The Evolution of Jackpot Products - Roundtable with Games Global, Habanero, Blueprint Gaming and Tequity

Spokespersons:

• Andy Booth (AB), Chief Product Officer at Games Global

• Tony Karapetrov (TK), Head of Corporate Communication at Habanero

• Charlie Jacka (CJ), Head of Product at Blueprint Gaming

• Krzysztof Opaka (KO), Chief Technical Officer at Tequity
  
  

1) In your opinion, what constitutes a quality jackpot product in 2024? 

AB - The most important attributes for a quality jackpot product are frequent payouts and attractive prizes. Finding the right balance between the two is what makes a jackpot product great. Quality jackpots also need to be underpinned by great base games. Players spend 90% of their time in the base games so these need to provide excitement and ongoing entertainment value, keeping players engaged. A jackpot product also needs diversity. Providing a wide jackpot offering to meet the needs of all operators and players is therefore fundamental to the success.

TK - First and foremost, for a jackpot to be truly exciting, there should be a sense of competition and anticipation. Habanero’s Jackpot Race™ runs continuously throughout the year, making it a recognisable brand for players and keeps them returning to Habanero’s titles. The jackpot builds up over time and, at a predetermined moment, the race begins. During this period, the jackpot must be won before the cut-off time. When the payout event occurs, the winnings are distributed to players who are actively participating, in the order that their bets were received by the server.

Being both competitive by design and inclusive to all players creates a more well-rounded jackpot experience. Jackpot Race™ has built-in feedback and dialogue within the games, providing a community aspect which has proven key to its success.  

CJ - Innovation is vital. Slots are being produced at an unprecedented rate and for a product to separate itself from competitors, it needs to contain features that offer players a fresh gaming experience, something that retains their attention. Blueprint Gaming’s new Jackpot system, Rapid Fire Jackpots, is a prime example of this. It ensures our players have access to smaller, more frequent jackpots, ensuring that the gameplay remains stimulating whilst breaking down the notion that the pots are often unattainable.

KO - One of the most important factors when it comes to jackpot product is technical scalability. Tens of games can often contribute to a single jackpot pool and this creates enormous traffic, introducing challenges across both software and infrastructure.

Another important element is flexibility in handling different configurations and mechanics, such as “must drop jackpots”. You want to be able to experiment with various configurations and react to relevant levels of performance.

2) Have suppliers done enough to innovate within the jackpot space, if not, what could they be doing better?

AB - There have been improvements and optimisations to jackpot products to better meet operator and regulatory needs, but these are often implemented behind the scenes. There has been little in the way of true player facing innovation in recent years. We see jackpots being integrated deeper into strong base game mechanics, improved localisation to suit the player base, and jackpot products which foster a sense of community being opportunities for suppliers to innovate and take jackpot experiences to the next level. At Games Global, we are looking to make additions to our jackpot offering during H2 2024 which will bring lower, more frequent paying jackpots to the portfolio which will complement the top tier jackpots we have today with Mega Moolah, WowPot and King Millions. These new additions will be available on any game and will also enable us to provide jackpot solutions into regulated markets meeting the needs of our operators in these regions.

TK - Ultimately, what players want is a must-drop jackpot, knowing that so long as they are playing, they are in with a chance of winning. A jackpot product should be straightforward and entertaining, and the innovation should come from its algorithm and customisation capability. Fitting into our wider commitment to agility, Jackpot Race™ allows operators to configure as many winners as they’d like and assign different percentages to different players. Operators can tailor the product to meet their specific needs and the preferences of their player demographic. They have the flexibility to determine the number of slots available in the race, the minimum qualifying bet, the duration of jackpot accumulation, and the race schedule.

CJ - As suppliers we are never able to rest on our laurels. To lead the way, we need to ensure our work revolves around captivating players with functionality that focuses more on them as individuals, catering for their ever-changing demands and preferences. Referring again to Rapid Fire Jackpots, our in-depth research of current market trends and player behaviour identified an area where there was real demand for players seeking more frequent and attainable jackpots. Although the wins may not be as grand, the idea of consistent, thrilling wins, incentivises players and we have acted accordingly.  Our five Rapid Fire symbols award winnings ranging from 5x to 1000x the bet for fixed pot values and £250 to £7500 for progressives as target drop values.

