Slots and Pots
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The pot-collection feature is now ubiquitous among new slot games
There ’ s another “ new wheel ” in slot game development . It ’ s called the pot-collection feature , also known as the “ metamorphic ” feature .
The reason it ’ s the new wheel is that bonus wheels were the earliest example of a slot game mechanic that was launched by one manufacturer and subsequently copied by virtually every other slot supplier .
While a 1970s mechanical Bally slot featured a spinning bonus wheel , the idea really took off in the mid 1990s , when Randy Adams of then-Anchor Gaming patented a roulette-style bonus wheel on a slot machine . Bally licensed the technology for a game called Wheel of Gold , but in 1996 , IGT licensed it for a game that would cause the first major bonus trend , Wheel of Fortune .
IGT eventually acquired Anchor Gaming , along with the wheel patent . While it was active , any supplier creating a wheel game would license the technology from IGT . And they did . But when the patent expired , the flood gates opened , with just about every slot manufacturer launching games featuring bonus wheels .
More recently , the hold-and-spin bonus feature , pioneered by Aristocrat on the games Lightning Link and Dragon Link , became the “ new wheel ” in slot games . The success of those Aristocrat games centered on the games ’ branded “ Hold & Spin ” feature . Six coins , carrying cash-on-reels symbols , trigger the feature . The cash symbols lock in place , and the player gets three spins in which to land another coin . Every new coin returns the spin meter to three .
The feature continues until three spins without a coin , after which all the locked cash-on-reels credits are awarded , or until all 15 reel spots carry coins , which triggers the top Grand Jackpot .
Each manufacturer has released its own version of the hold-and-spin bonus , and each adds its own twist to the feature . Most now include lower-level jackpots and progressives in the prizes that can land and can extend the feature at the same time . Players can win multiple jackpots in these features . Special addons include extra spins , multipliers , “ collect ” symbols that add up all the coins on the screen and award them instantly , wild symbols and other enhancements .
This year , the big new game mechanic is the pot-collection bonus or metamorphic feature — in particular , the “ three-pot bonus .” This is where “ perceived persistence ” is deployed to show you three pots of coins , three pigs , three panda bears or three of any of a number of other icons . The “ pots ” are of different colors , and each time a matching symbol lands on the reels , it travels up to the corresponding pot , making it seem to bulge as the award gets closer .
At any given point , one of those coins or icons can burst the corresponding pot , triggering a bonus with a particular enhancement . It ’ s normally a hold-and-spin bonus , with burst pots awarding enhancements to the spins like multipliers for coin awards , an extra spin when the three have expired , a “ collection ” feature awarding all coins , expanding reels that unlock new rows , or , popular lately , a “ double ” pot that triggers a second reel set ; the hold-and-respin bonus then accumulates coins on 30 spots instead of 15 .
There are many more simple versions of the mechanic , such as the game hosting one of the first appearances , if not the first , Light & Wonder ’ s 88 Fortunes . Early games like this typically feature a single pot , triggering a free-spin bonus . Multiple pots are now featured , triggering not only holdand-spin features but enhanced free-game bonuses .
In the vast majority of cases , anticipation builds as the character above the reels grows fatter , the coin pot grows larger , or some other animation makes the player feel like , “ one more coin , it ’ s going to hit .” The truth is that once the level of coins reaches a certain threshold , the pot or pig or piggy bank can burst at any random point .
Triggers on all of these games can burst two pots at a time , and all of them boast their most generous bonus event when all three pots trigger at the same time , for a triple-enhanced free game or holdand-spin event .
Some of the manufacturers are now adding funny cartoon game mascots to the mix . They appear randomly to add wild symbols to the reels , to add multipliers , or often , to add bonus triggers to the reels , helping to trigger the bonus by adding the last two or three trigger symbols to reach the required six and enact the hold-and-spin feature .
One of the newest iterations of the feature comes from Zitro , which , at G2E in October , demonstrated the new game Merging Fu Pots . In this game , for an extra per-spin ante wager , the three pots merge into one , guaranteeing all holdand-spin features occur with the maximum enhancements ( in this case , including two independent screen arrays ).
The pot-collection style of bonus feature is still evolving , to be sure . As each manufacturer adds its own twist to the bonus , it will remain a reliable mechanic for years to come . — Frank Legato
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Sports Betting Graveyard
Sports betting operators exiting the U . S .
While BetMGM , Caesars Sportsbook , Draft-
Kings , ESPN Bet , Fanatics and FanDuel continue to grow their customer databases and jockey for market share in sports betting , many of the smaller and often independent platforms have disappeared , leaving consumers with fewer choices .
This year was the first since sports betting became a states ’ rights issue in 2018 in which no state legislation legalized sports betting , though Missouri voters did in that state in November . Two states — North Carolina and Vermont — launched live wagering , the lowest number since 2018 . The only number that appears to be rising is the number of wagering platforms that are downsizing or dropping out of the business altogether .
Companies like Betr , Sporttrade and Underdog Sports have grown in this environment . Rather than rushing to get licensed and go live in any available market , these companies have thoughtfully and intentionally selected markets in which they believe they can thrive . The growth has been incremental .
Over time , even successful national companies like Churchill Downs and Wynn Resorts have launched and then closed down . When the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was overturned in 2018 , many companies — even those outside of sports betting — embraced the opportunity to give it a go . FuBo TV and Maxim , a “ modern ” men ’ s brand that has a flagship magazine , launched a handful of online sportsbooks that folded within two years .
Since 2020 , more than 20 companies have shuttered at least some of their U . S . digital sportsbooks , often with the goal of “ focusing on the core business .”
In 2024 , the contraction continued . Five sports betting platforms that had been active in multiple states announced or completed U . S . exits or downgrades . Betway , SI Sportsbook and Unibet opted to get out of the digital wagering business altogether . SuperBook and WynnBet pulled out of multiple states but continue to offer online betting in Nevada . “ You have a very competitive landscape and everyone is in a sprint while trying to survive the
22 Global Gaming Business DECEMBER 2024