The online casino software is probably the most important element

When the big bookmakers decided to introduce their online sports gambling sites, the software necessary to achieve that was very similar to that required to manage an online retail website. The site management systems simply needed to enable their customers to carry out online financial transactions as easily as possible and within a safe and secure environment in terms of their privacy and data protection. Clearly we are not suggesting that the necessary management software was so simple that it could be bought off the shelf, but it was certainly far easier to produce than the software necessary to operate the next stage in the development of online gambling, the online casino. Having invested heavily in establishing their online sports gambling sites the big bookmakers then decided to expand their online sports gambling sites by introducing a range of casino games on those sites, and in doing so created what we now know as the online casino gambling sector. That decision also created a whole new computer software business sector and led to the establishment of many online casino software companies, some of which have become almost as big as the bookmakers themselves. It could easily be argued that these casino software companies have played a far more important role in the increasing popularity of online casinos than any of the site operators, because it is the casino software designers who have created the majority of the casino games we can play online. The traditional casino games such as roulette and blackjack clearly did not need much design input other than the development of attractive and efficient graphics, but almost all the slots games featured at our online casinos are the result of the imagination and skill of the software designers employed by the big online casino software companies. Almost all the online casinos now offer a full range of traditional casino games of course, but clearly the vast majority of the casino games featured on almost every site are slots and video slots in various forms, all of which have been developed and supplied by the casino software companies. That is why the casino software companies have become so important in this particular internet gambling sector and also why a few of those companies have been able to become so dominant.

Of all the casino software companies associated with online casinos accessible here in Ireland Playtech is almost certainly the biggest and best known. Founded in Estonia in 1999, Playtech cut its first deal with an online casino in 2001, and were instrumental in the launch of the first live online casino feature using real dealers and a real roulette wheel with the games streamed to our screens from a remote studio. In 2004 Playtech introduced their specialist bongo platform and followed that up the following year with their online poker platform. There is no doubt that Playtech have played a very important part in the rapid development of online casinos, but as far as their own success was concerned it was the licensing deals they were able to agree with major media companies such as Paramount Digital Entertainment and Marvel Entertainment which proved to be the deciding factors. Those deals allowed Playtech to theme many of their slots and video slot games on popular film and cartoon characters and gave them an edge over their rivals in terms of the range of different casino games they were able to offer the online casinos who were their customers. William Hill, Ladbrokes and Bewtfred all still use Playtech casino software for all or part of their online casino site output.

The most popular online casino in Ireland is of course the Paddy Power casino, and the casino software company they have used right from the beginning is a company called Wagerworks. Wagerworks was originally a subsidiary of the slot machine manufacturer, Silicon Gaming, but is now a totally independent company concentrating solely of the casino software market. Their relationship with Paddy Power has proved a successful partnership for both companies and although it is now possible to find casino games supplied by Wagerworks at a few other online casino sites, most of them are still exclusive to Paddy Power.

One of the first casino software companies to develop online casino software was in fact Microgaming, a privately owned company based in the Isle of Man and still considered to offer one of the broadest range of online casino slots in the industry. Microgaming actually offered more than a hundred casino slots as far back as 2002, and set a world record when a lucky player won more than $1,500,000 on the progressive jackpot game Major Millions. Microgaming software is now associated with over 120 online casinos and at least 40 online poker platforms, but here in Ireland it is the Ladbrokes casino which is probably the best known. Another specialist online casino software company supplying operating software and casino slots to an online casino on our recommended list is Chartwell Technology. Chartwell is a Canadian company which was established in Vancouver in 1998, but they now have offices all over the world including London, Malta and Singapore. Chartwell casino slots can be found on the Bwin online casino site among others.

The modern trend in terms of the relationship between the casino software companies and the online casinos has become more varied than it used to be, and many of the newer specialist online casinos not operated by the big bookmakers offer casino slots games from a whole range of different casino software companies rather than relying on one main supplier. Online casinos such as CasinoLand, Insta casino and Yako casino all now take this approach to their range of casino games. Before we leave the topic of online casino software however we should also mention the casino slots games now featured on the CasinoCasino site. Many slot machine fans will know and love the iconic slot machine games made by Amatic Industries, so they will be delighted to know that many of these games are now available online for the first time at CasinoCasino.