A new No. 1 took over the leaderboard at Hard Rock Bet Online Casino in September, and some new arrivals shook up the rest of the board.
Following up our August 2026 online casino leaderboard piece, I pulled our monthly numbers from September to see what New Jersey and Michigan players have been playing. Below is what our first-party data turned up for slots, table games and live dealer games. I also give a few recs of what to check out in October below.
Most Popular Casino Games: Our Top 10 Leaderboard for September 2026
Hard Rock Triple Prosperity climbed 18 spots to No. 1 and more than doubled its audience from August. Lightning Link Tiki Fire made the biggest debut, going straight to No. 2 in its first month. Meanwhile, Hard Rock Hotstepper slid to No. 4 after two straight months at No. 1.
Here’s the full September top 10 leaderboard, which shows each game’s movement from August. Popularity is based on the number of individual players combined from both states.
Rank | Move | Game | Studio | Min Bet | Max Bet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ⬆️ 18 | Hard Rock Triple Prosperity | Playtech | $0.10 | $120 (NJ), $245 (MI) |
| 2 | NEW | Lightning Link Tiki Fire | Aristocrat | $0.50 | $100 |
| 3 | – | Wolf It up Again! | Inspired Entertainment | $0.10 | $100 (NJ), $150 (MI) |
| 4 | ⬇️ 3 | Hard Rock Hotstepper | White Hat Studios | $0.10 | $50 (NJ), $100 (MI) |
| 5 | – | Cash Eruption | IGT | $0.20 | $40 |
| 6 | NEW | Super Grand Link Express: Hold & Win* | Octoplay | $0.10 | $100 |
| 7 | ⬆️ 30 | Bigger Piggy Bank | Inspired Entertainment | $0.20 | $100 |
| 8 | ⬆️ 10 | Huff N' Even More Puff Grand | Light & Wonder | $0.20 | $25 (NJ), $50 (MI) |
| 9 | ⬆️ 3 | Hard Rock Gold Blitz | Games Global | $0.20 | $50 |
| 10 | NEW | Gold Megaways | Big Time Gaming | $0.05 (NJ), $0.20 (MI) | $12 (NJ), $40 (MI) |
*Michigan only
Most Popular Table Games: Our Top 5
Blackjack still owns the non-live table games. Four of September’s five most popular are blackjack in some form, led once again by Hard Rock First Person Blackjack, a solo game designed to look like a live table.
Rank | Move | Game | Studio | Min Bet | Max Bet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Hard Rock First Person Blackjack | Evolution | $1 | $5,000 |
| 2 | ⬆️ 1 | Blackjack | IGT | $5 | $1,000 |
| 3 | ⬇️ 1 | Penny Roulette | Playtech | $0.01 | $5,000 |
| 4 | ⬆️ 1 | Blackjack | NetEnt | $1 | $500 |
| 5 | ⬆️ 2 | Blackjack* | White Hat Studios | $0.10 | $10,000 |
*Michigan only.
Most Popular Live Dealer Games: Our Top 5
The live dealer board got a shakeup. Crazy Time jumped two spots to No. 1, nudging Lightning Roulette to No. 2. MONOPOLY Live, last month’s No. 5, dropped out of the top five altogether. Mega Fire Blaze Roulette held onto a top-three spot on Michigan play alone.
Rank | Move | Game | Studio | Min Bet | Max Bet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ⬆️ 2 | Crazy Time | Evolution | $0.20 (NJ), $0.50 (MI) | $500 |
| 2 | ⬇️ 1 | Lightning Roulette | Evolution | $0.20 | $10,000 |
| 3 | ⬇️ 1 | Mega Fire Blaze Roulette* | Playtech | $0.20 | $500 |
| 4 | ⬆️ 2 | Infinite Blackjack | Evolution | $1 | $5,000 (NJ), $10,000 (MI) |
| 5 | ⬆️ 2 | Roulette | Evolution | $1 (NJ), $0.50 (MI) | $10,000 |
*Michigan only.
Games on the Rise
New games had a big September. 5 Perfect Diamonds and Ball X Multi-Drop both arrived in the second half of the month and were top 15 games within days, reaching No. 11 and No. 14, respectively, in the first couple weeks. Marlin Masters OG landed in the top 20 in under two weeks.
Among returning games, Hard Rock Gold Blitz grew by more than 70% and cracked the top 10, while Huff N’ Even More Puff Grand moved up 10 spots to No. 8.
Spooky season is already showing up, too. Halloween Wins 3 shot up from just outside the top 200 into the top 65, and will probably go up even further as more players stick to the theme in October.
Overall, players were curious in September. Nearly half (48%) tried at least one game that hadn’t been played at all in August.
Games That Have Cooled Off But Are Ready for a Comeback
Oink Oink Oink went from No. 2 to outside the top 30, and Money Link Moon Goddess fell from No. 4 to outside the top 20. Some of the August newcomers cooled quickly as well. Shark Pop: Coin Collect and 4 Crazy Cluckers both debuted in the top 10 last month, and both now sit outside the top 40. Wrappin’ Gold, which jumped into the top 20 in August, has dropped out of the top 200.
That’s a noticeable trend with new releases. Some start fast, then settle. Several of those games will likely bounce back in popularity at some point.
Hidden Gems Worth a Look
Some games never crack the leaderboard but have players who keep coming back. These had small audiences in September and some of the most dedicated players we saw.
Lucky Larry’s Lobstermania Slingo is the standout. It’s Gaming Realms’ Slingo take on the IGT favorite, and many players who tried it in September came back on about four different days in the month, more than double the typical game. Slingo DaVinci Diamond had the same pull, with players averaging close to four separate days of logging playtime.
Slingo is the pattern here. Among our smaller games, five of the 12 with the most dedicated players were Slingo titles, so if you like the slots-meets-bingo format, you’re not alone.
There are gems at the tables, too. Game King Video Poker is a quiet favorite with players logging more than three times the typical number of rounds in September, and its audience grew by about a third from August.
On the live dealer side, Three Card Poker from Evolution kept a steady crowd in both states, with players averaging close to three separate days of play in the month.
Our Recs on What to Play in October
October has a lot going on, so I’m splitting my recs into three themes:
Get spooky: Halloween is around the corner, and a batch of new games showed up just in time. Ghost Booster GO Guaranteed landed inside our top 15 in its first month, and Boo Bucks Bonus Wheel cracked the top 25 in just over two weeks. The rest of the Boo Bucks family is worth a look, too: Boo Bucks Purranormal for slot players and Boo Bucks Blackjack if you’d rather play a hand.
Stay in football mode: The NFL and college football seasons are in the thick of it, so keep the football theme going with Touchdown Multidrop. The game drops a ball down a pyramid of pins, and you build the board before every drop. Want more? Our football-themed games roundup has the full lineup.
Go hunting: Hunting season is underway, and Duck Hunters is my pick for the downtime between trips. It’s a goofy backyard slot with wins that tumble and multipliers that stack. Our hunting-themed games guide has the rest of the lineup.
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