Pulse
Interblock’s revolutionary Smart Pit technology
By William - 4 October 2023
More decisions per hour. More side bets and features. Less mistakes. Higher house advantage. Greater levels of customer service. Added security. Player tracking to the penny. Ahead of Interblock Gaming’s Smart Pit debut at G2E Las Vegas, CEO John Connelly explains why the technology could change the industry forever.
What do electronic table games bring to the casino floor in 2023?
That’s an evolving question as my answer five or six years ago would have been structured in a different manner to today. We continue to learn on an annual basis who plays electronic table games, why they play and where the evolution of electronic table games is heading.
Much like a slot machine, electronic table games cater to different demographics and player styles, which is why there are thousands of slot machines of different sizes, shapes, and denominations on the casino floor.
Not so long ago the definition of an electronic table game, in most parts of the world, was that of a mechanical roulette. At Interlock, we now have close to 30 times more products in our portfolio compared to six years ago. Comprising hundreds of incremental features and functionality, these products have been driven by players demanding different forms of distribution and mechanics.
As of 2023, Interblock has three distinct categories of product – Standalone, Stadium, and Universal Cabinet, with a fourth set to launch at this year’s G2E Las Vegas – the Smart Pit.
Could you tell us more about the Smart Pit and the development process?
We feel an obligation to use our innovation and technology to make a traditional live table game pit more effective, cost efficient and profitable for operators. An analogy I’d compare it to is that 10 years ago there were long queues to check in at airports whereas now kiosks are standard. Kiosks streamlined the process of checking in at airports with hotels now heading the same way.
We have created various forms of technology in a live table game pit for dealers, beginning well over a year ago with Craps. At G2E we will be launching one of the Holy Grails that people have been trying to master for decades: dice recognition.
We have spent several years creating and patenting this technology. Now we are finally going to market with what we believe to be revolutionary in how Craps’ security and gameplay is viewed within the gaming sector.
From Craps, we worked our way over to Roulette which is being launched into the market as we speak. We will be launching Blackjack and Baccarat shortly before G2E to create the Smart Pit concept.
Fitting into the traditional 20ft by 40ft, the Smart Pit gives dealers the ability to make more decisions per hour, have more side bets without slowing down the game – thereby increasing house advantage – and, another Holy Grail, to track player table gameplay. We think we’ve cracked that code and know how to rate players down to the penny.
This Smart Pit strategy in its totality will be on show at G2E Las Vegas. Providing players sit down and enjoy this concept it could be revolutionary – and would change the industry forever.
Craps, Roulette, Blackjack, Baccarat. Why launch the Smart Pit with these four products?
Worldwide, they encompass over 90 per cent of table games. From a commercial perspective, we’re launching the Smart Pit to encapsulate those four distinct offerings, help casinos increase profitability and give dealers a lot more time to interact with players, improving customer service whilst minimising mistakes.
The shuffler was one of the most innovative technologies that has been brought to a live table game pit – but that was over 20 years ago. Until now there has been very little innovation, so we think the Smart Pit is going to really help the industry take a big step forward in its evolutionary process.
The Smart Pit isn’t confined to Craps, Roulette, Blackjack or Baccarat if new products are introduced. The technology behind the Smart Pit is akin to an umbrella. It sits on top of a live table game pit and can seamlessly integrate other types of table games or innovations.
What are your expectations for the Smart Pit with all four products?
Before rolling out the entire Smart Pit at G2E, we undertook some beta testing with operators taking Craps at one end of the pit and the Dual Roulette table at the other. In my view data speaks louder than words.
The live Craps product we launched on the Strip is one of the highest utilised and occupied products on that side of the Strip at 52 per cent. Over 12 hours a day 16 seats are full, with players gravitating towards the smart pit distribution method.
We are now in discussions with the largest operators in the world about rolling out the Smart Pit. Visitors to Booth #1239 at G2E will see the entire Smart Pit. Technology is technology. The ability to generate three to four times more decisions per hour means the Smart Pit outperforms traditional pits in terms of profitability and occupancy.
Additionally, there are also no mistakes with chips. How much does the global casino industry lose on dealers and players accidentally getting paid more than they should, or find themselves the victim of collusion? With the Smart Pit, that risk is eliminated. There are plenty of both direct and indirect benefits that casinos will be measuring between now and the end of the year.
What’s the ceiling for electronic table games?
It’s been an evolutionary process over the last seven years. Around one per cent of the casino floor comprises electronic table game products. We’re completely undersaturated. I think many casinos are re-evaluating their product allocations and are making some adjustments. We’re such a small portion of the floor that we continue to see organic growth globally.
With that said, because we’re involved across different product categories – Standalone, Stadium, Universal Cabinet, Smart Pit – each caters to a different player base. At Interblock, we are learning and evolving as each year progresses that one plus one equals three, four and sometimes five. We continue to add incremental units onto a casino floor in different categories, each attracting a different type of player.
One of the biggest headwinds we faced initially was the premise of house average. I’m not a huge proponent of house average even though I was involved as an executive at a very large slot company. House average is not indicative of all product categories and players.
A slot machine holds around nine per cent and a Craps product generally holds around three per cent. To do house average against the Slot, the Craps product must do three times the handle. Thankfully, the industry has come a long way in how we evaluate table games because the definition of house average is extremely dangerous.
Returning to the question at hand, it’s evolutionary. We’re still significantly under-penetrated and we continue to launch new product siloes or categories within our company to expand organically and attract new demographics to help address labour shortages, costs, and inefficiencies in casino operations relative to table games through innovation and technology.
Are traditional versions of electronic table games still as popular?
When I joined Interblock in 2015 the primary objective was to build a portfolio of the basic games. Basic game concept, basic game math – really it was about creating a foundation. We heavily invested in rounding out our portfolio in traditional live table games.
Circa 2016/17 we began to find new ways to distribute with new features, functionality and forms of entertainment that would entice players to have a greater experience, stay at the device longer and ensure greater profitability for our partners and customers.
Heading into G2E we will have approximately 12 different Roulette games and 11 different Craps games on our booth. We’ve evolved with players. Many traditional Craps and Roulette players are now looking for something more innovative and exciting like in the slots world. Slots started with three reels and now there are five. Once there were nine lines now there are hundreds.
The electronic table games space can utilise the best practices of slots over the last few decades and its evolutionary cycle. In principle, it can follow that trajectory. In many ways we are doing the exact same at Interblock – with similar results.
