Revealed to a few select individuals at the International Casino Exposition in London this year, the Digi Playcard, the size of a credit card, but a functioning miniature gaming device, was developed by inventor Allan Howard and his partner in China, who formed London-based Digi Playcards Ltd.
The Digi Playcard is fully electronic and looks like a mini-slot machine with a miniature LCD screen, PLAY and HOLD buttons and vibrant graphics.
You could call it an electronic scratch card or instant ticket. It contains a chip, EPROM, battery and LCD and can use a solar cell, sound chip or a timer.
It contains two games-the “Accumulator” game and the “Bonus” game, giving customers two opportunities to respond to a promotion.
For the Accumulator game, you press the play button to start the reels spinning and keep pressing the hold button to stop the reels and view the combination of symbols.
At the end of the last play, after all of the spins have been used, the LCD will display the total score of the points accumulated, which the player can match up to the reward levels posted on the card, or on its packaging.
Then the LCD will flash “Claim your prize” and “Your bonus icons” and three new icon symbols will appear. This is the Bonus game, giving the patron a second chance to win.
For the Bonus game the player must bring the card to the casino to view a monitor to ID the prize. This gives an incentive to return daily. The casino can develop a promotion to fit.
The Digi Playcard is flexible when it comes to promotions and can be programmed to control the payout odds. The casino can custom-print the packaging and add advertising or marketing promotional incentives.
They cost less than $2.50 each. The casino controls the graphics on the card, the prize pool odds, the promotional budget and other marketing costs. It can control the timing and offer double bonus points to help drive business to the casino during off-peak times.
For more information on the Digi Playcard, visit info@digiplaycards.com, or call +44 (0)20 7717 8454.
