Sometimes slots seem to come and go quite quickly. One player wonders if there was a purpose to that:
My local will get new machines and only have them for a few months then change them out for different new machines. Are casinos allowed to try machines before buying?
Chris G.
That’s certainly a possibility in the mix of scenarios that happen with slots.
As we’ve discussed here before, there’s three types of ways casinos put slots on their floor. They can buy, lease, or share revenues with the slot maker.
Especially when it comes to things like leasing, slot makers can encourage casinos to try a new game with a free window of time before the costs kick in, so they can see for themselves how a game will perform on the floor.
Slot makers can also dangle this carrot to work to get some early placements – casinos who will take a chance on a new game will sometimes get rewarded with the ability to have it on their floor for a free trial. This lets both the slot maker and the casino see how things go, helpful when a test bank scenario may not be available or possible.
Of course, that might not be the only reason a slot comes and goes quickly. If a slot’s early performance is already below average, and there’s an ongoing cost to the casino in terms of a daily lease fee, for instance, they may just opt to move on more quickly and try to find something that will work better.
So yes, a trial is one scenario that is possible that could lead to a game’s early departure if it’s not performing. Ultimately, it frequently comes down to performance, so if you see a game disappear quickly, it probably wasn’t doing all that well, at least at that particular casino.
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