Candy Crush in Atlantic City?

New Jersey tries to lure young people hooked on digital video games of skill to wager on those games. Other states should ignore this desperate pursuit to tap games of merit as a way to revive an industry built on notions of chance.

|
AP Photo
People play slots at the casino at Revel Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, N.J., last month, just before it closed.

A dream audience for global marketers these days is the billion-plus people, usually under age 30, who play digital games such as Candy Crush, Madden, or Farmville. Advertisers are first in line to tap this gaming demographic. Even social activist groups, such as the nonprofit Games for Change, are riding this wave. And then there is New Jersey.

On Tuesday, the state put out a welcome sign for developers of digital games to partner with any of Atlantic City’s casinos. Desperate to keep gambling money flowing to its coffers, New Jersey wants to lure young gamers into wagering on their pastime, either in person or online within the state’s borders. Why? The biggest threat to the American gambling industry is the prospect that young people will prefer to stick with playing free video games over commercial gambling. 

Nevada is also moving toward “gamblifying” these interactive games, which are now played on home consoles, computers, tablets, and smart phones. If the two states can carve out a new market based on this passion of young people, then other states may follow -- just as they did with casinos in recent decades.

But here’s the wild card. Most players of digital games see them as games of skill, not chance. Players compete on merit, not on a loose notion of luck that drives gamblers, even poker players. Candy Crush is not a one-armed bandit. If Atlantic City could thrive on games of skill, it would have built a thousand pinball parlors.

Fortunately, one of the leaders of digital games, Zynga, has decided that it does not want to join forces with the gambling industry in the United States. Instead, it is sticking with developing and updating games, including Words With Friends. The maker of Candy Crush Saga, King Digital Entertainment, has followed suit.

The US gambling industry is eager to burst open a national market for online gambling, despite evidence of its addictive nature compared with land-based gambling such as state lotteries. Exploiting American kids hooked on their Xbox or PlayStation is not the way to go. And for sure, elected government leaders should not act as an industry promoter of this dubious pursuit. If Atlantic City casinos are at an end, then it’s game over.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Candy Crush in Atlantic City?
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2014/1016/Candy-Crush-in-Atlantic-City
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe