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Know Your Casino Software

When selecting an online casino to play at, a basic knowledge of online casino software is a must. It may seem like every casino is different, but most casinos get their software from just a few different providers. Ultimately, it’s the software, rather than the casino itself, that determines the variety of games, the casino graphics and features, and the overall fairness of the casino. If these things sound important to you, then read on for Gambling City’s guide to online casino software.

Realtime Gaming

Realtime Gaming is one of the big names in the online casino business these days, running software for such popular Casinos as Bodog and Rushmore. Established in 1998, Realtime Gaming prides itself on having “the best Internet casino software available anywhere,” and that isn’t far from the truth. Realtime has put a lot of effort into creating a realistic and fast gameplay experience for all their games, including an industry-record 7 hands per minute for blackjack.

Realtime also boasts top of the line backend, casino management tools, as well as high-quality technical support for casinos and 24-hour support for customers. The full-load of services offered by Realtime has made it a popular choice for many start-up casinos over the past decade, so the casinos that use the software vary in quality and credibility. However, I’ve been very impressed with Bodog casino.

I’ve spent a considerable amount of time on Bodog casino and I have to say, I’m really impressed with the sharpness of the image and the speed of the games. They also let you jump right in without signing up for an account, but I don’t think that’s true of all Realtime Casinos.

Some games offered by Realtime Gaming include Blackjack, Baccarat, Caribbean Stud, Caribbean Hold’em, Keno, Pai Gow, over 18 different slots and 17 types of video poker. Realtime links together the progressive jackpots from all its casinos, so the jackpots you find at a Realtime Gaming casino are some of the highest and fastest growing in the world.

Since the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006 that prevented online gambling in the US, Realtime has taken up the profitable position of allowing its clients to make the decision of whether or not they will allow US players, rather than deciding one way or another themselves. This has put them a step above software companies that make a software level decision about American players, and has made them a leading provider for sites that allow and sites that forbid US gamblers.

Playtech

The software behind such industry giants as Europa Casino and Casino Tropez, Playtech is currently has the most clients of any online casino software company. Playtech didn’t reach this level of popularity by chance, the British Virgin Islands based software firm has been in business since 1999 and prides itself on tailoring its software to client’s needs, so not all Playtech sites are the same.

Playtech has made a number of software innovations over the years, such as providing comps points to encourage play and offering live gambling via video feed, but they are perhaps most famous for pioneer multiple interfaces on a single account. Playtech was among the first software providers to allow players to play casino games and place sports bets, or other such services like poker and bingo, all from the same account. This is a feature frequently sought out by gamblers today, and has come to be expected of leading software providers.

Playtech is also renowned for its international friendliness and fantastic multi-lingual support. Thanks to their multi-national marketing campaigns, much of Playtech’s revenue comes out of Asia and South America, outside their native Europe.

Going along with this international support, Playtech offers a number of international games such as Pachinko and Mahjongg, in addition to standards like Blackjack and Slots.

However, this international market base has come at a cost for American players. After UIGEA was passed in 2006, Playtech took a hard stand on US players, forbidding software sales to any company intending to allow US gamers. Playtech’s casinos are some of the most popular in the world today, with the best bonuses and most visually appealing software. It’s really a shame that Americans can’t enjoy them.

Being an American myself, I clearly can’t play on any Playtech sites at the moment, but I did used to play on Playtech run Titan Poker back in the day, and I was generally unimpressed. The software seemed kind of clunky and the graphics were nothing to write home about. I think Playtech tends to put a lot more effort into their casino software than their poker rooms. That being said, I do have fond memories of Titan Poker because after I’d taken my money out, they would periodically put $10 in my account to encourage me to keep playing, and I would just blow it on the blackjack game the poker software also offered. This happened at least four times. Ah, fond memories.

Cryptologic

Toronto-based Cryptologic software started up in 1995, and within a year they had their first client, InterCasino, one of the first and most reputable internet casinos. Since then, Cryptologic has only become better respected over the years, and they are now the software provider for the next great gambling enterprise, the Playboy Casino.

If there’s one thing Cryptologic is famous for, it’s the games. They offer the famous Millionaire’s Club progressive jackpot at all their online casinos, and it recently gave away over $8 million to one lucky player. But that’s not even Cryptologic’s highest achievement; that title belongs to the Marvel Slot Machines. These machines bring the world of slots to an almost video game-esque level of complexity. They are loaded with all sorts of bonuses, including a special bonus game you get to play right then for huge prizes right then and there.

I read about these Marvel slots, and I decided I had to try it. Unfortunately, Cryptologic also denies its providers the opportunity of allowing American players. That didn’t stop me though. I looked up the address of Montreal City Hall, and soon had an account as aspiring legislator Francois Beaumont. The InterCasino software was a little bit tough to deal with, but after some finagling I got some Marvel slots set up for free play.

Now all things considered, I’m generally not a slots man. I prefer more skill oriented games, but I was hooked by the prospect of chasing down Venom and saving my beloved Mary Jane in the Spider-Man slot I chose to play. A lot of the boredom of watching the reels spin was alleviated by the frequently animated special icons, and when I finally got to the bonus round (I later realized you can try out the bonus game for free at the Cryptologic website) I could hardly breathe.

I first had to choose between two streets to find the one where Venom had escaped. As the instructions had foretold, I soon ran into a crime scene and apprehended a thug by webbing away his gun and stringing him upside-down (of course I couldn’t control any of this). This earned me $150 (I was playing $25 a spin). Then I chose another street and found that villain, Venom. I whomped him silly, kissed Mary Jane, and earned a cool $600, netting a total $750 from the game. Other than choosing the streets, I really didn’t do much, but it was still a pretty engaging, and definitely one of the most fun slots I’ve ever played.

The whole experience reminded me of Japanese slot machines, which are often very complicated and have a more video game feel. I tend to get bored of slot machines, but these Marvel machines Cryptologic has worked up are really engaging, not to mention there’re over 15 to choose from, and each with 3 separate jackpots to win. If it’s the games that matter to you, choose a Cryptologic casino.

Proprietary Software

Proprietary software is generally the term you hear used for casinos that make their own software. Some of these casinos can be huge successes, like 888 casino, the largest online casino in the world. However, a lot of these kinds of casinos make their own software because they can’t afford a high-end software company, meaning the graphics and game selection are usually quite poor.

The real problems start with security. As the recent Absolute Poker cheating scandal shows, a company that makes its own software like Absolute Poker is much more prone to hacking and cheating, especially from employees. The player in the scandal, who was an Absolute Poker employee, made millions of dollars by hacking an account so he could see other players’ hole cards. His huge profits prove that there will always be an incentive for employees, or even outside hackers, to try and break into the code and use the software to cheat.

However, if you separate the software and the casino operators, everyone can focus on what they’re good at. You may wonder why there aren’t security breaches at big software companies like Realtime, Playtech, and Cryptologic. The reason is that these three companies are all publicly traded, and would therefore be crushed if any sort of hacking became public. Therefore, they all provide the highest security measures and are constantly evaluated by third-party groups to make sure of safety and fairness.

Fairness of Software

The simplest and most important thing about any software provider is its fairness. For example, some software providers have special controls where the casino operator can control the level of fairness in games in order to extract a certain minimum profit.

Of course, you only want to play at a casino where you’re guaranteed a fair game. The best way to do this is to decide on a Casino backed by a reputable software provider, and preferably one that has been well reviewed at either www.gamblingplanet.com or www.wizardofodds.com.

For more on what software companies and casinos you shouldn’t trust, check out the Wizard of Odds’ extensive research on the subject at http://wizardofodds.com/blacklist.