Microgaming and its partner studios introduce a staggering 11 new
online slots games in April 2020.
More and more
people are looking for ways to pass the time these days. The digital
creators at Microgaming and each of its partner labs sure found a
way, and they’re passing it on to the fans of their online slots
games. When the month is out just a few days from now, they will have
launched nearly one dozen new titles onto the menus of hundreds of
Microgaming online casinos.
Microgaming’s New Online Slots Games for April
2020
Nine new titles
have already been released in April 2020, with two more set for
publication before the month is out. Their names, development studios
and release dates are as follows:
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1X2gaming, 1 April)
Cheeky Fruits 5 (Gamevy, 2 April)
Arabian Spins (Booming Games, 2 April)
Anderthals (JFTW, April 7)
Hot Cross Bunnies Game Changer (Realistic Games, 9 April)
Diamond Force (Crazy Tooth Studio, April 14)
Arena of Gold (All41 Studios, April 21)
Spinosaurus (Booming Games, 23 April)
La Mina de Oro Plus (MGA, 27 April)
The Vault (Snowborn Games, April 28)
Psycho Candies (Gamevy, 30 April)
Cavemen, Gladiators, and Superheroes – Oh My!
Microgaming
believes this month’s new releases are sure to be ‘reel’ crowd
pleasers as they boast a wide array of themes, characters and
features. From the charming cave-dwellers of Anderthals, to the proud
gladiators of Arena of Gold; from the epic superheroes donning the
reels of Diamond Force, to the enigmatic jewel thieves infiltrating
The Vault; Microgaming’s online slots fans are experiencing a
windfall of new games.
“April will
see Microgaming strengthen its content portfolio with a variety of
dynamic games from its network of independent studios and content
partners,” says Microgaming Director of Global Operations, James
Buchanan. “Rich in rewarding features, stunning visuals, a range of
volatility levels, and diverse characters and styles, including
striking gladiator and caveman themes, there is plenty of choice
available for our customers this month.”
Psycho Candies Online Slot Coming Friday
The real treat –
if you don’t mind the pun – will be the upcoming April 30th
release from Gluck Games; one of Microgaming’s newest and most
intriguing partners to date. They’re publishing what can only be
described as a schizophrenic variant of the unforgettable Candy Crush
saga. This emotive masterpiece of marsh-melodrama, appropriately
titled Psycho Candies, is sure to draw a lot of interest come this
weekend.
It’s a 6×6
reel game with cluster pays, where a cluster of 7 or more matching
symbols in any consecutively adjacent positions triggers a payout.
Features abound as the colorful candies fill the reels. As with all
cluster-pay games, cascading reels occur whenever a win results. The
winning symbols explode, making room for others to fall into place
and potentially create more wins. Each consecutive cascading win
increases the payout multiplier by 1x.
There is also a
Jelly Pick’Em bonus game that awards instant credits, and a Cluster
Bomb that explodes all positions around the winning symbols to make a
lot more space for new ones to drop in. Four or more clustered Free
Spins symbols will award between 12 and 22 free games. These work
like cascading wins with a 1x multiplier increase per win, except
that the multiplier doesn’t reset after a losing spin.
It’s coming! Betting on Trivia Crack Video Gambling Machines.
For about half a decade now, Las Vegas-based GameCo has been
doing its part – and then some – to change the way gamers look at
casinos. It all started with the creation of signature video
gambling machines, or VGMs for short; a new wave of skillful
video games designed to appeal to millennial-generation gamers.
As everyone knows by now, there’s not a land-based casino in North
America that’s open for business at the moment. However, when
operations return to normal, a new series of VGMs may be rolling out
across the casino floors, based on the immensely popular mobile app
known as Trivia Crack.
Betting on Trivia Crack Video Gambling Machines
If you own a smartphone, and have ever downloaded a gaming app for
it, odds are you’re among the hundreds of millions of people all
over the planet that have downloaded Trivia Crack, or the
digitally renovated Trivia Crack 2. It’s the number-one
trivia-based gaming app for both Android and iOS, not just here in
Canada and the US, but in over 125 countries worldwide. It is the
crown jewel of Argentina-based development studio, Etermax.
