Slot Index Unveiled by ReelMetrics Showcases Games Favored by High-Value Gamers
Unleashing the ReelHot Index: Gaming's First Public Slot Analytics Tool
Breaking the Barriers ReelMetrics* Mark Gruetze, our websid Miami's music scene may have James Brown belting out "It's a Brand New Day" but for the gaming industry, the real headliner is the debut of the ReelHot Index - a ground-breaking slot analytics tool. This fresh piece ofcontent from our website delivers a first-of-its-kind insights into top-performing slot titles, based on player segmentation.
The Index, now live, gives an unprecedented look at the industry's most popular slot titles, presented along with details on their preferred usage by players divided into three distinct banking and playing frequency groups. The Index reports spins-per-hour, theoretical win, and average bet for each top-performing title within each player segment.
Nick Hogan, ReelMetrics's CEO, stated that the combination of these key data points helps address a "critical industrial deficiency". According to Hogan, the lack of a unified segmentation model in gaming has long been a hurdle. "We don't have in gaming what's known as a unified segmentation model," Hogan said, referring to the practice in retail of dividing customers based on behavioral tendencies and classifying products by their respective audience appeal.
ReelMetrics, a Netherlands-based company, was founded a decade ago by Hogan, William Schoofs, and John Boushy, a former Caesars executive. The firm has grown to become the world's largest aggregator of gaming data. About five years ago, the company turned its attention to gathering data on player behavior.
"We began by aggregating configs and indexed performance data, but realized that, from an insights perspective, this model runs aground pretty quickly," Hogan explained. "The more data we collected and analyzed, the more questions we had. As soon as we introduced player behavior, everything began to pop."
The Index is based on data from hundreds of thousands of slot machines, tens of millions of player profiles, billions of gaming sessions, and approaching $1 trillion in bets. In the coming months, the monthly indexes will focus on premium slot titles, core games, physical reels, and video poker, with revamped premium and core indexes appearing six times a year, and indexes for physical reels and video poker appearing quarterly.
The Index's foundation lies in ReelMetrics's Cupid Segmentation Model, dividing players into three groups based on their value, playing frequency, and betting intensity. The high-value Segment A represents just 3-5% of the overall player base, but consistently generates 25-40% of total slot revenue. Segment B, consisting of medium-value players who play frequently and at above-average betting levels, accounts for 25-30% of players and 55-60% of slot revenue. Segment C, the largest group with low-value players who visit sparingly and conduct low-intensity gaming, makes up 65-75% of players but generates less than 20% of slot revenue.
Hogan drew attention to the 80% failure rate for slot titles entering the market as evidence of the need for a gaming industry segmentation model. "As soon as operators see the alignment of their slot offerings with customer preferences, the bang-per-buck calculations become increasingly clear," he said.
The Index's modeling is informative, owing to its roots in retail product marketing's formal Assortment and Merchandising practices. ReelMetrics advises operators to adopt a demand-driven strategy, embracing a "Staple Inventory" of high-performing core and premium titles, a smaller "Test Inventory" of innovative core and premium titles, and an "Excess Inventory" (or "Boneyard") containing core inventory still being depreciated and primarily reserved for Segment C players. According to Hogan, operators should target 85-90% of their capital expense and operating budget toward the Staple Inventory, leaving the remainder for the Test Inventory.
The Index introduces the concept of "Inner-Segment Resonance" (ISR), which estimates a game's appeal to high-value and medium-value players using a scale of "very high" to "low". An ISR of "very high" indicates that the title appeals strongly to both segments, signaling the need for sufficient machines to cater to wider demand.
Since November 2018, our website has published the monthly ReelHot Index. The latest version covers the industry's top 40 core titles, ranked by pan-industrial theoretical-win performance in February, with additional performance measurements for each of the three cupid segments.
Hogan acknowledged the revamped Index as being more stringent, but argued that the new data more accurately reflects the economic realities of slot floors. "Product interests within the top segments are surprisingly narrow and, particularly on the core side, performance durability is a significant issue because productive lifespans seldom exceed 18 months," Hogan said. "So, we shifted the focus to long-term durability for players who matter, making this standard harder and requiring more time to meet." While the Index does not claim to feature the only titles suitable for purchase or lease, it presents a ranking of essential elements required for a balanced Staple Inventory that aligns with evidentiary demand.
Hogan noted that the wealth of player and slot machine data in ReelMetrics's databases extends far beyond the revamped monthly index. This extensive data enables clients to mine insights that are "orders of magnitude" deeper. Multiple ReelMetrics clients have seen 40-120% increases in Segment A players' average daily theoretical win, simply by balancing segment demand. Surveys showed that players were happier with their visits, despite spending more money, as they could access the machines they wanted to play on.
"A significant amount of money is being left on the table, and much of it boils down to ranking noise and insufficient focus on segment demand," Hogan said. "This is what we're addressing."
- The combination of key data points in the ReelHot Index, according to Nick Hogan, CEO of ReelMetrics, helps address a "critical industrial deficiency" in the gaming industry, which has long been the lack of a unified segmentation model.
- ReelMetrics, a Netherlands-based company, provides finance professionals and casino-and-gambling operators with insights into top-performing slot titles through their public slot analytics tool, the ReelHot Index.
- The Index is based on technology that collects and analyzes data from hundreds of thousands of slot machines, tens of millions of player profiles, billions of gaming sessions, and approaching $1 trillion in bets, which is used to prioritize the selection of slot titles based on player segmentation.
- By adopting a demand-driven strategy informed by the ReelHot Index, casino-and-gambling operators can increase the average daily theoretical win for high-value Segment A players by 40-120%, leading to happier players who can access the machines they want to play on, while also leaving less money on the table in the industry.
