The pandemic has taught the casino industry that data can help drive the right decisions.
By ensuring the right machines were left after social distancing, properties were getting by with fewer machines and slot performance was just as profitable.
That’s one of the clear-cut lessons Sunil Mukul, Director of Slot Optimization and Strategy with Tangam Systems, says is evident from analyzing the data and observations over the last two years. It’s also the kind of insight that has propelled Tangam to the forefront of the industry when it comes to software that helps power casino decision-making.
Toronto-based Tangam, which has an office in Las Vegas and considers itself the global leader in recommendations-driven optimization analytic software, continues to expand its next-generation business intelligence across the country and the world. It has grown its business from table-game analytics to a new product called Slot Optimization & Data Analytics (SODA).
The complexities in any analytics software lie in turning massive amounts of data into actionable recommendations and providing ease-of-use capabilities for non-technical users.
With SODA, Mukul says data-driven recommendations are fully transparent and not a “black box. Each recommendation is accompanied by intuitive floor-map visualizations and key performance indicators (KPI) that support why a change is suggested and what the estimated profit impact to the floor will be.”
SODA is helping casinos achieve the goal of getting the right product in the right location at the right price point to improve the guest experience, Mukul explains.
Because SODA analyzes player behavior, the recommendations factor in loyalty, time on device, and wallet spend to ensure that the guests have an optimal experience and, as a result, the casino’s financial results improve.
“When SODA analyzes all of the games on your floor, all changes on the floor are also automatically tracked for an unbiased view into how well it worked,” Mukul explains. “Maybe the vendor overpromised on a new title or the player repeat-visit frequency indicates that the game is losing popularity.”
Mukul notes that SODA makes getting answers and visualizing the floor easy. “With SODA, the reporting is much easier and you spend less time analyzing the data and spend more time figuring out how to execute these moves.”
SODA automatically turns all the slot data into actionable opportunities to improve slot-floor performance with a simple and intuitive user interface. With a couple of clicks, the operator can access a simple heatmap of the floor and pick 40-plus KPIs to visualize. It’s no longer a tool just for analysts.
Whatever the question, SODA can answer it within seconds. If you don’t have a question, that’s okay too, because SODA starts with the answers.
Tangam releases SODA product updates regularly. In the near future, Mukul said he sees them focusing even more on player behavior.
“SODA also provides player-rating data, as well as machine-performance data. It’s the big missing link in slot analytics today. For an operator, what used to take weeks or months now takes minutes with SODA. It’s designed with operators in mind.”
“Our partners tend to be our biggest cheerleaders, because we take an approach that is results-focused,” Mukul says. “We truly care about the results. Everything we do, including the design of SODA and TYM, is results-driven because that’s in the DNA of our company. We want to make sure a customer gets tangible ROI from our products.”
The SODA software was first deployed at the Sycuan Casino Resort in San Diego with 2,300 slot machines. Most recently, in June, Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, deployed SODA with more than 4,500 slot machines and 300 table games. Tangam is also working with several other properties that have yet to be announced in North America, Asia, and Australia.
