Which software do you prefer?

[kosta.kk]

Dear Casinomeister forum members,

As a group of investors, we are interested in diversifying our portfolio by successfully starting an online gambling operation.

We are currently considering which software to work with. The providers we currently consider are:
- Playtech (although they do not accept any start-ups at the moment)
- MicroGaming
- WagerLogic (CryptoLogic)
- WagerWorks
- Boss Media

May we kindly ask you to rank these five software providers as per your personal experience. Please kindly suggest the pro's and con's of each one of them. Also, any feedback on their business model will be much appreciated.

Thank you for your time!

P.S.
I will make sure to give away a special bonus to all of you once we open our doors.

[Simmo!]

As far as I go, when I see a Wagerworks casino, I feel I can trust them off the bat. Similarly with Microgaming, I feel the licences are strict and as a player I will have a level of protection. Crypto too to a lesser extent.

As far as software goes and mainly from a slots perspective:

1) Microgaming (edges out Wagerworks on games choice)
2) Wagerworks (would be just as good if they had more games and better video poker options)
3) Cryptologic
4) Playtech
5) Boss (Pretty crap slots by comparison)

I would add that there are so many Micros out there now (sorry US people ) that one might question whether a new one would be worth the effort of signing up, whereas with Wagerworks and Crypto, the choice is smaller.

Since CPS went under, the one thing I miss is instant Neteller cashouts at Microgaming casinos and I prefer Wagerworks casinos more now as a result. Wagerworks and Crypto casinos don't have a "Reverse Pending" period (which I hate) so when you cashout, it's done and there's no going back.

Wagerworks has the disadvantage of being "Flash only" so no "loyalty" icon on the desktop. But the advantage that Firefox users can play their games where they can't play Flash games from Microgaming. Actually, Crypto went overboard with the icons and re-decorated your room with them every time you logged out so I uninstalled most a while back in a fit of frustration. Think it's better now though.

[KasinoKing]

Initially I was a little confused here. If I was an investor looking to stat an online casino I would definitely be looking at one which would be available to the USA market; Namely Rival as a first option, then maybe RTG or Wizard... (new & un-tried, but potentially promising)

But since you have only named non-US softwares I must assume there are some legal reasons for that.

So from the ones you named, as a daily player of online casinos for coming up to 8 years, I would chose (bearing in mind that for the last 4 years+ I have been predominately a slots player):-

1) MicroGaming - biggest choice of great games, but ludicrously slow loading software is a turn-off.
2) WagerLogic - would definitely be my number 1 if their slots started with lower coins & had more increments. They have the easiest to understand bonus status screens and best game history logs of any software on the net!
3) Playtech - Very nice software and an increasingly good variety of games. Low variance slots!
4) WagerWorks - Definitely the best of the 'no-download' casinos, but their slots need autoplay & run very crappily on my PC... (Also not enough variety)
5) Boss Media - I used to like this software, when PG was allowed at 100% in WR... But they seem to have completely lost the plot and their slots are mostly garbage.

If it was an option (because I don't think they licence to anyone else), I would seriously consider Grand Virtual - great games & superb back-end system.

To me, more important than software choice is how you treat your players; good sensible bonuses, Clear, concise & unambiguous T&C's, Quick CS who know what they're talking about, and Very fast, hassle free withdrawals would tick most of my boxes!

KK

[funky_seagull]

I don't like microgaming. I don't trust their software or their live games. I think they cheat the players. I have uninstalled all microgaming software from my computer and shoved their flash casino shortcuts into the recycling bin. However the people they license their software to tend to be trustworthy.

Playtech I still haven't made my mind up about them. I don't fully trust their software either but haven't got to the stage of uninstalling them from my computer yet - I don't like some of the people they license their software to.

cryptologic, their games can be too expensive... I find the payouts to be not very good and £10 a spin on roulette, I mean come on...

never tried boss media and doubt I ever will.....

so at a conundrum, come to the conclusion you will never know for sure whether they are all cheating. They are all safely behind your screen in cyberspace. I don't trust them, and if anyone ever questions if they are cheating about a million folk jump to their aid... it's the perfect scam, and I deeply regret ever starting this sick hobby. It's caused me nothing but misery and despair and I hope all the software providers that are cheating experience the pain of losing everything and a nice topping of despair also....