KO - Having been involved in the development of five different jackpot systems in the past 10 years, I’ve seen their evolution and witnessed many attempts to innovate. Developers want to come up with something fresh and new, but at the same time it is vital to maintain the core jackpot thrill. I think as an industry, we should perhaps experiment more with mixing jackpots into core slot mechanics, to make them feel more part of the game itself.

3) Are jackpot products still enticing enough to sell themselves, or are additional marketing efforts required to keep players interested? 

AB - The opportunity to play for large jackpot prizes has always been attractive to players. We have data which clearly shows a correlation between the size of a jackpot and the number of new and returning players. This is no different to what we see with the National Lottery - when the jackpots are high, more tickets are purchased. We provide our operators with jackpot lobby tickers which enable them to keep their players informed of the latest jackpot values on all our jackpot games. In terms of additional marketing of the jackpots, we leave this in the capable hands of our operators who use a variety of different marketing tools at different times in order to allow players to play on jackpot games. These marketing activities change depending on the levels of the jackpots. The key requirement for Games Global is to ensure we offer a regular flow of entertaining new games featuring the different jackpots. It's very clear that players want engagement from new games at the same time as loving those classic games like the original Mega Moolah which is still a favourite today despite the game launching way back in 2006.

TK - Jackpot Race™ runs continuously throughout the year rather than being tied to an event or particular season and our marketing efforts have remained consistent since its beginning. As it runs continuously throughout the year, Habanero provides personalised promotional content to introduce players to the tool. We’ve discovered that once players participate in Jackpot Race™, they are more likely to return, as their familiarity with the game enhances audience retention. 

CJ - Proficient marketing efforts offer a long-term tool to promote jackpot products and prolong games’ lifecycles. Newsletters, video clips and social media posts allow us to highlight how we have adapted our jackpot offerings to meet player’s preferences, budgets, betting levels and playing styles. This resonates with players and creates excitement around new releases leading to a deeper level of engagement, fostering greater loyalty. However, it is also crucial to underline Blueprint has built its reputation through its gaming portfolio leading the way, the innovative elements of our releases including stimulating mechanics is often enough for titles to sell themselves.

KO - Jackpots are one of those timeless mechanics which will always sell. However, you need additional efforts to make sure players choose your particular jackpot. Marketing efforts can obviously attract players to try it out, but jackpot products need to stand out in order to retain those players. This can only be achieved if the jackpot provides fun, entertaining and sticky mechanics, giving extra value to the player.

4) With world-record sums having been paid out in 2024 have we reached a peak, or do you think prize pots will continue to grow? 

AB - We have a regular flow of multi-million-euro winners across Mega Moolah and WowPot but the €38 million jackpot prize awarded by Games Global in 2024 raised the bar to a new and incredible high, but I don’t think we’ve reached our peak. Our latest jackpot product King Millions has a theoretical hit value near €30M, so it’s quite possible that this jackpot will go on to exceed the current highest win!

TK - Gamification elements shouldn’t present a prize that is just an allure to acquire a player, it should be achievable enough to retain the user. Whilst competitors may be increasing prize pools, at Habanero we want to engage players initially but focus on providing them with a positive player experience.

Our operator partners using Jackpot Race™ have found the greatest success by running daily drops with multiple winners. This approach is far more effective than offering a single large prize pool, which often results in a win feeling unattainable. Rather than turning jackpots into a lottery-style game featuring a large prize pool, we believe the inclusive nature of daily progressive jackpots is the more optimal method of engaging players. In doing so, operators are empowered to reward hundreds of players and create more brand loyalty, improving customer retention. 

CJ - I see no reason to believe we have reached a peak. World-record sums pay testament to the clear demand for jackpot products and we believe this will continue well into the remainder of 2024 and beyond. Despite our Rapid Fire Jackpots offering smaller, more regular and achievable wins, it underlines our ambition to attract the widest possible range of slot enthusiasts. Blueprint has built a name through the industry’s most progressive system, Jackpot King. Ensuring it remains ever-present alongside our new innovation, lays bare our intent to ensure all players, regardless of their preferences, have access to a scale of win they see as both accessible and desirable.

KO - As the overall iGaming market grows worldwide, jackpots will definitely continue to grow and will be a hot topic moving forward.