Grab Poker game machine at the Gamblit booth during the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas.John Locher ~ Associated Press

But anti-gambling activists say the machines have the potential be more addictive than their predecessors because, among other things, they blur the line between children's games and wagering.

"They're trying to find new ways to get people hooked on gambling," said Les Bernal, national director of the Massachusetts-based Stop Predatory Gambling. "It's an incredibly predatory business for that reason."

Christopher Moyer, spokesman for the American Gaming Association, said there's no evidence to suggest such games would be more addictive than current machines.

Prater said it's too soon to pass judgment. The new machines still are in development and haven't hit casino floors.

But that hasn't stopped states from considering how to regulate them. So far, two states -- Nevada and New Jersey -- have laws and regulations in place.

Pennsylvania lawmakers are considering legislation allowing them, while policymakers in New York, Maryland and other states have discussed the issue.

Gambling laws vary by state, but many generally will need a combination of legislative and regulatory approvals to bring the new games to market, Prater said.

Massachusetts' 2011 casino law included a provision allowing for skill-based machines, so only regulations need to be created, for example.

The proposed rules released Thursday in Massachusetts are modeled after Nevada's, allowing for gambling machines that determine outcome not based solely on chance but also on skill or a combination of both.

Todd Grossman, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission's deputy general counsel, said the proposed regulations are written broadly so as not to create an "artificial barrier" to gambling manufacturers trying to test out new concepts.

"We're moving into unchartered territory, to a degree," he said.

Wynn Resorts and Penn National Gaming -- two of Massachusetts' licensed casino operators -- say they're reserving comment until they've had a chance to carefully review the eight-page proposal.

What the industry describes as "skill-based" slot machines runs the gamut.

Some manufacturers have unveiled machines giving gamblers the option of playing classic video games such as "Space Invaders" and "Pac Man" as a sort of bonus round to earn more betting credits in between typical slot machine play.

Others are toying with gambling versions of arcade games such as pinball and video game console products such as "Guitar Hero."

Still others are developing casino gambling versions of popular smartphone games such as "Angry Birds" and "Words with Friends."

David Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, said the evolution of slot machines is necessary, as the amount casinos collect from them generally has not kept up pace with table games.

But Alan Woinski, president of Gaming USA Corp., a New Jersey-based gambling consultancy, estimates the latest generation of gambling machines still is at least a year away.

"Anything out there so far is just from companies trying to be the first, but with a less than stellar project, or it's the major manufacturers taking their first crack at it," he said.