The game has enjoyed such monumental fanfare that GameCo came up with
a unique way to capitalize on its popularity among millennials.
They’ve decided to recreate the platform as one of their trademark
VGMs. The games are just now in the early phase of development, but
if progress goes as planned, these new machines could be lining the
walls of land-based casinos from Buenos Aires to Saskatoon before the
year is out.
The partnership between Etermax and GameCo just made sense for the
two companies. Etermax said that its goal in the progressive
development of Trivia Crack, from day one, was bring the game to
where players are. That began with the original development of the
smartphone app, and continued with integration to new devices, like
smart watches, voice-powered utilities, consumer merchandise, etc.
Assimilating to the video gambling market is nothing more than a
natural progression in their eyes.
GameCo was more than willing to play the role of catalyst in this
endeavor, and why not? Skill-based video gambling is their specialty,
after all. The trick for GameCo’s programmers is, and always has
been, turning a traditionally 100% skill-based game into something
where players are still given a sense of control, without removing
the casino’s ability to control wins and losses (eg the house
edge).
How Will Developers Sustain RTP when Gambling
Trivia Crack?
This is the big question surrounding the partnership between these
two brands. Neither has commented publicly on the matter, but an
article
in VentureBeat confirms, “you will be able to play solo,
head-to-head, or take part in tournaments”, per a statement from
GameCo head of programming Rich Maryyanek.
Anyone familiar with the company’s past installments knows that
GameCo thrives on its unique ability to combine video game style
amusements, where a player’s skill impacts the payouts and
winnings, with the same basic mechanics and economic values of slot
machines.
So how might GameCo sustain predetermined RTPs for players betting on
Trivia Crack video gambling machines? For head-to-head and tournament
games, the answer is easy. Set it up like any other tournament.
Present a buy-in/entry fee for all players. The casino skims a
percentage off the top. But for solo-play, we’ll just have to wait
and see what GameCo comes up with.
The
online gambling industry is unique in many ways, one being that each
internet casino presents limitless borders. An operator can pack in
as many games as it wants and never run out of space. As such,
virtual gaming floors are the
perfect forum for testing out new game ideas.
In
the last two decades, we’ve seen a lot of new games rise to
ultimate glory. Microgaming’s 243 ways to win slots were a smashing
success! Lottery-style
sit-n-goes,
first
introduced by French operator Winamax in 2013,
revolutionized internet poker. Live
dealer casinos, debuted in 2003 by Playtech and perfected by
Evolution Gaming in 2006, solved the lack of realism in RNG-based
gambling.
Worst Online Casino Game Ideas that Bombed
Not
every game created is an instant success. In fact, just like
land-based table game inventions, the majority of them die on the
virtual gaming floor – some faster than others.
7-Card
Stud video poker was a perfect example. It
made the games
more complicated than they needed to be.
Similarly, 7-reel slot machines failed to attract players, who
found them to confusing to keep up with.
Duplicate
Poker turned players off by elimination the luck factor entirely.
Yes, poker players love the skill element, but without the marginal
influence of the luck of the draw, no one wanted to play anymore.
Those
games were historically bad ideas, but none more so than the three
games I’m about to tell you about. These titles died so quickly,
today’s players may have completely missed their short-lived
appearance.
#1 Showtime Hold’em Poker
Showtime
Poker was an online poker variant introduced by PokerStars in May
2018. It was conceived under the premise that players believed it was
“about time poker players show their folded cards”. At the end of
a hand, all mucked cards would be revealed.
PokerStars
wanted this game to take off like a rocket! They were so enthused
about it that they contracted some of their most
famous pros
to build hype by streaming Showtime Poker tables on their live Twitch
feeds.
There
were two major problems with this format. Pro players hated it,
because it forced them to give away their game play secrets. Amateurs
hated it because they don’t give a crap about seeing mucked cards.
End result – everyone hated it!
#2 Live Casino Slot Machines
In
2011,
the creative minds at Evolution Gaming believed they’d had an
epiphany. Live casinos are a perfect playground for table games, but
they
were
unable to accommodate players of the most popular casino games on the
planet – slot machines. Enter stage right, live dealer slots.
