EGT Digital and EGT are ready to welcome operators, players, and industry experts again at this year’s SiGMA Americas show. From April 8 to 10, they will have the opportunity to become familiar with the innovative developments of the two companies at booths E130 and F131.

EGT Digital will introduce its compelling portfolio of casino solutions, featuring more than 120 well-known slot titles, as well as the jackpot top performers Bell Link, High Cash, Clover Chance, and Single Progressive Jackpot.  Guests will also see the newest member of the company’s jackpot family – the 4-level multi-denomination Gods & Kings Link, which will make its debut at the event. It will present its first 2 titles – Glorious Alexander and Ape of Luck, offering players numerous opportunities for winning and entertainment.

The in-house developed “all-in-one” betting platform X-Nave will be showcased with its 4 main modules: Sport Product, Gaming Aggregator, CRM Engine, and Payment Gateway. Each can be used as part of the complete solution or separately, as it allows seamless integration with third-party developments.

The Sport Product will reveal rich sports and esports content across numerous markets. EGT Digital’s Gaming Aggregator will show its vast range of more than 13,000 titles from more than 130 popular providers, as well as a number of functionalities for content personalization. X-Nave’s CRM Engine with its player management tools and bonus features, as well as the Payment Gateway, offering a wide diversity of payment methods, will complement the capabilities of the operators to further enrich and customize the offerings for their clients.

EGT’s VLT solutions will also demonstrate their enormous potential for the Brazilian market. Тhe visitors will be able to get acquainted with the brand-new self-service betting terminal, which has been developed specifically for Brazil. Its compact dimensions make it an ideal addition to any location. Gaming options are accessible with a QR code – an innovative feature that players will highly appreciate. The terminal will be equipped with the Gold VLT multigame, which has also been designed specifically for the domestic audience. Its 50 games, including both new high-potential proposals and well-established titles such as Keno Universe, will dive guests into a world full of adventures and attractive prizes.

Celina Guedes, Regional Director Brazil at EGT, commented: “I am very glad that we will participate in SiGMA Americas again this year and will have the chance to present the best of our product portfolio to our current and potential new clients from the region. The exhibition will allow us to increase our popularity among Brazilian key players, on the one hand, and on the other, to consolidate and expand our presence in LATAM as a whole. We are also looking forward to the SiGMA Americas Awards, where we are shortlisted in 3 categories.”

Katya Machuganova, Gaming Product and Partnerships Manager at Silverback Gaming, on where the crash format originates and how studios have continued to up the ante with the games that are hitting the market today

The rise of crash games has been so meteoric that we haven’t taken the time to look back at where the format originally came from.

It’s easy to see how the industry has become distracted by crash games and their ability to tap into lucrative but hard-to-reach audiences like Millennials and Gen Z.

But to determine the direction we now take with the format it’s important to understand where it originated and why it was able to generate such tremendous momentum in a short space of time.

The genesis of crash games:

MoneyPot was the first ever crash game and it was produced back in 2014 by Eric Springer, a Canadian developer and Bitcoin enthusiast.

Springer introduced the game on the Bitcoin Talk forum and drew inspiration for the format from the crazy volatility of the cryptocurrency markets where assets can skyrocket and then crash in value.

In 2015, Springer sold MoneyPot to Ryan Havar who rebranded the game to Bustabit and moved it to a new site where it can still be played today.

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Havar kept much of the core gameplay the same, including a last-longer bonus. This saw 1% collected for every player’s wager that went into a bonus prize which went to the last player to cash out successfully.

In 2018, Havar decided to sell Bustabit to another crypto developer, Daniel Evans, who made a few tweaks to the game including removing the bonus system.

Evans still operates Bustabit to this day and even allows third-party investors to bankroll the game in return for a share of its profits.

The next generation of crash games arrive:

With crash a popular but niche game format for crypto enthusiasts, it took developer SPRIBE to catapult it into the mainstream with the launch of Aviator in 2019.

