International Game Technology is certainly thriving in the gambling market. This year, the games developer has seen a drastic increase in profits, thanks mostly to its social gaming offering which has helped to boost revenue significantly.
Last year, IGT acquired Double Down Interactive. With it, came Double Down Casino, one of Facebook’s most popular play-money gambling applications. The deal was worth over $30 million, but IGT is on track to earning its investment back very quickly.
Social gaming sales increased by 105% to $61 million this year. The number of users on the application has increased by 25%, and Double Down Casino now caters to 1.7 million daily users.
IGT has helped to grow the Double Down brand. Previously, the application only offered proprietary games, but IGT launched a collection of well-known branded titles such as Cleopatra, Da Vinci Diamonds and Monopoly. This helped to convert many real-money slots players to social gaming fans. Additionally, IGT developed a collection of exclusive titles that are only available to players at Double Down, including American Idol.
“We believe IGT’s advantage is its deep game library, which can easily be converted to social games,” Gaming Analyst Cameron McKnight said in an interview with the Las Vegas Review Journal. “Management has noted its goal is to convert one game every other week, and at that rate, it has enough existing content to last 10 years.”
International Game Technology has thrived in the social gaming market, and has set a positive example for other real-money gambling operators. Some companies have shied away from social gaming, but IGT has proven that is can be a lucrative market by converting social players into real-money players while generating a great deal of advertising revenue.