Simulator company offers new way to bet on skills-based competitions—with cash payouts
As a key contribuitor to the development and success of Full Swing, the well-established golf simulator provider, Evan El-Saden has a keen understanding of his clientele. They are people who can pay tens of thousands of dollars to have a system installed in their home or office and hit balls any time they choose. There is a “Who’s Who” of celebrities and athletes—PGA Tour players, NFL quarterbacks, major league pitchers—who are enthusiastic customers. Many of them might do a little or a lot of wagering on a real golf course. Anybody come to mind?
With that knowledge, El-Saden is anxious to hear the feedback on Full Swing’s newest venture—the ability to bet on yourself with every swing you take on a simulator. “A lot of them probably don’t know it’s out yet,” said El-Saden, VP of Innovation. “But when they catch wind of this, I think you’re gonna see these guys really engaged, and it’s gonna be exciting.”
In November, Full Swing and its AI gaming partner, Las Vegas-based Evenplay, launched a game called “Skill Strike,” in which players on any Full Swing simulator in the approved gaming states can make bets on their performance in what is essentially a closest-to-the-pin contest. With each opportunity, the hole is placed at varying distances and surrounded by colored rings that represent various payouts. The closer the shot is to the hole, the more money you win. And the biggest selling point is this: The game’s algorithm adjusts to each player’s skill level.
The game is available for both personal Full Swing simulators and those in commercial venues such as country clubs, golf bars and one of the latest businesses to adopt them, The Back Nine franchises that are rapidly spreading nationwide and allow golfers to access their hitting bays 24 hours a day.
“We’re still getting the word out, but those who are playing look like they’re really invested in the experience,” El-Saden said in an interview in early December.
In less than a month, El-Saden said more than 100,000 swinging bets were played and $400,000 in winnings distributed. There already had been 20 holes-in-one—“maybe more than we wanted,” he said with a chuckle.
The betting side of the program was developed by Evenplay several years ago on the premise that golfers love to wager on the course—a Golf Digest survey found that 80 percent do so—and they’d enjoy playing a simulator game that was based on their specific ability. So, an 18-handicapper has just as much of a chance to win as a single-digit player.
Evenplay’s graphics and some of its data gathering needed updating, however, and that stirred the interest in teaming with Full Swing, the Carlsbad, Calif., company endorsed by Tiger Woods that is supplying the playing system for TGL. The “playing field” that Full Swing developed for “Skill Strike” has a Las Vegas motif that basically makes it look like you’re playing on The Strip.
“Skill Strike” works like this: A new player is fronted $30 and 10 swings, at $3 each, to shoot at the flag. In those swings, the system assesses a golfer’s ability by using all of the feedback that a Full Swing simulator affords its regular users. Players can then decide if they like the game or want to walk away.
After that, the system presents a challenge for each swing, basically creating a live handicap depending on the results. Players can wager $3, $5, $10 and $20, and the challenge is more difficult with the more you bet. As an example, from a testing session by Golf Digest at The Back Nine in Carlsbad, for a distance of 112 yards on a $3 bet, the payouts were: $1.50 for inside 68 feet, $6 (34 feet), $18 (17 feet) and $100 for an ace. For a 172-yard shot at $3, the payouts ranged from $7 inside 24 feet to $65 inside 9 feet and $750 for an ace. Winnings are paid directly to the player through the "Skill Strike" app. To many golfers, those numbers are going to look awfully tempting.
How fun is playing it? Let’s just say that in our test, striping a shot and seeing the ball bounce and roll into one of the higher payoff circles was better than randomly getting dealt 21 in blackjack. And the results themselves seemed very accurate depending on the quality of the strike. “You could see people becoming obsessed with this,” El-Saden said, while adding that users should be cautious about their use as with any other gambling.
“We’ve already seen what you’d call ‘power users,’ but they do win,” he said. “I mean, you don’t get obsessed with something unless you also have some positive reinforcement, right? And the positive reinforcement comes in the way of winnings.”
The nature of the game raises a couple of concerns: How do they guard against simulator “sandbagging?” And how do players know that the game isn’t randomly “gaming” them like a casino slot machine? The first solution, El-Saden said, is that the Evenplay AI will quickly recognize if a player’s performance changes dramatically, and as of now, only one player can be signed in at a time. (That will eventually change with the ability to use facial recognition.) In terms of game accuracy, El-Saden said the enterprise is regulated and data is kept for every swing made.
As a “skill-based” game, similar to fantasy sports, “Skill Strike” is legal in 44 states, with the exceptions being Alaska, Hawaii, Maryland, Nevada, New Hampshire and Virginia.