This
bold introduction was
meant to revolutionize
the live casino industry. Evolution
put a lot of thought and detail into its debut, going so far as to
replace virtual reels with actual spinning wheels. A dealer would
host the game, offering commentary and providing live chat
interaction with players.
What
went wrong? Well, slots players enjoy traditional
slot games
for a reason. They like the singularity. They like controlling the
pace of the games. Turning slot machines into a social affair was
unnecessary, uninvited, and unwelcome.
Of
worthy mention, live
dealer slot machines
are attempting a comeback this year, although I don’t expect the
results to be any different.
#3 Virtual Reality (VR) Gambling
This
is one concept most of you will remember. It wasn’t
long ago,
around 2015-16, that the virtual reality movement made
its push.
The
concept was spot on. Throw on a headset and enter a virtual casino
world, where your real-life actions transfer into the virtual realm
in the most realistic digital casino games ever imagined exist!
Yes,
it was quite a concept, but it did not catch on, and for one very
simple reason. The technology necessary, and availability of that
technology, has not yet reached mainstream households. That’s not
to say that VR gambling doesn’t still have a chance in years to
come.
Microgaming
was making mobile games back in 2003, but it wasn’t until 2007 that
the first smartphones appeared. Who wanted to play slots on a flip
phone? No one. Another five years would pass before the mobile
gambling revolution actually gained a foothold, and now, it’s the
number one way to play over the internet, and enjoy all the new
online casino game ideas that developers are constantly spitting out
– the good and the bad.
A quick look at the current financial ups and down of the world’s
biggest online gambling companies.
No company rides
the wave of success forever. Even the biggest and brightest names of
an industry suffer hardships now and again. Every wave has its crest
and fall. It’s the companies that recover from each crash that
attain ultimate success. The online gambling industry is a perfect
example.
According to the
latest revenue reports from all over the globe, major brands like
Flutter Entertainment, Playtech and Gamesys are
all experiencing the ups and downs of the pivotal waves of finance.
Some are looking up; some are stumbling; others are recovering from
errors of the past.
Ups & Downs of Biggest Online Gambling
Companies
This week saw a
trio of major iGaming operators and software vendors riding those
waves. Ireland’s Flutter Ent announced a boost in cash flow, while
Isle of Man-based Playtech reported a marginal loss. At the same
time, London-based Gamesys is appreciating a bit of breathing room as
that company crawls its way back out of debt.
2019 Revenue “Flutters” Skyward 14%
The head honchos
at Flutter Entertainment have a lot to be grateful for as last year’s
final revenue tallies come in. Following a strain of good fortune
(including a pending merger with Pokerstars owner, The
Stars Group), the Irish company, owner of Paddy Power,
Betfair, Sportsbet.com.au, Adjarabet, FanDuel
and others, proudly announced a 14.3%
boost in revenue year over year.
The most notable
increases came in sports betting and casino gaming, both online and
on land. Sports betting operations were up 13.1% to £1.67 billion.
Land-based gaming revenues rose 18.5% to £473 million. Online gaming
jumped 6.1% to £1.01 billion. All told, the company pulled in £2.4
billion in 2019.
Flutter CEO
Peter Jackson called the results a “testament to the quality of our
products, brand and team.”
Playtech Records Net Loss Near €20 Million
The board room
was less cheerful at Playtech headquarters this week, where the
financial officers reported a total loss of €19.6 million on the
year. It wasn’t all bad news, though. Overall, revenue was actually
up an impressive 23% to €1.51 billion, thanks largely to a 56%,
€900 million boost in B2C revenue.
Playtech
Chairman Alan Jackson gave an optimistic statement that notes the
strategically added expenses associated with “entering newly
regulated markets, signing new customers, expanding existing
relationships and continuing to innovate with new product launches.”
Such elements combine to reflect the expected cost of “laying the
foundations for our future growth,” said Jackson.
Gamesys Pays Down 7% of Debt
Last year, JPJ
Group (JackpotJoy) purchased the flagging software brand, Gamesys
Ltd, with hopes of revitalizing the once successful product. So far,
so good. This week, the company reported a principle payment of £40
million on its loans, reducing its previous debt of £484.7 million
by 7% ahead of their annual financial report, due March 17. The
payment is expected to save Gamesys £2.7 million in interest
payments this year alone.
