Downloadable slot machines are certainly a topic of interest these days amongst the world's largest casino operators. During the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas last week, several gaming company's introduced prototypes of the latest in slot machine technology - downloadable, server based games - which Harrah's Entertainment is currently running a test trial of  at a San Diego tribal casino managed by Harrah's.

As opposed to traditional casino slots, which payout according to source code programmed into a computer chip, server-based slots essentially operate in the same manner as online casino slot machines do. The only difference is that server-based games in land-based destinations can easily and quickly be reprogrammed to offer variable payout percentages on specific slot machines. Some slot manufacturers, such as the world's largest - International Game Technology (IGT) - do not think it would be wise for casinos to freely exercise the variable payout capacity of server based slots. Ed Rogich, the Marketing VP of IGT said that by doing so, casinos will lose players' trust, and consequently lose business.

Harrah's, on the other hand, seems to think otherwise. Chief Operating Officer, Tim Wilmott referred to the freedom of changing odds from machine to machine, as the same principle that a bank would use to vary the interest rate on a loan, depending on the borrower's credit score. According to Wilmott's way of thinking, since there is a great likelihood that known high rollers will spend large sums of money, the casino should do everything in its power to entice the high roller to keep gambling.

Currently, regulations imposed by large casino regulators, such as the Nevada Gaming Control Board, require that slot machines offer the same minimum payback percentage to all players. However, some regulators apparently appear to be open to the possibility of allowing casinos to tweak odds from machine to machine so long as the minimum payback percentage is met as required by law. In terms of odds, Nevada regulations permit casinos to download new games with variable stakes and different odds in a time window of eight minutes. And while the technology is available for casinos to use, the real challenge will be in implementing software upgrades and compatible systems.