Top-performing slots from IGT, Gamecode and AGS have been revealed as Eilers & Krejcik published its October Eilers-Fantini report for North American performance.
Each of the studio’s best-performing slot releases kept their positions in the top slots charts, while two new titles flew into several top games tables.
IGT reclaimed its leading position in the Canadian supplier charts, while further supplier shake-ups were witnessed as Games Global jumped ahead of Evolution to secure a place in the top three.
US round-up
IGT’s Cash Eruption slot continues to prove itself as a mainstay in the top slots by GGR charts, coming in first place for yet another month. The title regained some of the GGR share that it lost from August to September, as its portion of GGR rose from 2.7% to 2.88%.
Last month’s second place finisher in the GGR charts Live Dealer Roulette from Evolution fell to fourth place as its GGR share dropped from 1.57% to 1.18%, as Aristocrat’s Buffalo and Blackjack from IGT leaping over the title to finish in second and third place with 1.68% and 1.4%, respectively.
7s Fire Blitz from White Hat Studios stormed into the top five with a 1.16% GGR share after not appearing in the top 25 last month.
From the top games per GGR, 16 were slot titles, three were table games and six were live casino titles, with no video poker games making the top 25 for just the second time this year.
Unsurprisingly, Cash Eruption remained in pole position in the top games overall charts, while last month’s second place Triple Stones from Gamecode dropped into third place, replaced by IGT’s Blackjack title, which rose from fourth place in September.
AGS’ Capital Gains slot stepped up from sixth place to take fourth spot in October’s charts, while Live Dealer Lightning Roulette rounded out the top five, dropping from September’s third place.
Two new rankings made it into the top 10, as 7s Fire Blitz and Games Global’s Hyper Gold All In secured sixth and seventh place respectively.
This caused a slight shift for last month’s top 10 finishers, as Crazy Time from Evolution fell from fifth to eighth, Craps by Internal remained in ninth place and Evolution’s Live Dealer Baccarat dropped from eight to 10th place.
Turning onto the top slots charts, it was a stalwart month for the top three slots as Cash Eruption, Triple Stones and Capital Gains each kept their place at the top of the pile, in that order.
Meanwhile, the two new rankings that flew towards the top of the top games charts did the same for the slots table, as 7s Fire Blitz and Hyper Gold All In took fourth and fifth place.
For a second month in a row, 12 suppliers were represented in the top slots charts. Light & Wonder, Evolution, Aristocrat, Reel Play, Everi, Inspired and Greentube each had at least one slot appearing in the top 25.
A bunch of new rankings and shifting slots from September’s top 10 made up the top new game rankings, with Triple Stones leading the pack for another month.
Furthermore, 7s Fire Blitz and Hyper Gold All In secured second and third place, respectively, while 3x Ultra Diamond from AGS remained in fourth place. Super Boom Boom Boom from Gamecode rounded out the top five, climbing slightly from September’s sixth place.
Dark Waters Power Combo and 333 Fat Frogs Power Combo, each from Games Global, took sixth and seventh place, with the former dropping from last month’s second place finish and the latter remaining in the same position.
Cash Machine Jackpots by Everi dropped from fifth to eighth while new rankings Starlight Jackpots Athena Goddess of War from Greentube and Egglink Chicken Fox from L&W came in ninth and 10th.
As per usual, each game that appeared in the top 25 new games was a slot release.
Evolution led the supplier charts for consecutive months, securing the largest portion of GGR share with 18% (September: 17.9%). IGT and L&W also kept their positions in the supplier charts with 17.4% (September: 16.2%) and approximately 13.4% (September: 13.4%), respectively.
Meanwhile, Games Global lost percentage points in the supplier charts for consecutive months by dropping from 8.4% to 7.4%, while White Hat gained some traction by coming in with 5.6% (September: 5.2%).
Slots remained the dominant segment for total games tracked, with a total of 91.5%, ahead of table games which stood at 3.3%.
Instant win was next with 2.2%, just ahead of live casino’s 1.4%, video poker’s 0.9 per cent, lottery’s 0.3% and bingo/keno’s 0.3%.
Mobile recorded the highest percentage of theoretical win generated per vertical with 72%, followed by desktop at 27% and tablet at 1%.
The latest US Eilers-Fantini report examined data from Michigan, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Connecticut across 28 online casino sites, tracking 67,740 games to represent around 64% of the US market.
Canada figures
Eilers & Krejcik’s Canadian report continues to provide statistics on the nation’s online casino industry, covering nine online casino sites to track 17,557 games across five provinces.
Yet again, Cash Eruption kept its position atop Canada’s most-played games by GGR chart but with the exact same portion of GGR, 2.09%.
The slot gained a considerable portion of GGR share compared to the rest of the competition, more than doubling Evolution’s Live Dealer Roulette title which climbed from fourth to second place with 0.84%.
Last month’s second place finisher, Cleopatra by IGT, dropped into third place with a 0.82% GGR share, followed by its Big City 5s slot which gained 0.67%. Lucky Larry Lobstermania 2, also from IGT, came in fifth place with another 0.67% GGR share.
IGT leaped over L&W in the Canadian supplier charts to lead the pack, claiming a 17.1% GGR share (September: 15.87%) which pipped L&W’s 15.42%.
Games Global outperformed Evolution to knock the latter from third place to fourth, claiming the bronze medal position for itself with 12.62% (September: 11.99%). Evolution claimed 11.4%, dropping from last month’s 12.11%.
Pragmatic Play remained in fifth place by securing 10.27% of the GGR share, a slight drop from last month’s 10.81%.
