Casinos Bet on Smoothie Slots, Desperate to Lure Millennials

It’s one of the big dilemmas facing the $70 billion U.S. casino industry—how to get people in their 20s and 30s to play slot machines as much as their parents or grandparents. Generations raised on video games and smartphones don’t have the same interest in plopping themselves in front of screens when they’re out on the town. In Las Vegas, the percentage of visitors actually gambling is down, while the share going to nightclubs and other attractions is up. The total number of slot machines in Sin City is off 23 percent from its 2001 peak—the machines make up the majority of gambling revenue in the U.S.

That’s why Eric Meyerhofer, an electrical engineer who previously ran a company that made ticket printers for slot machines, co-founded Gamblit Gaming, which builds millennial-friendly gambling devices. The products of the Glendale, Calif.-based company look more like arcade games than slot machines and have been out on the floor of big casino operators such as Caesars Entertainment Corp. and MGM Resorts International for almost a year. They’ve opened a window into what young players like and don’t like about gambling, Meyerhofer says. One thing is clear, it’s not going to be an easy sell. “This will take years to evolve,” he says.