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Top 5 High Variance Slots For 2020 So Far

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The high variance slots market is home to some of the most exciting gameplay in the casino industry right now. The popularity of these high risk slots has been driven by talented studios like Big Time Gaming who revolutionised this niche with their Megaways game format, and by the exposure that gambling streamers have given the games through their live feeds on sites like Twitch.tv. High variance games are all about drama – fast, high paying action played out in big win sequences that are very irregular, but massively rewarding when they strike. In 2019 more studios jumped on the bandwagon to produce games with super-high variance ratings and big top payouts. And this year, the golden age of high variance has continued with more features and higher payout potential across the board.

So, to keep you up to date with the action so far we’ve chosen our top 5 high variance games for 2020.

 

Royal Mint Megaways – Big Time Gaming

Popular slot game and casino site review magazine, The Casino Heat, recently referred to Royal Mint Megaways Enhanced Free Spins format first aired in their Lil Devil slot. The game has a 40,000x top advertised payout, making it potentially one of the biggest paying slots of the year.

 

Pink Elephants 2 – Thunderkick

Back in 2017 Pink Elephants was Scandanavian developer Thunderkick’s take on the 4,096 win ways format used in slots like Raging Rhino. But it had a twist – aside from the psychedelic theme, there were added thrills in the free spins round where collecting glowing ‘orbs’ led to symbol upgrades, enhanced reels, and much higher payouts. It’s a game that is particularly memorable to play and continues to be popular three years on. So of course slots fans are thrilled at the prospect of a follow-up, due for release in the first week of May. The action has moved to a mountain setting and meerkat symbols are replaced with goats, but apart from that the game works in pretty much the same way, only with an improved jackpot of 10,000x.

 

Punk Rocker – Nolimit City

The NoLimit City game studio is a relative newcomer to the scene in comparison to other names, but they are really starting to make their mark in 2020. Punk Rocker is one of their best releases to date, taking its theme from the London music scene that spawned bands like the Sex Pistols. It’s full of Banksy-type illustrations of English icons too, including Churchill, drawn against the backdrop of the London Underground. But graphics aside, it’s the stacks of features that have made Punk Rocker so popular. There are Mystery Symbols, Re-Spins, two Free Spins rounds, and Multipliers and Jumping Wilds to enhance the basic gameplay and push the win potential up to 8,000x.

 

Hellcatraz – Relax Gaming

Relax Gaming, who produce their own games as well as running the Silver Bullet platform, are starting to create some really top high variance titles too. They have three Megaways slots under license from BTG under their belts, and Hellcatraz is their newest high volatility product. It has been designed like an 80s Atari game with 8-bit graphics and a backdrop that evokes San Fransisco Bay and the notorious Alcatraz prison island, home to murderers and mobsters. What’s interesting about Hellcatraz is the gamification format – players must collect 2,000 key symbols to unlock the bonus round where free spins come with mystery symbols and an enhanced paytable with a top prize of 50,000x.

 

Heroes Hunt Megaways – Fantasma Games

Fantasma Games partnered up with Relax Gaming to utilise their Megaways license and deliver this slot on the Silver Bullet platform in April 2020.  Heroes Hunt has a Dungeons and Dragons type theme, with Wizard and Warrior heroes who all have superpowers. Players pick which hero they want to activate at the start of the game, and others can be activated throughout. It’s an exciting enhancement to standard gameplay and with Expanding Wilds, Re-Spins and Multipliers to drive the wins, this slot is a thrilling ride for high risk fanatics. With 46,656 paylines and a top payout of 26,000x Heroes Hunt is getting a lot of attention and will surely be one of the top games of the year.

 

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Flexion Reports Revenue Increase of 9% for 2024

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Flexion, the games marketing company, has announced that its revenue grew 9% to year-end December 2024. The growth is attributed to the Company’s success in the alternative app store market.

Since its IPO in 2018, the company has built a well-positioned games marketing business around the alternative stores and grown annual revenue 50-fold to almost US$100 million. Its game portfolio represents several billion US$ in gaming IP for alternative market partners like Samsung, Amazon, Huawei, OneStore and Xiaomi.

