Opportunity: Social Casino Games Take Over APAC

May 30, 2025

As competitive mobile gaming is, especially in APAC, one genre is standing out without making much noise: social casino games.

Analysts put the global mobile social casino market at $8.51 billion in 2024 and forecasted it to almost double to $14.31 billion by 2030. If you think this growth rate of around 6% is impressive, zoom in on APAC. Asia-Pacific social-casino revenue is expanding even more rapidly at >13% CAGR, beating every other geography.

There’s no real cash involved. Just chips, spins, leaderboards, and retention rates most genres can envy. As a game developer, how can you ride this wave?

First, What Are Social Casino Games?

The main differentiator of a social casino game is the simulation of real casino classics and their mechanics: poker, blackjack, slots. Yet, there’s no real cash – or risk – involved.

Examples vary. From classic mobile slots and card titles fitting the category to a T, to some more unexpected representatives. Monopoly Go!, one of the biggest mobile gaming hits of the past decade, is technically a social casino, borrowing some casino-style core loops. Let alone another branch of the franchise: Monopoly Slots.

While there’s a global boom, it is not as loud due to the genre’s strong visual and mechanical resemblance to real gambling. Working with games that look like gambling but sell themselves as casual fun is an opportunity that comes with an asterisk.

On one hand, mobile social casinos produce higher-than-average retention, generate increased revenue with in-app purchases and ad monetization, and higher CPMs for ad publishers. Complex virtual economies, mainstream social features and deep engagement loops based on the Vegas tradition make these games so sticky, everyone from developers to ad publishers profit.

On the other hand, the resemblance to real gambling:

Makes platforms cautious: App stores and ad networks often apply stricter review processes, even if the game is legally not gambling.
Complicates marketing: Studios would downplay or rebrand the genre to avoid even a possibility of restrictions.
Triggers regulatory ambiguity: In some countries, these games sit in a gray zone, leading to legal hesitations or being silently avoided.
Blocks mainstream attention: Media tends to focus on real-money gaming or traditional mobile hits, while social casino still quietly drives high engagement and revenue behind the scenes.

The bad rep associated with social casinos, however, is dwindling. UK regulator’s own data-led review concluded that social-casino play was largely low-spend compared to the real thing, adult-dominated and didn’t present a pathway to the gambling harm – hence its decision to keep the sector under observation rather than regulate it like traditional gambling.

What’s Driving the Social Casino Surge in APAC?

While we’ve been scaling social casino games globally, APAC presents double the opportunity for the genre, for monetizers as well as advertisers. Here’s why:

Mobile-first economics
Affordable Android devices plus rapid 5G roll-outs make “always-online” slot apps feel native to daily life.

Affordable user acquisition
The average cost-per-install across all gaming in APAC is five times lower than that of the US, a discount of roughly 80% that lets publishers profit at lower ARPUs and scale campaigns that would be unviable elsewhere.

Smart monetization
Hybrid “casino + metagame” are now the standard of live-ops. Research highlights the spread of daily challenges, tiered loyalty rewards and achievement badges that lift day-30 pay rates and keep LTV curves climbing.

Regulatory sweet spot
Because virtual chips can’t be redeemed, social-casino apps skirt real-money bans in most APAC markets. App stores rarely pull titles operating on this model, so distribution remains legal and friction-free.

Regulation: Open (with an Exception)

The territory of increased profit comes with a set of its own rules. It’s a whole patchwork of law, culture, and ad platform policy. A design that works in Australia might get your app pulled in Thailand.

Rank	Country	Legal stance	Licence / Rating	Creative & UA guidelines
8 (strictest)	Vietnam	Banned outright.	Not possible	N/A
7	Thailand	SC apps in legal limbo due to 1935 Gambling Act. Stores still list them.	None available. Local promotion risks liability.	Avoid Thai-language casino cues & local promotion.
6	South Korea	Allowed *only* with a 19+ GRAC age rating.	Mandatory age restriction rating.	Must display 19+ icon in store assets and UA creatives; probability disclosure for any loot elements.
5	Singapore	Permitted if the game is F2P.	No individual licence. any token-to-value conversion means full licensing.	UA/Store materials must omit gambling elements; must not suggest cash-out.
4	Australia	Legal nationally, but every game with simulated gambling is 18+ by law.	Federal ACB R18+ classification.	All creatives must carry “R18+ – simulated gambling” marking.
3	Philippines	Generally allowed so long as zero cash-out or token-to-value conversion.	None.	Add “For entertainment only. No prizes” disclaimer.Avoid currency symbols or language that hints at earnings. Age-gate to 18+.
2	Japan	Legal.	None.	Do not use “complete gacha”; publish true odds; avoid misleading win-rate claims.
1 (most open)	Taiwan	Legal.	One-off TESRI age rating via IARC flow.	Normal age gate in creatives.

*As of May, 2025. This overview is for reference only. Always consult legal experts before launching.

Social Casinos to Benchmark Against

You see the core appeal of the social-casino gaming market of APAC: high engagement, high revenue, low regulatory friction (in the right market). Players spend time and money in these games – even though the currency means nothing outside the app.

That’s not an accident. These games are built to hold attention. Three examples of titles driving engagement and revenue:

Chinese Poker – KK Pusoy (Red Koda Software)

It’s a popular mobile version of the traditional Chinese Poker game; AKA “Pusoy” in the Philippines. The game is played across APAC, including China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

In adjoe’s Mobile Games Index 2024, this game was the absolute leader in terms of playtime across Asia.

Success factors:

Offline multiplayer: Makes it possible to continue playing together without an internet connection – via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
Unlimited free chips: Ensures continuous gameplay and much longer retention.
Multiple game modes: Includes several modes and locations – Macau, Singapore, Las Vegas, etc. – prolonging sessions even further with added gameplay diversity.

Higgs Slot – QiuQiu Remi (Higgs Games)

This is a casino game tailored specifically for Indonesian users. The game offers a blend of international slot games and traditional Indonesian card games.

Success factors:

Diverse games: Includes popular slot games and some traditional, more local offerings.
Daily bonuses: Players receive daily bonus coins, promoting engagement and building retention.
Social integration: Allows login via social media, along with cross-device play and social features.

The game’s design wins: while it caters to local preferences, it also combines familiar gameplay with modern slot mechanics to appeal to a much broader audience.

Coin Master (Moon Active)

Coin Master simplifies progression and onboarding to the extreme. It’s borderline hypercasual considering there are no tutorials or complex mechanics.

Success factors:

One-touch core loop: Tap to spin, win or lose; repeat.
Compressed reward cycles: Most spins yield some form of feedback: coins, attacks, shields.
Surface-level meta: Light base-building adds visual progress with minimal complexity.
Daily return incentives: Bonuses scale with consecutive logins, supporting habit formation.

It’s optimized for instant dopamine – a model that maximizes early-stage retention across casual audiences.

Let’s Take on the New Opportunity Together

adjoe knows these markets. We’ve helped partners grow across Asia-Pacific and beyond. For that, we even earned the title of the Best AdTech Company 2025 – APAC. It’s a full package for scale:

1. Compliance-First Advertising

Market-specific audits before launch
Creative reviews aligned with ad publisher brand safety guidelines and ad platform policy
Proactive risk checks to protect your accounts

2. Smarter Targeting