10 TRENDS
Every December , GGB Magazine connects with some experts in the gaming business and our own writers to give readers a hint of what ’ s coming up in the new year . For 2025 , the unknowns are high on the list . In some cases , we may seem like we ’ re spitballing , but read a little closer and you ’ ll find the value .
Technology is speeding up . Keeping pace is crucial as your competitors surely are doing a deep dive into the latest systems that can improve their performance . The industry is littered with companies that failed to recognize the advances in technology or misread those programs to their detriment .
Sports betting continues to be a low-margin activity , and the dominance of the top two companies is becoming harder and harder to penetrate . And it won ’ t help if advertising restrictions are imposed in various jurisdictions .
FOR 2025
Our annual view of what ’ s ahead in the new year
In the follow-the-leader culture of the slot business , cabinets are getting larger and bonus programs are getting more complex .
Indian tribes may be the latest beneficiary of the REIT phenomenon that has changed the commercial business . But what about tribal sovereignty ? How can reservation land be owned by a REIT ?
In the field of responsible gaming , doesn ’ t self exclusion offer the simplest fix to people afflicted with problem gambling ? And if it does , why don ’ t we have an international database to make it more effective ?
Gaming is always under the threat of increased taxes , and with the change of government in the U . K . that threat , while momentarily dodged , still remains .
Our 10 trends are certainly not all-inclusive . What ’ s happening in Thailand and the rest of the Pacific Rim ? How about the UAE ? Who ’ s in the best position to take advantage of the burgeoning gaming industry there ? Texas , Georgia , LatAm ? They are all in play .
So let ’ s all pay attention as we move through 2025 . Every trend has an equal and opposite trend , to alter a known scientific theory . Stay alert and stay ahead .
Giant Cabinets
Even amid concerns about sightlines in casinos , slot-makers keep churning out huge cabinets
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It wasn ’ t that long ago that jumbo cabinets were solely a novelty item for casinos . People would be drawn to slot floors by a giant three-reel stepper slot with a handle seven feet in the air , try a few spins , and move on to the rest of the slot floor .
One of the last pure novelty cabinets of this style was the Big Red cabinet , introduced by AGS with the game Colossal Diamonds in 2014 . Shortly after that , though , cabinets for core and premium slot games began to grow .
Aristocrat was among the first to popularize grand-sized cabinets for the main floor . In 2015 , its licensed Big Bang Theory game was presented on the Behemoth cabinet , featuring an 84-inch monitor . That same year , the supplier released its first large-format curved-screen cabinet , the Arc Double , with stacked 43-inch portrait monitors — to be outdone a few years later by the Neptune Double , with stacked 49-inch curved monitors that nearly touched the ceilings of many casinos .
By this time , several manufacturers were experimenting with premium games on huge cabinets . In 2017 , Scientific Games ( now Light & Wonder ) released Monopoly Hot Shot as the inaugural game on its TwinStar V75 cab- inet , with an imposing 75-inch high-definition monitor . That same year , IGT launched its CrystalCurve TRUE 4D cabinet , featuring a 50-inch curved portrait ultra-HD top display and 32-inch , landscape , ultra-HD lower display .
Also in 2017 , Konami introduced its Concerto Opus cabinet , with a 65- inch monitor , and Everi launched the Empire MPX , with a 55-inch portrait LCD monitor stacked on top of a 27-inch base screen .
By this decade , every slot manufacturer was latching on to the large-format cabinet trend . Light & Wonder has the giant Mural , Cosmic and Horizon cabinets . Konami has the Dimension 75C ; AGS has the Spectra SL75 +; Everi has the Dynasty Dynamic ; Ainsworth has the A-STAR Curve XL .
As suppliers launched larger and larger cabinets , the logistics of where they are placed on casino floors changed as well . Formerly , a giant cabinet would be placed either by itself near the entrance to a casino floor as a special attraction or would be placed against a wall . Now , they can be found throughout the slot floor , in circular pods , in banks , and as stand-alone end caps .
Recently , there have been some slot floor design concerns in relation to the large-format cabinets . Aristocrat launched its MarsX and Baron cabinets , with lower profiles in response to customer concerns regarding big cabinets blocking sightlines on the casino floor . Light & Wonder designed its Kascada Slant cabinet with the same pitch — a lower profile for clear sightlines across the floor .
18 Global Gaming Business DECEMBER 2024