Slots Tracker: NetEnt’s year-long clutch on top spot crumbles

NetEnt’s Starburst reign as the leading slot in the iGaming Tracker rankings came to an end in October as perennial challenger Book of Dead by Play’n GO secured the top spot.

Starburst had been the top-ranked slot for the previous 12 months following October 2020’s algorithmic reshuffle and has finally been overtaken by the constant second placed title.

Starburst slips into second and is joined on the podium by third place finisher Big Bass Bonanza by Pragmatic Play.

Pragmatic Play’s Wolf Gold and Evolution’s Bonanza both rose one position to fourth and fifth, respectively.

Play’n GO’s Legacy of Dead, which finished fourth in September, slipped two places to sixth in October.

There were three new entrants in the October rankings with Evolution’s Dynamite Riches Megaways the highest-placing debutant in ninth place.

Playtech’s Age of the Gods: God of Storms, which was 15th in September, was the highest-ranking title to fall out of the rankings completely.

iGaming Tracker has also detailed the top-ranking new slots that were released in September and October.

Pragmatic Play’s Bigger Bass Bonanza retained top spot in the new games rankings from last month having gone live on 3 September.

Evolution secured a second and third place double with the new launches of Dynamite Riches Megaways and Gonzo’s Gold.

The game with the latest release date to secure a spot in the top 20 was Play’n GO’s Muerto En Mictlan (14 October) after finishing in 14th place.

The iGaming Tracker has changed its methodology of data collection and grading of games since October 2020 to give a fairer and broader reflection of the rankings.

Games are ranked by their position throughout the month on more than 500 of the largest casino sites in Europe. Only the ‘main’ page of the casinos is taken into account and the top 10 most prominent positions on those pages.

The previous number of sites the iGaming Tracker took into account was just 50.

The iGaming Tracker compiles the slots rankings by tracking casino sites across 24 European countries including the UK, Sweden, Germany, Italy, Norway and Denmark.

Each casino page is tracked every day over the month as well as which game occupies each position. Each position is weighted so the top positions on the page have a higher weighting than the positions on the bottom of the page. Likewise, the pages, sites and countries are weighted to give a fairer view on the success of casino games.

Table games such as roulette and blackjack are excluded from the rankings, as are live casino games.

1-31 October 2021