“ We wanted to give a clear differentiation versus the past because this is a completely new offering . We rewrote everything . Every line of code , everything is new and we really want to offer something that at the same time would be valuable for our customers . So we made sure that we are answering the need .”
— Luigi Cacciapuoti , Senior Vice President of Specialty Product and ETG , IGT
number of those who are hardcore ETG players , so the company hopes to foster some migration between the two sides with the integration . Table game play is much harder to learn than the average slot , and the familiarity of the Wheel theme paired with the ease and accessibility of ETGs should do well to lessen the learning curve .
“ The ETG takes a lot of stress out of the table game experience , and some people really like the pace because traditional table game play can be a little daunting for new players ,” Cacciapuoti says . “ We really believe that these have a lot of attraction power on the floor . And connecting it to a proven and known game mechanic , we wanted to make sure that in the end there are no entrance barriers for the player .”
Worldwide , Omnichannel Appeal
Perhaps the biggest indication of the success of the Wheel of Fortune franchise is its growth in international markets . In addition to the U . S . expansions , IGT is looking to grow its Wheel offerings elsewhere around the world , most notably through VLTs and iGaming . The VLT additions will fall along the same timeline as ETGs , but the online component is already well on its way .
IGT and BetMGM teamed up on August 12 to launch the first-ever international Wheel of Fortune online casino in Ontario , Canada , which has shown itself to be an extremely successful online market , on par with the biggest U . S . states . The two sides previously collaborated to launch a Wheel-branded online casino in New Jersey last year .
In a statement , IGT PlayDigital President Gil Rotem called Ontario “ a dynamic iGaming market that readily embraces omnichannel IGT PlayDigital games such as Wheel of Fortune slots .” Suzanne Prete , president of game shows for Sony Pictures Television , added that “ BetMGM ’ s Wheel of Fortune Casino creates an inviting space for players to enjoy all of their favorite IGT Wheel of Fortune games in one place and in a way that resonates with slot players and game show fans alike .”
On the land-based side , Canada is also a big VLT hub that will benefit from the Wheel integration . David Flinn , IGT ’ s senior vice president of sales for Canada and Latin America , explains that the country ’ s
Wheel of Fortune on the PeakDual27 VLT
lotteries have an emphasis on responsible play , in the sense that the goal is to broaden the player base without overly impacting any single demographic .
“ I think Wheel of Fortune has a tremendous amount of opportunity in that space for many reasons , but one of the biggest reasons is that Canadian lotteries are very much about social responsibility ,” he says . “ They want a lot of different players engaged in the program , and Wheel of Fortune is a recognizable brand that may bring new or lapsed players into the VLT space .”
This idea also translates to other VLT markets both in the U . S . and across the world , such as Italy , Greece , Sweden , Finland , Norway and more . As Finn says , the brand “ definitely has global reach ” from a popularity perspective .
Migrating content is nothing new for IGT , and the sales experience gleaned from previous launches will help as it expands the Wheel series to three new segments at the same time . Finn notes that the company “ started deploying slot games online in Canada 10 years ago ” and has become adept at crisscrossing channels for popular titles .
“ The content that does the best , at least on the North American side of the market , is always the slot content ,” he explains . “ It ’ s always those traditional titles that people know and love inside the land-based environment ; they transfer very well to the digital space . I think at one point we were generating around 60 percent of the digital revenue in Canada , and I would guess that a large percentage was all traditional IGT slot content .”
As the Wheel brand continues to evolve , so too does IGT — the company will merge with fellow supplier Everi Holdings and the combined entity will be taken private under Apollo Global Management .
The $ 6.3 billion deal was announced July 26 , and although it provides plenty of questions yet to be answered , one thing remains clear : Wheel of Fortune will be a central piece of the equation moving forward , and the parties involved will continue to prioritize gaming ’ s most valuable brand .
“ There ’ s a high expectation among our customers and our players ; they expect a great gaming experience on the floor when it comes to Wheel of Fortune ,” Khin says . “ We spend a lot of time thinking about how we can make sure that we can get the best product , the best Wheel of Fortune game out there regardless of the vertical that it is going into .”
20 Global Gaming Business SEPTEMBER 2024