What's the impact you've seen so far in the reception from the audience, and how have you measured that?
It really is the early days for us, but we're seeing some very positive developments. The game is translating well into our gaming platform and the results are looking promising, even though it's still early days. Our primary focus right now is on expanding distribution in the market and collaborating with customers to make the games available. We've made excellent progress on that front and are currently live in North America, specifically in New Jersey, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Ontario, Canada. We have numerous launches in progress, including partnerships with MGM and Rush Street, among others. So, there's significant progress and the demand for Buffalo is substantial – as one would expect. We're thoroughly enjoying working with our customers to bring it to market.
In terms of what's next, while I may not be able to disclose specific details, we do have plans for future game adaptations and releases in the iGaming market. We will continue to invest in the Buffalo brand and introduce various titles to the market. The next major launch from us will be the Gold Collection, expected later this year and we'll work closely with our customers to make it available. Additionally, we have other brands within our group, such as Gold Stack and Timber Wolf, which are showing promising growth. Following the acquisition of Roxor, we'll also expand into the UK market with some intriguing brands.
Moreover, when you consider the casino environment in North America, there are brands with a significant presence, such as Cash Express, Luxury Line and Jackpot Carnival. We anticipate rolling out some of these games in the near future.
Was there also a concern that you might be taking business away from land-based slots when you decided to adapt the games for the iGaming market?
I believe the reality is that the world is moving toward an environment where players want to access games both through iGaming formats and traditional land-based formats. For our group, the decision has been clear: we need to embrace this shift while keeping the player in mind. It's all about how we can continue to engage our players across multiple channels. That's the real opportunity we have here. Instead of seeing it as a negative, we view it as a positive development.
When you consider how Aristocrat is structured as a group, we have our land-based gaming teams, as well as an iGaming team and a casino systems business known as CXS. Bringing all of these elements together allows us to better understand the player, how our games are being consumed and how we can leverage different channels to create more entertainment for players. We are genuinely optimistic about the next three to five years and how we can collaborate with our customers to bring these opportunities to life.
For the second part of this interview with Morris, please see Gambling Insider’s GI Friday publication when it's live this week.
