Land-based casino players are beginning to spot Fire Stampede: Connect & Collect out in the wild. These are cabinets of a slot originally developed and released by Pragmatic Play (along with Wild Streak Gaming) for online casinos, including sweepstakes casinos.
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This is reigniting the debate as to why Pragmatic Play left the sweepstakes vertical in September last year.
Could it be because the company is looking to expand further into the land-based casino market with more licensed physical slots?
Pragmatic Play’s Withdrawal from the Sweepstakes Market
The Malta-based developer surprised everyone with its withdrawal from the sweepstakes format in September. This from a position as one of the most popular providers, with games like Gates of Olympus, Sugar Rush, and Sweet Bonanza available at sweeps casinos such as WOW Vegas, McLuck, and Pulsz.
At the time, the company shared the following:
“Pragmatic Play has chosen to discontinue licensing its games to sweepstake operators in US States where restrictions were not already in place, in light of regulatory developments and evolving legislation.
We remain committed to the highest standards of compliance and will continue to engage transparently with regulators.”
Over the last year, multiple states have enacted outright bans on the sweepstakes format, and state gaming regulators have made their feelings clear by sending cease-and-desist letters to sweepstakes operators. We’ve also seen an Attorney General issue a legal opinion denouncing the vertical in Louisiana.
Then Pragmatic was named in a civil enforcement action by the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office along with Stake.us, Evolution, and Hacksaw. It wasn’t long after this that the company withdrew from the sweeps format entirely, leading many to assume this action from the LA City Attorney was indeed the final straw.
It seems obvious that Pragmatic was looking to separate itself from an increasingly shunned vertical, but was there another reason too?
Pragmatic Play still hasn’t started supplying real money online casinos in the US, but could it be looking to expand more into land-based casinos, bearing in mind that regulated real-money entities often frown upon any ties to gray area formats.
Pragmatic Play’s Physical Footprint in the US
Well, Fire Stampede: Connect & Collect cabinets (manufactured by IGT) have been spotted at land-based casinos such as Durango Casino in Las Vegas and Oneida Casino Hotel in Green Bay.
But this isn’t the first physical slot licensed from a Pragmatic Play online title.
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We’ve previously seen cabinets of Pragmatic’s The Amazing Money Machine on US soil as far back as 2021, again manufactured by IGT, so it seems these two companies have an established licensing partnership.
We’ve also seen reports of Big Bass Bonanza cabinets in the UK, manufactured by Novomatic Gaming since last year. Big Bass is another popular slot IP, originally released by Pragmatic Play for the online market.
So it’s clear Pragmatic is not against licensing its IPs out to established land-based manufacturers, and these recent cabinet sightings suggest it may be slowly building a presence in physical casinos, possibly setting the stage for a bigger push into the US market.
It’s worth remembering that online casinos are still restricted in the vast majority of US states, which explains why Pragmatic might focus on land-based expansion first.
Either way, the company’s recent moves show it’s keeping its options open, and land-based players may soon get to experience more popular online slots in a whole new way.
Author: Mike F.
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