How Could Board Game Auction Mechanics Be Used in Online Casinos?

There is no shortage of novelty when it comes to casino slot machines. From themes and designs to jackpot prize amounts, bonus games and mechanics, game designers are always on the lookout for that next big element that will boost engagement.

That constant push for innovation has helped the evolution of casino slot games go from the original mechanical basic slots to new high-end video slots with quality graphics and innovative gameplay.

These days, online slots have all sorts of features that can keep players hooked for hours. To give you an idea, check out any of the top online casino sites at Legalbet, where gambling experts review licensed operators and compare their services, games and more.

In slots, you’ll find features like Megaways, cascading reels, sticky wilds, and free spin multipliers. There are also board-game style mechanics, like progressive bonus maps, where a spin launches a map or board, and you move across it or reveal cells, just like in a tabletop game.

But a largely unexplored area of casino slots is the use of auction mechanics to drive the games. Being able to bid on prizes, bonuses, and potentially results could end up driving a whole new compelling area of gambling.

But could it work? Could an auction-style format, something like bidding on properties in the game Monopoly, translate over into the world of casinos?

Multi-Player Moments

One of the multiple key elements about introducing an auction-style mechanic into a casino game is that it would rely on multiple players joining at once. This is tricky, but not out of the question. At online casinos, several anonymous players can sit at a live dealer roulette table, sharing the same game session in real time.

Meanwhile, progressive jackpot slots demonstrate that multiple players across different sites can be connected to the same underlying network.

So while players don’t interact directly in jackpot slots, the shared infrastructure shows that an auction-style format requiring simultaneous participation could be technically feasible.

The Bidding Slot

Introducing auction-style mechanics where players are bidding for a particular bonus could be an option. In the slot game, a player could be moved into an auction room after achieving a certain winning sequence from the base game (like three special symbols). The computer would put the player into a room along with others who have simultaneously triggered the special round.

From there, bonuses like free spins, rare symbols, multipliers or a special jackpot would be displayed and be up for grabs. If five players are in the room, then there could be four prizes, raising the jeopardy.

Players then make blind bids on what they want, and the highest bidder on the particular prize gets it, and everyone returns to their own game afterwards.

Playing Tycoon

An auction format could work perfectly within a live casino game show, inspired by the board-game mechanics of Monopoly. Several players could join in the game, where they work their way around a virtual board, trying to buy up items and properties through a series of timed auctions.

Players would start with a set budget, raising the challenge of how much to spend on an item, without knowing what’s coming next. There could be 4 to 6 players in a live game, with a set number of rounds, but randomised prizes.

The goal would be to build the portfolio that’s closest to a pre-set valuation, without going over, or perhaps the portfolio with the greatest value that is above the pre-set threshold.

Chance and Skill

The problem with the auction format of games is the gambling regulations. Slots are games of chance that have a fixed house edge and return to player percentage, something that would be extremely difficult to control in auctions.

Current slots have completely randomised results, each spin independent of every other one that happens, so there is zero skill involved.

Auction format games, however, would require skill and judgement, and just as a real-world auction is based on skill and market value, players would have to take conscious action and decisions over what to bid on and when. So it would likely need to be more of a traditional table game format like blackjack than a slot, for regulatory reasons.

Not Casino-Favourable

There’s another potential downside to auction-style elements in casino games, and that’s a slower game rate. Casinos want as many hands of blackjack played in an hour as possible, and want players to keep spinning slot reels.

But waiting for players to make bids over longer rounds of bidding would be a much slower process than getting an instant result from one spin. Slower play lowers the expected venue for the casino. There is also gathering the right amount of players and running the risk of some dropping out mid-round.

Bringing players together for an auction is an intriguing idea, but it could be complex to manage in real time and difficult to balance in terms of fairness and pacing.