A casino site is not just a collection of games. Everything you see on the screen is controlled by a casino software. This software, which you are not even aware of its existence, will determine what your gambling quality will be. A software can consist of a simple script or a huge database that runs on the server side. Casino sites use different software for all of these service types:
- Game collection
- Customer support
- Payments
- Personal account transactions
- Bonuses
- Daily & weekly & monthly events
- Mobile support
- Page elements and loading speed
We can extend the list even further but it is necessary to know that every service offered in a casino is connected to a software, and that software is usually offered by a provider. A slot software will be crucial even in terms of licensing issues. For example, a Canada casino uses casino slots games software to determine which games can be offered to Canadian members, according to its license conditions. If you make the right choice and choose the casinos that work with the best providers, you will be rewarded with a pleasant and profitable experience.
So, choosing the software and provider is even more important than selecting the top online casinos in Canada. In this article, we will try to help you in this regard and give you some tips on how to choose the top casino software & providers.
Top Casino Software Providers
- Merkur: Based in Germany, Merkur Gaming is one of the top gaming companies, especially in the African and Asian gambling industry. They mainly develop casino slots software and jackpot cabinets.
- Novoline: Novoline is not an independent provider. It is the Austrian branch of Novomatic and produces multi-line gaming cabinets (called VLT) for land-based casinos.
- Bally Wulff: Bally is one of the oldest developers in the United States. They develop both slot cabinets and “old-school” slot machines. They are a part of the SG group now.
- Microgaming: Founder of the first online casino in the world, Microgaming is a true pioneer in the online gambling industry. Its platform (Quickfire) contains more than 600 titles in total.
- NetEnt, Net Entertainment: Known for its innovative game mechanics, NetEnt is probably the most popular slot developer in the world. It is also a pioneer in the VR (Virtual Reality) gambling technology.
- Playtech: If you like to play super-hero themed slots, you should pick Playtech creations. The company holds the licenses for Marvel and DC Comics heroes. It is also a part of the Marvel Jackpot network.
- Novomatic: Novomatic is known for its old-school slots, and it is the king of ancient Egypt themed slot machines. If you did not play Book of Ra before then you have missed a lot.
- Play’n Go: Play N Go is one of the most popular slot developers out there – their collection holds more than 400 slot machines in different categories. Their games are “fairness guaranteed” and tested by GLI.
- NextGen Gaming: NextGen is based in Australia. A short while ago, SG Digital bought the company – now, NextGen Gaming is a subsidiary of this group but still continues to develop games.
- IGT: IGT is the inventor of video slot machines. If we have high-quality graphics in slot machines now, we owe this to IGT. They also develop lots of licensed games adapted from TV shows.
- GreenTube: GreenTube is not an independent company, it is a subsidiary of Novomatic. It was founded in 1998, and the whole collection is available only to Novomatic customers.
- Betsoft, Betsoft Gaming: High-quality animations and 3D graphics: Betsoft games contain both of them. If graphics quality is important to you, Betsoft should be your first choice.
- Evolution Gaming: Evolution Gaming is not a real developer but a true provider: It only offers live broadcast services to almost all the online casinos out there.
- iSoftBet: iSoftBet is not only a game developer, but it also develops management software for casinos. In fact, most of the online casinos out there use iSoftBet software to manage their members.
- Aristocrat: Aristocrat Gaming is an Austrian developer that focuses on slots and video poker games. They have a very big collection that contains more than 300 titles.
- Yggdrasil: Yggdrasil is a developer founded in 2013. It only develops HTML5 slot machines and is the owner of many rewards, such as EGR, EGR B2B, and GA.
- EGT, EGT Games: EGT Interactive offers more than 120 games in different categories, such as keno, jackpots, slot, card, and roulette. They also develop lots of casino management software.
- Löwen Play: Founded in 1985, Löwen is probably the oldest online casino game developer in Europe. They are focused on land-based casino games and their online collection is very limited.
- GIG Games: GIG is actually the owner of many famous brands such as Guts, Rizk, Betspin, Kaboo, and Super Lenny. They develop games for their own brands.
