History
Playtech was founded in 1999 and they provide software for casinos, poker rooms, bingo rooms, sports betting operators amongst others (scratch games, mobile gaming and arcade style games. Playtech was formed by Teddy Sagi who then floated the company in 2006 on the London Stock Exchange. Since then, the company has grown to be the “world’s largest publicly traded online gaming software supplier”.
Playtech employs over 800 people around the world and they power over 100 operators – there are over 200 casinos using their software online. Playtech’s casino product is their flagship brand and some argue that they are now the software of choice for the masses of casino players.
About Playtech
Playtech may have formed 5 years after their biggest competitor (Microgaming), but they have definitely made up the ground. In 2001, Playtech was on the market with City Club Casino. In 2002, they were the first to get a land based casino to go online. The following year, Playtech launched their bingo network as well as launching live dealer gaming using real time video streaming.
In 2004, the iPoker network (poker) was launched as well as big UK focused operators such as bet365 and BetFred starting to use their software. Finally in that year, the software received an official Certificate of Evaluation from BMM International (software auditors basically). Apart from being floated in 2006, Playtech became a member of the Remote Gambling Association (RGA) and received the prestigious Certificate of Prior Approval from the Alderney Gaming Control Commission (AGCC).
Now it starts to get exciting. Post UIGEA in late 2006, Playtech still experienced huge success in 2007 and their iPoker network became the biggest poker network in the world with over 30,000 active players at peak times. 15 more operators also struck deals to use the casino software. In 2008, they struck a very important deal with Paramount Digital Entertainment who basically licensed Playtech to develop games using well known Paramount Pictures brand, Gladiator (yes, the Russell Crowe movie!)
2009 was probably the most significant year in their history as they entered into a joint venture with bookmaking giant, William Hill as well as providing Betfair with their online casino. More importantly for us casino players, they released the much loved Marvel Series slots. 2010 saw Playtech strike more strategic partnerships and consolidate their bingo network as the biggest in the world by the acquisition of Virtue Fusion. Furthermore, Playtech Limited (as they are known) was voted International Company of the Year at the 2010 AIM Awards – something any listed company would die for.
We could go on. It is safe to say that they are one of the best (if not the best) software providers for the gambling industry. Their casino product is unrivalled in so many ways and CasinoManual.co.uk will now focus on some of the games that has made Playtech a household name with casino players.
Games
Playtech have really become a force to reckon with in the online gambling industry by providing some of the best games the casino industry has ever seen. They offer a huge range of games with a focus on video slot games. Apart from offering table games, live dealer games in both download and instantly play (browser based) versions, they have introduced many favourites such as Gladiator, The Incredible Hulk, Great Blue and many more.
Firstly, let’s take a firm favourite, Blackjack Switch. The unique game provides you with a twist of the classic game. Players can play with 2 hands instead of the usual 1 as you are allowed to ‘switch’ the second cards to improve you chances of getting a better hand. The game also features a Super Match side bet.
You don’t have to switch the second cards but if you have a ‘King’ in 1 hand, and a ‘6’ in the other and then receive a ‘3’ and then a ‘10’ for the initial hands, you can switch the ‘3’ and ‘10’ so that you end up with a ‘King’ and a ‘10’. This will enable you to have a total value of ‘20’ which is a strong hand against the casino. As compensation for the casino, a ‘blackjack’ pays out at even money (1 to 1) than the usual 3 to 2 found in normal blackjack games.
CasinoManual.co.uk couldn’t find a better way to demonstrate Playtech’s popularity than to showcase the Marvel Series games. The games include Iron Man and Iron Man 2, Punisher War Zone, Fantastic Four, Daredevil, Blade, Elektra, X-Men, The Incredible Hulk, Ghost Rider and Thor The Mighty Avenger. The slot games are all progressive games which means you can win a huge jackpot if you are lucky.
It’s hard for me to say which is my favourite Marvel game though – it changes with my mood really. Other slot games I recommend include the Gladiator Jackpot slot (Gladiator with a progressive jackpot element), Cowboys & Aliens, Desert Treasure II, John Wayne and The Mummy. To read more about these games, visit the Play Slots section for more details and the ability to play them for free before you play for real.
Casinos
As you’ve read, Playtech powers over 200 online casinos. Not all casinos powered by Playtech have been reviewed by us. Even though the games are great, not all operators offer you the best service in terms of support for example. At Casino Manual, we highly recommend bet365 Casino and Betfred Casino. For more information of the casinos, please click the following links: