The software may be the most important element of an online casino

Computer technology has come a long way since the first machines were developed, and the pace of change seems to be getting quicker and quicker every year. We have seen huge advances in mobile phone technology over the last few years for instance, and it looks as if the next big step forward will almost certainly be in the field of AI or Artificial Intelligence. Throughout all these amazing advances in the hardware however, it would be easy to forget that none of it would be serve any useful purpose without the software needed to operate it. It is no wonder that some of the biggest and most successful companies in the world today are computer software companies. When it comes to our favourite leisure activity, playing casino games at an online casino the casino software plays an even more important role. Every internet site needs some form of operating software, particularly those sites which interact directly with the public and handle large numbers of financial transactions online. Every internet retail site and of course also every online casino site fall into that category in terms of the quality of the management software needed to operate the site successfully and securely, but the online casino software designers are required to have even more input into the site because they are also responsible for designing the majority of the casino games featured on most online casinos. Clearly the online casino software must also enable every financial transaction to be carried out in a safe and secure environment and with very tight privacy controls. The software must also present the casino games on our screens in an attractive format which is easy to understand and ensures that the games are easy to play. That element of the casino software design is particularly important when it comes to the more traditional casino games such as roulette and blackjack which do not require any input into the game itself, but it is the slots games where the casino software designers have the greatest influence and can even affect whether an online casino site is popular and successful or not. As we know the vast majority of the casino games featured on almost every online casino site are slots games in various forms, which therefore means that the popularity of any particular site depends almost entirely on the site operator’s choice of casino software supplier.

The most well-known and dominant casino software company is probably Playtech, which was founded in Estonia in 1999 and supplied their first online casino software in 2001. They were also the first casino software company to launch the live online casino mode using real dealers operating the casino games in a remote studio which were then streamed live to our screens. In 2003 Playtech introduced their online bingo platform, followed in 2004 by their online poker platform. The company expanded rapidly and listed on the London AIM market in 2006, but most observers would argue that it was the licensing agreements they signed with Paramount Digital Entertainment followed by a similar agreement with Marvel Entertainment the following year which cemented their hold on the casino software market at the time. These agreements allowed Playtech to develop slots games using characters from Paramount Pictures and of course comic book characters from Marvel. Of the online casinos featured on our recommended list William Hill, Betfred and now Ladbrokes all use Playtech online casino software.

Ireland’s favourite online casino site is almost certainly Paddy Power because of their widespread presence on our high streets, but the Paddy Power online casino site also features many slots games which are exclusive to Paddy Power. These slots games are supplied by the casino software company Wagerworks which was originally a subsidiary of the slot machine manufacturer Silicon Gaming. Wagerworks is however now a totally independent company focused solely on the online casino software market. Paddy Power is the biggest user of Wagerworks casino software but 888 casino also features some Wagerworks slots games. Another casino software company with a popular following here in Ireland is the Canadian company Chartwell Technology. Originally established in Vancouver in 1998 Chartwell now has employees in London. Malta and Singapore and is listed on the Toronto stock market. Most of the slots games supplied by Chartwell can be found on the Bwin online casino site. Another major casino software company supplying casino slots games to online casinos right across the world is Microgaming. Slots games from Microgaming can still be found on the Ladbrokes online casino site as well as on many of the new specialist sites.

When the first online casinos were introduced most of them were operated by the big bookmakers as part of their online sports gambling sites, and most of them tended to feature casino games from just one casino software supplier. Recently however that trend has changed and many of the new specialist online casinos now offer casino slots games from a variety of different software companies. Online casinos such as CasinoLand, Instacasino and Yako all feature casino slots games from a variety of different casino software companies and therefore arguably offer more variety than some of their bigger rivals. One of the newer specialist online casinos which has stuck with the idea of using one casino software supplier however is the increasingly popular CasinoCasino site. Unlike the first online casinos however the CasinoCasino site does not feature casino slots games from any of the major casino software companies, the operators have instead decided to offer us the opportunity to play some of the iconic slots games from Amatic Industries. Any serious slot machine enthusiast will know many of the famous slots games developed by Amatic Industries, but this is the first time that any of these famous games have been available to play online. There is no doubt that it is the slots games which attract the most attention from the new casino games players now playing at an online casino, which is why the casino software companies have become so important.