- Quickspin: Quickspin is a Swedish game studio that offers 80 online slots in total. They are also the winner of various awards, such as EGR and Di Gasell.
- Blue Print, Blueprint Gaming: Based in the United Kingdom, Blue Print belongs to Gauselmann Group. It developed thousands of slot machines for land-based casinos so far. The company uses the Alderney license.
- WMS: WMS is one of the first game developers in the United States, and they are a legend when it comes to old-school classic video slots. The studio is part of the SG Gaming nowadays.
- Amaya Gaming (The Stars Group): Amaya belongs to the Stars Group, which is a Canadian company. So its games are usually focused on Canadian players. Stars Group also owns the famous Sky Betting brand.
- NYX Gaming: NYX Gaming is a part of the famous SG Gaming group. İt is based in Las Vegas and mostly develops slot games for land-based casinos.
- Red Tiger Gaming: Founded in 2014, Red Tiger Gaming develops multi-platform casino games in different categories, such as slots, table, and card games. All of their products have multi-language support.
- MRG Gaming: MRG is a very big group that owns Mr. Green, Redbet, Mama Mia Bingo, and Winning Room Casino. The studio develops games exclusively for these brands.
- Stormcraft Studios: Stormcraft is a subsidiary of Microgaming. The company developed the famous Mega Moolah in the past, and their games are only available to operators of Microgaming. Their latest release is called “Fortunium”.
- Big Time Gaming: Based in Australia, Big Time Gaming develops slot and bingo titles for other studios and casinos, such as Unibet, Sky Vegas, Ladbrokes, and Rizk.
- Just for the Win: This studio is based in Stockholm. Just for the Win is the game supplier of many successful online gaming brands, such as Betsson and Casumo.
- Push Gaming: As the name suggests, Push Gaming is a mobile casino games developer based in the United Kingdom. Their collection contains more than 100 games in total.
- Habanero: Habanero is a Chinese developer that focuses on Asian markets. Their collection contains 80 slot machines, 10 table games, and 10 video poker variants, all developed with HTML5.
- Endorphina: Endorphina is a small-scale provider based in Prague, the Czech Republic. They only develop slots and offer more than 200 titles in different categories in total.
- Pragmatic Play: Pragmatic offers more than 100 HTML5 slots and interfaces in 26 different languages. They are also certified in 13 different jurisdictions & 78 countries.
- SG Digital: SG Digital is a very big group located in the United States. Currently, it holds many famous brands under its roof, such as Bally, WMS, and Barcrest.
- Ganapati: Established in 2013, Ganapati is a company led by Japanese developers and also offers movie effects & animation services in addition to developing casino games.
- RabCat Gaming: Headquartered in Vienna, RabCat is an official partner of Microgaming and develops games for the most successful online gambling brands out there, such as Mr. Green and Betsson.
- Fugaso: Fugaso is a white-label provider. This means any company can buy its game collection and serve it under its name. It develops all kinds of casino games.
- ELK Studios: ELK is a Swedish company that focuses on slot machines only. Their latest title is named Valkyrie, and it is on offer since December 4th, 2018.
- Realtime Gaming, RTG: RTG is an Atlanta based company founded in 1998. At the moment, their headquarters is in Costa Rica. They develop high-quality video poker games and slots.
- Cryptologic: Cryptologic is a quite old company, and nowadays they are developing payment infrastructures, rather than actual games. They have a long-lasting partnership with Microgaming.
- Thunderkick: One of the latest gaming companies around, Thunderkick develops innovative slot games with highly advanced graphics. All of their games are compatible with mobile devices.
Why Does Casino Games Software Matters?
Choosing the right casino software is important because:
- There is a different provider for different needs. Each provider/developer is specialized in a different game category and/or service. Slot fans and poker players should prefer different providers, if possible. Therefore, choosing the right provider for your needs is important.
- Games are not the only thing that matters. Game quality is important, yet, the overall gambling experience is crucial. The overall performance of casino websites, their reputation, and the services offered by them are determined by software too. So, in a reputable casino that works with a good provider, your payments will be faster, your games will be nicer, and the customer support will be easier to reach.
