to be added in the same game families. Many have become must-haves on casino floor.
“ Paying attention to a fair-share ratio can help maintain balance, but at a minimum, the Aristocrat HRG Studio products( Lightning Link, Dragon Link, Phoenix Link) are essential,” says Schultz.“ Additionally, Light & Wonder offers plenty of new, high-performing titles, such as Monopoly Express, Dancing Drums Link, and Kong Skull Island. While there are other mainstays, frequently swapping them out has proven beneficial, as players’ tastes have been changing more rapidly.”
Of course, the supplier most associated with the lease model over the years has been IGT, which practically invented the model with its wide-area progressive games, beginning with Wheel of Fortune and most recently with multilevel progressives including its latest wide-area progressive licensed game family, Whitney Houston.
“ Licensed properties have been a crucial part of the IGT game portfolio for much of our history, most famously with Wheel of Fortune slots and recently with Whitney Houston Slots and Jumanji Slots,” says Domenico Pastia, IGT’ s senior vice president of global product.
“ Developing this genre of games comes with added complexity and requires a higher investment, but it’ s all relative to game performance. If a game is performing at a high level, the investment is justified by the game’ s returns.
“ Leased games are absolutely a cornerstone to IGT’ s slot portfolio, and have long been a strategic differentiator for the company. Our customers count on IGT, particularly in the WAP space, to deliver the industry’ s most impressive jackpots through games such as Wheel of Fortune, Megabucks, Whitney Houston Slots and more.
“ As an industry we have seen an overall reduction in the quantity of licensed properties that suppliers bring on each year, but not a reduction in the influence of and player demand for hallmark titles such as Wheel of Fortune. In fact, premium cabinets and merchandising continue to rise in sophistication, quality and size.”
STEADY TREND
Operators and manufacturers agree that both for-sale and leased game models will continue to share slot floors for the foreseeable future, and ultimately, the pricing model has much less to do with success than player demand for each game— sale or lease, proprietary or licensed brands.
“ In the premium space, licensed brands seem to be taking a step back in favor of original titles that offer a premium look and feel,” comments Schultz.“ While some popular brands remain, they appear to have performed less favorably over the past few years. As a result, it may no longer be worth it for manufacturers to invest heavily in big brands when they could instead allocate
“ Evolving player preferences and access to technologies continue to raise the bar in terms of what players expect from a gaming session. It’ s up to us to continue innovating and delivering the‘ wow factor’ and experiences that drive growth and inspire loyalty.”
— Domenico Pastia, Senior Vice President of Global Product, IGT
that capital toward developing their own original IP.”
“ Future slots trends and gaming floor composition will ultimately be defined by the players,” says IGT’ s Pastia.“ Our customers will address player preferences regardless of game category. Evolving player preferences and access to technologies continue to raise the bar in terms of what players expect from a gaming session. It’ s up to us to continue innovating and delivering the‘ wow factor’ and experiences that drive growth and inspire loyalty.”
“ The premium product segment is evolving in an increasingly competitive landscape,” says Light & Wonder’ s Nemlich.“ We expect the trend toward dynamic, high-performing leased games to continue as more suppliers introduce innovative technologies and enhanced game offerings. This increased competition will likely raise the overall standard of the industry, providing operators with an even broader selection of engaging products to attract and retain players.”
As far as a percentage of the floor between for-sale and leased games, it’ s really a matter of popularity— what is a hit with the customer, says Paige.“ If they like non-owned games more, then that’ s what we’ ll give them. No set number of percent of the floor.
“ Just what the players want.”
16 Global Gaming Business APRIL 2025