Thinking thin C


SERVER-BASED GAMING


ould server-based gaming be the technology that brings the benefits of online gaming to the casino floor? It lacks, of course, one of the salient features of online – its independence of


location – but that’s a curse as well as a blessing: while it means customers can gamble anytime, anywhere, it also eliminates much of the potential for cross-selling that the land-based casino enjoys.


Yet in its essence, server-based gaming is


remarkably similar to online. The key is the shift in game intelligence and control from the point of play to a centralised computer system – the server.


Imagine, for example, that you are playing a


simulated slot or table game on your laptop, via the Internet. Your computer is bringing a little bit of functionality to the party: the ability to show images and play sounds, and to convert your keyboard input into a stream of bytes that the software will understand, for example. But the core of the game – the random number generation, the automated decision-making on what image needs to be shown


The Major Vendors


Aristocrat Aristocrat Lotteries, previously known as


ACE Interactive, builds its server-based gaming proposition on a system called TruServ that integrates software distribution, scheduled game configurations, wide-area and in-venue progressive jackpots, and system-mmanagement tools.


It’s content-agnostic, potentially


supporting games from any provider, including multiplayer and tournament play.


30 SEPTEMBER 2011


and what sound played next, and so on – is all happening on the e-gaming provider’s servers, conceivably a continent away.


Now translate that division of responsibilities to the slot floor (for server-based gaming is, in practice, mostly about slots, although there’s no reason the principles can’t be applied to electronic table games too). The machine at which the player stands has sufficient intelligence to light up bits of the screen in different colours as it’s instructed, play sounds, print tickets and so on. But again, the course of the game is determined not in the slot unit itself but in a central server (in this case, most likely within the casino complex itself rather than thousands of miles away, for security and regulatory reasons).


The slot device has become what computing types


would call a “thin client” – little more than an interface between the user and the distant server.


The big picture


In IT generally, thin clients have been hyped as the next big thing for a very long time, because in large-


Aristocrat also says it can integrate easily with other third-party management tools such as casino management systems, player- tracking modules, and customer relationship management applications.


And, addressing an area of increasing interest


to land-based casinos, as well as driving an effectively unlimited number of Aristocrat’s Viridian or Indago terminals across multiple venues, it can also connect to online gaming.


Atronic


Lottomatica subsidiary Atronic’s hardware- independent platform, Crystal.net, provides functionality including player tracking, cashless play, jackpot management, wide-area progressives, and accounting.


Bally Technologies Communication with players is an important


part of Bally’s approach to server-based gaming, with its iView system allowing operators to present content including player- specific information and direct marketing on the main game screen or a top screen – giving far more creative potential than a smaller dedicated player display allows.


For example, the company says, marketing


messages can be either permanently visible or they can pop up on any part of the game screen, even dividing it into a split-screen format so that play can continue uninterrupted.


Another way in which Bally harnesses the


Moving the intelligence that powers games away from the slot floor and into the back office has long been discussed. But could it become a reality once capital spending returns in a post-recession world? Barnaby Page explores how server-based gaming fits into today’s technology landscape, and the benefits it brings to casino operators


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