Casino Software Providers Reviews
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ONLINE CASINO SOFTWARE COMPANIES
Online casino software is the crux of online gaming – it is the reason why you are here. No software? No casino.
Some software companies have been here since the very beginning – most notably Microgaming and Realtime Gaming which were active in the late 90s, then came Playtech in 2001, NetEnt and the rest followed suit.
Since the early 2000’s, we have gone from a handful of software providers to several hundred. If you are into video slot games, online casinos host slot games that will do laps around their land-based brethren. If you are into video poker, Microgaming downloadable versions offer loads of VP that is only rivaled by Action Gaming. Live casinos just recently became a reality with the technical improvement of proper streaming and licensing. A decade ago, it was archaic and problematic.
Joining the fray a bit too late in the game are your traditional land-based software providers like Scientific Games, Aristocrat, Bally, etc., these games can only be accessed in certain jurisdictions – which will be disappointing for those of you who live and play from “grey areas” or unlicensed territories (i.e. Australia, most of the US, Pakistan, Iran etc.).
In essence, there is something for everybody. I hope that you will find these few modest pages to be helpful. Caveat, the list is not exhaustive, but we will be expanding and adding more reviews as time progresses.
What you should understand about gaming software.
For one thing – without the software, you wouldn’t have the casino. And in most cases, the quality of software reflects the quality of the casino. But this is more or less a rule of thumb – there are many casinos to avoid that have outstanding games.
Right after the big bang of the Internet explosion of the 90’s, most software developers started with their own casinos: Microgaming gave birth to Gamingclub.com in 1996, Playtech to Clubdice in 2001 (which they immediately spammed the forum here: ClubdiceCasino.com) , Crytpologic gave birth to Intercasino, and NetEnt had Casinodomain.com.
As the software got better, and since more people wanted to get their hands in the pie – these software companies began to create more casinos and license them out – either the casino, the software or both. Within a few years there were over 3000 casinos – most all being run with one software provider and one licensing jurisdiction.
Each software provider had different approaches towards players and towards their operators. It used to be that most software providers were willing to reign in a misguided operator, but it was a bit problematic for them since these operators were bringing in a lot of cash (software providers receive either licensing fees, a percentage of revenue, or both), so obviously many became reluctant on correcting rogue operators.
Microgaming was a hands on entity – they would intervene, Playtech would give lip service or none at all, RTG would try and help – but some of their operators were so out of line it was almost funny, and as time went by, the more distanced they became.
It was in the early 2010s that casinos were able to host games coming from several providers via Quickfire and other multiplatform game launchers. The paradigm shifted from NetEnt, Microgaming, or Playtech only casinos to multiplatform mega slot casinos. Competition and players’ expectations have been the catalyst for this development.
There are several aspects of gaming software that players should look for. Here are only a few:
- Variety of platforms (Slots, Video poker, table games, etc.)
- Aesthetics (graphics, appearance, etc.)
- Transparency (RTP listings, licensing
- Mobile friendly
If you are a video poker fan or table game fan, then you should be looking for downloadable Microgaming casinos, if you are into video slots – then you have a load of software providers to wade through. The thing is to know what you want to play before playing.
Aesthetics is really related to the quality of the software. There are still a number of casinos that host clunky software – and some players don’t mind. But if you are looking for something innovative – or absolutely mind-boggling, hopefully our reviews will help you out.
Transparency is important. As a player, you need to know if the games you are playing are the real deal – not rip off variations of NetEnt being hosted from servers in Belarus. Where is the casino licensed? This is a good indicator where the casino is licensed. If it is licesned in the EU, UK, or the US, you should be good to go (software-wise).
And mobile friendly speaks for itself. As the old-timers start kicking the bucket – there won’t be nothing but folks playing on their phones, probably having slotgames embedded in their arms. We’ll see.
Please note: You will notice that we have rated the software on a scale of 1-10. One is my rating which I take a number of things into account: transparency, aesthetics, innovation, responsiveness to player input, etc. Then we have a player rating – this is based on input from our Meister Minions – our members who are assisting us in maintaining the data in our Casinomeister reviews.
Also, the number of casinos listed is based on how many Accredited Casinos and Grey Zone.
Anyway, I hope these reviews help you out. If you have any questions about anything in these reviews, please feel free to post these question in our forum.
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31
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63
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8
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54
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