You are probably wondering:
With so many online and mobile casino games out there, how does one even choose what to play?
There is a huge demand for casino games, so it's no surprise that dozens, if not hundreds, of software providers have their hands full. Designing the next hit slot or the most popular live casino roulette table is no small feat, and software developers everywhere race to tap into the biggest upcoming trends.
One such trend was the switch to mobile, as it completely revolutionised the iGaming industry. Now, 3D technology, spectacular audiovisual trends and even virtual reality rising in popularity all make for a great environment for software providers to be operating in. Let's see what they're up to right now.
ProgressPlay – Microgaming – Big Time Gaming – Thunderkick
Most Popular Casino Software Providers
You'd be forgiven not to know about some of the more obscure software developers out there. Habanero or Yggdrasil anyone?
However, you are probably doing something wrong if you aren't aware of the most popular software providers out there. Just think about the hugeness that is Netent, NextGen Gaming and Microgaming!
Novomatic – Playtech – Habanero – Nextgen Gaming
These are the software providers that have just grown and grown, producing casino games that are out of the box. Since they are innovative with the gameplay and the audiovisual effects, players simply flock to the games by these providers by default. No matter if the newest mobile slot they put out turns out to be a flop, players will swarm it anyway. That is the power of having a solid industry standing.
Nektan – NetEnt – Quickspin – WMS – Amaya
While we can speculate which software providers are the most popular in our opinion, you might think other ones are worthy of the name instead. Needless to say, these change all the time and depending on what sort of games the software providers are putting out, the top software providers to watch is something dynamic.
How Do Casinos Choose Which Software Providers To Use?
If you were a casino manager, you probably wouldn't choose games just based on popularity. You'd want to strike the right balance between the hottest new slot releases, the old-time classics, and the really obscure games by boutique developers. That's because everyone is looking for different things and you'd want to have a diverse player base and keep them engaged too.
Evolution Gaming – Merkur Gaming – Realtime Gaming – Aristocrat
So it really is a tricky question to answer straight-forwardly. Some casinos will operate on a white label software, which means they get all of the software end of things spoon-fed to them, without having to pick and choose which software providers they use.
The others – independent casinos – will make their own deals with software providers to offer their games to their players. There are online casinos with thousands of games, harbouring each and every software provider they can get their hands on (e.g. LeoVegas).
Then there are those casinos, which will position themselves as featuring the lesser known software providers, in addition to all your all-time favourites. This might mean lower overheads for them, while at the same time managing to capture traffic of those players, who are on the lookout for new games.
Tl;DR software providers play such an important role in the online and mobile casino world. The best ones, e.g. NetEnt, NextGen Gaming and Microgaming