“With the Digital Markets Act (DMA) coming into force in Europe and recent legal actions in the US, mobile game developers have felt a new-found freedom to explore their market options. We’ve already moved beyond the era when Google and Apple controlled everything. Developers are looking for alternatives that offer better margins, and additional audiences and revenue. Partnering with Flexion opens up a range of market channels with very little up-front investment,” said Jens Lauritzson, CEO of Flexion.

Flexion currently distributes more than 30 high-profile titles on the alternative stores. Top-tier games in the Flexion portfolio make on average US$ 10 million a year based on Q4 2024 run rate. That’s income in addition to their Google and Apple revenue with a business model that adds little to their costs.

In Q4 2024, Flexion-serviced games were, on average, generating 9.3% through the alternative stores of the revenue they made on Google Play. This is a significant boost for Flexion’s partners without major costs or effort.

“If you scale for the size of the stores, the alternatives massively out-performed Google in Q4 for our games. This is exciting both for Flexion’s business and for the future of the games industry as a whole. We’re seeing the beginning of a sea change in games marketing,” Jens said.

“We’re seeing just the beginnings of a major shift in how top-tier developers address their markets. Using Flexion to access alternative stores is an easy first step into the post- Google and Apple world. Many developers are already looking at their options beyond that and Flexion will be right there with them providing the technology and expertise they need to maximise the potential of their games,” Jens added.

The post Flexion Reports Revenue Increase of 9% for 2024 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Players Reclaim Close to $7M Through AskGamblers Complaint Service in 2024

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The latest AskGamblers Complaint Service report for 2024 has officially been released. The comprehensive report highlights the most important accomplishments and records of the AskGamblers Complaint Service team for the previous year.

In 2024, The AGCS team (formerly known as AGCCS) managed to return $6,890,547.11 to players. Over 7259 players turn to AskGamblers, submitting complaints against 1114 casino brands. Out of all the accepted and processed complaints, the team had a 68% resolution success rate. One of the notable milestones that reached was returning a total of $70 million to the members.

Dijana Radunović, General Manager at AskGamblers, said: “It’s amazing to see the trust players put in us year after year, and we’re able to repay them by helping them recover their funds from operators or solve other related issues. We’ve had another successful year, with a few records broken and amazing milestones achieved and we can’t wait to see what lies in store in the years ahead.”

The post Players Reclaim Close to $7M Through AskGamblers Complaint Service in 2024 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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SlotsCalendar Announces its Second Awards Edition at iGC Malaga 2025

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SlotsCalendar, a leading name and tastemaker in iGaming, has announced the second edition of the SlotsCalendar Awards. Winners will be announced during the iGC Malaga event in May 2025.

These awards are rapidly gaining significance in the iGaming world as SlotsCalendar’s steady growth, success, and player-centric mentality represent the community’s interest.

Players have approximately a month to vote between the 10th of April and the 12th of May.

For its 2025 edition, the SlotsCalendar Awards Gala returns to the iGaming Club Conference in Malaga, happening on May 28th. The Awards categories for this year are as follows:

• Game Studio of the Year

• The Slot Everyone’s Talking About

• Star Slot in the Making

• Casino of the Year

• Excellence in Bonus Variety

• Industry Standard in Responsible Gambling

• Live Casino of the Year

• Best Sports Betting Platform

• Best New Casino

• Best Crypto Casino

While the idea of iGaming Awards is not new to the industry, the SlotsCalendar Awards are unique for a simple reason: winners are voted by players from the entire iGaming community.

The uniqueness of these awards makes them particularly important in iGaming. Placing the decision-making strictly in the hands of the player is a fundamental shift in the iGaming community.

SlotsCalendar CEO Viorel Stan said: “It’s truly an honor and a privilege to see how our SlotsCalendar Awards have evolved. Last year’s inaugural edition was a crowning achievement for us. It proved how vast and involved our community is, creating a level of engagement that made us incredibly proud. Being able to return to the iGC and reward some of iGaming’s luminaries in the name of the SlotsCalendar Community is beyond gratifying.”

The post SlotsCalendar Announces its Second Awards Edition at iGC Malaga 2025 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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