Is Modeling or Innovation the Key to Success for Startups in the iGaming Industry?

Despite the iGaming industry being one of the most thriving sectors online, a lot of businesses that try to claim a slice of the pie fail to take off. Indeed, it’s estimated that a whopping 90% of online gambling startups fade into obscurity within their first two years of operation. Still, the potential to make a healthy profit is there for businesses that go about things in the right way. One method could be to examine how other companies have found success and replicate their approaches. Another could be to come up with an invention that propels the industry forward.

Which Company Has a Solid Model to Follow?

One of the surefire ways to succeed in anything is to find a person or company that’s already achieved what you want to do and replicate their methods. For startups that are looking to get into game development, it would therefore be wise to investigate what sets the world’s most flourishing companies apart from the rest.

One such established gaming brand is NetEnt, a name that’s been making waves in the iGaming industry for decades. They’ve stood out among competitors due to their competitive sign-up bonuses and constant innovation, particularly in the online casino games market. As evident from their ranking system, there are numerous casino online sites that feature games from the prolific developer, which shows exactly how extensive their commercial reach is and how trustworthy the brand is, as massive casinos back their products.

NetEnt got into the iGaming industry at the prime time, back in 1996 before the market had become saturated. This isn’t something that a modern business could copy. However, there are other things that the Swedish company has done well that startups could learn from. For example, many of the games in the NetEnt library are highly relevant to popular culture: in recent years, the developer has piggybacked on the success of TV shows like Vikings and Narcos by creating related games. In addition to that, it always seeks to innovate with new technology, which is highlighted by the company’s work in VR games such as Jack’s World VR.

Developing a New Mechanic Could Prove Fruitful

Aside from the need to develop games that are relevant to other areas of popular culture, some iGaming companies have been able to get ahead of the competition through original innovation. The slot game industry is one of the fastest evolving sectors in the world, and it moves rapidly because the games can typically be made in a shorter space of time to other offshoots such as console games. Consider, for instance, the fact that the much-anticipated video game Cyberpunk 2077 took a grand total of nine years to make, whilst most slot games can potentially be made in a matter of months, due to the fact that they are often built using pre-made engines.

Coming up with an imaginative and original new mechanic to push the slot genre forward could be a way to gain recognition as a startup in the iGaming industry. A recent example of a company that managed to do this was Big Time Gaming, which came up with the Megaways engine. This concept allows for more than 100,000 win lines, and the studio has now licensed it to other companies throughout the industry.

It seems that the most successful brands in the iGaming industry have got to where they are through staying relevant and innovating. Therefore, modeling the top companies and replicating these processes is the way forward for new startups that want to succeed in the bustling industry.