Back in 1996, a man named Sal Falciglia bought a 1950s-era slot machine from Mexico. This Bally-branded box already had quite the journey, having originally been built thousands of miles away in Chicago.
While it only worked in Mexican pesos at the time, it would eventually be stripped down and reborn as the prototype for Slingo, a brand-new game.
Game Mechanics
Now owned by the British company Gaming Realms, Slingo melds slot machine play with bingo. However, the traditional ‘caller’ in the latter game is replaced with slot reels. Each spin produces numbers that are marked off the bingo card.
The objective of Slingo is the same as bingo, i.e., collect lines (the eponymous Slingos) to unlock prizes. A “full house” nets the player the highest reward of all when all the numbers are cleared.
What makes Slingo so different from its inspiration is the wider influence of video slots. Due to competition in the iGaming space, developers have become increasingly experimental with game mechanics.
Traditionally, the player only had to match three symbols in a row to win. Today, there may be multiple reels, all capable of spinning up prizes. It’s even possible to find games that dispense with the reels altogether, in favour of tumbling blocks.
Gaming Realms would eventually adopt many of these ideas for Slingo. One variant, Slingo Starburst, a popular part of the online bingo UK scene, includes expanding wilds. These special symbols substitute for others on the reels.
Branding Ventures
On that note, at least part of Slingo’s success is due to its adaptability. It works as an off-the-shelf package for other branding ventures.
For instance, Slingo Deadliest Catch represents a partnership between Gaming Realms and the Discovery reality show. A similar game, Deal or No Deal Slingo, kept its namesake relevant even during its 2016-2023 hiatus in the UK.
One of Gaming Realm’s most celebrated collabs was with Inspired Gaming, the producers of the Reel King slot franchise. It was the second such partnership with the developer, following Slingo Centurion, a title with a Roman theme.
At the time, in 2022, Slingo Creative Director Dan Lamond explained why some games were more suitable for Slingo branding than others. Surprisingly, only part of the selection process focuses on the technical aspects of casino games.
Lamond explained that he’d been a fan of Reel King since its original launch. “I was delighted to get to put our spin on it”. Of course, any creative team-up offers mutual benefits, giving “fans on both sides” a new way to experience their favourite games, Lamond continued.
Share Price
Twenty years on from Slingo’s inception, all the signs point to Gaming Realms announcing a record year for the twelve months to December 31, 2025. This includes a 10% increase in revenue to £31.4m.
Fortunes are split on either side of the Atlantic. The developer credits the United States with creating much of its recent growth. Gaming Realms claims that 61% of all revenue now comes from American markets. In the UK, revenue actually fell 10% over 2025.
On that latter point, and almost as soon as Gaming Realms made its revenue announcement, traders noted a 16% slide in the company’s share price, partly due to what the Motley Fool website described as a potentially “violent” stock market crash. A major worry is that mass layoffs caused by AI efficiencies could curb consumer spending. In the US, the latter accounts for 70% of GDP.
British investment bank Peel Hunt didn’t seem concerned for Gaming Realms, stressing that traders should continue to buy the stock. The UK may become increasingly marginalised in Gaming Realms’ future, however. Another slide in revenue worth 16% is expected by 2027.
New Markets
Markets aside, Gaming Realms continues to come up with new ideas for Slingo. For instance, Slingo Loteria Don Clemente, one of the newest additions to the canon, takes its cues from a more familiar place – a Mexican lottery. It has a charming presentation based around picture cards. More importantly, it’s not a pop culture icon like the previous two games.
Gaming Realms added two new markets in 2025, in South Africa and Switzerland, taking its total footprint to thirty countries. Perhaps inevitably, the group expressed a desire for further growth in North America, suggesting Maine and the Canadian state of Alberta as options.
For the future, the company has two goals – one, an expansion into Asia, Africa, and other nations emerging onto the casino scene. Secondly, it wants to launch its own studio. Gaming Realms has designs on “diversifying” its product range by moving things in-house.
Created by Sal Falciglia, who was then working as a real estate developer in New Jersey, Slingo is now one of the most buoyant properties in a crowded market – and it’s barely changed at all since its inception.
