iGB Intelligence reports Social Gaming report | Page 12

Part 1 – SOCIAL CASINO

Breakdown of market share (estimated)
Others
36%

CIE
23%

IGT
9%
Zynga
9%

Aristocrat
5%
Churchill Downs
5%

GSN
6%

Scientific Games
7%

Source: company reports

too, additional revenues from unregulated markets
became attractive as the scale and numbers became
apparent and astonishing. Growth in new and
complementary markets became too compelling.
And if you didn’t [enter the market] your competitors
were already there, so, defensively, it made sense.
The gamer profile also is a natural fit; around 80% of
the footfall in bricks-and-mortar casinos play social
casino games.”

That’s your slot
When it comes to the most popular type of social
casino game, slots continue to dominate. Indeed,
slots account for an estimated four-fifths of the social
casino market, while it has been calculated that the
social slots segment is worth US$1.5bn across all
platforms. As is mostly the case with real-money
gambling (RMG) slots, content is key, so many of
the top social slots publishers harness the power of
licensed, third-party branded content to differentiate
and strike a chord with players. A case in point is
Zynga’s instantly recognisable Wizard of Oz and Hit it
Rich brands, featuring the likes of The Terminator and
Sex and the City.
Likewise, slot machine manufacturers are able to
harness their heavy investment in R&D and branded
content and IP for their social casinos. “When you’re
dealing with social slots, it’s all about the content and

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brand,” says Kelly. “So if you are an established RMG
slot manufacturer putting US$100m, US$200m or
US$300m annually into R&D every year for creating
new games, new game mechanics, acquiring brands
and having leverage to acquire brands, you inherently
have a scale that other people aren’t going to be able to
reach.”
Although five-reel video slots have become
ubiquitous, social casino has witnessed the growing
emergence of traditional variants like three-reel slots.
Studios have developed these simpler, distinctive
games to target certain player demographics and
stand out from the crowd. On top of this, there are
attempts to make slots more social with multiplayer
tournaments, and skill elements are coming around
the corner to appeal to a wider audience who find luckbased games like slots soporific. Social casino studios
also enjoy the luxury of being able to experiment
and push the boundaries with game mechanics and
features because they don’t face the same regulatory
scrutiny as their RMG cousins. Plus, games and
content can be launched and updated much more
quickly.
Besides slots, the remainder of the market
comprises of traditional casino games such as roulette,
blackjack and video poker, as well as inherently social
games such as bingo and poker. Yet while slots and
blackjack are particularly conducive to short bursts
of play, or ‘snacking’, on mobile throughout the day,
poker can’t always replicate this gameplay on portable
devices. “With a slot game it’s 10 minutes of being
fully engaged,” says Hussein Chahine, who has been
CEO of social casino Yazino (slots and blackjack) since
establishing the start-up in 2008.
“I’m not saying the poker market is gone, but sitting
on a table with seven players and waiting for your
turn is a bit boring for people who are playing for 10
or 15 minutes,” Chahine argues, adding that, unlike
slots, there are only so many ways you can iterate and
overhaul a poker app. After all, poker is poker. “If you
take the iOS App Store, in the top 20 you have five social
casino apps. Poker used to be practically number one
on the App Store but now it’s not even in the top 20.”
While it’s a misnomer to label some games ‘social’
when you are simply spinning a slot machine against
the house, publishers are trying to add more real
life social elements to foster interaction and a more
community-based online environment. For instance,

iGaming Business Social Media & Mobile Betting Report