Why instant wins are a slam dunk with players

Connor Blinman, Head of Games at Gaming Corps, talks through the supplier’s latest sport-themed instant win title, Hoop Champion, and why the game format is so popular with players

Do sports-themed games tend to appeal more to sports fans/bettors than traditional casino players?

They do, but that’s because they have been developed to appeal to sports fans and bettors in the first place. Sport-themed games allow operators to drive players from the sportsbook to the casino and vice-versa – the cross-sell opportunity is a significant one so long as operators offer the right content and that’s why as a studio, Gaming Corps includes sport-themed games in its portfolio that have been created specifically for this audience – our recent Hoop Champion instant win game is a great example of this. If the online casino doesn’t have a sportsbook, then sport-themed games allow the brand to engage with sports fans and provide an experience they enjoy, even if they can’t actually wager on their favourite sports, teams and players.

Can you tell us more about the cross-selling opportunity and how operators can maximise it?

Sport-themed casino games are a strong way for operators to effectively introduce sports bettors to their casino offerings. These games appeal to sports fans, drawing them in with familiar themes and game mechanics. Once familiar with the slot format, these players can then try other slots and casino games stocked in the lobby. To maximise the potential of these games, operators need to give them decent positioning and promote them during major sports events throughout the year, such as the World Cup, Olympics or a big League Final. In some instances, operators might need to educate bettors as to how slots and casino games work, but this is also why we tend to use simple gameplay and mechanics in our sports-themed casino games, so they are easy to understand.

Is there a growing demand for instant win games? Who are these games mostly aimed at?

Yes, there’s a large instant wins player base which is growing daily. Not all players like to spin and win, and this is why operators need to offer a varied portfolio of game formats. It’s also why it’s so important for studios to develop a range of content types for their operator partners. This is something Gaming Corps is doing through a strategy of creating different types of content for different but core player segments – we have six game engines in total covering everything from slots and table games to instant wins and non-traditional content. In terms of the core audience for instant wins, they tend to be most popular with ex-slot players or those who are new to online casinos and are looking for a simple game format to get them started.

Your latest title, Hoop Champion, takes the basketball theme. What makes this such a good sport for a casino game?

Basketball is actually one of the most popular sports in the world. It has a large following in North America, but its popularity is growing in Europe, too. For us, we saw it as a great opportunity to create a game around a popular sport, but one that’s not that well represented in online casino game lobbies in terms of game theme as most sports games tend to be based on football. For Gaming Corps, Hoops Champion is actually the latest in our “Champion” series of sport-themed games with Penalty Champion (Football) and Shootout Champion (Ice Hockey) already available to our operator partners. We want to dominate the field of sport-themed games and Hoop Champion is another step towards achieving that goal.

Talk us through Hoop Champion and the experience it offers to players.

Hoop Champion is an easy-to-understand instant win arcade-style game that offers fast-action gameplay and the chance for players to grow the win multiplier and cash out when they want to. The game puts the player at centre court in front of a crowd of fans – so long as they keep scoring, the win multiplier keeps climbing all the way up to 1,000x.

This is your first game to feature the X-MY-WAY mechanic. What is this and how does it work?

This is a brand-new mechanic that allows players to take their own path to the maximum multiplier on offer in the game – so not a linear route to the max multiplier as is usually the case. The idea is for the player to define the way they want to play, making for a more personalised experience. Do they want to take the low volatility route or ramp up the risk/reward factor and play the game in high volatility mode? Some might even want to bounce between the two. It’s all about giving players more control over the experience the game provides. We think it will redefine the instant win game format with players able to instantly understand the level of risk/reward they are playing to.

Why was now such a good time to launch Hoop Champion? Did you intentionally tie it in with March Madness?

We did. March Madness is a huge event in the world of sport and even if you’re not a die-hard basketball fan, chances are you’ll know what it’s all about. Our operator partners also like the fact they can use March Madness to really promote the game and generate interest among their players, something we support them with. It’s also a great time for Gaming Corps to release a new game – and new mechanic – as it gives us the rest of the year to really fine-tune both based on player and operator feedback.