Although it might seem like ages ago, online casinos only started to sprout up virtually in all corners of the web during the mid-90s. In hindsight, this was the result of Antigua and Barbuda’s Free Trade & Processing Act’ which finally put things into play giving the green light for many gambling establishments to transfer their services to the online realm. Sequentially, many online casino software companies started to emerge as the fruit which many of the casinos out there would eventually bear. If you’d like to learn about the ins and outs of casino software, we urge you to take a look at CasinoTop10’s expert 
Before The Software, Was The Hardware
The first slot machines were invented at the tail end of the19th Century. 1894 to be exact, in San Francisco. Pioneered by Charles Fey, the first ‘hardware’ slot was the Liberty Bell. Built with actual spinning reels, painted symbols, and a lever pull that set the reels in motion, it was the first and the only one of its kind.
Since their earliest inception, casino slots have come a long way, now designed as online casino games using software, run by random number generators, and filled with exciting graphics and bonus rounds. There are thousands of options over what casino software to play, and each online slot game developer provides something unique in style and mechanics. This page will help familiarize you with some of the most popular options and how to educate casino software.
Best Software Providers in the Industry
The online casino software provider you choose to play with will make a difference to your gaming experience as each offers something a little different: graphic styles, volatilities, ways to win, and bonus rounds.
The good news is that the top online casinos stock multiple software options, so there’s plenty of room to experiment. Still, as experienced players know, you’ll soon develop a taste for certain software providers.
Evolution Gaming
Live Casino Games: 100+ | Slots: 250+ | Mobile Games: All | Evolution Gaming Casinos Worldwide: 800+
Evolution Gaming is the king of the live casino games, having the biggest lobby and pioneering live game shows that put the player center stage. In 2020 and 2021, Evolution Gaming significantly expanded, acquiring both NetEnt and Red Tiger Gaming, making them one of the biggest and most modern software providers on the market.
Microgaming
Slots: 1000+ | Mobile Games: 800+ | Microgaming Casinos Worldwide: 1000+
Microgaming Casinos are one of the most popular slot sites options. With over 1000 mobile-ready games, this studio has been making hit titles since 1994. In the USA, MG titles are distributed under the DGC software label. This studio is known for its range of slot games with big payouts and fantastic themes, and cutting-edge graphics.
Playtech
Live Casino Games: 30+ | Slots: 400+ | Mobile Slot Games: 400+ | Playtech Casinos Worldwide: 300+
Playtech launched in 1994, the same year as Microgaming, and just in time to see the dawn of online gaming. They are experts in online casino software and games, developing slots, jackpots, and table games. The most iconic releases from this studio include the Age of Gods Series and their unique live dealers, including Money Drop Live.
Real Time Gaming
Slots: 100 | Mobile Games: 100 | Realtime Gaming Casinos Worldwide: 50+
Realtime Gaming launched in 1998 and is a smaller software developer. One of their biggest listings is as a social slots provider for free online casinos in the US, but they also offer real money gambling, focusing on slots.
NetEnt
Slots: 300 | Mobile Games: 300 | NetEnt Casinos Worldwide: 800+
NetEnt is one of the most prevalent slot games developers in the industry. Responsible for multiple iconic titles, characters, and industry innovations, NetEnt is the perfect starting place for every player with a wide range of engaging themes and game styles.
IGT
Slots: 300 | Mobile Games: 200 | NetEnt Casinos Worldwide: 500+
IGT was first founded in 1975 and only became known as IGT six years later. The company made its name creating land-based slots and video poker terminals and didn’t turn its hand to online games until 2010. Since then, the focus has been on bringing the most player-loved land-based slots to online audiences with hits including Cleopatra, Da Vinci Diamonds, and Wheel of Fortune. The company has also developed the in-house PlayDigtial, PlaySports, and Lottery platforms.
WMS (Williams)
Slots: 500 | Mobile Games: 300+ | WMS Casinos Worldwide: 800+
Now part of iGaming and land-based casino supplier giant Scientific Games, the WMS casino game provider is a golden oldie of the software world. Founded in 1943, it is responsible for some of the most iconic, classic slot creations like Jackpot Party®, Reel ’em In®, and Black Knight! The developer’s age hasn’t hindered their online progress, and the studio has also created multiple modern hits and branded slots like Willy Wonka, The Wizard of Oz, Top Gun, and The Price is Right.
