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What Happened to all the Marvel Themed Slots?

June 1st, 2021 by Irwin Fletcher Comments

Marvel themed slots were for many years the preferred games for casino enthusiasts with a keen eye for superhero movies. The partnership between the company behind the Hollywood blockbusters and online casinos lasted for many years. The seeds of their removal were planned more than a decade ago, back in 2009 when Marvel Entertainment was acquired by the Disney. Players were able to enjoy them for eight more years, until March 2017 when they were officially removed from circulation.

Why were Marvel themed slots retired?

At the peak of their popularity these games appealed to a broad audience and were enjoyed by both casual and veteran punters. The slots were visually appealing, had a unique theme and a high return to player, therefore they checked all the important boxes. Players loved spinning their reels and most of the leading casinos were providing players with real money and free games. Perfect for mobile devices, they were among the most played games, so the sudden announcement that they will be removed came as a shock.

Disney brands itself as a family-friendly company and this poses obvious problems for online gambling fans. The games were supposed to be played exclusively by people above 18 years old, so there was no danger of children spinning their reels. Even though there was no legal concern, Disney decided that the benefits of licensing these games to online casinos were too low. The decision came suddenly, but online gambling operators had no option but to comply with the new terms.

The first licenses were awarded to casinos in the wake of the successful release of the Iron Man film. Back in the day, the Marvel universe was not so popular among moviegoers and the films were clearly targeted to a specific audience. Their growing popularity took everyone by surprise, including Marvel who came up with more superhero themed movies. They were able to capitalize on the success of the genre and this caught the eye of Disney who decided that it was worth paying a huge amount to buy them.

Online casinos reel from the loss

Most Marvel themed slots were licensed for many years, especially in the early ones. Even so, time passed unabated and one by one the superhero themed slots were retired. Disney has no intention to renew the license agreements, so such games will no longer be available in the foreseeable future. Online casino operators were initially frustrated by the fact that they were no longer able to provide such games to their enthusiastic audience. Players were also upset by the removal of these popular games.

The sheer size of the online gambling industry see source here meant that the actual impact of Marvel themed slots being retired was relatively small. PlayTech was the software developer that invested heavily in these games and it is one of the frustrated companies. Even so, they have made a lot of money during the time the games were available, so only future profits were hurt by this decision.

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