Now I've got that bitterness off my chest... will try to forget the whole nightmare and not let the bastards ruin my life beyond finances...

[babs7262]

Im a US citizen so I can only play at MG, but I dont anymore. Id love to help but cant

Good luck in your new endeavor

[jetset]

I think Simmo has covered the bases pretty well and I would in the main agree with his assessments and rankings.

I'm surprised, though, that noone mentioned NetEntertainment, which has been doing very well this year with its CasinoModule system and has a burgeoning stable of licensees - I'm open to correction but I think they've signed up nineteen this year alone. Good games choice, nice software and you very rarely hear of hassles at NetEnt licensees.

There's also the possibility of a St. Minver agreement (there are others who do this sort of white labeling too) that provides all that is required and then manages it for the client. Again, one very rarely hears of complaints at St. Minver, which is associated with Boss Media. But be cautious around white labelling and choose your partner very carefully - there have been some unhappy incidents and the players generally have reservations about this style of operating.

Research has shown that refreshing games regularly is a good attraction for the average player, and most of the big provider companies do this frequently with new game releases and changing themes.

In this context, there's also been a tremendous amount of cross-platform partnering and games exchanges between the majors this year, along with the introduction of major international movie and video themes like King Kong, The Godfather, Saturday Night Fever and many others, all broadening the player offering.

If you're thinking of including a poker room, then you also need to consider software popularity and network reputation, together with average daily player liquidity - the number of players on the network as a daily average.

But at least part of your choice will be constrained by budget considerations - the top companies tend to be a little more expensive, although it is a highly competitive market.

The US market and your preparedness to enter it (or not) will also be a consideration, because most of the leading companies are out of that as a result of the crazy morass of confusing legislation and an almost fanatical enforcement regime. And as you will have seen from other threads here at Casinomeister, it looks as if Microgaming may be on the way out of the USA as well.

If you're comfortable with having a go at the US market, then the Rival offering is pretty good and is in the main player-attentive. Wizard Gaming is a recent arrival and looks as if it has potential - they only have two licensees at the moment and will be eager to please, I'm sure.

I wouldn't touch RTG at all - this Costa Rican based operation's licensees have established a generally poor reputation with the player community by bad conduct - it's a pity because the software has potential and was well liked at one time.

Having safe software is critically important and should be seen to be supervised by the licensing jurisdiction, so I would also look at whether the licensing jurisdiction that usually comes with the package is a credible one.

You will get conflicting opinions on this, but for my money the top regulating jurisdictions are probably the UK Gaming Commission and Alderney, with Malta, the Isle of Man and Gibraltar arguably a few pegs below them.

A license in all of these jurisdictions will enable you to advertise in the UK, as well. On past experience with player disputes, I don't really rate most of the other places. Kahnawake has a huge number of licensees but a poor track record of being player-sensitive and slow to move, as does Antigua and the Netherlands Antilles. It's one thing to have a set of fine-looking regulations; another as to how they are applied in practice and to the benefit of the player.

Bear in mind also that the self-regulatory system at eCOGRA has its opponents but nevertheless seems to work pretty well and has solid professional and business requirements and player dispute facilities. If you do a little research you'll find a number of big operator names have gravitated toward this outfit for monitoring and regulatory guidance recently, and they have done a lot of collaborative work with the European Gambling and Betting Association (to which most large European operators belong) and with several national jurisdictions. There are about 130-odd tier one online casinos and poker rooms - mainly in the Ongame-Bwin, 888.com and Microgaming stables - under the eCOGRA system.

You'll need to carefully consider how you set up your financial channels - another critically important factor and one where the right choice of provider can save you a lot of hassle and risk.

The same applies to player Support and to affiliate marketing arrangements.

Good luck! It's a brave decision to enter this market in the current economic climate, although online companies seem to be doing better than their land equivalents at present.

