The Gambling Industry Monthly Review - October 2023 - ReelNews by GamblersArea
Like most industries, iGaming welcomes the “scariest month” with open arms. With Halloween that marks October, players can look forward to eerie new slots and special streams. However, some changes in gambling legislation also have occurred, so let’s rewind and reflect on everything that happened last month in the gambling industry.
New Slots on The Market
As always, Pragmatic Play was the busiest provider, launching one exciting slot after another. The developer’s Princess series has gotten the reinforcement in the form of the Twilight Princess title with a cluster-paying mechanic, the magical max prize of 7,500x the bet and multipliers flying left and right.
If this sparkly release is too cute for your taste, check the The Money Men Megaways slot that revolves around the money theme. From fast cars, dollar signs and casino chips this cascading slot with Megaways mechanics features exciting bonus features and a big winning potential of up to 10,000x the bet.
For the lovers of adventures by fearless Nordic warriors, the provider released a thrilling Viking Forge with tumbling reels and a thrilling Coin Collection feature. The chances of hitting nice wins increase during free spins while the maximum win goes all the way up to 10,000x the bet.
Of course, Pragmatic Play honored Halloween by launching not one but two games according to the holiday theme. One is the sequel to the beloved Big Bass series named Big Bass Halloween slot which presents recognizable visuals in a new, scary light but keeps all the player’s favorite features. The other one is Infective Wild, a perfect Halloween slot where you can win up to 5,000x your bet!
During October, Popiplay once again proved why it is a true rising star of iGaming market. Its uniquely designed Sweet Punk title brings a breath of fresh air in the slot scene, but its more than just a pretty face as its winning potential goes all the way up to 10,200x the bet.
Launched days before Halloween, the provider’s Creepy Ink depicts the spirit of the holiday perfectly without being too gruesome to be enjoyable. Besides thrilling gameplay provided by expanding Wilds with multipliers, stacked symbols and two types of Scatters, the game also features a nice max win of 6,000x the stake.
Casino Streaming Scene in October 2023
The king of online casino streaming, Roshtein, has luck on his side during this month, hitting one big win after another. In its live online casino streams on the Kick platform, Roshtein landed several seven-figure wins in live streams in October!
The first in a row of extraordinary wins was a colossal $1.5 million windfall in Wanted Dead or a Wild slot. Nothing unusual for this amazing game that was quite generous towards streams over and over again, including the time when it delivered the Roshtein’s personal best win ever of over 17 million dollars.
However, in his next stream on Kick, Roshtein landed an even bigger prize and won an incredible $2.1 million! The suspense was high as the last free spin in the bonus round of the Drop Em slot was spinning and delivered this massive achievement.
Another slot that produced a similar win was The Bowery Boys where Rosh hit a $2,189,200 jackpot. Also memorable was a jaw-dropping $1.8 million win in Chaos Crew 2. All of these slots are made by Hacksaw Gaming and besides providing exciting gameplay, they often deliver maximum winning potential.
While so many massive wins in a row are extraordinary, Roshtein’s special Halloween stream is the one that marked October 2023. As always, he made quite the show for his viewers, appearing first as a Donald Trump and then as a zombie Michel Jackson.
Not only that he stay in the second costume for the rest of the stream, but he also made quite a show by dancing to the singer’s legendary song Thriller. To make things better, Poppin rewrote the lyrics to correspond to the streamer perfectly, so it was quite the spectacle as the whole Halloween stream special was as well.
Legislation Changes In the Gambling Industry
Regarding the legal aspect of the iGaming industry during this month, it was mostly smooth sailing, but not without some big waves. The Romanian market suffered quite a blow when the country’s government approved a dramatic increase in annual gambling licensing fees across all verticals. The most affected are online operators and bingo games organized via television whose annual fees will be increased to €500,000 if the changes are confirmed by the parliament of Romania.
In the meantime, Finland is getting closer to gambling reform as both Veikkaus and EGBA support it. State-owned Veikkaus currently holds the gambling monopoly in Finland which will come to an end by creating a regulated market, but deputy CEO Velipekka Nummikoski says they welcome the idea of regulation and will support the government in this effort.
European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) also welcomed the announced legislative project. The association describes the announcement as a “crucial milestone” for the only EU member state still operating an exclusive monopoly regime and backing up the Finish government in its plans to deliver a licensed framework for online gambling by 2026.
In other news, Peru joins the global iGaming market as the country’s Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur) has approved the country’s sports betting and iGaming regulations. Formally known as Supreme Decree 005-2023-Mincetur, the exhaustive document outlines the technical and regulatory requirements for gambling operators wishing to offer their services in Peru. As the country’s gaming law is set to enter effect 120 days from the issuing of the regulations, operators have a tight schedule to comply with the new rules.