Slots continue to boom post-COVID, accounting for 6% of mobile game spendin
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This article is part of an ongoing series of data-driven articles from PocketGamer.biz andApp Annie highlighting trends in the global mobile games sector using App Annie’s app market data.
In this week’s column, we’re considering how the booming casino genre is greater than the traditional and slots subgenre.
A rising tide
With COVID-19 shutting down physical casinos for much of 2020, the social casino sector has experienced strong growth.
Indeed, the revenue generated by Casino games rose 52 per cent year-on-year during Q1 2021 to over $2.4 billion.
On that basis, it represents 11 per cent of total game spending across iOS and Google Play.
"Traditional > slots games represented 55 per cent of total spend on casino games in Q1 2021 and 30 per cent of casino games downloads," said App Annie’s head of marketing insights Lexi Sydow.
Looking at the games with the largest audiences in terms of monthly active users (MAUs), Playtika's Slotomania remains the top dog.
Released way back in 2011, its performance over the past decade demonstrates both the power of social casino games in general and the development team’s skill in terms of live ops.
And yet the social casino sector remains as competitive as any other part of mobile games.
So while established companies such as Playtika, Aristocrat and Scientific Games Corporation continue to rank in the top 10, there are also plenty of newer companies keen to muscle in on the action.
The impact of Chinese outfit Bole Game is clear to see with three games in the top 10, while eastern European developers such as Huuuge Games (Poland) and Murka (Ukraine) are also finding success.
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