[aka23]

Dear Casinomeister forum members,

As a group of investors, we are interested in diversifying our portfolio by successfully starting an online gambling operation.

We are currently considering which software to work with. The providers we currently consider are:
- Playtech (although they do not accept any start-ups at the moment)
- MicroGaming
- WagerLogic (CryptoLogic)
- WagerWorks
- Boss Media

May we kindly ask you to rank these five software providers as per your personal experience. Please kindly suggest the pro's and con's of each one of them. Also, any feedback on their business model will be much appreciated.

Thank you for your time!

P.S.
I will make sure to give away a special bonus to all of you once we open our doors.

My top 10 are:

1. Microgaming -- In my opinion, the highest quality games available. Has useful features (to players) not found in other softwares, such as VP auto-hold and programmable BJ strategy.

2. Wagerworks -- The best no-download software available. As I recall, it won the Casinomeister best SW provider award for the previous year.

3. Cryptologic
4. Playtech
5. Net Ent
6. Grand Virtual (Everest Gaming)
7. Rival
8. RTG
9. Boss
10. Odds On (Vegas Tech.)

Of course, there are many other factors in the choice. It depends on your target audience; what games you focus on, including live ones; download, no-download ,or both; whether you also have a sportsbook and/or poker; your budget; etc.

[Simmo!]

I'm surprised, though, that noone mentioned NetEntertainment...

Funnily enough they crossed my mind when I was writing but as they weren't a "contender" in this thread. Again, from a slots perspective, there are only a couple that would make/have made me go back and the video poker left me cold. But not being a table game playe....

WagerLogic - would definitely be my number 1 if their slots started with lower coins & had more increments.

I hear ya on that KK. The most annoying thing (Attack Of The Icons aside) is the lack of increments. Jumping from $2.25 to $9 a spin, then $9 to $18 and then $18 up to $45 shows a total lack of understanding about how many slot players play. And the $5-$20-$100 a spin jumps too LOL. Talk about cutting out the middle man

[DogBoy001]

I'm surprised, though, that noone mentioned NetEntertainment, which has been doing very well this year with its CasinoModule system and has a burgeoning stable of licensees - I'm open to correction but I think they've signed up nineteen this year alone. Good games choice, nice software and you very rarely hear of hassles at NetEnt licensees.

There's also the possibility of a St. Minver agreement (there are others who do this sort of white labeling too) that provides all that is required and then manages it for the client. Again, one very rarely hears of complaints at St. Minver, which is associated with Boss Media. But be cautious around white labelling and choose your partner very carefully - there have been some unhappy incidents and the players generally have reservations about this style of operating.

If you're comfortable with having a go at the US market, then the Rival offering is pretty good and is in the main player-attentive. Wizard Gaming is a recent arrival and looks as if it has potential - they only have two licensees at the moment and will be eager to please, I'm sure.

I wouldn't touch RTG at all - this Costa Rican based operation's licensees have established a generally poor reputation with the player community by bad conduct - it's a pity because the software has potential and was well liked at one time.

...and yet I see 9 RTG's on the accredited list here at Casinomeister and...umm...how many Rivals? Wizard? Lol. NetEnt?

Methinks your agenda fails to distinguish between software and licensees.

Wooof

[jetset]

"My agenda"? Explain please.

And its relevance to the Casinomeister accredited list?

Ah, I see - you're connected with RTG, are you? Perhaps as a games supplier?

I suggest you read my post regarding RTG again before you accuse me of confusing software with licensee:

"I wouldn't touch RTG at all - this Costa Rican based operation's licensees have established a generally poor reputation with the player community by bad conduct - it's a pity because the software has potential and was well liked at one time."

Ask any experienced online player and you will be told that way too many RTG licensees have a history of poor (I'm being kind - some of the stunts that have been pulled are downright fraudulent) player treatment. And RTG has not behaved in an encouraging way in the past when it comes to player disputes - again, ask any experienced online player or just check the archives here at Casinomeister. That doesn't help their reputation either.

That doesn't mean they don't have some good licensees - it's the risk of becoming involved with the bad ones that makes it an iffy proposition imv.