BetMGM has partnered with Evolution to debut the igaming supplier’s “biggest launch ever” by taking Lightning Storm live exclusively on its Ontarian casino platform.
With Evolution CEO Martin Carlesund hailing the game as “some of our best work yet”, Lightning Storm is the provider’s latest live casino game show innovation that places players in a dark, mad scientist’s laboratory-themed studio.
Similarly to other popular Evolution game shows, the game presents a spinning money wheel that offers 39-segments with varying prizes and bonus features to be won. BetMGM players in Ontario will be the first to place bets on the title and spin the wheel.
“Live dealer is a key focus of our igaming business at BetMGM. Lightning Storm brings together the social aspect of live dealers, the excitement of a game show and the popularity of Lightning games to create a fantastic experience for our players,” said Oliver Bartlett, Vice President of Gaming Product & Content, BetMGM.
“Evolution’s reputation in the live dealer vertical is unmatched and we are honoured to exclusively debut their biggest game yet.”
Speaking on last week’s Q2 financial results for the supplier, Evolution’s CEO piled heaps of praise on the new game show, and, although its release date was slightly delayed, Carlesund said that “nothing but perfection is enough for this game”.
He added: “We have been working on Lightning Storm for a long time, and I dare say it’s some of our best work yet, building on so many things that we have learnt from previous games. I look forward to bringing it to players in the coming months.”
Evolution’s Q2 update also revealed that a large number of payouts on Crazy Time, the studio’s flagship game show, contributed to a slower rate of growth across the period.
Crazy Time handed out over €35m to over 5,000 players in Q2, heralded by the CEO as the largest payout from one game in online casino history.
Other live casino titles that did meet their Q2 release dates include Balloon Race Live, Lightning Dragon Tiger Live and Lightning Sic Bo Live.
The supplier group reported operating revenues of €508.4m, representing a 15.3 per cent increase on the corresponding period in 2023, while EBITDA climbed by 10.9 per cent to €345.8m.
Revenue from live casino increased by 18 per cent year-on-year in Q2 2024, while the RNG segment saw just two per cent growth.
“I see the financial result in the quarter as solid although not fully reflecting our operational performance,” Carlesund explained.
“There are some clear reasons, one reason being that we had the largest payout ever in an online casino game during the quarter with Crazy Time. Large player wins are part of the game and positive for our games’ attractiveness to players, but it does affect us through lower revenue share in the period.”