SkillOnNet
Slots: 3,500 | Mobile Games: N/A | Skill On Net Casinos Worldwide: 800+
SkillOnNet is a casino game platform provider with content ranging from classic slots, video slots, and jackpot slots to table games, instant win, live dealer, and bingo. The software developer focuses on acquiring other studios and distributing the games in-house, explaining the large and diverse games lobby. In terms of the slots that the Skill on Net team makes, they are 3-5 reel options with a creative flair.
Pragmatic Play
Live Casino Games: 30+ | Slots: 150+ | Mobile Games: All | Pragmatic Play Casinos Worldwide: 100+
Pragmatic Play is a modern studio formed in 2007 and best known for its revolutionary Drops and Wins Jackpot Mechanic. The studio creates video, jackpot, and classic slots along with table and poker games. Drops and Wins take online gaming a step further with jackpots that are guaranteed to drop daily and can be applied to live casino games. The studio also specializes in tournaments.
Yggdrasil
Slots: 200 | Mobile Games: 200 | Yggdrasil Casinos Worldwide: 200+
Yggdrasil is a 2006 breakaway group of execs and developers from NetEnt. With a distinctive graphic style and remarkable flair for maximizing payouts and gripping bonus rounds, Yggdrasil games are awesome and offer non-stop slot adventure with immersive graphics. Yggdrasil only produces slot games, reflecting the studio’s size and focus, releasing around 10-15 titles per year.
The Future of Gambling Technology & Software
Casino software is constantly moving forward with new developments and innovations every year. Whether significant or incremental (like the design of a new reel mechanic), the beat of technology never stops, and this applies to casino games, software, and the platforms you use to play them through.
Some of the most significant technological developments and trends visible today that will continue over the coming years include greater mobile gambling availability, more live casino games, and more gambling software providers experimenting with VR and AR options.
Mobile Technology
With more than 65% of global gamblers joining the game via a mobile device, the future of online gambling is evermore portable. From bespoke mobile apps for iOS and Android users to web mobile casino platforms designed to instantly recognize any device and even smartwatch-ready games. Supplying superior gaming on the go, from any device, and at any time will be the focus for most casino software over the coming years.
Live Casino
Live casino games have been a high point of the last decade, and this has been primarily thanks to Evolution Gaming, which created and has led the market since 2010. As live casino games and game shows are increasingly popular with players, expect more variants, entertainment, and live-action as live games bring even more real-life action to your screens.
Currently, live casino titles focus on classic tables like blackjack, roulette, baccarat, and poker. At the same time, only two software providers offer live game shows like Deal or No Deal, Monopoly, and Money Drop Live.
Did You Know About Augmented & Virtual Reality Casinos?
AR and VR have been on the cards for a while but have proven expensive with little uptake. For a while, NetEnt even toyed with the idea of VR Gonzo’s Quest. Still, this year, the first virtual reality casino went live and is pioneering the way forward, which may just see interest in both AR and VR reignite. If you’ve not tried a VR online casino game and casino, you should, as the immersive gaming experience is next level and delivers cutting-edge gambling.
Qualifying Criteria When Evaluating Casino Software
As the casino software you pick influences your overall gambling experience, we review the top software providers, rating them based on the criteria below. This ensures that you’ve got all the information you need to get the best online gaming experience by picking casino software that suits you.
Safety & Fairness
Casino software must be licensed and tested in the jurisdiction where it offers its product. For the USA, this is state by state. Casino licensing and testing ensure that games are fair, payout and safe in terms of responsible gambling guidelines. All of the software providers and casinos recommended at CasinoTop10 are licensed and tested.
Games Selection
The games selection and what’s on offer is our focus when evaluating casino software in this department. What does the developer offer in terms of variants, slots, tables, live dealers? What style of gamers are they appealing to? How do their games define themselves and stand out in the market? How is the quality of the software and mechanics, do the games work perfectly on any device, and is the software seamless?
Mobile Compatibility
In an ever-increasingly mobile world, gaming on demand from any device is a must. When we evaluate what each software developer has to offer, we look at the cross-compatibility of their portfolio and try out the games on different devices.
