Slot manufacturer Aristocrat Technologies increased its presence on casino floors in the last three months of 2017, according to the newest Eilers-Fantini Quarterly Slot Survey.
Results of the survey, which were released last week, polled 144 casino executives representing 717 casinos and 37.8 percent of the North American slot machine market. Aristocrat continued to gain market share in the fourth quarter and held the top three spots in terms of best-performing premium leased games.
Survey participants purchased 18.5 percent of their slot machines from Aristocrat in the quarter, a 1.1 percent increase from a year ago. Aristocrat’s “Buffalo” slot machine was considered the best-performing casino-owned game by those surveyed.
Meanwhile, Aristocrat’s new Dragon Link game, being launched to European markets on Stand S3-250 at ICE, has received further endorsement for its crowd-pleasing abilities following publication of the Eilers-Fantini survey.
According to the survey, the Asian-themed follow-up to the globally successful Lightning Link has become U.S. operators’ third highest performing premium leased game during its first quarter of operation, just behind two other Aristocrat games, Lightning Link and Buffalo Grand™, which occupy first and second positions respectively.
“Dragon Link has already established itself as a market-leading game in Australia and these survey results from the US indicate that it is firmly on course to be a stellar brand for the company,” said Erik-Jan van den Berg, Aristocrat’s Sales Director for EMEA.
“This is tremendous news for operators in many European markets where Lightning Link’s patterns of sustained growth have closely followed those already established in other regions,” he continued. “Dragon Link will begin its European roll-out this Spring and is set to become one of the star attractions at ICE.”
The survey is conducted jointly by the gaming investment advisory firm Eilers & Krejcik Gaming of Southern California and Connecticut-based Fantini’s Gaming Research. Both firms released an executive summary of the survey, but offer the complete results for purchase.
AGS, which now known as PlayAGS after finalizing its initial public offering last week, was the other large gainer during the quarter, with a game ship share of 5.8 percent, a 2.8 percent increase from a year ago.
Scientific Games shipped 27.2 percent of all slot machines purchased in the quarter, which was within the company’s average and the fifth straight quarter of growth.
Macquarie Securities gaming analyst Chad Beynon said in a research note that Scientific Games customers are “eagerly awaiting” the release of the company’s slot machine based on the James Bond movie series. The slot machine was premiered during last fall’s Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas.
International Game Technology also improved during the quarter, following a weak third quarter, according to the survey.
“We view this survey as a positive for IGT which has experienced massive share declines (both for sale and participation) but these appear to be abating,” Beynon told investors.
Overall, replacement sales totaled almost 16,000 machines in the quarter, the survey said. Eilers and Fantini said replacement demand may improve with survey participants saying they plan to change out 7.9 percent of casino floors over the next year.
Among the other highlights in the survey, participating casinos increased leased games in the quarter, marking growth in nine out of the last 10 months.
