While the EUROs group stages draw to a close, Europe’s football fever remains at a high with even more tournament excitement underway.
With football fans engulfed in the commotion of tournament football, such as the EUROs, these sporting events can be taken as an opportunity for slot developers to use fans’ passion in order to uplift their slot performance.
In the second part of our mini series, which looks into the impacts of sporting events on sports-themed slots, we gained insight from chief commercial officer at Swintt, David Mann, who said that these sports-themed slots “will always have focus from suppliers and operators” as they are able to target and tailor their content to a specific audience.
He noted: “The themed slots get better positioning during big sporting events, but the question is how to keep these slots in popular positions once the final whistle is blown and the event comes to an end. For this reason, themed slots are not our main strategy but it’s good to release some themed titles to help with the positioning, brand visibility and general uptake from players.”
Moving further into detail on the impact these events have on the performance of sports-based slots, Mann pointed out how consummation increases both before and during the actual events, adding: “It’s good to have some sports-themed slots in the suppliers’ portfolio to leverage the opportunity major sports events bring for both the provider and the operator looking to drive acquisition and player engagement.”
Further exploring the thought-process behind the development of sports-based titles, Mann noted how the annual calendar of sports events is taken into account when planning a roadmap. However, he also added how themed slots do not serve as a main strategy, rather, they serve as a part of being prepared for special occasions which are carefully chosen as part of the planning process.
Pressed on how sports-themed slots perform following the conclusion of events, Mann responded: “If the game launches during a specific sport event, its mechanics are working well, and the game is greatly received by the players then there is a chance for longer term success.”
He further revealed how they are unable to provide proof as to whether the sports-themed slots perform any better than the rest, adding: “It is worth remembering that the spike in play of these themed games is mostly due to the event they are being positioned and promoted around. Once that event has passed, themed games tend to be repositioned out of the top spots and this results in the level of engagement falling away.
“Some operators and providers will have commercial sponsorships or partnerships that can be implemented to slot games, including games themed around a sports club or athlete. These can be effective to solidify an existing commercial partnership and appeal to a specific player base. Certain markets also lean towards specific sports and the marketing appeal of one sport-themed game might not be so popular in a different market.”
Revealing the secret to the success of sports-themed slots, Mann pinpointed how they are most likely to be played by fans of the sport displayed in the game, bringing something that is personally enjoyable to the players.
He concluded: “We believe that our football-themed release, Fussball, will be a successful one and players will be returning to this game even after Euro 2021.”
