Casino proved to be the second-biggest earning category in the US for Q4 2020, according to GameRefinery's Casino Snapshot Report.

For the three months ending December 31st 2020, casino titles accounted for 17.2 per cent of all mobile games revenue in the US. The majority of which, 80 per cent, was generated by the slots subgenre.

It was found that the top-performing titles within the casino category all had a range of key features, including live events, a piggy bank system, daily quests, rankings, VIP systems and collectables.

Take material items as an example. Of the top 20 per cent of casino games, 60 per cent utilise the feature, while just 36 per cent of all titles in the genre include them.

As for player motivation, it was found that consumers turn to casino-based titles for excitement, competition and item collection.

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"Casino games are a rather odd bunch in comparison to other mobile game genres, as they are not "video games" in the traditional sense, but rather mobile extensions of the real casino world (with the exception that you can't win real money)," said GameRefinery chief game analyst US Erno Kiiski.

"Casino games have enjoyed huge success, especially in the US, probably due to legislation that has banned real online casino to a great extent. Currently, the Casino category generates approximately 17 per cent of all revenues on mobile (Q4 2020 US iOS), the same level of market share it has more or less had over the past years.

"In other words, Casino games are the second biggest revenue generator in the US after Match3 Puzzle games. It's true that Casino subgenres (Slots, Poker and Bingo ) differ quite a lot when it comes to core gameplay mechanics, but they share a lot of similarities within other features, especially with the recent surge of collection mechanics.

Kiiski concluded: "It's therefore interesting to see how these three subgenres evolve in the future and if they continue to adopt features from other mobile game genres."

Recently, GameRefinery was snapped up by mobile ads performance platform Vungle.