Branded slots: how important are they for operators?

Branded slots were once a highlight of online casinos, with software providers paying plenty for the privilege of a licensing agreement. However, over the last decade, there’s been a reduction in the number of branded slots being produced, prompting us to ask how important branded slots are in the gambling industry today.

By Pavlos Sideris, director at Double Up Media. 

The golden age of branded content

During the high time of branded content, securing a license and creating a branded slot would drive player activity. Branded slots work by using well-known cinematic or cultural references that players easily recognise and are attracted to play. Therefore it proved a legitimate strategy for games developers and casino operators to target players, showcase their games and increase their reach. 

Some of the most successful games that instantly come to mind include Playtech’s Marvel slots, Microgaming’s Game of Thrones, Jurassic Park, Bridesmaids (and many more) or NetEnt’s Guns N’ Roses. Still, the number of new branded casino slots being created has reduced significantly in recent times.

A time-limited and risky strategy?

Over the last decade, fundamental shifts have occurred in the iGaming industry. In many ways, branded content was always a time-limited strategy for a studio to gain greater popularity. However, trends have changed, and players are now more attracted to new mechanics and game innovation than a licensed brand. Additionally, as the market competition has increased, more studios and new game releases have increased the pace, reducing the potential exposure of each game and making significant investments into licensing brands a less secure strategy. 

There is also the fact that brand licenses are time-limited. The case of the disappearing Marvel Slots is a notorious example of this. In 2009, gaming giant Playtech created its first Marvel-branded slot; the provider created 30 different Marvel-branded titles and became iconic for these slots. The same year, Walt Disney Studios purchased Marvel and made it clear they would not renew the licensing agreement when it reached term. Thus, in 2017, when the contract ended, Playtech had to pull all the games, many of which were the studio’s most popular titles. 

This case highlights how licensing agreements can be costly for software providers and high-risk. It also demonstrates the role of the brand, which can be potentially problematic for studios to work with. In this case, Walt Disney didn’t want to be associated with gambling, but in other cases, brand agreements can put other constraints on software developers on how they can employ the brand and the games created. These constraints do not marry well with the modern slots market, which is innovation-driven.

Speaking recently on a panel session at the SBC Summit Barcelona titled ‘Branded slots: tapping the zeitgeist’, CEO of Relax Gaming, Simon Hammon, confirmed this when he said that branded slots are a “bit of a nightmare” and not worth the return on investment compared to the cost. Plus, when coupled with the increased competition in the industry has created a different landscape, operators are “no longer excited about branded games”.

Nicolas Longmuir, CEO at AvatarUX, also part of the panel, added that the constraints of the licensing agreements put limitations on the games creation and creativity process in line with brand guidelines. 

The issue of time-limitations is bigger than just contractual terms; there is also the fact that brands, especially those linked to series, will see a drop in player ratings once the airing period ends. According to Hammon, this makes building your own brand far more powerful, like Relax Gaming’s Money Train series. Other examples include NetEnt’s Gonzo character, which has gained cult status and even game themes, like Book of Slots, which transcends studios.

New way forward: building brand loyalty with distinction

As the industry has developed and tech skyrocketed, new studios have increased competition. This has created an ever-worsening bottleneck for casino exposure, leaving providers to turn to other strategies to highlight their games to build brand loyalty.

Generally, these newer strategies are based on the same tactics as releasing branded slots – building hype, getting players to enjoy a taste of a studio and hoping they’ll come back for more – but they are less risky, costly and constraining. Here are some major trends slot studios currently rely on rather than created branded content.

New mechanics

Today’s main currency of successful slots is not blockbuster branding but new mechanics. Big Time Gaming kicked off this reel revolution with their ground-breaking Megaways mechanic, but now every studio is launching multiple new mechanics hitting the market on a monthly basis. This trend has touched every area of modern slots, even jackpot innovation, such as Red Tiger’s Daily Drops or Pragmatic Play’s Drop and Win titles.

High volatility games with big payouts

Alongside new mechanics, players are looking for ever more exciting gameplay and big payouts, with most seeking high volatility math models and big max wins. Nolimit City is another example of a studio championing this, famous for its high volatility math models, big payouts and award-winning slots.

Seasonal slots

Another common strategy is creating seasonal games. Slots based on a specific holiday are easiest to market. They create an uptick in players, can be twinned with bonuses, and mean studios reach new players. Casinos usually market to players based on the season, so games that match this are more likely to hit the casino floor. 

Building unique game brands and narratives

The be-all and end-all seems to be if you can create a slot brand in its own right, and we’ve seen plenty of examples of this (we mentioned a couple earlier – Money Train, Gonzo etc.) While this is not easy to achieve, psychologically, it appeals as players engage more when there is a well-developed storyline, which good slot series and branding deliver.

Do branded slots still cut it?

So, how important are branded slots for operators in 2022? The answer is, not very; they are now regarded more as costly marketing options of the past than a route to successful exposure at the casino. 

As the market and industry ecosystem has developed, so have software providers, becoming more competitive and proportioning funds to invest in home-grown innovation over expensive and potentially restrictive brand licenses that are ultimately subjective to the brand’s company goals.

However, in the current ever-competitive landscape, where a handful of the most popular providers dominate the front pages of casino lobbies, gaining casino exposure still presents a significant barrier to success for software providers.