What does 2021 look like for NetEnt Jackpot fans

Published on the 2021-04-29

While 2020 was somewhat of a non-starter for some industries with the global Covid-19 pandemic, the online gambling industry witnessed one of its strongest years on record in terms of growth and player participation.

Quietly and behind the scenes a number of companies in the online gambling industry continued almost as normal, with the nature of how the industry works, enabling employees to carry on with their jobs almost uninterrupted, albeit from their home office.

This was certainly the case for NetEnt, who has always placed a considerable amount of emphasis on technology and new software. 

No doubt, this means good news for NetEnt jackpot fans, who already have some of the most popular and best titles in the industry to choose from and as a result, will be eagerly awaiting the next few months to find out what new releases will be coming to them soon.

What kind of jackpot slots could we see?

One of the best things about NetEnt, is that they have always been able to create, design, and develop jackpot slots that have eye-catching graphics and clever themes, while the size of the jackpots on offer also invariably has something to do with this as well.

However, the online gambling industry is moving forward all of the time and one thing that it does well is manage to capitalise on new niches and ideas, especially as far as game development goes. 

In recent years, we have seen such themes as Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and Norse Mythology become increasingly popular with players and these have even been just as magnetic as slot games as they have as jackpot slots.

The sports theme is an interesting one and while there are a number of slot games that reflect this niche, the jackpot niche for this still remains relatively unexplored. This is something that sparks curiosity as well because it is a theme that is one of the biggest commodities in the world and also has a lot of crossover with online gambling.

There are a lot of sports fans who enjoy online casino games, with many big gambling companies seeing a substantial correlation in customers who use both their sportsbook and their online casino. 

While there are some slot games that are based on the sports genre, there are very few, if any at all that are jackpot slots. This is certainly an area where we could see movement from NetEnt in 2021 and it definitely has scope to be exploited.

Incorporation of sophisticated software?

The online gambling industry is becoming more and more advanced as the level of software just gets, even more, better at an astonishing rate. This is especially true when you consider what was available over a decade ago and what is possible now.  At some casino sites, for example, you can credit your casino account via your mobile device, without having to enter your banking details and this is charged to your monthly phone bill, via the Paybyphone banking method!

With such ingenuity at clever developer’s fingertips, it could mean that jackpot players have a lot to look forward to in 2021 and certainly beyond. Advancements in machine learning have enabled the industry to implement gamification whereby players can interact with each other while they are playing slots and there is no reason why this cannot go a step further.

NetEnt have all the tools at their disposal when it comes to developing more and better software and improving gamification, especially for jackpot slots, which could well be one of the next big strides forward in the industry. 

The ability to follow another player’s progress when they are participating in a jackpot slot such as Hall of Gods and giving them the opportunity to wager on certain other players will do, based on their current progress could enable NetEnt to gain a considerable edge over their rivals. 

Also, with a lot being explored into virtual reality, this could be another interesting and major step forward for the software provider. To create a jackpot slot where you can almost be the main protagonist and be part of the actual jackpot slot in a virtual world would be a significant leap forward and NetEnt certainly has the tools at their disposal to implement something like this. 

Although it might be a while before we see something like this (with 2021 probably being somewhat of a stretch), this could certainly be possible over the next two years if technology continues to improve at the rate that it is.

Will the merger with Evolution Gaming have an effect?

Towards the end of 2020, following much speculation, NetEnt completed their much-anticipated merger with fellow compatriot software developer Evolution Gaming. The umbrella company has already rebranded as just ‘Evolution’, though for all intents and purposes, the two brands will remain the same.

This has opened up the possibilities for a lot more innovation as they both seek to take advantage of each other’s skills and expertise in order to not only improve their existing products but also create groundbreaking new ones that can take the industry by storm. 

What is likely, is that the two brands are already exploring new areas for growth and improvement and Evolution Gaming will have identified NetEnt’s jackpot technology as an area that has real strength, but also the potential to become clear leaders in this niche over the next couple of years.

Bigger jackpots?

What might be likely, is that following their merger with Evolution Gaming, is that it might free up more funds to set higher jackpot levels in their jackpot slots. This, as a result, could significantly help to attract more new players. 

Sizes of jackpots clearly help to play a part in attracting players to their slots and this means that by offering bigger ones, we could see slightly lesser known ones all of a sudden compete with their flagship titles. 

Players from new markets?

With the US becoming more and more regulated, this represents a huge market for NetEnt to move into and their merger with Evolution Gaming will put them in a strong position in this sense. 

This means that current NetEnt jackpot fans could see the size of jackpots increase organically anyway, with the US representing a market in this industry that is worth hundreds of millions in value. 

The same could also be said of the likes of Canada, New Zealand and also India, where online gambling is on the rise and which represents a lot of potential for NetEnt to grow significantly in over the next year. This will only be good news for NetEnt jackpot fans.