The Nevada Gaming Control Board recommended Canadian-founded and Las Vegas-based slot-game developer Bluberi Gaming for licensing in Nevada. It will be considered by the Nevada Gaming Commission on Sept. 25.
A 2016 bankruptcy filing and restructuring that led to its acquisition in 2019 by Catalyst Capital Group of Toronto, a private-equity firm, Bluberi has experienced significant growth and expanded into new markets. In 2024, it secured $55 million in financing to support the roll-out of its Shark’s Lock and Devil’s Lock: All-In games and to return some capital to Catalyst.
Bluberi broadened its footprint in 2024 by entering 29 new jurisdictions, including obtaining licenses in Indiana, Louisiana, Oregon, Ontario, Rhode Island, Virginia, and West Virginia. It entered 2025 looking to expand not only in Nevada but to Ohio, Iowa, Louisiana (tribal), New Jersey, New Mexico (racinos), Mississippi, Illinois, and British Columbia.
In April 2024 Bluberi opened an 80,000-square-foot corporate headquarters in Las Vegas, which supports its business operations and manufacturing efforts.
“This is an exciting day for Bluberi and an exciting day for the state of Nevada,” said Bluberi’s private legal counsel Scott Scherer. “Blueberi is a very innovative company that makes excellent products and many Nevada licensees are excited to have them come here.”
Bluberi CEO Andrew Burke, who joined the company in January 2020, said the business wasn’t the same then as it is today. It had been around for a long time in various formats and had a strength in technology and art, but hadn’t understood how to pivot into a gaming manufacturer.
“The business was in a turnaround phase,” Burke said. “With a lot of support from a lot of amazing folks at the company, we built some fantastic products and really started growing.”
Burke credited their financial partner for helping get through a tough time, especially with the onset of the pandemic.
In 2019, the company had 66 licenses and was applying for licenses everywhere with a strategy and plan. But they paused the growth mode, even in Nevada, because they weren’t ready for that.
Today, Bluberi has 194 licenses with 12,000 units in North America, up from 1,500 in 2019. Revenue has grown four times over the last three years, Burke said. Licenses are pending in several more jurisdictions.
“We already do business with a number of Nevada licensees in different jurisdictions,” Burke said. “We know what their standards are and many of us who have worked in the business for a long time know what it means to be a Nevada licensee and the standard we need to operate in the state.”
The number of game titles Bluberi has been putting out is an indicator of growth, Burke said. In 2024, they put out seven titles; this year it’ll be 14. “We’ve made significant investments in R&D to be able to do that.”
Burke said Nevada is important for the company’s growth and has become its home. When he arrived in 2020, 21 people were working in Nevada in what he called a tiny office. It has 92 today in its new office. Three years ago, it opened an office in Reno, where it has 20 employees and is growing, Burke said. “Nevada is a really important part of our growth story.”
Bluberi has six studios that generate content, up from one in 2020 when Burke arrived, including two in Canada.
“Blending the two cultures (French Canadian and American) has been a superpower for our business,” Burke said. “There’s a ton of creative talent in our Canadian offices, and we’ve been building some really great products with them.”
The company launched two new product lines in 2024 — the Beacon Elite and Beacon+. Beacon Elite is Bluberi’s first premium product line, which was released with Devil’s Lock All In, a follow-up game to Devil’s Lock, and Honey Bomb. More than 400 hours of research and development went into crafting the Beacon Elite and its subsequent product line. Beacon Elite creates a big impact on the casino floor with its impressive sign package and premium game content, Burke said.
“We decided early on we would focus on a lower quantity and higher-quality game and figure out how to scale,” Burke said. “We put out four games the first year and all four games were really good. It was a lightbulb moment for us that a lot of times you’re chasing volume and you get a diluted product. The team has developed a process that creates consistently better-than-average games. It doesn’t guarantee home-run successes every time, but it has raised the floor on our worst games. We have very few games that didn’t meet house average. We’ve had a high number of games that tracked the top 25.
“Once we figured how to build a quality game, we had to figure how you build more of them. Our answer to that has been to add studios. We’ve invested in a new studio almost every year I’ve been in the business and it takes about three years to ramp up and start putting out games. Out of six studios, only three are fully ramped, putting out four to six games a year. Two will have their first games out this year, so that’s how we’re scaling the business.”
Creativity is the lifeblood of the business, Burke told the Board. The game-developing team has a deep understanding of what does and doesn’t work. Starting with what works enables them to take a lot of creative risks.
“It’s a balance and negotiation on every single game,” Burke said. “What you find in our games is a combination of things on trend and working right now with something new sprinkled into it. That recipe has really worked.”
Bluberi has 70% direct sales and 30% recurring revenue, Burke said. “The recurring revenue has been a significant growth driver for us year over year.”
Gaming Control Board Chair Mike Dreitzer welcomed Bluberi as a licensee, though they’re already headquartered in Nevada.
“You have the ability to bring your unique products to Nevada,” Dreitzer said. “Mr. Burke, to your credit, you assembled a terrific team in a very difficult industry. To be able to carve out your niche and grow from there against some of the giants that have been established for decades, that’s kudos to you.”
