Public Gaming International Gaming July/August 2021

36 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • JULY/AUGUST 2021 PLAYING FAVORITES IGT research from 2020 shows that in North America 55% of slot players and 68% of online slot players who play weekly or more often, also purchase a lottery product in a given week. With the high crossover between lottery and casino, creating content for multiple product verticals helps ensure that operators can offer players more of what they enjoy. With 40 years of experience creating successful games for markets around the globe – from instant scratch tickets and digital instant win games to land-based and online slot content – IGT offers a vast content library that consumers enjoy playing at retail, in casinos, and online. IGT’s game portfolio features both proprietary brands and licensed third- party brands, which are leveraged across channels to meet player demand. For example, some of IGT’s proprietary slot brands are available as both retail and digital lottery games. Lotteries can choose from instant tickets, Fast Play, and digital instant wins to allow their players to interact with their favorites across multiple channels. FAMILIARITY MATTERS Using online research panels to rank top-performing proprietary IGT Slots games, the company calculated a Game Preference Index (GPI) that considered players’ experiences and perceptions regarding the games. Among the top-10 high-scoring titles are Cleopatra, Texas Tea, and Siberian Storm, brands that IGT also offers in the digital instant win game library, which includes a dozen of these popular IGT Slots brands. Brands such as Cleopatra and Double Diamond have also performed well as instant tickets. Since 2017, U.S. sales of Cleopatra instant tickets exceed $40 million. Along with proprietary games, IGT focuses strategically on acquiring licensed third-party brands to translate into entertaining and compelling games across multiple product verticals. Among these are universally popular TV shows and movies, including the hits Wheel of Fortune® and Ghostbusters®. “IGT’s Wheel of Fortune® slots franchise is the most successful slot theme of all time,” says Jennifer Fales, IGT VP Global Licensing. “Since the slot game's 1996 debut, IGT has made more than 250 variations of the player-favorite slots brand and distributed them in countries around the world.” The ability to extend such familiar and popular brands across product verticals provides a major benefit to lotteries, strengthening their connection with players and driving sales. For example, more than 50 versions of Wheel of Fortune® instant tickets have been sold worldwide since 2015, with retail sales totaling over $1 billion. And although each game is tailored to its vertical, the brand name, symbols, and artwork ensure recognition and appeal. When creating instant win titles based on licensed properties, IGT adapts them specifically to accommodate the online lottery play style, while the theme and iconic artwork remain immediately familiar to players. With their recognizability and mass appeal, licensed games can serve as acquisition drivers for casual players who have a brand affinity – a strong reason for lotteries to include trusted brands like Wheel of Fortune® in the retail and online product mix, to invite player trial. Indeed, IGT customers report that the instant win title, Wheel of Fortune on the Road®, in-market since 2019, remains among the top games that new players try within their first week of play. 2021 marks the 25th anniversary of IGT’s player-favorite Wheel of Fortune® Slots game. The Wheel of Fortune® franchise has continued to grow in brand recognition, offering IGT’s instant win Wheel of Fortune games a strategic advantage for player acquisition. In addition, among jurisdictions that offer digital instant win games, lotteries can capitalize on IGT’s many licensed brands by offering players a true omnichannel experience comprising a retail scratch ticket, turnkey second chance promotion, digital instant win game, and a Fast Play game. IGT’s commitment to designing high-performing, branded instant win content continues with two new Wheel of Fortune® games and a progressive Cleopatra game, due to launch early in 2022. For more information, contact your IGT Account Manager today! n ©2021 Califon Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Ghostbusters™ & © 2021 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved. © 2021 IGT. CLEOPATRA is a trademark of IGT. WHEN BRANDED CONTENT OFFERS A COMPETITIVE EDGE