Why Megaways Slots Dominate Casinos?

Executive Summary

This report showcases that the Megaways slot mechanic, developed by Big Time Gaming (BTG), has proven to be a respected, leading, and verifiable vertical in the online casino space. The movement has successfully grown through a healthy licensing market, with the Megaways mechanic occupying over 2% of all titles on the market. The vast and sustained increase in newly released titles, peaking in 2023, demonstrates continued support from developers. The report identified a strong global footprint, particularly in the Nordic region, as well as two strategies that new titles may consider as a provider: specialization or portfolio diversification. To summarize, Megaways is not a passing fad, but indeed a real opportunity for providers and operators alike to expand their product strategy.

Overview

In the crowded and competitive world of online gaming, it’s difficult to find a mechanic that has been as successful or widely adopted as Megaways. This unique feature, developed by Australian provider Big Time Gaming (BTG), has created a level of loyalty among players that is hard to match. Megaways first appeared in BTG’s 2016 slot game, Dragon Born, and its innovative and randomized reel mechanic quickly gained popularity which led BTG to begin licensing the mechanic to other game developers, which is what truly enabled its widespread adoption across the industry.

This report will analyze the data to look at the strategic planning surrounding the providers, the significant increase in games being launched, and the influence of regional uptake that further help to answer: Why do Megaways slots dominate casinos?

Powered by extensive IGamingCompass data, this report provides a clear market overview of Megaways games. For both game providers and casino operators, it serves as a guide to understanding why this vertical is not a passing trend, but a significant, data-backed opportunity poised to shape the future of online casino portfolios.

Methodology of Research

This report’s conclusions are based on a data-driven approach using the capabilities of IGamingCompass.

Casino Scan & Game Position: IGamingCompass scans the architecture and game positions of over 1,000 casinos globally. As of September 15, 2025, all the names of the casino sections are meticulously captured, showing the game preferences in each geography.

Game Repository: IGamingCompass has a repository of more than 34,000 games. For this analysis, all sections dedicated to Megaways type games were identified to offer a more complete picture.

The information from the casino scans and game repository were utilized to conduct an overview of the market and give a reference of its sizing and capability.

Global Overview

An assessment of casino sector data provides a data-driven analysis of the Megaways Casino games, which have made a notable and measurable impact in the online casino lobby. Following an extensive search of casino sites, and the validation of data provided to enhance the Casino presence, it is shown that Megaways represents ~3% of the records across all classified game-type specific Casino sections.

Megaways is in a good position, equal to our findings with Scratch Games, also at a little nearly 3%, and trailing Crash Games (~4%) and Table Games (~4%), all with established and previously written verticals emerging. The data below provides a direct comparison of Megaways’ distribution relative to other major game categories:

Illustration 1: The above chart shows the percentage of total sections dedicated for each section groups

This numerical share highlights how Megaways has gone beyond being a unique slot mechanic to become a specific game category, sufficiently distinctive to warrant its own specific section and to facilitate player engagement and awareness. For game suppliers, this information validates the genre’s established footprint in the market and potential for a key aspect of a varied product portfolio.

Regional Analysis

The global distribution of Megaways games reveals a lot of geographical diversity, indicating differing levels of evolution for each market and also differences in player preference. The data below focuses on where Megaways has had the most traction, and where there is clear growth potential.

Illustration 2: The above Regional Megaways Adoption chart shows the percentage of casinos with Megaways games across regions.

Leading Regions

• The Nordic region shows the highest adoption rate, with Megaways games present in nearly 40%of casinos.
• Western Europe (~25%), Latin America (~23%), and South Asia (~30%) also demonstrate strong adoption with  a significant number of casinos in each region featuring the game type.

Established Markets

• North America has a consistent Megaways presence with ~25% of casinos having Megaways dedicated sections.

Emerging Markets

• Africa (~10%) is one of the region that has a significant number of casinos but doesn’t have a lot of Megaways dedicated sections among the casinos.

To log in to the IGamingCompass platform and access the data in-depth click here.

Provider Landscape

Megaways provision and studio ownership is characterised by a dual strategy: half are specialists in that niche whilst the other half are high-volume studios who have added the Megaways mechanic to their overall distribution. This is a direct result of BTG’s successful licensing model, which has been adopted by over 100 providers in the industry. This shows the Megaways engine has intrinsic value as an umbrella or core product and value as a standalone, or more of a complementary ingredient.

The table below highlights the output of key providers and the proportion of Megaways games within their total portfolio.

Illustration 3: The above Megaways Game Provider Analysis bubble chart illustrates the total number of games published by particular providers.

• Megaways Specialists: Big Time Gaming, the creator of the Megaways mechanic, leads with ~50% of its game portfolio being Megaways titles. Niche providers like White Hat Studios and Iron Dog Studio also show high specialization, with Megaways making up ~32% and ~30% of their respective catalogs.
• High-Volume, Low-Focus Providers: Major industry players like Pragmatic Play and Blueprint Gaming have integrated Megaways into their extensive game libraries. While these providers have a high number of Megaways games, Megaways represents a smaller percentage of their total portfolio (~7% and ~22%). This indicates a strategy of leveraging the popular mechanic as a key element of a diversified product offering.

Trends & Insights

An analysis of Megaways game release data reveals a clear upward trend, with a significant increase in the number of new titles entering the market since the mechanic’s introduction.

Illustration 4: The above chart illustrates the number of megaways games released per year.

• Growth and Market Penetration: The number of Megaways releases has surged, peaking at 109 new games in 2023, and showing a significant jump from just 1 release in 2015. This trend demonstrates the mechanic’s establishment as a staple in the online casino market.
• Megaways as a Core Product: The consistent increase in total game releases, coupled with the high number of Megaways titles, shows that developers are not only adopting the mechanic but are also committed to its continuous development and expansion.

Conclusion

The data suggests that Megaways’ success is not coincidental, nor has marked increase in a linear trajectory. It has undeniably created a new and significant segment within the online casino gaming space, a measurable market share of just over 2% of total casino titles. This market share is supported by a significant and consistent increase in game releases since 2015, with 2023 showing the largest number of new titles made. Its continued presence suggests a strong and consistent presence within an expanding market. Its mass appeal is also observable through the global usage rates from important subregions such as the Nordic countries, western Europe and Latin America.

For game providers, Megaways provides two distinct pathways for strategy. First, niche studios can establish a significant share of their portfolio built around the mechanic, just as we documented with a number of providers like Big Time Gaming and White Hat Studios, both with a sizable percentage of their catalogue as Megaways titles. Major developers like Pragmatic Play and Blueprint Gaming have neatly included Megaways into their portfolios to offer different products to players and take advantage of the popularity of Megaways. For operators, it is also important to understand the value of Megaways at both levels regionally and at the portfolio level, to properly implement product strategy and market approach.

These findings from IGamingCompass use real-time data to analyze performance, geographic trends, and market position, offering essential insights for any product-related activity. You can explore these insights in more detail by booking a demo with IGamingCompass.

FAQ’s