Remote slots at Borgata Casino
Remote Slots in AC

In-room betting is now available at a New Jersey casino.

Starting from today, guests at Atlantic City’s Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa are able to gamble through their TVs without ever leaving the hotel room. This makes Borgata the first US casino to introduce E-Casino.

Players can turn to video slots and various video poker titles, with more games in the pipeline. This venture is a first for Atlantic City and indeed the US as a whole, familiarizing resort guests with the world of mobile casino gambling through a medium already at their fingertips during their stay.

It can essentially be seen as a pilot project and Borgata has no specific financial expectations from it. The USD 50 million that was invested in equipping the rooms and building the system are perceived as an investment to help “the customer really to start getting familiar with new types of E-gaming methods,” said Joe Lupo, SVP Operations at Borgata.

This is of course done in anticipation of online gambling legalization in New Jersey, which is expected to take place before the end of the month. When that happens, New Jersey will be the third state in the US after Nevada and Delaware to allow online and mobile casino games.

Atlantic City casinos could see as much as a USD 250 million boost to their annual revenues from this new source.

Borgata has always been among the more tech-savvy casinos since its opening in 2003, so it comes as no surprise that this new initiative was implemented there. It also helps the casino maintain its competitive edge in otherwise challenging environment. Or as Lupo said: “We’re ahead of the game, but for how long, we don’t know.”

In order to deliver the new platform the casino contracted Florida-based in-room and mobile casino software developer Allin Interactive in 2011. The NJ authorities were eager to assist the speedy implementation of the initiative through their streamlined procedures.

In fact, the state takes pride in leading the pack. “New Jersey is the first state to get this kind of technology approved and installed. This is yet another example of our agency responding to new technology and allowing manufacturers to engage in the New Jersey market before any other jurisdiction in the country,” said Eric Weiss, Director of the Technical Services Bureau at the Division of Gaming Enforcement.

While it may seem counterintuitive for a brick-and-mortar casino to introduce in-room gambling in competition with its own games, but the blurring of the difference between playing in a casino and online has been going on at full speed. Casinos can not afford to stay out of the trend and in fact expect to reach out to customer time and money that would not otherwise be spent on gaming.