New Slot Sites May 2021

New Slot Sites 2021

1. Who is behind all these new slot sites?
2. Why play at a new slot site?
3. New slot sites – trends and what to expect in 2020

Who is behind all these new slot sites?

Several new slot sites and casinos launch in the UK every single month and these can be:

• Completely new operators – these will usually go for a “skin” site where the casino software, management and licensing is supplied by a white label provider such as Jumpman, Nektan or Progress Play.
• Operators who already run other types of gambling sites (such as bingo or sports) and want to expand into the slots / casino business (which can be easier to run as there’s no need for chat hosts, for instance).  Such an operator will already have experience of looking after VIPs etc.
• Existing slots/casino operators launching additional sites. These operators already know how to make things run smoothly and if they have lots of skins they will probably also have lots of staff to look after players.
• Overseas slots/casino operators expanding into the UK market after obtaining a UK GC licence. Again, these operators already have lots of experience of running slots/casino sites – and as they must recently have passed the rigorous vetting procedures for a UK licence, players can feel confident that all is as it should be.

Genuinely 100% brand new slot sites are not as common as you might think though, because of the preponderence of skins.

Why play at a new slot site?

Many players move on to new sites because they want to claim a fresh welcome bonus offer but there are other reasons why you might want to try out somewhere new.

• Ongoing/regular bonus offers – it’s not all about the welcome offers. Regular/ongoing deposit offers of slot bonus or spins give players the opportunity to try out different slots.
• Free Spins – many players clearly prefer free spins to a slot bonus and plenty of new slot sites are all about the free spins, sometimes with no deposit required.
• Wagering requirements, caps on winnings etc – Players may seek to move on if they consider wagering requirements to be too onerous or if there are too many restrictions on what can be won from bonus play, especially as there are now quite a few new slot sites with no wagering requirements
• Exclusive & network promotions – Promotions such as tournaments, raffles and sharepots make play more interesting and a new site that offers these may be very attractive to players (especially if they are not available anywhere else).
• Look and feel of the site – just as in a bricks and mortar casino, the decor can make a big difference to how enjoyable the player experience is!
• Payment methods – players who want to be able to deposit from a mobile device may find it more convenient to switch to a slot site with Paypal or where they can pay by phone bill.
• Better VIP / player reward scheme – It’s not only the size of the rewards, but the nature of the rewards.  Some players prefer loyalty bonuses, some prefer cashback and some prefer daily free spins – and with such a wide variety of player reward schemes out there, there’s something for everyone.
• Playability on different devices – A player with a new phone or tablet may be looking for a site that works better on the latest devices.
• Selection of slots  – Players may move on in search of a particular slot they want to play – whether it’s an evergreen favourite like Fluffy Favourites,  Rainbow Riches or Immortal Romance, or the latest Big Time Gaming thriller.  Perhaps the site they currently play at doesn’t offer any slots from that provider or doesn’t have any of the highest RTP slots.
• Availability of new slot game releases  – One thing that really irritates players is when the slot site they regularly play at is slow to add new releases.  When an eagerly anticipated new game comes out, you want to be able to play it right away, not months later!  Check out our New Slot Games page for more information about the latest slot games and where to play them.
• Availability of progressive jackpots – Not all slot/casino sites offer these.  For example, it is quite common for IGT slots to be on offer but without the Megajackpots collection.  Other sought after progressive jackpots include the Jackpot King games by Blueprint, the Red Tiger Daily Jackpot slots, Playtech’s Kingdoms Rise and  Age of the Gods, Microgaming’s Mega Moolah and Netent’s Mega Fortune games.
• Trust and safety – a poor customer service experience and/or difficulty withdrawing winnings are issues which are pretty well guaranteed to send a player looking for somewhere new to play.  What you may not know that the Gambling Commission require all operators to rate their own degree of insolvency protection (what happens to player funds if the operator goes bust) and a great many including some big names are classified as “Not Protected” (meaning that players would be in the same position as any other creditor).  A slot site with Medium or High protection gives greater security.

New slot sites – trends and what to expect in 2021

• Design changes – The last couple of years have been interesting times for slot site operators due to recent action by the UK Gambling Commission over concerns that some slot games appeal particularly to children – for example, those with a fairytale, cartoon or superhero theme.  Although not all operators have yet reacted to this it seems very likely that in the future, images promoting such slots will all have to be age gated – so only visible to players who have already signed up and undergone age verification.  This has already resulted in changes to player promotions such as free spins offers.  We expect slot games and slot sites with a more adult theme to increase in visibility and popularity in 2021.
• No Deposit Offers – Under regulations that were introduced back in May 2019, new players have to undergo age and ID verification before they can deposit or play at a site and this also applies to no deposit offers and free demo versions of slot games.  You might think this would result in fewer no deposit offers as the degree of player commitment required to claim a no deposit offer is now so much higher – and indeed, many no deposit offers have vanished.  Some operators, however, are moving in the opposite direction and bringing in a no deposit offer when they previously had none – the reasoning being that a player who is willing to undergo the verification process first may be more likely to go on to make a deposit than a player who isn’t, so they needn’t worry so much about time-wasters.
• Payment Method Changes – New regulations regarding deposits came into effect on 14th April 2020.  Slot sites are prohibited from accepting any deposits via credit card and this applies to all forms of gambling, online or offline, apart from the special case where someone buys a lottery ticket along with their grocery shopping.  We are still waiting to see what the long term effect of this will be on other payment methods. In order to continue to accept Paypal, for instance, slot sites had to be able to ensure that the e-wallet hasn’t been funded with a credit card;  payment method providers need to deliver a solution (as Paypal have already done) and in June 2020, the Gambling Commission sent a reminder to operators about this.  Trust and safety will no doubt become even more important as players are likely to be more cautious with debit card details than with credit card details (credit cards are far less disruptive to cancel).
• Mobile Slots – As so many players now do all of their play on mobile devices, new slot sites that are designed to work on mobile and/or with the safety and security of a mobile app are in the ascendant, often – like Winomania and Casino 2020 – with unique mobile slot games you won’t find anywhere else.
• Less Choice Of Platform – During 2019 and 2020 a number of international operators exited the UK market.  This was generally due to an increase in the regulatory and tax burden, but a few were pushed following regulatory breaches  – and uncertainty about the future of cross-border services after Brexit may also have played a part.  This applies especially to Malta based operators.  The result is that a bigger and bigger slice of the new slot sites pie is being taken by Jumpman skins (Jumpman are UK based, holding an Alderney licence as well as UKGC) with their distinctive Mega Reel welcome offer.  There are still plenty of new slot sites opening on other platforms going into 2021 and we’ll endeavour to bring you as much variety as possible going forward.
• Less Generous Welcome Offers – this certainly won’t be popular but it is a inevitable consequence of the increased regulatory and tax burden, with operators really starting to feel the pinch.  The silver lining is that we may see some sites start to focus on player retention rather than player acquisition – which should turn out to be good for the players on the whole.  Whatever happens, we’ll continue to bring you the best new slot sites as soon as they are launched and going forward into 2021.

Sue Dawson

Head of Content

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