Gamesys CFO
Keith Laslop comments: “As we’ve stated previously, a key strategic
goal for the Board is to have our long-term leverage ratio in-line
with our peers… today’s paydown is an important first step in
attaining that goal.”
How It’s Played: A detailed
review of Evolution Gaming’s new and lightning-quick Live Dealer
Speed Blackjack games.
Evolution Gaming
is universally recognized as the most innovative pioneer of the live
casino gaming industry. It
is more decorated than any
other live studio supplier, by-far, and has
published a host of the industry’s most beloved live dealer games;
falling into the categories of both class-style
table games (Blackjack,
Roulette, Baccarat, etc), as well as some
more unique, game
show-style varieties (Dream Catcher, Lightning Dice, Monopoly Live,
etc.)
A few weeks ago, the company
announced the launch of a brand new game they call Speed
Blackjack Live. It
is, for all intents and purposes, the fastest live dealer blackjack
game on the world wide web to date. In
order to ensure the quickest game speed, this new title breaks the
most traditional rules of etiquette. It’s not the seating
arrangement, but rather speed that determines who’s hand is played
first.
How It’s
Played: Live
Dealer Speed Blackjack
For the most part, this is your
standard variety blackjack game. The usual rules of classic blackjack
are employed, including the following:
Up to 7 players
8 decks of cards
Dealer stands on all 17s
Double on any first two cards
Split up to two hands
No double after split
No drawing to split aces
Dealer peeks for blackjack
Blackjack pays 3:2
What sets this game apart from
all the others are these more unique rules, designed specifically to
promote faster game play.
Faster Timer:
Once all hands have received their first two cards, a
single timer starts with 7
seconds fewer than Evolution’s standard tables.
First Come, First Serve:
additional cards are dealt to players on a first-to-act basis. For
example, the first player to press the Hit, Double or Split button
will be dealt cards accordingly. The next fastest to act will get the
next card, and so on, until all player hands have been completed
(Stand or Bust).
Auto-Hit:
Any player who fails to act before the timer runs out with
a hand total of 11 or less, will automatically take a Hit.
Auto-Stand:
Any player who fails to act before the timer runs out with
a hand total of 12 or more, will automatically stand on the current
total.
Overall Game Speed:
Evolution attests – and typical game play confirms – the overall
speed of Live Speed Blackjack is approximately 30% faster than a
standard, 7-seat live dealer game.
Experience Review and Recommendations
As a long-time blackjack player
and stead-fast strategist, I found this game quite interesting, but
not necessarily my cup of tea.
The speed of the game is only a
plus if you’re a good strategy player looking to increase your rate
of hands-per-hour; or, if you play for entertainment purposes only
and like the heart-pounding challenge of trying to beat your fellow
players to the punch.
Personally, I like a slower paced
game with a higher RTP. The house edge here, according to its
creators, is 0.71% (RTP 99.29%). There are far better paying games,
both online and on land. As for the entertainment factor, I find that
making rushed decisions can easily result in strategic mistakes. So
again, unless you’re an extremely experienced strategist, or a
recreational, gut-instinct type of player who loves an adrenaline
rush, Evolution’s new Live Dealer Speed Blackjack may not be the game
for you.
iGaming Gold: Remarkable Casino Software Providers of 2020
For more than twenty-five years now, internet gambling has been
growing, shifting, evolving into one of the world’s largest
eCommerce industries. In that time, we’ve seen a massive explosion
of casino games, the software companies that build them, and – of
course – the number of players that log on to enjoy them.
Hundreds of digital games creators have entered this market in that
time. Most of them didn’t survive, but more than enough have. Some
thrive on quantity; others on quality. Then there are those who make
a name for themselves by producing unique content – something
outside the box – something that makes players stop and think,
“Whoa… that’s different!”
Remarkable Casino Software Providers of 2020
Today’s write up is dedicated to the online casino software
developers that have changed the way we gamble online; not just ten
or twenty years ago, but those that continue to do so in 2020. I’m
talking about the ones that make iGaming the mega-sized entertainment
industry that it is today. So without further ado, here are the top
five digital game changers operating in the global online casino
business.
