Branded Slots

1How Software Suppliers Acquire Licenses

Casino software suppliers cannot commercially use trademarked images, characters, or themes without permission; otherwise, trademark owners can pursue legal action for infringement. Before they build a slot around a specific movie or TV show, they must first acquire licenses from the companies that hold the rights to these products.

A legally binding contract is signed between the two parties, under which the software company pays a licensing fee to the trademark owner for the right to use the trademark. Land-based casinos were the first to introduce branded slots to their gaming floors.

You can sometimes find similar branded slots created by different manufacturers, as is the case with The Price Is Right and Elvis games by IGT and WMS. IGT launched The Price Is Right branded machines in the early 1990s after acquiring a license from the owners of the popular TV contest show.

2Expiration of the Licenses and Renewal

After the original license expired, the show owners began negotiating a new licensing agreement with manufacturer WMS. The process is similar for branded slots inspired by famed musicians like Elvis. When the initial licenses lapse, the parties that hold the rights to the musician’s name, songs, and likeness begin negotiating fresh agreements with other slot manufacturers.

These licenses remain valid for only a limited number of years. The agreement may also include a clause stating that the licensee has the option to renew after paying the required fee again. The licenses are usually exclusive, meaning no two slot designers are allowed to create games with the same trademarked theme at the same time.

3How Developers Choose the Right Brand

However, slot developers cannot simply pick any recognizable name and use it as a theme. The selected brands must appeal to a broader reel-spinning audience, otherwise they are unlikely to have a meaningful impact on profits.

The demographics of casino goers must be taken into consideration. For example, it would be pointless to build a game around a franchise like High School Musical, whose primary audience is children aged 8 to 14 and therefore not legally old enough to gamble.

Branded slots are not reserved exclusively for land-based casino visitors, however. Software studio Microgaming was among the first companies to launch branded online games, debuting with its 2004 release Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.

Competitor NetEnt followed suit, forging valuable partnerships with major film studios such as 20th Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, and Universal Pictures. Over the years, the Swedish supplier has brought some of the most iconic franchises and films to the slot reels, including titles like The Invisible Man, Scarface, and Planet of the Apes.

Playtech has also kept pace with the growing competition in branded games. The company is known for Marvel-based slots such as Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, and The Avengers, which were hugely popular among players several years ago.

After Disney purchased Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion in 2009, it declined to renew Playtech’s licensing agreement once it expired, deeming the partnership incompatible with the family-oriented image of the movie giant.

Playtech was forced to remove its branded Marvel content as of April 2017. Still, the gambling company continues to release branded slot content, having signed licensing agreements with entertainment giants such as Warner Brothers. These deals paved the way for slots based on iconic franchises like Terminator and The Matrix.