Special report: eGR NA Power 25 (Part 1)
Who will top the inaugural eGR North America Power 25 rankings with Caesars Interactive, IGT and Big Fish Games all in the running?
The Power 25 is eGR NAâs rankings of the most powerful and influential companies in the RMG, social casino and daily fantasy sports sectors. To compile the list, we have collaborated with independent research company Eilers Research, data partner dystillr, and an independent panel of experts to assess the relative strengths and weaknesses of the industryâs power players. Each company is ranked based on revenues, scale, influence and product offering, and on financial data and input from our judging panel. [private]
And while industry behemoths from the social sector locked out the top three, daily fantasy sports and RMG operators, have all made the top ten and reflect the ever more blurred lines between the three industries. In a three-part serialization of the rankings, today we countdown from number 25 to 16.
25: The Michigan Lottery
Revenues: $335,000 per day
Key products: MichiganLottery.com
The Michigan Lottery launched its online offering in August 2014, and despite limited marketing has built a substantial interactive business. The lotteryâs egaming site is powered by NeoPollard Interactive â in which UK bookmaking giant William Hill is an investor â and offers instant win scratch games such as Bingo Bonanza and Cashword on both desktop and mobile. Registered players are now up to around 160,000, with sales in excess of $335,000 per day. The Michigan Lottery earned praise for its impressive revenues and its potential for future growth with plans to launch draw-based ticket sales later this year.
24: CG Technology
Revenues: N/A
Key products: CG Sports
CG Technology, formerly Cantor Gaming, has claimed the lionâs share of the mobile sports wagering market in Nevada. It provides its platform to eight of the stateâs casinos, including Tropicana, the Cosmopolitan and the Venetian. Revenues from mobile accounted for 70% of bets placed through its sportsbook last year, with that figure only set to rise as mobile penetration increases. Earlier this year it launched CG Sports on iOS and Android, and also offers its CG Casino product in certain regulated markets. But CGâs place in the Power 25 is under threat from the likes of William Hill and Miomni Gaming, who are expanding their footprint in the market.
23: Real Gaming
Revenues: N/A
Key products: RealGaming.com
While Real Gaming may not boast significant revenues and player numbers, the Las Vegas-based operator has made it onto this yearâs list after judges praised the firm from a product perspective. Under the watchful eye of founder Lawrence Vaughan, Real Gaming has developed its poker platform in-house from the ground up. The challenge now is to build brand equity, a tough task considering it is up against poker power-player the WSOP in Nevada. But with plans to strike B2B partnerships, casino games in development, and an eye on other regulated markets, expect Real Gaming to ascend the ranks in the coming years.
22: Mohegan Sun
Revenues: N/A
Key Products: MoheganSunCasino.com, MoheganSun (Play4Fun)
Connecticut-based Mohegan Sun entered the US egaming space with a bang in July, launching its RMG casino offering in New Jersey and its Scientific Games-powered social casino product just days apart. MoheganSunCasino.com uses the same NYX Gaming platform as Resorts Casino, going live with 144 games on desktop and 44 games on mobile. Itâs still early days for Mohegan Sun and the operator undoubtedly has work to do to catch the market leaders. But with strong brand recognition and a solid footprint in other North East states such as Pennsylvania, it has the potential for rapid growth.
21: Pala Interactive
Revenues: N/A
Key products: PalaCasino.com
Pala Interactive has always maintained its New Jersey launch was more about testing out its proprietary platform than achieving significant market share. And, as expected, revenues and signups have been unimpressive so far. But the California operator, which is the interactive division of the Pala Band of Mission Indians, continues to develop its offering and recently launched a vastly improved user interface, including the addition of 27 new casino titles from the likes of IGT and Amaya. Plans to flick the switch on PalaPoker.com have been put on ice for the time being, but the operator is believed to be mulling a social casino launch while keeping a close eye on the daily fantasy sports sector.
20: Resorts Casino
Revenues: $1.1m in H1 2015
Key products: ResortsCasino.com
Resorts Casino was late to the New Jersey market, launching its ResortsCasino.com offering in February. So far the site has performed well, attracting GGR of $1.7m during the five month period to July. Judges praised Resortsâ innovative approach to marketing, particularly its on-property iGaming Lounge; a first in New Jersey. Resortsâ trump card is its partnership with PokerStars and Full Tilt, with the brands slated for launch in the Garden State via its interactive wagering permit in Q3, pending approval from the state regulator. When they do, Resorts will become a true force to be reckoned with.
19: British Columbia Lottery Corp
Revenues: CA$110m in FY 2014/15
Key products: PlayNow.com
The British Columbia Lottery Corporationâs (BCLC) PlayNow.com site is well established in the Canadian egaming space. Launched back in 2004, the site now offers players online lottery ticket sales, casino, sports betting, poker, bingo, and keno products, with content from the likes of Scientific Games and IGT. The BCLC continues to invest in expanding its product offering, teaming up with GTECH and Loto-Québec to launch the first multi-state online bingo network last year. And its efforts are paying off, with PlayNow.com generating revenues of CA$110m for FY 2015 with some 360,000 registered users.
18: Betfair
Revenues: $90.2m for FY 2015
Key products: BetfairCasino.com, TVG.com
BetfairCasno.com has gone from strength-to-strength in New Jersey since switching to Golden Nuggetâs interactive wagering permit late last year, generating revenues of $8.6m for FY 2015. The only setback was its decision to pull the shutters down on its poker offering early on, with management refusing to offer any insight as to why. The bulk of the operatorâs US business continues to come from its TVG.com real-money horse race wagering subsidiary, which generated revenues of $92m for the 12 month period ended 30 April 2015. The judges noted Betfair had significantly increased its footprint in the sector following its $47.8m acquisition of rivals HRTV back in February, and praised its innovative approach to mobile wagering, particularly its iPad-optimized betting app.
17: High 5 Games
Revenues: $33.4m (est) in H1 2015 (social casino only)
Key products: High 5 Casino, Shake the Sky
High 5 Games continues to successfully leverage its land-based slots content, signing a number of B2B deals with the likes of Golden Nugget and NYX Gaming to integrate its Vault remote game server into their sites and platforms. But its B2C social casino business has endured a more turbulent period, with Eilers Research reporting an 18% YoY decline in Q2 revenues to $15.9m, with Facebook/web being hit particularly hard. MAUs also remained relatively flat YoY at 2.7 million according to dystillr. The judges noted High 5 was late to the mobile party, particularly on iOS, and is still playing catch-up with the channel generating just $3.3m in Q2.
16: Golden Nugget
Revenues: $15.9m in H1 2015 (inc revenues from BetfairCasino)
Key products: GoldenNuggetCasino.com
Itâs been an impressive 12 months for Golden Nugget, which saw revenues from its New Jersey-facing casino site increase 190% YoY to $2.7m in July. Judges praised the operatorâs intelligent approach to marketing and its ever-growing roster of games, which currently stands at 217 on desktop and 68 on mobile; the clear market leader. Interestingly, the operator recently announced it would switch platforms from Bally to NYX Gaming in a bid to take its online offering to the next level as it looks to pull away from fierce rival Tropicana. And with a partner believed to be lined up in Pennsylvania, Golden Nugget is well placed for growth as more states regulate.
The second part of this list will be published tomorrow, 24 September 2015