#1 Microgaming
I know what you’re thinking. Microgaming is old. Microgaming
represents what the iGaming industry used to be. You’re not wrong,
but there’s so much more to it than that. Yes, Microgaming laid the
foundation for online casinos, with roots dating all the way back to
1994. This company had a hand in the development of the world’s
very first genuine online casino in 1996. But Microgaming is no
has-been. To this day, the Isle of Man-based company is producing –
or at least commissioning the production of – world class gaming
content.
Most of all, I have to commend them for their foray into exclusivity
contracts. Microgaming has commissioned a throng of small companies
(ones that could never thrive on their own) to develop games just for
their Quickfire platform. Not only has it increased the
production rate of Microgaming’s vast portfolio, it’s bringing
fresh ideas and features to the iGaming community. And let’s not
forget Microgaming’s ever-rewarding Mega Moolah online slot;
the only online progressive to seed at $1,000,000.
#2 Evolution Gaming
Evolution Gaming has brought about a true evolution in iGaming. After
launching their first “live casino” product in 2006, this company
has managed to produce live dealer games in beast-mode. They have the
best software, the best hardware, the best game variety, and by far
the most impressive trophy case of any casino software brand in the
world. Evolution has been named the eGR Live Casino Supplier of the
Year for 10 years running, and I have no doubt they’ll claim yet
another this year.
#3 NetEnt
For the last twenty years, NetEnt (formerly Net Entertainment) has
delivered the full iGaming package, and then some. That extra effort
has gone towards the fabrication of some of the most immersive 3D
slot machines ever to hit the virtual shelves. They wowed us with
Gonzo’s Quest in 2011, and teased us with Gonzo’s Quest
VR, slated for release in 2020. They are responsible for the
Starburst slot, which has, for seven years, popped in and out
of the ‘most popular slot machine game’ position. At time of
writing, it’s back at #1. Long story short their focus on 3D
graphics and immersive game play is unparalleled.
#4 Habanero Systems
It was only a few years ago that Habanero Systems erupted onto the
market. They were looking for a niche, and they found it in a unique
concept – storytelling. Every slot machine they create comes with a
complete backstory. Players who don’t skip the intro are drawn into
the plot of each game, giving them more reason to play than winning
or losing money. They combine this skill with HTML5 programming,
impressive 3D visuals, and proven features.
#5 Playtech
Playtech has been making games almost as long as any of their competitors. Most of their games are on par with the industry standard, but there is one thing that sets them apart from all other casino software providers. Playtech has built some of the world’s most interesting license-branded slot machines. Sure, Microgaming has the Jurassic Park and Playboy Slots series, and NetEnt has Vikings and Guns N’ Roses, but I believe Playtech has the more impressive portfolio overall (and those other companies are already on this list, anyway).
Playtech brought us The Matrix, Rocky, Kong, Gladiator, Top Gun, American Dad, and a multitude of super-hero branded games, inlcuding a complete series of Superman titles, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern, just to name a few.
Genesis Slots – Immersive games that go beyond status quo.
I’ve talked about a lot of big-brand online slots creators over the years. Anyone who gambles online knows of Microgaming, NetEnt, Playtech. These are the leaders in the market, developing the largest portfolios with the most famous titles on the market. But there are other companies out there that deserve recognition.
One
such company is Genesis
Gaming.
Please do not confuse
Genesis Gaming
with Genesis
Gaming Solutions,
as so many do.
Genesis Gaming Solutions
(www.genesisgaming.com)
is a physical
table games manufacturer
with offices in Spring, Texas and Las Vegas, Nevada. Genesis Gaming
(www.genesis-games.com)
is a software company specializing in
some of the industry’s
most immersive online slot
machines. It is
headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan, with additional offices in Las
Vegas, Nevada and Burnaby, British
Columbia, Canada.
What’s So Great about Genesis Slots?
Since
2008, Genesis has been developing creative games for the online
casino community. In all those years, their primary goal has been to
develop outside the box. They aren’t looking to copy the most
popular themes or features. They aren’t trying
to mimic their rivals by drawing the same customers with the mirrored
content. They’re goal is to go “beyond status quo”; to build
something more unique, more interesting, and more rewarding for
players.
