Five brands that have defined the world of iGaming
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The iGaming industry is one of the newest tech sectors but one of the fastest-growing too. Established around the dawn of the “dotcom boom”, online casino gaming has been an escalating phenomenon and a source of convenience for fans of classic table games and slot titles. In fact, many of the leading UK-licensed operators today are still powered by some of the well-known pioneers of iGaming technology dating back to the industry’s infancy in the mid-1990s.
Those pioneers include software studios such as Microgaming, NetEnt and Playtech. All of which have left indelible marks on the iGaming scene as we know it today – and they’re still in existence now. These studios are attempting to find new, innovative ways to excite and entertain online players without them having to travel to their nearest land-based resort. Resorts that can often be tens or hundreds of miles away.
To that end, this article is a celebration of the creativity of the leading names in iGaming. They are an inspiration to creative start-ups, demonstrating that any business with a vision and a passion for pushing boundaries can make headway.
Microgaming
The Isle of Man-based iGaming software giant Microgaming has set the standard for so many other providers to follow through the years. Founded in 1994, Microgaming was said to have designed and built the world’s first fully online casino software program. Its buccaneering approach has never wavered, and it has been at the forefront of the iGaming industry from day one.
It was a founding member of the Interactive Gaming Council and even formalised the world’s first mobile-based casino gaming software. It also ushered in a new layer of immersivity to online slot titles, with the launch of licensed branded slot games, such as Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.
More recently, Microgaming has been at the forefront of the progressive slot phenomenon, whereby clusters of online slot games pool wagers to contribute towards an overarching progressive jackpot that can be won entirely at random. As of 2021, Microgaming had paid out over £1.5 billion in progressive jackpot winnings.
NetEnt
Swedish iGaming software pioneer came on the scene a couple of years after Microgaming, but its impact on the industry to date has been no less remarkable. The firm was founded by Pontus Lindwall, the son of Bill Lindwall, a pioneer of casino gaming in Sweden. It was originally known as Net Entertainment but would eventually evolve into NetEnt following a string of investments from external stakeholders.
Like Microgaming, NetEnt would pave the way for slick and immersive iGaming technology. It was the first to specialise in fully responsive slot and table gaming. Historically, NetEnt’s games – and indeed those from other leading studios – were powered by Adobe Flash plugins. However, these plugins were resource-hungry and often ground devices to a halt. NetEnt took the decision to reimagine its slot gaming portfolio, relaunching them in fully responsive HTML5 technology. This ensured NetEnt’s game library would be accessible on any desktop, laptop or mobile device, providing the best possible viewing experience on any screen size.
More recently, NetEnt’s focus has been squarely on honing its live dealer casino offering, bringing a host of innovative live streamed games to households in regulated markets.
Playtech
Playtech is an iGaming software company founded in Tartu, Estonia by an Israeli tech entrepreneur named Teddy Sagi. Sagi, who’s personal wealth amounts to approximately $5 billion, has invested heavily in Playtech’s operations since its foundation in 1999.
Within two years of its establishment, Playtech unleashed its inaugural iGaming product. It subsequently became a partner with many household names in the industry, namely bet365, Ladbrokes and William Hill, providing them with white-labelled iGaming software to power their online platforms.
Playtech took the decision to embark on wide-scale mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity, bringing the likes of YoYo Games, Quickspin, Best Gaming Technology and Snaitech under its wing. It has since become a one-stop-shop for iGaming operators, powering “omni-channel” casino gaming experiences.
Playtech is now a listed company on the London Stock Exchange and a mid-cap stock within the FTSE 250 index. It has also been the subject of M&A activity itself of late, with the likes of Aristocrat Leisure, TTB Partners and JKO Play weighing up ambitious takeover bids in the region of £2-£3 billion.
Evolution Gaming
In 2006, Evolution Gaming established itself around the dawn of mobile casino gaming. It also arrived at a time of rapid expansion of broadband connectivity, including improvements in download and upload speeds which made live streaming more possible. It subsequently became Europe’s leading B2B provider of live casino technology, underpinned by its own live dealer casino studios in Europe.
Its live casino studio in Riga, Latvia remains the largest in the continent to date. It has also recently launched a live casino studio in North America as it seeks to forge new B2B links with regulated and licensed operators in multiple US states.
12 months after opening its live dealer studio in Riga, Evolution also launched one in Malta, which has since become another international hub for its live dealer portfolio. Just over a decade after its launch, Evolution was publicly listed on the Nasdaq Nordic in June 2017. It’s since embarked on a string of ambitious acquisitions, including Ezugi, Red Tiger and, most significantly, NetEnt.
The merger of two live casino powerhouses such as NetEnt and Evolution can only be good for the future of live dealer gaming.
Blueprint Gaming
Blueprint Gaming is one of the few innovators in the iGaming industry to be headquartered in the UK. Blueprint are based in the modest East Midlands market town of Newark but their impact on the iGaming scene has been anything but modest. Blueprint initially launched in 2001 with a direct remit to design and supply slot games for the land-based gaming sector.
In 2008, they were acquired by German firm Gauselmann Group, with the plan of pivoting Blueprint towards the burgeoning iGaming industry. Since then, Blueprint have gone from strength to strength, developing their own unique slot titles, many of which have gone on to become enduring franchises among slot fanatics.
It’s also worth noting Blueprint’s impact on industry leading slot game mechanics. The group played a key role in the emergence of the ‘Megaways’ game engine, which does away with the conventional ‘payline’ game mechanics and instead focuses on symbol combinations. All of which was designed to help slot gaming appeal to a more mainstream audience.
The prospects for all five of these iGaming pioneers continue to remain bright, with the iGaming industry demonstrating the global potential that so many believed all those years ago.
