Stickem

What is Stickem?

Earlier this year, the Illinois Gaming Board approved 65 VGT licence applications in the city, according to the Sun-Times. VGTs are the highest-grossing gaming vertical in Illinois, generating substantially more revenue and taxes than land-based casinos.

Papanier said the components of Bally’s Chicago that are being “reset and re-contemplated” are “all in conjunction with the proliferation of VGTs”. While the current number of licences is low, he asserted that widespread proliferation could result in a “30% to 50% impact on top-line revenue” for the casino and it would be “irresponsible” to continue construction “until we understand what the landscape looks like”.

Bally’s stock jumped 7% in trading on Monday to $9.84. Shares had fallen 30% in the last month in response to uncertainty in Chicago and warnings about the company’s ability to continue as a growing concern in its Q2 earnings report. Former CFO Mira Mircheva resigned on 4 September, prompting Papanier to take over the role on an interim basis.

How to play Stickem

The most distinctive product choice is presentational. Chicken and Johnny Cash are brought to life with voiced exchanges between the two characters, a detail BGaming describes as an industry-first for the studio and one aimed squarely at retention rather than math.

The clearest read on Johnny vs Chicken is this. BGaming is starting to treat its characters as reusable brand assets that can be moved between games. That’s a meaningful shift for a studio, because it turns individual hit titles into a connected roster rather than one-off releases.

The provider frames the goal in engagement terms. BGaming says the rivalry makes the game feel more personal, drawing players in and inviting them to pick a side, creating the potential for longer play sessions and building streamer appeal. Streamer visibility in particular rewards recognizable characters and on-screen drama, which is where the voiced duel format is designed to pay off.

What is Stickem?

That is the gap Splash Tech solves: many operators already have strong game libraries, and some have proprietary content, but they lack a flexible jackpot layer that can sit across the full offering without requiring them to build and operate their own engine.

That supplier-agnostic design matters because operators do not organise their businesses around the interests of one studio. They assemble portfolios from multiple providers and need tools capable of working across the resulting patchwork. Splash Tech’s engine can also extend beyond slots to points of sale including sportsbook bet slips, lottery and bingo.

“Not making the product available across all game suppliers and all product verticals would be a massive missed opportunity,” Wilson explains. “Wherever you can have a player placing a bet, give them the opportunity to win on the jackpot engine because it is such a sticky product.”