- High-quality games require high-quality developers. Only the best providers/developers can offer high-quality products. If you do not want to waste your time with mediocre games, you should pick the casinos that work with the top providers on the internet.
The Most Common Types of Casino Online Software
In line with our explanations above, we can say that there are two different types of software in online casinos: One for playing games, another for account transactions and customer management.
- Game Software: Most of the games on a gambling site are not actually hosted on the site itself. It’s a bad business practice that casinos host all their games catalogue on their servers. Because, as the number of titles increases, the required storage space and bandwidth will also increase. There are casinos out there that offer thousands of games: It is nearly impossible for them to host all of them.
Therefore, most of the games you play are hosted on the servers and/or platform solutions of the providers – when you press the “play” button, you are actually connecting to the server/platform that belongs to the provider. The game software used determines how fast, smooth, and high-quality this process will be. In this context, more than one game software can be used in an online casino, and a large number of providers can be supported at the same time.
Think of a website as a shell: Membership and payment processes are located in this shell, but the games themselves are mostly out of the shell.
- Management Software: Online casino providers also develop management software for casinos which handles customer management, membership transactions, payments, and even responding to reviews. As we explained above, the quality of the service you receive outside of games depends directly on the quality of this software. Therefore, customer management software is as important as game software. It is even possible to say that, in some respects, it is more important.
So the game software is the general name of the casino software that the members can “see” and “interact” with. It is divided into some subgroups within itself. You can see them in the table below.
Software type |
Explanation |
Downloadable |
This means the casino works on the software client that you need to download & install to access the game collection. |
No Download |
Means that the customers do not need to download any software to play games. Using a Flash plugin, they can play games from their browser. |
Instant Play |
Means that all casino games developed with HTML technology can be played through browsers and no software download is necessary. “Flash casino games” can also be played instantly through the browser but not on Apple devices because the Flash technology is not supported by iOS. |
Mobile |
This means that the casino website has a modern code structure and can be viewed on all mobile operating systems seamlessly. In addition, the games will be optimized for mobile systems, such as iOS and Android. Most of the well-established casinos offer their users mobile casino apps available for free download from the Play Market and Apple Store. |
Nowadays, the number of downloadable casinos has decreased considerably. It is possible to say that most of the online casinos now fall into the “instant play” category. This is natural because instant play casinos can offer much larger content directly. Any software needs to be updated – whereas, in instant play casinos, players don’t need to make an update. In addition, an instant play casino will work on mobile devices much more smoothly. Therefore, we recommend that you give priority to this type of casinos for the best gambling experience.
How to Choose the Best Online Casino Software Providers
So, how do you choose the most appropriate casino software provider? First, let’s list the criteria you need to pay attention to, then we will talk about our recommendations. In order for a casino game provider to offer a satisfying gambling experience, it must meet all of the following criteria:
- Features: The graphics and sound quality of the games do not increase your chances of winning. But high-quality graphics and features make your gaming experience even more enjoyable. Nobody wants to play a game that is not visually impressive.
- Popularity: The popularity of a provider means that it receives much more feedback. In this way, the developer can understand the features it should pay attention to and what innovations to make. Popular providers always develop better quality games.
- Safety and Fairness: A provider must take care of the player’s safety and try to develop fair and safe games. No one wants to play a game where the advantage is given to the casino: Its win/loss rate must be ideally balanced.
- Games Variety and RTP: Players’ tastes and wishes vary. Therefore, providers should be able to offer not only slot machines, but also card and table games. The greater the collection of games, the more satisfying the content will be. The RTP ratio should generally not be less than 95%.
- Bonuses: Everyone likes bonuses. The bonuses here are the bonus rounds of the games, not the casinos’ offerings. The more creative, original, and profitable these rounds are, the more satisfying the gameplay will be. The best-known example of this feature is the free spins rounds.
- Mobile: It is not possible to develop games only for desktop platforms anymore. The majority of players use mobile devices to gamble. Therefore, a developer should create games that run smoothly on all mobile platforms (iPhone, Android, tablet PC, iPad, etc.).