Download Casino Option
Despite the fact that there have been tremendous developments in regards to software development which allow gamblers to play their casino game of choice by simply using a browser, download casinos are still quite favored by the iGaming community. If you opt to choose one of these casinos over their no download counterparts, you should be aware that your device must meet certain criteria in order to be able to run the program in an efficient way. For one thing, this type of software will need you to have a computer with a great graphics card installed in order for you to experience play the games seamlessly and without any glitches. Moreover, if you opt to use a download casino as opposed to a no download one, you’ll also notice that these types of casinos usually offer a better variety of games to their users.
Play In-Broswer
If you’d prefer to play at an online casino without having to download its software, let us present you with a marvellous solution, “No Download Casinos” or “Instant Play”. Whilst Flash games and Java games will require you to have the Adobe Flash Player plugin downloaded or the Java plugin respectively, HTML5 games do not require any sort of plugins. One of the tremendous advantages of playing HTML5 games perhaps comes down to the fact that these types of games can be played on virtually any platform, which includes, desktop, mobile and tablet. Provided you’d like to find out more about these types of casinos, you should navigate to our No Download Casinos page.
Graphics
Each casino software studio has a graphic style unique to its studio. A WMS slot looks and plays very differently from a Yggdrasil game. High-quality gaming is often reflected in top graphics and audio used to create the best game backdrops and ambiance -whatever the theme. As well as reading our software reviews, you can play demo games until you find the graphic style you prefer.
Audio
Game audio is equally as important as graphics, with the best software focusing on all gameplay elements. A game without sound or bad audio effects offers flat or, at worst, irritating gameplay. When making games, the best software providers pair the action with appropriate music or audio effects to increase the anticipation or thematic elements of the game.
Speed & Responsiveness
Behind the scenes, the software provider needs to create seamless games; software that responds instantly is optimized to work perfectly on any device and doesn’t lag. A software glitch is the worst thing that can happen while you’re spinning a jackpot slot or playing a live dealer game. To avoid this, we test all our recommended casino software providers before recommending online casinos and software.
Language Support
Not everybody speaks the same mother tongue, and most software providers operate globally, so the developers that go the extra mile with games in multi-language options get ahead with players and us.
Top Games From Our Award-Winning Online Casinos
| Bloodsuckers Slot |  | Bloodsuckers Slot review |
|---|---|---|
| Bonanza Slot |  | Bonanza Slot review |
| Book of Dead | | Book of Dead review |
| Starbust Slot | | Starbust Slot review |
The Bottom Line on Casino Software
Unless you can afford to travel to the likes of casino sanctuaries such as Monte Carlo or Las Vegas, online gambling is probably your best and exorbitant bet in order for you to be able to enjoy a few hours or fun without it costing you a bomb and leaving you flat broke for a while. In retrospect, when it comes down to making a decision in terms of which casino to choose, you should definitely take a look at the casino software the online casino has selected to use. Very often an online casino will opt to use more than one software company in order to have a larger and more phenomenal array of games for gamblers to enjoy playing.
The mix is usually fantastic and serves to compliment the casino’s overall theme. Have a look at CasinoTop10’s comprehensive reviews to find out more about software companies and what they offer before signing up to an online casino. By taking a look at our reviews, you’ll also be able to find a marvelous online casino to play at which offers your preferred software.
Online Casino Software FAQs
What do I need to play an online casino game?
Assuming that you’d like to start playing online casino games through a Download Casino or No Download Casino, you’ll need to install certain things. For instance, if you opt to use a download casino, you’ll need to download the casino’s software in order to play their games, whereas if you use a No Download/ Browser Casino you can just use your internet browser. Provided that the this is the case and the online casino’s mélange of casino games were developed using HTML5 you won’t have to download anything. However, if the games use flash, you will have to make sure you’ve downloaded Adobe flash player and have left it enabled.
Is there casino software which can be used on a Macintosh?
Most Macintosh users know that there are a few differences between computers which run on iOS and those which run on Windows (in the case of Microsoft computers). Indeed, if your computer of choice happens to be a Mac, you’re probably aware that some programs will not run on your computer. Nonetheless, if you find yourself interested in playing at an online casino, you’ll be glad to know that the majority of online casino games are compatible with both Macintosh as well as Microsoft computers. So, you won’t be crying over the fact that you can’t find an online casino which is compatible with your Mac.
