Why Gut Feel Isn’t Enough: Making Smarter EGM Decisions with Data and AI

For years, gaming floor decisions in pubs and clubs have been guided by experience, instinct, and heuristics like indexing to floor average. Many venue managers know what their players like - until suddenly, they don’t.

Player preferences evolve. Game performance fluctuates. And what once delivered results can quickly decay and become a drag on floor yield.

The reality? Relying solely on gut feel and rules of thumb in a data-rich environment is no longer just inefficient - it’s costly.

The Complexity Has Outgrown Intuition

With hundreds of machine configurations, multiple jackpot link types, game volatility profiles, and a revolving door of new titles from manufacturers, the average venue is juggling thousands of possible combinations.

Even the most experienced gaming managers can’t be expected to make consistently optimal decisions across that landscape using heuristics alone.

That’s where modern optimisation tools come in.

Enter AI: Augmenting Decision-Making, Not Replacing It

AI-powered EGM optimisation platforms like Involv|PrimeEdge are built to process massive data sets: machine-level performance, card-linked player behaviour, link utilisation, occupancy, and even historical change outcomes. They provide clear, ranked recommendations for:

- Which machines to remove, convert, or replace
- How to reconfigure or rebalance jackpot links
- Where to place new games for optimal impact
- When to rotate out declining performers

This isn’t guesswork. It’s predictive modelling, informed by millions of real-world transactions and outcomes.

What This Means for Operators

Using data-led optimisation doesn't take away a gaming manager’s role - it makes it more powerful. Managers still control the 'what' and 'when' - but with tools that show *why* a particular decision will likely outperform another.

Operators can:
- Better anticipate game decay rates and profiles
- Measure real uplift from every optimisation action
- Confidently push back on supplier pressure or anecdotal feedback
- Free up mental load for strategic planning, not firefighting

The Bottom Line

If your competitors are using tools that model performance improvements before making changes - and you’re still making calls based on floor average - you’re leaving revenue on the table.

Gaming floors are no longer static environments. They're ecosystems. And in 2025, optimising that ecosystem demands more than intuition.

It demands intelligence.

Want to see how data-led optimisation can improve your floor?
Book a demo of Involv PrimeEdge today →