Truth be told, there is no provider that perfectly meets all of these criteria. Each provider has different strength and weaknesses. For example, NetEnt meets almost all of these criteria but its game variety is quite weak: It mainly develops slot machines. Or, Novomatic is a highly successful and popular provider, but it doesn’t have the most creative bonus rounds.
For this reason, our recommendation is primarily to choose online casinos that work with multiple providers. The number of such casinos is more than you think. Indeed, there are even sites that offer the games of more than 20 providers at the same time. If you prefer such a casino, you can be sure that you will not be disappointed no matter what your expectations are – there will be an option for every type of player out there.
However, if you need to choose a specific provider, we recommend that you take into account your wishes and expectations. In the table below, you can see a list of the best software developers addressing different needs.
Name |
Suitable For |
NetEnt |
For those who like to play innovative and advanced slot games. NetEnt is known for its interesting slot mechanics design, such as “Avalanche Slots” and “Cluster Pays”. |
Microgaming |
For those who are looking for the best overall gaming experience. Microgaming offers a game for every category out there, and they all are above a certain quality level. |
Novomatic |
For those who can be defined as “old-school” gamblers. Novomatic is the king of classic video slots, and while they are not that innovative, they sure work without a problem. |
Thunderkick |
For those who like to see the best graphics quality possible. Thunderkick brings the HTML5 technology to another level and offers really impressive graphics. |
Betsoft |
For those who like 3D slots. All Betsoft slots contain 3D models and high-quality animations. |
Find the Right Online Casino Software for You
So, to summarize what we explained above, here are the things you need to take into consideration to find the best casino software provider:
- Determine Your Needs and Expectations. Every gambler has different needs and expectations. Determine yours – do you want to gamble anywhere and anytime from your mobile device? Or, is gambling is a nighttime hobby for you that should be experienced in front of a PC? Your choices will determine which types of casinos you should focus on.
- Choose the Games You Want to Play. Determine which games you enjoy playing. Some players enjoy slot machines than anything else, some others prefer to play blackjack – every gambler is different. Since providers have different strong and weak points when it comes to variety, it is important to know what type of games you like to play.
- Try to Find a Casino with Multiple Providers. The best option will be becoming a member of a casino that works with multiple providers. This way, you can be sure that there will always be lots of game options to play, no matter what your likings are. The game collection will be wide and big enough to appeal to every taste.
- Pick the Best Provider for Your Needs. If, for some reason, you need to pick a single provider, take a look above. The sample table we provided shows which provider is best at which type of games. In general, our recommendations will be choosing Netent and Thunderkick for slot machine lovers. If you like to play card and table games more, Microgaming should be your go-to option.
Now, you know why online casino software is important and how the providers can improve your gambling experience. It is time to do a little practice: Find the best providers out there and start having fun. Or, you can choose one of our recommended casinos and skip the searching process! We handpicked the best casino software providers out there for you to be sure of a satisfying experience. Pick one of the websites above and start playing immediately – it is that easy.
FAQ About Gambling Software
⬇️ Which software do I need to play casino games?
If you are at an instant play casino, you do not need anything other than a modern browser such as Firefox, Chrome, and Edge. If it is a downloadable casino, the software you need to download is on the casino site itself. You also need to install the latest version of Adobe Flash.
✅ Why instant play casinos are better?
Because you literally do not need anything other than a browser. A software requires a computer. But since instant play casinos work on browsers, you can use mobile devices to access them and play games. They are faster and much more practical.
💸 How can I be sure that a game is fair?
You cannot. This is not something a player can understand. Check for the RTP & fairness report of an independent agency, such as eCOGRA and iTechLabs. If you cannot see such a report, check the RTP rates of each game and do not play it if it is lower than 95%.
🎊 How can I see which software the casino site use?
You cannot see this. It is possible to see which game software (providers) a casino works with, but the name of the management software is not public info. That being said, if a casino works with only one provider, the management software will probably belong to the same developer.