Design Works Gaming

What Design Works Gaming does

Design Works Gaming (DWG) is a privately held, founder-led B2B casino game development studio headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, with a UK-registered entity in Wallingford (Design Works Gaming (UK) Limited, registered in England and Wales, company no. 11569669) serving European operations. Founded in 2005 by CEO Troy Zurawski—who states roots in three generations of Las Vegas casino professionals—the studio produces slot, bespoke, and proprietary LuckyTap™ casino content for licensed iGaming operators, social casino platforms, and land-based casino floors. All product development is performed in-house with no outsourcing, and the company holds GB Gambling Commission licenses for both UK and US entities (accounts 54622 and 55836) plus multi-state US approvals (NJ DGE, PA PGCB, MI MGCB, CT DCP) and Notice of Recognition in Malta.

The product portfolio spans four lines: (1) Real Money Gaming—200+ titles deployed on 42+ operators across 12 regulatory licenses; (2) Bespoke Games—custom exclusive titles for operators such as BetMGM, Caesars Entertainment, Betfred, William Hill, Golden Nugget Online Casino, and Resorts Digital Gaming; (3) Social Casinos—17 owned properties including Diamond Sky Casino, Spin Vegas Slots, Cash River Slots, and Happy Casino, serving 100+ countries with 800+ games; and (4) Land-Based Gaming—slot content for physical casino floors in the UK and US since 2005. The central technological differentiator is LuckyTap™, a proprietary, registered non-slot mechanic that replaces conventional reels with tap-based gameplay and is explicitly marketed as having no direct competitor. DWG also licenses the LuckyTap mechanic out—Playtech is cited as a licensee—for both IP owner monetization (NFL teams, Wayne Gretzky, Pop-A-Shot arcade) and competitor-studio co-development.

DWG monetizes through multi-year B2B content licensing arrangements (RMG, land-based, and LuckyTap outlicensing), fee-for-service bespoke contracts for exclusive branded titles, and freemium operations across the owned social casino portfolio. GTM is sales-led with parallel channel/distribution motion: direct enterprise sales to operators paired with licensing through aggregators and partner-distributed content. Customer concentration sits with several marquee iGaming brands (BetMGM, Caesars, William Hill, Betfred, Golden Nugget) layered onto a 42+ operator base and a 17-property social casino consumer footprint across 100+ countries.

Name

Design Works Gaming

Legal name

Design Works Gaming (UK) Limited

Website

https://designworksgaming.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Design Works Gaming is a privately held, founder-led B2B casino game development studio producing slot, LuckyTap tap-based, and bespoke casino content for licensed iGaming operators, social casino platforms, and land-based casinos across the US, UK, and Malta.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Casino Game Development

NAICS

Gambling Industries (7132), Other Gambling Industries (713290)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Online Casino Studios & Game Publishers (Slots, RNG, Live Dealer) (MPAEABAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

iGaming Platform Providers (Turnkey/Casino & Sportsbook Platforms) (MPAEAKAA)

Keywords

• Slot game development
• Casino content licensing
• Proprietary gaming mechanics
• Social casino platforms
• Bespoke game design

Headquarters

HQ city

Scottsdale

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Real Money Gaming Licensing: Licensing of proprietary games to regulated real money gaming operators across multiple jurisdictions. Games are deployed on 30+ operators in 5 markets with over 90 titles live in RMG.
2. LuckyTap™ Licensing: Licensing the LuckyTap mechanic to other game suppliers and IP owners. Game suppliers like Playtech license the mechanic to develop their own LuckyTap titles. Also available for IP owners wanting to elevate their content offerings.
3. Social Casino Operations: Operates 17 owned social casinos including Diamond Sky Casino, Spin Vegas Slots, Cash River Slots and Happy Casino, serving players in 100+ countries with 800+ games.
4. Bespoke Game Development: Custom game development services for casino operators who want exclusive branded titles. Creates unique games tailored to partner brands and player bases.
5. Land-Based Gaming Content: Providing slot game content to casino floors in the UK and US, working with major land-based casino operators since 2005.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Design Works Gaming is a B2B casino game development studio that designs, produces, and licenses proprietary slot and tap-based games to real-money gaming operators, social casino platforms, and land-based casino floors. Its portfolio spans 800+ games, including a flagship proprietary mechanic called LuckyTap™ that replaces traditional reels with tap-based gameplay, enabling branded and IP-driven content. The company also operates 17 owned social casino brands and provides custom bespoke game development services.

Product overview

Design Works Gaming (DWG) operates as a game development studio offering a multi-product portfolio centered on its proprietary LuckyTap™ mechanic (a non-slot tap-based gaming system) alongside traditional stepper and video slots. The core offerings include: Real Money Gaming (RMG) with 200+ titles deployed across 42+ operators; Social Casinos with 17 casino brands and 800+ games; Bespoke Games for operator-customized exclusive titles; and Land-Based Gaming for physical casino floors. All products are developed entirely in-house with no outsourcing. The company has produced over 800 games total with 90+ titles currently live in real-money gaming markets.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• LuckyTap™: Proprietary non-slot game mechanic that allows integration of intellectual property into casino gaming experiences. Games under this brand include Pop-A-Shot LuckyTap™, Break the Bounty LuckyTap™, Flippin Rich LuckyTap™, Piggy Payouts Bank Buster LuckyTap™, Big Kick LuckyTap™, and Dubble Bubble LuckyTap™.

