By the Numbers

Bit of a Roller Coaster

While cybercurrency has been suggested as a way to expand gaming, few regulatory bodies around the world have ventured in that direction. One of the reasons they are reluctant to approve it is its volatility. Despite being the biggest and most significant cryptocurrency, Bitcoin is still susceptible to dramatic rises proceeded by equally rapid falls. Having surged to an all-time high of more than $60,000 in April 2021, Bitcoin plunged to around the $30,000 mark at the end of July. Instability and crypto go hand in hand, though, and the Bitcoin roller coaster raced skyward again soon after, with the record-breaking price of over $67,000 hit in early November, followed by yet another trough. For the gambler, it’s about knowing when to get out. For a casino, it’s too much of a gamble. The chart comes from “The Fact Pack,” a weekly economic report from Las Vegas-based HighTower and RCG Economics. To subscribe, visit rcgecon.com.

Core Mission

A“core” game in slot machine parlance is a game new to the market but only on a “for sale” basis, not leased. Some months there are few new core games for any manufacturer and other months there are many, so the popularity of the games and the percentage of the market can vary widely. And of course, many of the larger companies debut many new games each month, as opposed to small companies. In the December edition of the Eilers-Fantini Central Game Performance Database (GPD), the New Core Games report demonstrates how that happens. Aristocrat is the supplier with the highest percentage of Top New Core Games tracked this month at 30.4 percent. Fu Dai Lian Lian Boosted and Cashman Bingo themes continue to penetrate the market. Scientific Games began to reverse trends thanks to new games like Rich Little Piggies. And the AGS trend is strong with 4.6 percentage point growth over last six months thanks to games such as Captain Riches and Lucky O’Reilly. To subscribe to any Eilers-Fantini report, contact Rick Eckert at reckert@ekgamingllc.com.