National and regional retail organizations alike know the economic upside of skill games, lotteries, and sports betting. Corporate executives and local store owners have both experienced these systems’ revenue-generation capabilities. However, producing store profits is not the only benefit of retail gaming.
As states like Virginia see major retailers and independent organizations battle against restrictive gaming legislation in support of small businesses, additional benefits stemming from retail gaming, such as job creation, job protection, and community development support, have come to light.
Accelerating and Protecting Employment
The average consumer likely doesn’t think much about the skill gaming terminals in their local convenience store or the lottery machines at their town grocery store. Yet it’s those gaming terminals, lottery tickets, and sports betting machines that have paid employee wages and sustained payrolls across the country.
According to research conducted by Spectrum Gaming Group, individual retailers require 0.5 more workers per location to support lottery sales. In simpler terms, the same lottery systems in the U.S. helping storefronts increase monthly sales totals are also creating jobs at the stores themselves.
Skill gaming terminals have also helped store owners and operators retain staff as they grapple with the rising costs of both goods and labor. The disputes in Virginia concerning said terminals have resulted in public outcry from retailers looking to preserve the extra income the machines can generate. Without the additional revenue, many would be forced to slash payroll and reduce headcount just to stay afloat.
Augmenting Community Programs
Hundreds of Virginia stores stopped selling lottery tickets in April 2024 in protest of the proposed legislation that would heavily reduce the profitability of skill machines operating in the state. Other stores temporarily shut down operations altogether.
At first, this may seem counterintuitive—that is, until you consider how much tax revenue the state of Virginia collects from its lottery programs. Of the $4.6 billion in lottery sales from the 2023 fiscal year, Virginia’s K-12 public school systems received more than $867 million.
Virginia isn’t the only state that supports community programs and public initiatives through dollars generated by retail gaming methods:
- Since 1993, Nebraska has leveraged state lottery sales to fund programs such as the Nebraska Environmental Trust, the Nebraska Opportunity Grant Fund, and the Education Improvement Fund (among others)—to the tune of $978 million.
- 10% of revenue generated by licensed skill game terminals in Georgia is distributed to the Georgia Lottery. These funds support the state’s HOPE Scholarship and Pre-K programs.
- In California, where Walmart has rolled out CA Lottery kiosks in many of its locations throughout the state, $43.8 billion of lottery-generated funding has been used to support California’s public education systems since 1985.
Supporting Revenue Goal Attainment
Both national and regional brands have increased their retail gaming presence in recent years.
Shoppers at Kroger stores in Ohio can now purchase lottery tickets and place sports bets at specific stores. Regional stores such as Fas Mart, Apple Market, and Roadrunner Markets (all Virginia-based) feature skill gaming terminals in many of their storefronts.
From a financial perspective, adding skilled gaming terminals has been a simple decision for the corporate branches of these retailers. The numbers are telling—in Pennsylvania alone, state officials believe there are anywhere from 50,000 to 80,000 terminals in daily operation. According to estimates by the American Gaming Association, Americans wager $109 billion each year through skill gaming terminals.
At the local level, store owners and operators are happy to achieve and surpass monthly store revenue goals with the help of the terminals. INAMAX gaming terminals, for instance, can generate an additional $5,000 per month in extra revenue per machine while only taking up 5-7 square feet of space to operate. With a terminal limit of 9 machines per location, Georgia store owners could potentially see an extra $20,000 in additional revenue through skill gaming.
In states such as Georgia, where store owners are eligible to receive 45% of all revenue generated by coin-operated machines on their property, skill gaming represents a key opportunity to combat the rising costs of business expenses and retain staff members on payroll.
INAMAX’s Titan Redemption System reduces the labor needed to manage this new revenue source while simultaneously providing a seamless customer experience.
Retailers can have peace of mind knowing that their retail gaming machines are truly low-cost, low-maintenance investments. Each terminal can operate independently, and the up-front costs are minimal compared to the average revenue generation per machine. Customers can enjoy the simplicity of their Titan Redemption Card, which allows users to manage payments, points, and redemptions with a single swipe.
If you’d like to learn more about the benefits of installing a skill gaming terminal across your retail locations, please call us at 770.449.0400 ext. 700, or fill out our contact form for more information.