Mark O’Donnell, Head of Marketing
The development of online slots is a constantly evolving sector, consistently boasting new creations from numerous development studios. With the worldwide online casino market valued at US£17.13bn in 2023, and an expected annual growth rate of 12% to 2030, slots continue to capture the largest revenue share, estimated at over 63%.
And the sector is highly competitive, arguably saturated and over-supplied, with over 20,000 games from more than 800 studios competing for game time.
Ever since Charles Fey’s Liberty Bell, 130 years ago, the slots experience has continually advanced through applications of new technologies. And following the mobile boom of the last decade, gamification and immersive gaming have increasingly driven products and experiences. In 2025 and beyond, these boundaries will continue to be pushed.
In the 1990s, the early online slots were digital recreations of traditional land-based games, opening the market to a more global audience. By the 2010s, these games could be played on personal devices such as smartphones, driving phenomenal market growth. Branded slots became all the rage and innovative mechanics appeared, notably Megaways from Big Time Gaming (2015), completely transforming the way in which slots operated.
Now in the 2020s, we are seeing a new surge, thanks to gamification features such as progressive jackpots, expanding symbols, cascading reels and cluster pays all becoming staples.
What to expect next
Gamification sees video game-style features added to titles, like daily missions, achievements and leaderboards. As demand grows for more immersive and interactive experiences, developers will integrate features such as mini-games and buy-bonuses, giving players a direct influence on the outcome.
Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) are likely to have a prominent impact on slots in the near and long-term future. With VR, this will elevate the overall immersion of slots thanks to the inclusion of 3D environments in which users directly engage with their own digital avatars. As for AR, this overlays virtual elements into the players’ physical world, blending digital slots with the real world. Both technologies are still in their infancy but their growth, as well as advances in device compatibility, will push developers to create such features.
Mobile Optimization will only develop further, with 5G networks continuing their global roll-out, helping games to offer better graphics and more complex mechanics and faster internet speeds with quicker and seamless loading. Developers will exercise this opportunity, striving for better experiences and that winning game.
Cryptocurrencies are becoming ever more prevalent due to wider take-up and the benefits of increased privacy and less scrutiny, transaction speed, global accessibility and generally lower fees. Tied-in to this are the possibilities of blockchain, providing transparent, provably fair and secure gameplay and transactions. Additionally, unique in-game assets such as crypto tokens and NFTs become a very real possibility.
Providers taking the lead
Pragmatic Play are known for their visual expertise, diverse range of themes, mobile-first design, feature-packed gameplay experiences and promotions and reward functionality. They are only likely to continue broadening their market-leading range through further innovation.
Tom Horn Gaming has gained recognition for unique designs and experimental game features. Already adding customization into their releases, they are positioned to push interactive features and customized experiences to a new level and explore technologies that spring up going forward.
Evoplay is known for its ground-breaking approach, especially when it comes to interactive 3D experiences. Already incorporating gamification features, it will come as no shock if this studio begins pumping out next-generation VR and AR dedicated titles.
Yggdrasil Gaming is another provider familiar with new game mechanics. Expect this team to continue to evolve and develop its own unique game formats, integrating new elements that take advantage of gamification trends.
LuckyStreak powers growth
LuckyStreak’s content aggregation solution, LuckyConnect, serves the needs of online casino operators by providing a large, rich library of world-class slots, crash, instant and table games from the world’s leading providers.
LuckyConnect delivers on the key benefits that casino operators seek in an aggregation solution, including a huge choice of high-quality content, favourable pricing thanks to its volumes, the enabling of diversification of offering and convenience and speed – all via the simplicity of one secure and reliable API integration.
