A Look at the History and Background of Microgaming Casinos
Of all the big casino game development companies in the casino industry today, Microgaming are without doubt the most prolific. They certainly have by far the biggest portfolio of games, but then this is not entirely surprising. This is because they were one of the first in the business – there from the very beginning of internet gaming.
Founded in 1994, they produced their very first online casino software the same year, so they now have well over twenty years of experience under their belts. They already have close to 900 unique casino games to their name. These games are mostly slots, with old school classics, contemporary video slots and progressives covering just about every genre imaginable.
Today’s games are designed in HTML5 to enable them to be played on any kind of device, from the most compact mobile to the broadest screened desktop PC or Mac. Their games are available to any licenced casino operator who wishes to offer them, via the company’s own software platform, Quickfire. Close to 500 different casino brands have indeed signed up, so you can play Microgaming games in literally hundreds of different online casinos available across the globe.
These games are flexible too: approaching fifty different languages can be catered for, with over twenty five currencies accepted on the Quickfire platform. Early games are not yet compatible with mobile play: the mobile phone had only just become a practical proposition when the company began producing games, and these were literally that – devices for making phone calls.
Smartphones capable of playing games were some way off, and the possibility of playing games with complex graphics over the internet was a decade or more away. Wi-Fi was not even imagined, so it is not surprising that the early “classic” games are incompatible with today’s smartphones and tablets. Nevertheless, around 350 of the companies more recent productions can be played on any kind of device.
In the early days, the company was focused on the online bingo boom, with most of the early sites concentrating on this traditional British pastime. The turn of the 21st Century saw casino games, especially slots, come to the fore and more and more operators turned to more profitable casino game sites. Microgaming was ideally placed to take advantage of the demand for new games.
Early successes came with some impressive movie licencing deals. Jurassic Park, Terminator 2 and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider were early smash hits. This talent for licencing top TV and film franchises and producing excellent spin off games continues to this day, with Game of Thrones being a particularly popular and lucrative creation. Other early classics include Thunderstruck and Avalon, which have both spawned successful sequels too.
The company continues to produce innovative and entertaining games with a diverse range of genres and special features. More are released on a regular basis so that there is always something new and fresh to play. Jungle Jim: El Dorado has been a hit for some time, while titles such as Hot as Hades and Halloween are going down a storm with players eager to try something new. A new franchise tie in with the new Universal Pictures release of the latest Jurassic sequel: Jurassic World is also proving a great success.
Traditional casino games are also catered for. Various table game formats are available for Baccarat, Blackjack, Poker and Roulette. Live dealer games are also provided, via the company’s licencing agreement with top live gaming provider Evolution Gaming.
The company is not merely responsible for designing games though. Microgaming licences its platform software to casino operators to power their sites. These operators are not restricted to Microgaming titles either – they can choose to provide rival software providers’ games too, in order to provide their players with a comprehensive range of the most popular games around today.
The company also provides an all-encompassing suite of management and marketing services to its operator clients. Microgaming can take care of all aspects of marketing, such as bonuses, incentives and targeted promotions, VIP schemes and management; data analysis, player retention and customer relations management (CRM); system security, data protection and online fraud protection plus all aspects of payment processing and banking management. This means that all its licenced operators need do is look after the brand management (and pay all the necessary management fees of course).
Microgaming is now one of the biggest operators in the online gaming business, with well over a thousand employees working on designing new games and looking after its licenced operators’ sites.
The company has remained true to its roots and continues to be headquartered in Douglas, on the Isle of Man. Its gaming licences are also held on the island, via the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission. This territory is recognised by the UK Gambling Commission, so Microgaming bingo and casino sites can be regarded as safe to play for players based within the United Kingdom.