By
more rewarding, I don’t meant more people win on their games. Slot
machines cannot possibly pay at or above 100% RTP. What casino would
employ
them? No, Genesis online slots pay an RTP on par with the industry
standard. But games can be more rewarding in other ways. In
particular, these are
known for being wildly entertaining.
Take, for instance, one of Genesis Games’ fan-favorites, the Machine Gun Unicorn Slot. Now that’s a wild game if I ever saw one. I’m not entirely sure how best to describe it. Imagine if Quinton Tarantino made slot machines, without all the droll dialogue of his usual films.
Machine
Gun Unicorn is a game about a fairytale place,
where a majestic unicorn
rules over a land of My
Little Pony-looking horses. Then one day, all Hell breaks loose when
their pony paradise is terrorized by zombie dragons.
The fearless leader brandishes a machine gun in place of his unicorn
horn and takes on the zombie hoarde, alongside
his myriad-maned friends.
The theme was so outrageously refreshing, Machine Gun Unicorn was
named among the annual ICE expo’s top Games
to Watch in 2015.
Not all of their games are so radical, of course, but it shows the approach Genesis Gaming’s designers take when building a new title. They look for something out of the ordinary, and make it extraordinary, whether it’s a new game’s theme, layout, or features, there’s always something exciting going on.
In
the last few years, they’ve picked up the pace in fabrication, too.
Since 2015, their portfolio has nearly doubled. There are now more
than 200 games on the menu, with new titles coming to market once per
month, on average. To
close out 2019, they
brought us Emperor’s
Diamonds and
Dragon Blast.
Two days from now, on January 15, their latest addition – Year
of the Rat – is
slated for release at all Genesis Gaming powered online casinos.
Is PlayOLG the safe secure online casino Ontario players should trust, or are there better options out there?
For more than two
decades, Canadians have had access to a seemingly unlimited supply of
online gambling websites. It’s not really unlimited, of course.
There are nearly 5,000 known iGaming websites in existence. About 25%
of them welcome Canadian players and CA$ deposits. How do you know if
you’re choosing the right one, when there are 1,000+ sites
beckoning?
As of 2015, a lot
of Ontario’s internet gamblers have made the easy choice, signing
up an account with PlayOLG.com, the
official online gaming destination of the Ontario Lottery and
Gaming Corp (OLG). Being mandated, regulated, and operated by our
own government certainly offers some assurances, but is it the best
option? Let’s take a look at the most reasons to sign up for local
iGaming.
PlayOLG is a Safe Secure Online Casino
By far the most
advantageous feature of PlayOLG is the fact that it’s run by the
same government that is responsible for enforcing the gambling laws
of Ontario, and Canada as a whole. OLG is going to do everything in
its power to ensure players are protected, just as they aim to
protect the players of their walk-in casinos on land. The regulatory
body invokes the highest standard security measures to keep player
information safe, secure, and out of the hands of those who might use
it for harmful purposes.
This is the exact
same protocol undertaken by the world’s most distinguished,
internationally regulated online casinos. The difference is, we don’t
always know which offshore casino is distinguished, and which ones
aren’t. We can do a little research to find out, or, we can take
the quickest route to safety and join PlayOLG.
It’s a perfect
short-term solution for those of us leading busy lives; a
classification that covers 99.9% of Ontario’s population, aged
19-60. But is it the best decision in the long-term?
Are There Better Options for Ontarians?
This is a relative question with a relative answer. If PlayOLG offers everything you desire out of an online casino, by all means, take full advantage of its fast-track to supreme security. There’s a lot to be enjoyed by members of the home-grown iGaming website.
PlayOLG has (at
time of writing) 110 casino games to choose from, including 90
traditional slots, 5 progressive jackpot slots, 11 table games and 4
video pokers. As an added perk, you can purchase all of your
number-draw lottery and instant win tickets directly from the website
or mobile app. If these features satisfy all your iGaming needs,
there’s no reason to go anywhere else.
