Video game pioneer betting on the Apple Watch as the ideal platform when online gambling is legalized
Video game pioneer Larry DeMar believes that the Apple Watch is the ideal platform for slot machine gaming if and when other U.S. states legalize online gambling. DeMar created the popular arcade machine game Defender, and now works on slot-machine games for casinos.
At present, online gaming for real money is legal only in New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware – and the App Store bans gambling apps. But DeMar thinks that will change, reports the Chicago Tribune.
He wants to be ready if more states legalize online gaming, something he and his brother – Steven DeMar, LED Gaming’s director of business development – believe is inevitable.
“The money is going to have to come from somewhere,” Steven DeMar said, referring to states’ need for tax revenue.
DeMar’s company LED Gaming is getting ready by offering a slot-machine app for the Watch that currently allows people to play with credits but could be adapted to use real money. When your credits run out, you can either wait an hour to be given more, or ‘buy’ some by watching an ad.
DeMar says the Apple Watch is a great platform for the game thanks to a winning combination of crisp graphics and haptic feedback, allowing users to ‘feel’ the game.
Betting on a combination of changes to both law and Apple’s App Store policy may seem a long-shot, but I guess the gambling mentality comes with the territory for DeMar.