How reliable is Online Casino Game Software?
Top software developers, which are commonly used at online casinos, are NetEnt, Microgaming, Playtech, Realtime Gaming, Wager Technology Software Solutions and WMS gaming. Although online casinos usually feature more or less the same array of casino games, each casino game will have unique features in order to be able to attract new players. We recommend that you have a look at the type of software that an online casino chooses to use in order to determine if the games are in fact secure or not. Have a look at our page on online casino software developers to find out more about the software developers out there.
Where can I get an online casino software download?
Using a Downloadable/ Browser Casino will certainly provide you with one of the best online casino experiences available. Assuming that this interests you, you should make sure that you have enough space in your computer in order to be able to support the online casino software as well as other applications that you frequently use on your computer. You’ll be able to download the software through the casino’s site.
Is it safe to download casino software?
Yes, downloading casino software is perfectly safe. All the online casinos that are listed on our site have phenomenal safety measures to ensure that no viruses are passed on to anyone’s computer on downloading the casino software provided.
Do I need to download casino software to be able to play?
Even though there are a number of online casinos nowadays which offer you as a user the option of downloading software to play casino games on, the software may take up quite a lot of RAM space on your computer. In essence, this might cause an inconvenience for you as you might not have the space to accommodate such software. Nonetheless, you needn’t worry about this as in today’s day and age as online casinos have come up with a solution to all your problems in order for you to be able to gamble with complete ease. May we at CasinoTop10 present you with the No Download Casino, which emerges as a viable alternative to its Downloadable Casino cousin. If you opt to play at one of these online casinos rather than their Downloadable counterparts, you’ll find that you as a gambler will be able to enjoy seamless graphics and sounds without any lag through a variety of the most popular internet browsers such as Google Chrome, FireFox, Internet Explorer, Opera and Safari which of course all function on Windows, iOS and Linux. Nonetheless, if choose to use these types of online casinos to play at, you’ll simply need to install the relevant extensions to go with the browser you’re using. For example, if the online casino uses Flash games, you’ll need to download Adobe Flash Player plugin which will be able to function with the particular browser you’re using. Yet, if the game you’re playing has been developed using HTML5, you will not need to download any plugin to make it function.
How can I find a no download casino to play at?
If you’re interested in finding a download casino to play at, you’ll be glad to know that our experts at CasinoTop10 have put in their time and effort into finding the crème de la crème of No Download Casinos for you to gamble at. So, have a look at our No Download Casino guide to find out what you should look out for in selecting your online casino home where you’ll be able to gamble online instantly. Once you’re on this page you’ll also notice that we’ve compiled a valuable list of Best No Download Casinos to play at which have all been given the green light by our casino experts. Each one has been ranked and critiqued in terms of specifications such as Software & Graphics, Support, Progressive Jackpot, Game Variety, Reputation Fairness, Wagering Requirements, Payout Ratio, Deposit Withdrawal Options, Promotions and Signup Bonus in order for you to be able to get a proper insight into what are the high points and low points in gambling at the particular casino you happen to be interested in.
Do most internet casino software work on portable devices?
Yes, most casino games you’ll find online nowadays work on both Android phones and iPhones as well as the majority of tablets and iPads that are currently available on the market. The last two decades have seen an exceptional shift in the type of media gamblers choose to engage with. And whereas you’d find that many online gamblers in the past would prefer to use their laptops in order to gamble online, nowadays research data reveals that there has been any increase in gambling on portable media devices, which of course include both mobile and tablet.
Online Casinos which offer the option of gambling on a portable device of your choice have sought to replicate the online casino experience which you’re usually able to enjoy by playing casino games on your computer. This has been made possible through the invention of HTML5 technology, which in retrospect has allowed software developers to be able to create a game once with the function of it being able to be played on all platforms, unlike its predecessor Flash.
Is online casino software rigged?
The online casino software that’s generally used at reputable online casinos is safe and not rigged in any way. Each and every game that is produced by an online casino software company has to go through a rigorous testing process in order to ensure that games are both safe and fair for gamblers to play.
