Licensed slots are the most lucrative, but also the most dangerous game to play in the slot business. With dozens of slots being released practically every single month, literally the only way to stand out from the crowd is to either be heavily promoted by the casino (which is almost impossible without some pretty heavy deals involved) or to bear the name of a very recognizable and popular brand, such as “Game of Thrones” or “Jurassic Park”. While doing these licensing deals to place very recognizable names front and center on the slots certainly has its benefits, it’s also a bit of a double edged sword, because at some point the license holder may decide they’re no longer interested in the agreement and pull out, leaving the slot developers with no way to continue the partnership.

That is the exact same situation in which famous developers Playtech found themselves when their long-term partners Marvel were purchased by corporate giant Disney. Disney has a notoriously anti-gambling stance, and while they didn’t have the power to cancel out the deal, they were perfectly able to let it expire. As such, one of the most successful business partnerships in iGaming history came to a sudden end, with many amazing classics like “The Avengers” and “Spider-Man: Attack of the Green Goblin” suddenly finding themselves orphaned. They’re still playable and still have their Marvel jackpot attached to them, but unfortunately no new slots based on the Marvel properties can be made, and since audiences grow bored quite quickly, in 2017 it’s hard to find anyone seriously playing the old Marvel slots, which were once some of the most popular games around.

Not wanting to remain without work, Playtech quickly struck a deal with Warner Bros in 2016 to create several slots based on DC properties, with another deal last month for slots based on their most recent movies, including “Justice League” and “Suicide Squad”. The fruits of those agreements became prominent when, over the course of the year, Playtech released multiple slots based on movies like “Green Lantern”, “Man of Steel” and the earlier Christopher Reeve “Superman” flicks, as well as not one, not two, but six different slots based on the “Batman” TV show from 1966 (which is 5 more than it deserves, but that’s just me). These slots have been reviewed, and so far the general consensus is that they’re pretty good. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like they’re primed to receive the same level of attention as their Marvel counterparts.

That’s completely natural – Marvel has been killing it at the box office, with currently the single biggest movie franchise of all time. Yes, you heard it correctly – Marvel has made more money than “Star Wars”, “James Bond” and “Pirates of the Caribbean”! Warner Bros, despite fully owning all of their characters (unlike Marvel, whose most popular characters like the X-Men and Spider-Man reside with other studios, even if Spider-Man is allowed to share a world with the Avengers) and also being in possession of some of the biggest pop culture icons of all time, like Batman and Superman, have simply been unable to produce a movie franchise to even come close to what Marvel has built. And unfortunately, no matter how good Playtech’s slots are, until Warner Bros get it together and make a decent DC movie, we’re not going to get a slot that’ll surpass “The Avengers” in popularity. There is hope, though – the new trailer for “Justice League” has been received quite well, so with a bit of luck maybe Batman and Superman’s team can truly measure up to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in both cinemas and online casinos. I’ll keep you guys posted when November approaches!