Gambling in the USA

Push Gaming’s 2023 report: the US, more games and new horizons

Published

9 months ago

December 28, 2023

As 2023 draws to a close, Push Gaming’s Director of New Business and Markets, Fiona Hickey, reflects on its recent progress on and off the reels and how the news of its acquisition has been received stateside, where the popular studio intends to make a splash.

With Push’s much-anticipated entry into the US market looming, has this influenced the agenda of US event attendance in 2023?

We’ve been diligently preparing for our US market entry for the past few years, gaining valuable insights and developing a comprehensive strategy as to our approach to the jurisdiction. With the potential of the US market being so great, it is worth taking our time and preparing for our launch accordingly.

During our pre-planning stage, we attended events like G2E Las Vegas among others where we met with regulators and gathered a broader understanding of the US gaming market so that we were sufficiently knowledgeable and informed of the market.

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We’ve also been studying popular game concepts in both the online and the land-based market to ensure that our launch offerings will resonate with US players. By carefully considering the regulatory environment and player preferences, we have been able to develop a comprehensive plan to market that will position us for success when we begin to roll out there.

Has the recent acquisition by MGMRI/LeoVegas furthered this agenda at all? Or is it business as usual in terms of your US debut?

Our recent merger with MGM Resorts has significantly enhanced our US expansion strategy. The deal enables us to capitalise on BetMGM’s market-leading position and introduce our globally celebrated titles to American players for the first time on one of the most prominent operators’ platforms.

This will catapult our brand awareness in the US and help integrate our titles into the public zeitgeist of online slots within that market, encouraging more growth thereafter with additional operators and partners.

Your product roadmap has been boosted by an acceleration in game launches – what impact does this have on selling Push Gaming to operators?

We’ve been consistently raising the bar for our games in terms of quality and quantity over the past few years. Each new game provides an opportunity to innovate and expand our knowledge whilst delivering new features to players. With each successive release, we become a stronger provider and the recent uptick in these launches has amplified our already well-known inclination to innovate.

With over 60 direct integrations and partnerships with nearly all tier-one operators in the regulated markets that we are live in, we’re in an incredibly strong position. Adding more award-winning games to our portfolio allows us to capitalise on this position and expand even further, both with new operators and with our existing partners.

The big product news of 2023 was Razor Returns. Has this resulted in more interest in your content?

Our portfolio has always garnered significant attention from both players and operators because we’re constantly pushing the boundaries of slot development. We don’t simply replicate trends, we add our unique touch to create something truly exceptional and this is sought out by players and proves beneficial to operators. Razor Returns was a resounding success and since its launch, it has remained a top game for our partners. Players are drawn to its mix of familiar gameplay and the evolution of a fan-favourite franchise with new additions to its mechanics, the slot has proven to be a hit since release.

As we move into 2024, we’ve already crafted an impressive roadmap for Q1, featuring seven games, one of which is the highly anticipated Wild Swarm 2 which we believe has the potential to be our most successful sequel yet. We also have Retro Sweets upcoming, the long-awaited sequel to Retro Tapes, which we know our partners will love. For them and ourselves, content is king and consistently delivering high-quality entertainment experiences is key to garnering more interest in our games.

What other regions and new markets are in the pipeline for Push?

Following our entry into Greece, Italy, and Switzerland towards the end of 2023, we plan to continue our expansion and aim to be live in Spain in Q2 next year. We will also be looking to continue our growth and expansion into Latin America, along with our much-awaited entry into the US being on the horizon. We are excited to continue to grow our business, offering our innovative games to new players around the world and providing existing Push enthusiasts with new games to enjoy. There are exciting times ahead.

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Gambling in the USA

Zula Casino Kicks Off its Spectacular 1-Year “Zula-versary” with a Month of Events and Promotions

Published

2 days ago

October 2, 2024

Niji Narayan

Zula Casino launched its online social casino in the US exactly a year ago delivering more. More games. More rewards. More free-to-play entertainment through a personalized experience. Zula Casino marked its one-year launch by crossing the 1000 casino-game threshold – a milestone that positions it among the top platforms nationwide.

The month-long birthday bash intends to go over the top to give back to its amazing player community that helped make this first year so incredible. With its advent calendar format, players can unlock a special surprise each day ranging from a “Win-a-Vacation” event, a carnival event, free spins and new exclusive games, and a prize pool of over 25 billion Gold Coins (GC) plus 150,000 Sweeps Coins (SC) to be given out throughout the month. Over this period, Zula Casino will run other special events, including surprise happy hours with special coupons, various social media contests, and special giveaways.

