iGaming Business magazine iGB 112 Sept/Oct 2018 | Page 106

Social Gaming
SOCIAL
CASINO
Q2 2018 UPDATE
Standout performers in the last quarter included Playtika, Huuuge Games, KamaGames
and DGN Games as the social casino market grew 19.1% year-on-year.
Adam Krejcik from Eilers & Krejcik Gaming reports
We estimate the global social casino
game market grew 2.5% quarter-
over-quarter or 19.1% year-on-year
in Q2 of 2018. We estimate social
casino revenues generated on
Facebook were down 1.9% q/q, while
mobile was up 3.6% q/q. For the
trailing 12 months to 30 June, 2018,
we estimate a total market size of
$4.92bn or +20.7% y/y.
Given the stronger than expected growth in 1H of the year we are
raising our CY18 market sizing estimate and now expect the social
casino industry will reach $5.24bn or +15.8% y/y vs. our previous
estimate that called for +14.6% growth.
Performance among the top 15 social casino publishers was mixed,
but Playtika, Huuuge Games, KamaGames and DGN Games all had
a strong showing.
From the last quarter there was some key movement in the
ranking charts: High 5 Games moved up a place to 12th position.
DGN Games moved up again into the top 15, while Super Lucky fell
out of our rankings.
Eilers & Krejcik Gaming,
LLC is a boutique research
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Company highlights
Playtika saw revenues increase 7% q/q and 31% y/y. Despite being
twice the size of its nearest competitor, the company continues to gain
market share and execute in an exceptional fashion. The company’s
entire portfolio enjoyed healthy growth with a standout performance
from Slotomania and Bingo Blitz.
Aristocrat remains the number two publisher worldwide with 12.2%
market share, which assumes a full quarter contribution from Big Fish
(social casino only). Pro-forma gross revenues were up 1.7% q/q and
33.1% y/y. In terms of breakdown, we believe Product Madness was
up 2% q/q or 45% y/y with sequential growth driven by FaFaFa (now
wholly owned by Aristocrat) and the launch of its latest standalone
game Lightning Link.
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iGamingBusiness | Issue 112 | September/October 2018
Looking ahead we believe the majority of growth in CY18 will be
driven by newer games such as Cashman Casino, Lightning Link,
FaFaFa and Jackpot City Slots.
DoubleU Games, the owner of DoubleDown Interactive, is the third
largest social casino publisher worldwide with total gross revenues
up 2.6% q/q.
Overall, it was a relatively healthy quarter for both Double Down and
DoubleU Games, as they were able to grow revenues on a sequential
basis. We estimate DoubleDown Interactive revenues on a standalone
basis were up 2.5% q/q, largely driven by its franchise game,
DoubleDown Casino.
We estimate DoubleU Games grew revenues 2.9% q/q and 27% y/y
on a standalone basis, largely due to DoubleU Casino. This marks the
third consecutive quarter that pro-forma revenues have grown on a
sequential and y/y basis, and it appears the recent round of strategic
changes at DoubleDown is starting to pay dividends.
SciGames Interactive saw total social revenues (B2C only) increase
2.1% q/q or 9.1% y/y. In terms of individual game performance,
we believe Jackpot Party Casino was up mid-single digits on a
sequential basis, while Gold Fish Casino and Bingo Showdown
also grew on a sequential basis. Monopoly Slots, the company’s
newest title, only contributed a nominal amount in the quarter.
Looking ahead we believe the majority of growth in CY18 will likely be
from scaling some of its newer titles: 88Fortunes, Bingo Showdown and
Monopoly Slots. We also believe the company has further room
to improve monetisation.
Zynga saw its social casino bookings decline 1.6% q/q but grow
approximately +1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Zynga Poker, which
had been the primary growth driver over the past few quarters, saw
a modest low-single-digit sequential decline likely due to Facebook
Connect issues. The company’s slot portfolio was essentially flat q/q
as the product team continues to focus on ways of improving
conversion and monetisation rates.
While social casino still represents roughly half of Zynga’s total
bookings, it has not represented a major growth driver as of late and