If interested in learning more, subscribing, or participating in the Eilers-Fantini Online Game Performance Database reach out to Rick Eckert at reckert@ekgamingllc.com.
Several comings and goings have taken place across the industry recently, as Entain, the Responsible Gambling Council (RGC) and iGaming Ontario (iGO) are among those that have seen changes to their teams.
Entain
Entain has appointed Dafne Guisard as the company’s Chief Operations Officer, effective from 13 January 2025.
As COO, Guisard will be responsible for operational excellence, global strategic planning, customer service organisation and M&A integration.
“Dafne brings a wealth of experience in driving strategic growth and delivering transformation on a global scale,” commented Gavin Isaacs, CEO of Entain.
“Her appointment will help place Entain at the leading edge of innovation, as well as strengthen the executive management team as we build on a period of stronger-than-expected revenue growth and key market expansion. Dafne will be a tremendous asset to Entain.”
An advocate for the transformative power of technology, Guisard joins Entain from The Kraft Heinz Company. Here, she was Chief Strategy, Transformation and Digital Officer, leading the company’s global ten-year growth strategy, developing new operational models and driving digital transformation.
Before Kraft Heinz, she worked for nine years in various leadership positions at Anheuser-Busch InBev, eight years in management consulting and equities, and also co-founded a machine learning tech start-up.
Responsible Gambling Council
In an email to stakeholders, the Responsible Gambling Council announced the appointment of Sarah McCarthy as its next CEO, effective 6 January 2025.
Bringing 15 years of leadership experience to the position, McCarthy will be replacing Shelley White, who is stepping down from the position after announcing her retirement earlier this year in June.
McCarthy most recently served as Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at the Rick Hansen Foundation, where she was responsible for strategic and operational planning, program implementation and the stewardship of impactful business development strategies.
She also led a team across four key departments of Accessibility Certification, Accessibility Advisory Services social enterprise, School Program and Marketing/Communications, helping to advance the foundation’s mission of accessibility and inclusion.
Before the Rick Hansen Foundation, McCarthy was the Executive Director at the International Society for Nurses in Cancer Care and other notable non-profits, driving advancements in policy and governance on an international scale, helping to influence policy development and setting global standards.
RGC’s Board Chair, Yvon Lemire, stated: “Please join me in extending a warm welcome to Sarah in her new role. We look forward to her contributions and leadership in achieving our strategic objectives and furthering our mission.”
Lemire also thanked White for her service to RGC and wished her well as she steps into retirement.
He said: “Shelley’s leadership has been transformative, steering the RGC through significant initiatives that have expanded our reach and deepened our impact.
“Her strategic foresight was instrumental in launching groundbreaking programs that have set industry standards in responsible gambling. Her passion for advocacy and her commitment to our cause have not only enriched our organisation but also the broader community we serve.
“As Shelley embarks on her well-earned retirement, we reflect on her legacy of innovation and leadership, and we extend our heartfelt thanks for her years of dedicated service.”
iGaming Ontario
iGaming Ontario has announced that it has begun its search for its next President and CEO.
To be based in Toronto, the successful candidate will succeed Martha Otton, who announced back in August that she would be retiring at the end of this year.
With the support of a dedicated team, iGO noted that the President and CEO will provide visionary leadership, strategic direction and operational oversight within the Canadian province’s igaming market.
Applicants can apply for the role through the Odgers Berndtson website.
Inspired Entertainment
Inspired Entertainment has appointed James Richardson as its next Chief Financial Officer, effective from 1 January 2025.
Richardson brings nearly 30 years of experience to Inspired, with knowledge in financial leadership, strategic planning, commercial development, corporate finance, M&A and operational management across various industries including online gaming, financial services and payments.
“We are thrilled to welcome James to the Inspired Entertainment team,” said Brooks Pierce, CEO of Inspired.
“James’s extensive background in financial reporting and governance for both US and UK publicly listed businesses, his strong financial management and his proven track record for driving growth, value creation, and technical accounting expertise make him an ideal fit for our company as we continue to execute our strategic initiatives and deliver value to our shareholders.
“The combination of James’ leadership and experience across multiple sectors, particularly the gaming industry, will allow him to make an immediate contribution.”
Richardson joins Inspired from Manchester Airports Group (MAG), where he oversaw financial operations for London Stansted and East Midlands airports as its Group Commercial Finance Director and Finance Director.
Before MAG, he was the Global Finance Director for William Hill plc’s online betting and gaming business. Beginning his career at PwC, he has also held senior financial positions at DFC Global Corp and Global Payments Inc.
Commenting on his new role, Richardson said: “I am excited to join Inspired Entertainment and contribute to its next phase of growth. I look forward to working with the talented team at Inspired to build on the company’s strong foundation and its ongoing expansion of its digital vertical in order to drive continued growth and success.”
Enteractive
Enteractive has appointed Lukasz Zebrowski as its new Head of Compliance.
Zebrowski brings experience in regulatory compliance to the role and will help Enteractive in providing safe, responsible and effective reactivation services to operators, tailored and compliant with regulatory requirements in each market.
“At Enteractive, my focus will be on aligning our services with the highest industry standards, ensuring regulatory alignment in all the markets we operate in,” commented Zebrowski.
“We are dedicated to maintaining a compliance-first approach, particularly in player protection and fraud prevention, with comprehensive training programs to uphold these values at every level.”
Andrew Foster, Chief Business Development Officer at Enteractive, added: “Lukasz’s expertise in navigating complex regulatory landscapes will strengthen our compliance efforts, helping us deliver even greater value to our clients across diverse jurisdictions.
“His leadership will ensure we maintain the highest standards in responsible gambling and fraud detection, reinforcing our commitment to safeguarding operators and their players.”