Products and services

• LuckyTap™ Licensing Proprietary non-slot casino gaming mechanic that replaces traditional reels and matching symbols with tap-based gameplay, licensed to other game developers (e.g., Playtech) and IP owners (sports teams, entertainment brands) for co-development of branded titles.
• Real Money Gaming (RMG) B2B real-money gaming content offering with 200+ titles, 42+ operators, and 12 regulatory licenses, covering both LuckyTap games and Vegas-style slots distributed to licensed iGaming operators.
• Social Casinos Platform of 17 owned-and-operated social casino brands including Diamond Sky Casino, Spin Vegas Slots, Cash River Slots, and Happy Casino, offering 800+ games to players in 100+ countries on a freemium model.
• Bespoke Games Custom game development service that creates exclusive branded titles tailored to operator partners including BetMGM, Betfred, William Hill, Golden Nugget Online Casino, and Resorts Digital Gaming.
• Land-Based Gaming Slot game content for physical casino floors in the UK and US, including titles such as Panda Queen, Wonders of Africa, Hold Your Horses, Bear Tracks, and Komodo Dragon, delivered to land-based casino operators.

Quantifiable outcome

• 30+ real-money gaming operators in 5 markets deploying DWG titles
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic and flagship.

• BetMGMcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor iGaming operator partnership where BetMGM offers DWG's creative and innovative content. Includes bespoke LuckyTap game development such as the Gretzky Goal game featuring Wayne Gretzky's likeness.
• Caesars EntertainmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership with seamless collaboration on bespoke product development tailored to Caesars brands and player base.
• Bluberi Gaming USAcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerLicensing partnership where DWG transforms Bluberi content into LuckyTap games, adding creative energy and resources to make games come to life while maintaining Bluberi's DNA.
• PlaytechstrategicTechnology or IntegrationMajor game supplier licensing the LuckyTap mechanic to develop their own branded LuckyTap titles, demonstrating industry recognition of the mechanic's value.
• Pop-A-ShotcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerLicensed LuckyTap mechanic to recreate the iconic basketball arcade game as a casino slot. DWG meticulously designed mechanics to mirror physical shooting, creating immersive gameplay.
• Resorts Digital GamingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBespoke game development partnership creating unique titles capturing New Jersey shore and Atlantic City vibe for Resorts players.
• BetfredcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for exclusive bespoke LuckyTap titles including Gone Fishing and King Catch games.
• William HillcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for exclusive bespoke LuckyTap titles for William Hill's casino platform.
• Golden Nugget Online CasinocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for exclusive bespoke game titles for Golden Nugget Online Casino platform.
• New York JetsflagshipOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerNFL licensing partnership for exclusive bespoke LuckyTap games including QB Blast, bringing first-hand perspective hockey experience to casino players.
• Detroit LionsflagshipOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerNFL licensing partnership for exclusive bespoke LuckyTap games including Big Kick and Lions Gold, bringing football-themed gaming experiences.
• Wayne GretzkyflagshipOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerLicensing partnership for Gretzky Goal LuckyTap game featuring hockey legend's likeness. Used motion-capture technology to emulate Gretzky's playing style.
• Land-Based Casino PartnerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership with major land-based casino operators in UK and US, providing slot content for casino floors including games like Panda Queen, Wonders of Africa, Hold Your Horses, Bear Tracks, and Komodo Dragon.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Pragmatic Play: A leading B2B online casino game studio that publishes slots and live-dealer content to operators worldwide under a licensing model, directly comparable to DWG's RMG distribution and content-publishing business.
• Play'n GO: Independent online casino slot studio with a multi-jurisdictional licensing footprint and B2B content licensing to operators, highly comparable in go-to-market, product scope, and operator-customer model.
• Evolution AB (NetEnt / Red Tiger): Public iGaming content supplier operating the NetEnt and Red Tiger brands producing online slot content for operator licensees; competes head-to-head with DWG for RMG real estate and operator mindshare.
• Yggdrasil Gaming: iGaming content publisher distributing proprietary and partner slot content via a franchise/tech platform to operators; comparable B2B distribution, content-studio model, and multi-vertical footprint.

Emerging players

• Hacksaw Gaming: Smaller but fast-growing online slot and instant-win studio with B2B licensing to operators; competes for the same operator shelf space as DWG's RMG and LuckyTap titles but at a different stage of scale.
• Push Gaming: Independent online slot studio with B2B distribution to operators; competes for the same content shelf space at RMG operators and shares DWG's focus on differentiated, data-driven slot mechanics.

Broad incumbents

• IGT (PlayDigital): Large publicly listed gaming equipment and digital content supplier with the PlayDigital iGaming content arm; an incumbent that licenses online slot content to operators and competes for the same Tier-1 RMG customers as DWG.
• Light & Wonder: Global gaming-content and technology incumbent (formerly Scientific Games) with a large iGaming content portfolio distributing to operators, comparable in B2B content licensing but operating at much greater scale.
• Aristocrat Leisure: Global slot-machine and digital-content manufacturer; overlaps with DWG through its online and land-based slot content businesses and competes for operator mindshare, though its primary base is in physical cabinets.
• Playtech: Largest publicly listed iGaming platform/content supplier and a DWG partner via the LuckyTap license; overlap in B2B slot publishing, multi-jurisdictional operator distribution, and broader iGaming platform scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat7 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/DesignWorksGaming
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/design-works-gaming
• Instagraminstagram.com/designworksgaming

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Design Works Gaming