“We’re incredibly proud of the player experience we’ve built over the last 12 months. The platform has garnered a substantial and loyal pool of players, and it’s not just because we offer one of the largest game selections from leading global providers, but also the exclusive experiences we’re providing, and the platform’s continued evolution with enhanced promotions, personalization, and seamless user experience,” said Tamar Laypan, Program Manager of Zula Casino.

Zula Casino has added over 1000 games across all categories over the past 12 months, including slots, jackpots, fish, table, plinko, megaways, crash, hold and win, tumble games, and more. These additions include top games like Big Bass Vegas and Fire Stampede, as well as branded exclusives like Gold Gold Gold 5000, supplied by Booming Games, and Sweet Bonanza 1000 by Pragmatic Play. With recent additions, Zula Casino now boasts 25 game providers, including Relax Gaming, Habanero, Evoplay, Pragmatic Play, RubyPlay, Gamzix, Let Us Entertain You Inc., to name a few.

Zula Casino flourished in a tough and highly competitive market, launching its proprietary-integrated platform in September of last year. With an average TrustPilot score of 4.6 and almost 9K reviews, the online social casino is among the highest-rated free-to-play sites in the market.

Zula Casino was also previously shortlisted for the prestigious Global SBC Awards in the category of “Rising Star in Casino”.

Gambling in the USA

NCPG Welcomes Diana Goode to the Board of Directors

Published

2 days ago

October 2, 2024

Niji Narayan

NCPG has announced the appointment of Diana Goode to the National Council on Problem Gambling’s Board of Directors. Diana, who has served as the Executive Director of the Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling (CCPG) since May 2018, brings over 25 years of nonprofit leadership experience to this role.

In her time with CCPG, Diana has championed initiatives that address problem gambling and promote responsible gaming across Connecticut. Additionally, she has played an active role on the NCPG Affiliates Committee, contributing valuable insights from her years of experience.

Before joining CCPG, Diana held executive roles in nonprofits focusing on poverty alleviation and financial literacy in Connecticut. Her academic credentials include a degree from Dartmouth College and an MBA in Finance and Marketing from the University of Connecticut. She resides in the Greater Hartford area, where she remains deeply engaged in her community.

Diana will serve an interim appointment in the Affiliates seat on the NCPG Board of Directors until Spring 2025.

Gambling in the USA

Gaming Executives Positive on Current Business Conditions, Cautious on Future Growth Expectations

Published

2 days ago

October 1, 2024

Peter Tolan

Overall Balance Sheet Health, Access to Credit Continue to Improve

In the face of slowing revenue expansion, gaming industry leaders continue to hold an overall positive view of the current business situation, with a notable improvement in credit conditions, according to the latest American Gaming Association (AGA) Gaming Industry Outlook.

The majority of respondents (88%) view the current state of the gaming industry as either good or satisfactory. Meanwhile, executives have a more conservative outlook on future business conditions, with respondents split on whether they expect conditions to improve over the next three-to-six months (3% net positive) and many expecting a decrease in customer activity (28% net negative).

“After years of very strong consumer gaming spending growth, expectations around customer activity over the next three to six months have cooled considerably,” said AGA Vice President of Research David Forman. “Still, gaming businesses remain well positioned, with executives touting strong balance sheets and more viewing access to credit as easy than restrictive for the first time in two years.”

Gaming Executive Panel

Since Q1, gaming executives’ sentiment has shifted, with a greater number of respondents now expecting a decline in customer activity over the next three to six months (28% net negative, up from 4% net negative in Q1). Despite this, panelists foresee improvements in overall balance sheet health (34% net positive).

Additionally, more executives reported access to credit as easy (19%) rather than restrictive (3%) for the first time in two years, and fewer cite interest rates as a major limiting factor than in the spring.

Hotel (56%) and food and beverage facilities (56%) continue to be the main and growing focus of capital investment among operators, followed by live entertainment (28%) and casino floor slots (22%).

Meanwhile, gaming equipment suppliers now believe their pace of capital investment and game sales will decelerate (13% net negative).

These expectations are impacted by evolving macroeconomic challenges, with uncertainty of the economic environment vaulting to the top of executive concerns (56%, up from 34% in Q1), followed by state regulatory concerns (31%), and inflationary or interest rate concerns and geopolitical risk (both 34%).

The Current Conditions Index

The Current Conditions Index for Q3 2024 was 97.3, which is consistent with real annualized contraction of 2.7 percent. The Current Conditions Index measures real economic activity in the industry, as measured by gaming revenue, employment and employee wages and salaries.

The Future Conditions Index

The Future Conditions Index, a leading indicator of changes in industry conditions, measured 98.9 in Q3. This indicates an environment in which real economic activity in the gaming sector, after controlling for underlying inflation, is expected to moderately decrease over the next six months (1.1% annualized rate).