You’ll even have access to a rather generous welcome bonus worth up to $300 in bonus credits. Furthermore, no offshore website is going to match PlayOLG’s astonishingly-low wagering requirements of 10x WR on the bonus amount only. (Learn more about the PlayOLG Welcome Bonus here.)
With all these
perks you may be wondering, what do internationally regulated
gambling sites offer that PlayOLG doesn’t?
Benefits of Taking Your iGaming Overseas
There are a few
good reasons why so many Ontario players have continued doing their
iGaming with offshore operators. At one time, it was the promotions
that drew players overseas more than anything else, but now that
Ontario offers the same level of generosity – if not more – there
are only to notable perks for outsourcing your online gambling.
The first is game variety. International online casinos offer anywhere from a few hundred to over one thousand games. It all depends on the software brand(s) they employ. Royal Vegas Canada, for instance, only licenses software from two companies; Microgaming for its RNG-based games, and Evolution Gaming for its live casino content. This may not sound like much, but Microgaming has more than 900 games in its ever-growing portfolio, and Evolution is has been number-one supplier of live dealer casino games for 10 years running.
It’s hard to
beat that kind of content, but LeoVegas Mobile Casino does.
LeoVegas operates under the philosophy that more is always better.
They employ more than 50 different software brands – including
Microgaming and Evolution Gaming, as well as the IGT and
Scientific Games brands licensed to PlayOLG – to deliver
thousands upon thousands of games to their customers.
The second benefit is access to different forms of gambling you can’t find on PlayOLG. Offshore online casinos are not restricted to following the letter of Canadian federal law. They can supply everything, from online poker and sports betting on single events, to international lottery drawings, to skill-based arcade games.
Conclusion
As I said, the correct choice is a relative one. If you’re looking for minimal gaming in a guaranteed safe secure online casino environment, PlayOLG is a fantastic choice. If you want more out of your gaming experience, and don’t mind doing a little research to find the most trusted offshore casino brands, you’ll find the international iGaming landscape to be incomparably well endowed.
Yggdrasil mobile slots portfolio gets vicious with new Untamed Wilds online slot.
Yggdrasil has been awfully busy these
last few months. This summer alone, four new games have come to
market, with another set for release less than two weeks from now.
Just this week, we reviewed their latest release, The
One Armed Bandit. Today, we’ll step back a few weeks to
the June 1 release of their new Untamed Wilds Slot.
At first, I wasn’t sure how this one slipped
past my radar for so many weeks, then I realized it’s only available
to players in the Nordic region of Europe – the same area for which
the game’s thematic setting is derived. Yggdrasil built this one
especially and exclusively for their Swedish fans at Svenska Spel.
I’d be willing to bet the majority of my
readers are not Swedish, but that doesn’t make the game any less
worthy of review. For one, it’s by Yggdrasil, one of the best slots
designers on the planet in regards to immersive iGaming. Plus, it’s
got vicious, wild-eyed predators unleashing their fury beneath the
full moon, catering to the special place in my heart reserved just
for horror themed slots like this one. And who knows how many of more
Canadian-majority readers might be visiting the Alps soon?
Yggdrasil Mobile Slots Portfolio Gets Predatory!
Its creators have dubbed Untamed Wilds a
“ferocious adventure slot”. Packed with three vicious beast, each
is capable of unleashing a unique, predacious feature. Players are
invited to explore the Nordic outback, where the tranquil landscape
hides a terrifying tale. Taming the vicious beasts can come with
invaluable rewards.
The Untamed Wilds Slot takes place on standard 5×3 reels, with betways spanning 20 lines from left to right. It carries a bet range of 0.08 up to 100.00 per spin, a max payout of 2,500x the line bet, a medium variance, and an RTP of 96.1%.
Symbolically, it’s the beasts you’re looking
for – the bigger the better. The special symbols are the bear,
moose or wolf, each being wilds that appear individually depending on
the current game mode. High payers are the lynx, boar, fox, owl and
squirrel, followed by runic playing cards suits on the bottom. The
majestic Northern Lights are the scatter symbol.
