There's an intriguing movement afoot in this country to roll back the drinking age to 18, and surprisingly, more than 100 college presidents have signed a petition advocating the change. It's startling to think that the people charged with protecting young adults say they would be safer if they were allowed to drink, but that's exactly what's happening.
The university heads point out that college drinking has gone underground and, as a result, become more decadent. "I think there's a direct connection between this law and this pattern of secret, fast consumption of high-octane alcohol," Ohio's Kenyon College president Georgia Nugent told the New York Times in August. "It's much more dangerous than the traditional, great big, loud keg party because it happens quietly, out of view."
AMOA recently noted the movement in their Off The Top email newsletter, saying, "Clearly, members' locations and coin-drop could be positively impacted by the outcome of this debate." From this industry's perspective, the move would be a win-win, taking underage drinking out of the dark alleys where it has receded and bringing a whole new segment of customers to locations where they can also play games and the jukebox and shoot some pool.
The whole thing makes a lot of sense to me. In my home state, the drinking age changed to 21 not long before I turned 18, but that never stopped us from finding libations for our weekend celebrations. I was fortunate enough to attend college in Louisiana, where the laws were unique. Patrons between the ages of 18 and 21 could go in bars, but we weren't officially allowed to buy drinks. However, friends who were of age could buy us a drink. Pretty neat, huh?
Imagine an influx of new players to on-premise locations and the potential shot in the arm it could provide for this industry's ailing tavern location base. But don't get too excited because the measure's critics like Mother's Against Drunk Driving and law enforcement officials are influential and vocal.
A more pointed question for the amusement trade is whether we would be poised to capture that younger crowd's attention if and when they showed up. Are they looking for the camaraderie that often gathers around traditional amusements like pool, darts and the jukebox? Or have texting, online social networking and other interactive digital entertainment options changed the nature of how young people have fun?
Based on what we have seen at the last couple of tradeshows, the marketing experts at a number of industry suppliers, including all of the digital jukebox companies as well as game makers like Incredible Technologies, Merit and JVL, have already placed their bets on packaging old-fashioned entertainment (music and games) in very modern, ultra-interactive delivery systems.
As we noted in our coverage of this fall's AMOA and Fun Expos, convergence was king as game companies expanded into music, interactive promotions and advertising while digital juke companies likewise set their sights on further digital opportunities, including games and cross promotion with separate video networks that target their same locations. Next month, RePlay will explore in depth what all these developments mean for operators and their locations.
In the meantime, let's hope all of this next generation technology is in place and earning well by the time the next generation of drinkers, 18 or 21, walks through your location doors ready for their first legal beer!
Direct email to RePlay Magazine Editor Steve White.
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