How Casino Design Affects the User Behaviour

History of Design in the Gambling Field

The first casinos appeared in Europe in the 19th century. Since then, they have undergone many transformations but still remain the people’s favourite place for relaxation and interesting pastimes.

Classic Interior

The author of such a design was the American businessman Bill Friedman. Thanks to his knowledge and entrepreneurial instincts, he managed to reorganise the Castaways casino hotel, turning it from an unprofitable location into a respectable and popular one.

Features of Bill Friedman's approach:

• the use of bright colour combinations (for example, red and blue, yellow and purple);
• zoning a large hall into smaller spaces with narrow corridors and an abundance of mirrors on the walls;
• placement of slot machines and lottery terminals in the front part of the room so that people start betting as soon as they enter the casino.

Bill Friedman's main idea is to make visitors fully immerse themselves in the gameplay. To do this, the expert blocked out all distractions (for example, clocks on the walls or windows in the halls) and also properly zoned the casino space. This approach quickly bore fruit.

The specialist’s entertainment centres (Castaways, Silver Slipper, and others) were considered the most popular and profitable for many years, until the end of the 80s.

The Updated Approach

Designer Roger Thomas rejected the classic vision, believing that customers feel strange, anxious, and nervous in such gambling establishments. Therefore, a graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy proposed to replace narrow and sinuous spaces with huge halls with soft lighting and expensive finishing.

Such an approach was called “neodesign.” It is dominated by luxurious details (antique clocks, comfortable furniture, and collectible art items) that were successfully combined with basic colours.

The author's favourite combination is blue and gold. In such an interior, clients feel calm, happy, and relaxed. Thanks to this, they want to actively place bets, and the casino gets more profit.

Roger Thomas has created the design of premises for:

• Golden Nugget;
• Mirage Resort;
• Bellagio;
• Wynn Las Vegas, and other legendary gambling establishments.

Modern Appearance

Entertainment complexes in the 21st century are multifunctional casino centres with many rooms. For comfortable accommodation of guests, proper zoning is completely necessary. Therefore, different approaches to visualisation often intersect each other.

Let us consider the modern design of a large gambling location. The hall with slot machines, the premises with card tables, and the lounge area often look the same. Usually, their style is based on such colours as gold, red, and green (blue and black are frequently added too).

It is worth noting that major casinos may also have separate poker rooms. They are usually painted in dark muted tones, with proper zoning using lighting and an emphasis on tables.

Such spaces are also complemented by:

• computer systems for registering tournament participants;
• large screens that display the progress of poker hands;
• electronic scoreboards showing the location of players.

Large establishments often allocate halls or even entire floors for live broadcasts. Their design is adapted to the brand’s corporate style: logos, inscriptions, colour combinations, and other recognisable details are added.

Secrets of a Successful Casino Design

Let us consider which tricks and techniques do not lose their relevance regardless of the interior’s type.

No Clock or Natural Light

These attributes remind players of the time and force them to leave the establishment much earlier. To avoid this, designers always cover the windows with thick dark curtains. This creates the illusion of tranquility, and only sun-shaped lamps can remind people of daylight.

The floor clock may be present in such locations but it performs only a decorative function, emphasising the luxury and status of the casino.

Proper Acoustics

In an entertainment club, you can often hear people laughing and applauding each other when someone hits the jackpot. However, most of the joyful sounds and exclamations are just a tape recorder, although big wins certainly happen too.

In between celebrations, calm music should be played. It performs the following tasks:

• promotes relaxation;
• encourages clients to stay and have fun.

Then the melody can be replaced by the fanfares, the rumble of digital drums, or exclamations caused by the jackpots. Thanks to this, casino visitors will definitely not get bored, and their mood will only improve.

Classical music (jazz, country) is often played in gambling halls. In lounge areas and near bar counters, people usually listen to techno and even rock soundtracks.

Expensive Interior

Luxurious design contributes to the growth of the establishment's income. People begin to feel rich and successful, so they stop being afraid to take risks by placing big bets.

Features of status appearance of entertainment institutions:

1. Expensive materials. Architects use precious woods, natural stones, and transparent or frosted glass.
2. The right floor covering. Most often, these are carpets with a bright and colorful pattern. Tiling takes place much less frequently since such a material creates distracting noise.
3. Accent walls. The upper part can be trimmed with decorative plaster in light shades, and the lower part with wooden panels. Supporting columns are often covered with stucco or surrounded by a mosaic pattern. As an alternative, textile wallpaper looks expensive and neat.
4. Spectacular ceiling. It is made of durable plasterboard and complemented by multi-level illumination with alternating bright and dim light.
5. Original decor. The halls can be filled with magnificent pieces of art (paintings, clocks, or statues), antiques, etc.
6. High-quality textiles. Designers use silk, organza, velour, corduroy, and other expensive materials. The fabric for furniture upholstery should not only be visually attractive but also wear-resistant. Otherwise, luxurious sofas, chairs, and poufs will quickly lose their presentable appearance.

Convenient Location

One of the secrets of a casino's success is its good position.

A great idea would be to open it near a large hotel, thanks to which:

• guests can play all night and not worry about how to get home on time;
• visitors will be able to use many additional services (for example, order a buffet breakfast, dine in a restaurant, relax in a spa, etc.).

The following locations are considered to be convenient:

• neighborhoods with nightclubs and bars;
• five-star hotels;
• shopping centres;
• embankments near entertainment facilities.

It is important to focus on wealthy customers. They often play at higher stakes and leave huge amounts of money in bars and lounge areas, which also increases the casino's profits.

What Products to Choose

Let us look at solutions that should be present in all respectable establishments.

Gambling Equipment

These are slot machines with 1–2 touch screens, interactive control systems, powerful subwoofers, and other details. Operators need to make sure that their clients will be able to play comfortably for several hours. For this purpose, the terminals are supplemented with soft chairs, footrests, and cup holders.

It is difficult to imagine a modern casino without:

• lottery kiosks;
• betting machines;
• gaming notebooks;
• video attractions;
• payment terminals.

It is best to distribute the equipment by zones: install slots in one room and place lotto or bingo solutions in another.

Furniture

The main attention should be paid to the tables for roulette, poker, baccarat, and other card games. They differ in shape, size, number of seats, and type of markings applied to the cloth.

To produce them, valuable wood species, durable steel, and wear-resistant materials are used.

Casino furniture includes:

• pit stands;
• chairs;
• cabinets;
• bar counters;
• sofas.

They are always made according to the customer's wishes. For example, chairs can be supplemented with steel or chrome frames. Various types of wood, fabric, and artificial or genuine leather are used to produce upholstered furniture.

The Main Things about Casino Design

Key aspects that operators need to take into account:

• There are several approaches to the creation of the entertainment location’s design. The classic vision involves clear zoning of the room and the use of bright tones. The updated version is based on soft lighting, comfortable furniture, and a combination of calm colour schemes.
• Equipment should fit into the overall decor of the establishment. For the convenience of visitors, it is better to choose objects made of durable and wear-resistant materials with additional details (footrests or cup holders).

From the Gaminator Casino studio, you can order the following solutions:

• a turnkey project;
• a White Label platform;
• slots for online and land-based gambling halls;
• payment system, and much more.