Untamed Wilds Features – Bear, Moose and Wolf
The game mode changes randomly after every 10+
spins. When it does, a new animal takes charge of the forest –
bear, moose, or wolf – and becomes the games wild. Each of these
wilds has its own special ability. The bear wild expands outwards in
a cross pattern. The moose wild applies a random multiplier that
boosts all payouts on the screen. The wolf wild duplicates itself,
appearing not in a random position, but the best possible position to
create the highest payout on a single line.
Free Games Feature w/ Frequent Wilds
Landing 3, 4 or 5 scatter symbols on the reels
will award 7, 15 or 30 free spins respectively. During the free games
feature, wilds are programmed to appear more frequently, delivering a
higher rate of wins. The game’s beast mode can change during free
games, just as it does in the base.
Unleashing the Raw Power
Yggdrasil’s Senior Product Strategist, Jonas
Strandman, was especially enthused by their design team’s latest
creation – and for good reason. “As a Swede myself, the theme is
very close to my heart. Players enjoy a perfect blend of tranquility
by being close to nature combined with the raw power of the Nordic
wilderness.”
He goes on to commend the team’s “high-quality
production” of an exclusive game he’s certain will become “a big
hit” for his own native Swedish market.
Irony on the Range: The One Armed Bandit Online Slot by Yggdrasil.
For nearly a century, slot machines have
undertaken the infamous nickname of “one armed bandit”. The title
was derived from the lever players pulled to initiate a spin of the
reels – that lever being the arm, and the machine – oh so prone
to taking a player’s money – the bandit. Even today, with computer
chips, buttons and touch screen taking the place of mechanical reels
and levers, the term is universally recognized as a cognomen for slot
machines.
Curiosity begs to ask how it is that it took
all these years for a slot machine manufacturer to come out with a
game simply titled, The One Arm Bandit Slot? At least,
that was my original thought when I saw Yggdrasil had released a new
game by that very name. Upon further investigation, it turns out it
has been done before, and more than once, but more as novelties than
anything else; literary works of life-sized art that stood within old
country stores, much the way wood-carved Indian Chief stood outside
the doors of a cigar shop.
Up until now, however, I can say it’s never
been done in the digital realm. Thanks to Yggdrasil, the one armed
bandit is finally glorified within its very own online slots game.
The theme corresponds with the novelty slots of old, mimicking the
ways of the old west, where revolvers decided disputes, and laws were
only guidelines.
The One Armed Bandit Online Slot by Yggdrasil
In typical fashion, Yggdrasil has infused its
game with a backstory that breathes life into the player’s
experience. The One Armed Bandit deputizes players into a role of
assisting the local sheriff (a young Clint Eastwood type) in his
mission to bring down the town’s notorious gang of outlaws. Rounding
up the bandits awards bounties of cash.
The setting, music and symbols all match the
theme perfectly, with cowboy hats, pistols, flasks and spurs paying
the highest; playing card suits the lowest. The bandit is the
scatter, the sheriff’s badge the wild, and the leader of the band of
outlaws – the bearded one armed bandit – the bonus symbol.
Each time one or more bandit scatters appear on
the reels, the sheriff fires his gun, targeting the outlaws and
triggering one free respin per scatter. The scatters turn into a x5
Wild multipliers that hold in place for the extra spins. The scatter
is collected as a badge above the reel on which it landed. Once a
scatter is collected on each of the 5 reels, free spins are awarded,
wherein the sheriff challenges The One Armed Bandit to a duel amid
the town’s dusty thoroughfare.
During free games, the Bonus one armed bandit symbol can appear. When he does, the sheriff fires off a round, this time collecting +1 free spin and 1 bullet in the overhead multiplier meter. The first bullet is already in place, granting a 5x multiplier to start.
Collect two more bonus bullets and the multiplier rises to 10x. Maxing out the meter with 5 bullets boosts the pays to 20x. Combine that with 5x multiplier Wilds that can land naturally on any of the 5 reels during the free spins feature, and players can strike gold with up to 100x multiplier wins.
All in all, this game has an entertainment
level that’s as high as its variance. Yggdrasil’s The One Armed
Bandit Online Slot features a 96.3% RTP and a max payout of up to
472,000 coins. Built in HTML5, it’s compatible with all computer and
mobile operating systems.
