Pragmatic games ‘Drops & Wins’

[Tvd]

These games - Big Bass etc - often have tournaments/ drops & wins you can join when loading up the game.

The tournaments seem a bit unnecessary because any winners will by default have had to have won already, and won big.

But the ‘prize drops’ puzzle me. In all the time I’ve played the many games, opted in, I’ve never had a thing from these supposed drops. No cash, no free spins, nothing. And as i understand it, any spin qualifies and could potentially win something - and there’s always thousands of little prizes available.

Has anyone ever had any of these? If so, what happens in the game? Or am I better off not opting into these because it seems pointless.

 

[SCATT3R]

You opt in automatically by playing the games.

I've gotten like 4 prizes in 5 or so years (3 tiny ones and one that was pretty ok actually), and I play Pragmatic all the time, so I'd say the chances to win any are absolutely minimal. Got one a few days ago though, a x10 on my bet (which was 0.5). It popped up while playing, not sure if it was immediately credited. Got no notification other than that, but you can always check if you've won by clicking on the tournament symbol, it'll take you to a list of winners, and it'll say "You" and the prize if you got any.

 

[Tvd]

Ah, thanks. At least it is possible to win something, although with the sheer amount of very low value prizes you’d think they’d not be quite so rare to see.

 

[jasonuk]

Remember these prize pools are across all sites (and heavily promoted by the fake money streamer crowd), and often over long periods.

Additionally, a lot of the newer offerings are multipliers of stake rather than fixed cash prizes - so the headline prize pool is "predicted" (whether you believe the prediction or not) rather than actual.

So there may be thousands or tens of thousands of spins per trivial prize awarded - "absolutely minimal" mentioned above is a good summary of it. It's like trying to win a daily drop jackpot in the first three quarters of the day... it's mathematically possible but will it happen? ?

As a related aside, there is a Wazdan network promotion going on now - I've seen multiple operators quote a €4m prize pool (based on every box having the maximum prize) rather than the declared prize pool of €800k (a mixture of four prize tiers). So just because a site is claiming it's true, I wouldn't necessarily believe it is either...

 

[iGamer_addict]

So I’ve been also playing a lot of slots lately, and I keep seeing these Drops & Wins popping up, where they give away huge prizes – like millions of dollars across the year, etc.

Also, what’s the real point of game providers doing this? I mean, they’re giving away massive amounts of money… Do you think they do it just to drive more players to their games, or is there something bigger behind the scenes? I haven't won anything so far.

 

[L&L-Jan]

Also, what’s the real point of game providers doing this?

retention

 

[jasonuk]

So I’ve been also playing a lot of slots lately, and I keep seeing these Drops & Wins popping up, where they give away huge prizes – like millions of dollars across the year, etc.

Also, what’s the real point of game providers doing this? I mean, they’re giving away massive amounts of money… Do you think they do it just to drive more players to their games, or is there something bigger behind the scenes? I haven't won anything so far.

A couple of million across the year across hundreds of operators isn't a huge amount of money in gambling terms... but operators will happily promote it because that money isn't coming out of their promotion budget.

The goals I can think of, which mostly boil down to "retention" as Jan has mentioned:

• more visibility - banners, better placement in game listings
• tighter integration with technical platforms (e.g. evolution bonuses, playtech one)
• encouraging customers to trade 2-6% of actual RTP, for a tiny fraction of that as "promotion" RTP (e.g. William Hill)
• encouraging players to play for longer - particularly rake races
• encouraging players to bet higher - particularly prize pools that offer multiplication of stake rather than stated prizes.

Additionally, in a number of cases the Pragmatic prize pools are "estimated" or "expected" - and the few times I've looked into their numbers they've looked incredibly shaky, but old habits die hard.

It's worth noting other providers have started doing the same misleading marketing - Wazdan has just started advertising another fictional prize pool of £2m assuming all 4000 winners get the top £500 prize (I would expect the vast majority of prizes will be £5, £10 or £20 - so perhaps closer to £200k?). Always keep an eye out for what is an actual prize pool, and what is a hypothetical or theoretical one.

 

[iGamer_addict]

Interesting, thank you for the detailed response. In this case, how does the operator cover its costs if the game provider sponsors the promotion network? I guess it's the time and resources spent on integration.

But apart from that, I agree, only insiders know the ROI, and the real numbers behind the scenes, how much do they actually pay out to players.

 

[jasonuk]

Interesting, thank you for the detailed response. In this case, how does the operator cover its costs if the game provider sponsors the promotion network? I guess it's the time and resources spent on integration.

But apart from that, I agree, only insiders know the ROI, and the real numbers behind the scenes, how much do they actually pay out to players.

Assuming there are any costs in the first place (network promotions tend to be paid for by the provider, so the operator cost may be close to zero - e.g. marketing), then the increased playthrough at 3-8% house edge should more than cover it.

In the vast majority of cases these network promotions are worth peanuts - 0.1% RTP or less - so it's a big shiny number for marketing but has nearly zero impact on your gameplay... even though players love to get carried away chasing these things with very little chance of success.

 

[lockinlove]

retention

I dont think that works on anyone? Ive played a tonne of pragmatic slots and only won a $15 prize once. I dont even pay attention to that stuff.

 

[sufferinsilence]

I dont think that works on anyone? Ive played a tonne of pragmatic slots and only won a $15 prize once. I dont even pay attention to that stuff.

Well, congrats... I've never won a cent from those

 

[lockinlove]

Well, congrats... I've never won a cent from those

I have played them alotttttt over the years it started and all $1 bet minimum and ive won it once. They are super rare. Why even do them? Seems like a waste on their end

 

[justdoit]

i won one tim £20 I was on autoclick massage pop for like 2sec, casino never credit £20 they ask me for prove, thanks god was £20 not £100k lol