Aviator was the first crash game developed for online casino players and was the catalyst for the surge in popularity the format has attracted since.

Given the success of Aviator and the rising demand for non-traditional content, studios have continued to move the needle and come up with their own crash games.

Some use the same aeroplane theme as Aviator, while others are based around sports, Wild West shootouts, hot air balloons and many other themes.

These games mostly take the increasing curve format with a multiplier that continues to rise – players must then decide when to cash out.

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If they go too early, the win will be small, but wait too long the curve crashes, taking their accrued winnings and original stake with it.

What makes crash games so popular:

Players are drawn to the intuitive and simple format of crash games – even those new to the format can pick it up in a couple of game rounds.

Players like that these games are usually multiplayer and with social features such as a chat and leaderboards where they can compete with others for the highest multiplier score.

Crash games work incredibly well on mobile – which has seen them really hit the mark with players in emerging markets – and this has driven their appeal among younger audiences, too.

In fact, the high risk/high reward nature of the gameplay – which has its roots in those volatile crypto markets – really appeals to those players.

The rise and fall of crash IP

Given the huge success of crash games, and in particular SPRIBE’s Aviator, it should come as no surprise that the format has had its fair share of controversy.

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Most notable is the legal case SPRIBE has found itself embroiled in – another company has argued that SPRIBE has breached the IP it holds for the Aviator logo and brand assets.

The case is ongoing and shows the growing attention that is being paid to intellectual property rights within the crash game genre, a genre whose value is only set to rise.

Crash is a huge opportunity for studios:

Crash presents a huge opportunity for studios and is one that Silverback Gaming is looking to explore with our first crash title set to hit the market shortly.

It will be offered in the simulated gaming format initially before being rolled out as a real money game later in the year.

Just as with slots, studios are not looking to differentiate within the crash vertical and the way we have approached this is to give players more control over the gameplay.

With our crash game, they can toggle the level of risk/reward they wish to play to – this degree of personalisation is simply not being offered by the current games in the market.

We are really excited about our first crash game and the scope within the format for us, and other studios, to continue to innovate and push boundaries, just as Eric Springer did back in 2014.

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International Game Technology PLC announced that it recently introduced its much-anticipated Wheel of Fortune Video Poker game in the world’s most prolific video poker market: Las Vegas, Nev. Guests of Downtown Grand Hotel & Casino (Downtown Grand) in Downtown Las Vegas became the first players in the world to enjoy legendary IGT multi-hand video poker paired with the puzzle-solving, wheel-spinning fun of Wheel of Fortune via IGT’s Wheel of Fortune Video Poker game.

“Becoming the first casino in the world to offer IGT’s Wheel of Fortune Video Poker was an exciting moment for Downtown Grand and one that generated palpable buzz and significant play on our gaming floor. For decades, our players have enjoyed IGT video poker and Wheel of Fortune slots, so combining the DNA of those two products to create something new is an exciting proposition for our players,” said Rick Coltor, Slots Manager at the Downtown Grand Las Vegas.

“Launching IGT Wheel of Fortune Video Poker in Las Vegas, the world’s largest video poker market, marked another important milestone in the rollout of our expanded Wheel of Fortune games portfolio. Our Wheel of Fortune Video Poker game delivers an ideal blend of proven multi-hand poker, jackpot excitement and the signature elements of Wheel of Fortune games that have propelled the theme’s success for more than 25 years,” said Nick Khin, IGT President, Global Gaming.

IGT’s Wheel of Fortune Video Poker is currently available on the CrystalCurve cabinet. Wheel of Fortune Video Poker incorporates the franchise’s famous puzzle-solving features and the iconic “Wheel Bonus” that has had players chanting “WHEEL-OF-FORTUNE!” for decades. The multi-hand poker game is available in triple-play, five-play and ten-play configurations and can award players 30,000, 50,000 or 100,000 credits, respectively, for a dealt royal flush.