5 ways casinos use software engineering to improve customer experience

You may think of gambling at a casino as a low-tech experience, and, in a lot of ways, that is true. The spin of the wheel, the roll of the dice, and the deal of the card are all pretty much as old as gambling itself. However, today’s casinos are actually technological marvels where some of the best and coolest technology is being implemented in numerous ways to make the play more enjoyable and your entire time the casino better. Here are 5 ways casinos use software engineering to improve customer experience.

1. To modernize concierge service 

Casinos pride themselves on offering amazing customer service and some of the most luxurious accommodations you will find in the entire hotel industry. To help create a hospitality environment where everything you need is right at your fingertips, casinos are increasingly using digital concierge apps so that guests can get anything they want at any time and do so with even less effort than before. This article in Gamblers Daily Digest explained more but the general idea is that casinos now offer apps where you can do everything from making a dinner reservations to booking tickets to a show, reserving time at the spa, checking out the attractions throughout the resort and even playing free slots on the app for a chance to win hotel-related prizes. These apps currently can do a lot but in the future, they will be able to do even more. As technology and connectivity grow, the possibilities of the concierge apps are endless.  

2. To personalize the experience

Casinos have long used player’s club cards to garner information on the people who play in their casino. They use them to see who is playing what games and how much they are spending. To this tried and true process, casinos are adding big data technology to their

big data. Using analytic technology, casinos today know more than ever about the people who play in the casino and what they want. It can help a casino tailor a recommendation to a player, give targeted incentives, and even help develop new games that are more attractive to the people most likely to play them All this creates a more personalized and enjoyable experience for players. Lucette Jackson of Online Casino Gems says, “Casinos know more than ever about the ways we like to play. This means that the next time you walk into a casino, you will feel like it is custom made for you.”

3. At the slots 

While many of the casino games we know and love are decidedly low-tech, the favorite games in casinos are machines that are getting more high tech all the time. Slot machines are so incredibly popular there are around 200,000 just in Las Vegas alone. Weekly Slots News has a great explainer of exactly what technology goes into slot machines and how they work but the general idea is that using Random Number Generator (RNG) algorithms to randomize the results and determine payouts. 

While the current tech used in slot machines is pretty cool, the future of slot machines is even cooler and with better technology. Today, casino developers are working on a number of developments but the two big ones that stand out are allowing machines to work with cryptocurrency and creating slots that involve virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR). With the latter technology, instead of just sitting AT the slot machines, you could feel like you are playing IN them! This technology would create a fully immersive experience playing the slots that would be unlike anything else in the casino. 

4. To catch cheaters

The unfortunate reality of casinos is that there is some downside that occasionally comes from them. Gambling News Magazine presents an in-depth article on the psychology behind things such as gambling addiction and cheating. The simple fact is though, any time there is lots of money on the line, people will try to cheat to beat the house. The “eye in the sky”, the camera that watches over the casino and with new technology available it is even more effective. Things like facial recognition software are allowing casinos to thoroughly screen everyone who walks through their doors and ensure that cheaters and other bad actors are not welcomed. It creates a safer atmosphere not just for the casino but for all their guests as well.

Technology is making the casino chips more secure too. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chips allow casinos to know exactly where their chips are at all times and make sure all chips cashed in are authentic. They can even deactivate the chips if they were to leave the casino following a robbery.

5. To create a more realistic online experience

Unless you live in Vegas or another state with legal gambling and a casino nearby, chances are you do not get to go to the casino all that often. Lucky for you, we live in the age of the internet and virtual reality (VR) technology. The online casinos being created are becoming better, faster and more realistic all the time. With technology that allows for incredibly realistic graphics and real interaction with other players or even the dealer. This casino realism that you get in your living room or from your desk is only going to get better as virtual reality technology continues to develop. Casinos are already pioneering VR tech that will low you sit on your couch yet still be totally immersed and feels like you are sitting at a poker table at Caesars Palace or rolling the dice at a craps table at the MGM Grand.

Conclusion 

Technology is changing and improving so many aspects of everyday life, it is no surprise that casinos are utilizing tech to improve their experience as well. So, next time you walk into a casino to play or just feel like you are through virtual reality, you will be able to spot all these advancements and really see how technology and software engineering is improving the customer experience at casinos around the world.