Inside Asian Gaming

December 2016 inside asian gaming 31 Gambling and the law “Many of the so-called social games offer additional goodies for players who are willing to spend small amounts. Some of these look a lot like traditional casino games; only they are a lot more interesting and fun to play.” agents. Although the defendant was enjoined from marketing in Missouri, and from representing that its services were legal in that state, it continued to take wagers from Missouri. The defendant’s President was ordered extradited to Missouri to stand trial but rather than face a possible prison sentence, he pleaded guilty to a criminal indictment that he had “travelled to” Missouri, through the magic of the internet, and “set up” a “gambling device.” The gambling device was the undercover agent’s personal computer. The lesson is not that internet gambling is a slot machine. The real lesson is that if you have agreed and even been enjoined from not taking bets from a jurisdiction, don’t take bets from that jurisdiction. Inventions are increasingly intrusive. Boorstin uses recorded music, which seems to be unescapable. Cars and television are dramatic examples, but so are computerized games. Many of the so- called social games offer additional goodies for players who are willing to spend small amounts. Some of these look a lot like traditional casino games; only they are a lot more interesting and fun to play. Technology becomes ever more unintelligible to its users. Patrons really do not care whether their slot machine is a true slot machine. There is no task that cannot be done by a more complicated machine. The mechanical three-reel slot machine has been replaced. But even bingo today is not played only with hand-drawn numbered balls and paper cards covered with beans. Inventions cannot be uninvented. The law can react, after the fact, to unexpected developments, but if the demand has been created, technology will eventually find ways of getting around the legal barriers. Will the law be able to cope? Law constantly has to adjust to technological developments in gambling, designing new means of control. As Boorstin put it, “For us invention has become the mother of necessity.” So what will the future forms of gambling be like? The immediate future is more computerized games played on monitors. The internet and mobile phones will not be replaced any time soon. Players have shorter and shorter attention spans and want convenience, so remote wagering will thrive, once suppliers and operators develop games that are as appealing as Angry Birds and Candy Crush. Regulators will have such a hard time keeping up that independent labs will grow even more important. In the intermediate and long term, we cannot know what inventions will revolutionize our lives, let alone the unexpected consequences they will have on legal gaming. But there are clues. Look at what becomes popular for non-gambling games and other forms of entertainment. If the technology catches on and becomes less expensive, virtual casinos may become truly virtual. Movies and non-gambling games are going beyond 3D into extra dimensions of experience – not only motion simulators but also headsets which allow audiences to have 360 degree views of the artificial world they have entered. What will the games themselves look like? We know what succeeds with casino gamblers. The game must be easy to learn with a small house advantage or fee. Frequent, small prizes act as positive reinforcement, but there should be the possibility of a very large jackpot. Play must be fast, but not too fast to follow. And the most successful games have at least the illusion of skill. The 19th century games offered by 21st century casinos will continue to exist for older players, and for younger ones, if modern versions can be developed. But the casino of the future will not have paper playing cards or wooden roulette wheels. Those ancient inventions will become as scarce as mechanical three-reel slot machines.