Online Casino Software

Every game and service you see at an online casino is essentially a component of a digital system connected to the main database. You can think of an online casino as a merchant. The store (website) of the merchant is bustling with activity: new items keep being added to the showcase, some employees handle payments, some others manage the personnel, and sales representatives interact with customers. In the real world, all these tasks are all completed by several departments. In the digital world, all of them can be done by software.  This is what casino software is:  it is essentially a platform that hosts and handles all gambling services, including games, bonuses, and payments.  The majority of well-known game providers in the iGaming industry have their own platforms (software) and online casinos that use them to automate all the services they offer. 

The platform continually adds new games, calculates the results of all the games played, provides infrastructure for electronic payments, and even learns user preferences to reward them with personal promotions. In other words, online casino software does a lot more than hosting games: it is the backbone of a gambling website. That being said, the software choice of an online casino will determine the quality of its game collection too. Simply put, top software comes with top games.

Best Casinos Work with Best Providers

Nowadays, it is not that hard to find online casinos that work with top-tier providers. The majority of respectable casinos collaborate with at least one of these studios. In fact, most of them even let you play the games of several respected studios: it is not that hard to find a casino online that offers the games of 20+ developers. On our casino review page, you can read comprehensive reviews of such casino sites right now.

Bonuses of Online Casino Software

In general, we can say that two different bonus types are provided by online casino software: customised (personal) and game-specific. The software can automatically create personal promos by paying attention to player habits. For instance, if you play slots the most, you can get instant free spins to use on a specific game. Most probably, this will be a game you haven’t played in a while: the software can keep track of it too.

However, there are general bonuses too: for example, if statistics show that the number of roulette players is decreasing, the casino software may automatically assign all members a bonus balance of 10 GBP to use at roulette. Another option is “fixed” bonuses. For example, there is a welcome bonus that will be automatically offered to every new member, and it is the software’s job to manage this bonus (trigger it, assign it to the player account, etc.).

Casino Software Compared with Pros and Cons

Each software provider offers a unique set of features and content, as was already discussed. To compare these features, you can check the table below. Points are awarded on a scale of 1 to 10.

Software Payouts Graphics Table Games Slots Uniqueness
IGT 9 8 7 9 7
Netent 10 10 5 10 9
WMS 8 7 7 7 7
High 5 8 7 6 8 6
Bally 9 6 None 8 5
Barcrest 9 6 None 8 5
Novomatic 8 5 4 8 5
Playtech 9 8 7 8 6

Which Software is Best for Real Money Games?

There is no online casino software that is the “best” at everything. Game studios focus on different things: some develop slots with classic features, others create modern games with innovative bonuses. Players are different too: each one enjoys a different thing. Therefore, you should make a decision based on your own tastes and interests. The only objective criterion in this regard is the RTP rates. The RTP (return to player) values must be as high as possible since they affect how much money you will lose in the long run. As a general rule, only play games with an RTP of more than 95% and choose studios that develop games that fit this description. Note that all developers listed above meet this standard: you can select any of them.

As a personal note, however, we recommend starting with Netent games if you like video slots with creative and innovative features. If you enjoy old-school gambling, Bally and Novomatic would be better choices.

Mobile Casino Software & Apps

All the developers we mentioned in this article also have mobile casino software. However, it would be wrong to think of it as standalone software: With the help of HTML5 technology, software developed for a casino website can now run on both desktop and mobile. Moreover, it can automatically adapt the services it offers to the characteristics of that device (e.g., screen size). This means that you can play all the games from the studios you can see in the table above on all mobile devices. However, games from companies that mainly focus on mobile platforms (e.g., Netent, IGT, and Playtech) will provide a more satisfying service. You can also play the games of studios that prefer “old-school” game development (Novomatic, Barcrest, Bally, etc.) on mobile, but since their main focus is not mobile platforms, this may not be a very enjoyable experience.

The Best Software Is the One That Suits You Best

There is a reason why you are seeing more than one name in the list we shared above: we know that there is no one-size-fits-all software supplier and that every player has different expectations. We tried to offer you as much variety as possible: you may like old-school games or modern titles. You may prefer to play on desktop or mobile. Whatever your preferences, you can be sure that at least a few brands that are right for you are listed in this guide.

Subscribe to casinos that work with these software providers, play games, and enjoy other services: you will soon be able to find out which ones are best for you. Note also that you don’t have to spend real money for this: as you know, you can try all RNG casino games for free, with the exception of the live casino category. Good luck out there!