Question What's the deal with Octopus Gaming / Pragmatic Play?

[SlotsMan542]

Hey, all -- I came across a batch of online casinos owned by **snip** Engage Entertainment, such as Black Diamond Casino, 7Reels, Casino Moons, Rich Casino, Thebes Casino, Box24, etc. and saw they have games that I thought were solely Pragmatic Play titles, such as 7 Monkeys and Sugar Rush, listed as**snip** "Octopus Gaming".

But they also have Pragmatic Play listed as provider with games, and a bunch of those slot titles shift under the Pragmatic Play provider section when I run my VPN to another country (such as **snip** Norway).

Googling around leads me to a lot of vague articles talking about Pragmatic Play springing up from Top Game as an acquisition in 2015 (such as **snip**or **snip**.) Then other articles talking about Pragmatic removing all Top Game casino products from their site about the same time that Octopus Gaming was launched. I don't really know what to think, but maybe you folks who have been around the block/have connections and industry know-how can help shed some light on this?? Are Octopus and Pragmatic partners? Maybe Pragmatic owns Octopus and those slots underneath it all?

Thanks to anyone who can help me understand these slots some more!

 

[dunover]

OK, be careful with the links! Far more than necessary to ask your question.

It's not unusual for rebrands or to find in different jurisdictions games associated with one provider under another interface or label, for example Octavian have numerous Playtechs IIRC but not offered under that name in the UK.

"Since the end of 2015, TopGame changed its name to Pragmatic Play. Pragmatic Play is a well respected name in the online casino industry and this company has been creating stellar slot games since 2007. Based in the Netherland Antilles, this company has developed a great array of video slots that can be played for free or real money and on desktops or mobile devices. The video slots from TopGame are some of the most innovative games online and while there are not many casinos that offer exclusively Pragmatic Play games, there are many online casinos that combine this software with others to present a larger selection of titles."

As for Octopus, from Vegasslotsonline:

"There’s always a great deal of excitement amongst players whenever a new software provider springs up in the iGaming industry and you’d think that would be the case with Octopus Gaming after paying a visit to their *snip* as they boast about a catalogue of 90+ world-class games and claim to provide a thrilling, fun and worry-free gaming experience, however, their emergence has instead been met with a great deal of scepticism.

Despite the company’s Facebook and Twitter accounts, which remain dormant, being registered in November 2016, it wasn’t until October 2017 that the Octopus Gaming website went live. An online presence usually acts as a platform for a company to divulge information on who the owners are and how the company came to be. Instead, Octopus Gaming have opted to keep their cards close to their chest by only stating that they have headquarters in St. John’s, Antigua. A plausible excuse for this could have been that they simply didn’t get around to it yet, but it only took a quick browse of their gaming portfolio by experienced online gamblers and industry veterans for suspicions to arise as to who is really behind the company.

Shrouded in Controversy
That’s because the range of games on offer inextricably links Octopus Gaming to Pragmatic Play, and thus the now disbanded TopGame. To understand how this came to be, we first must look at the chain of events that led to Octopus Gaming launching and that dates all the way back to 2009 when it was discovered that symbols were missing from jackpot slots at a rogue casino who were using TopGame software rendering it impossible for players to win the life-changing sums that had lured them into spinning the reels in the first place.

As you can imagine, TopGame failed to regain the trust of players after this came to light and it was announced that their assets had been purchased by Pragmatic Play, however, they opted to remove games that were developed prior to the acquisition from their library in 2017 just before the launch of Octopus Gaming and that’s where you can now find them.

It’s inconceivable that a company can expect to prosper without addressing such links and it’s no surprise that so many players have concerns about playing these games for real cash."

 

[SlotsMan542]

Thanks for the touch-up, I just didn't want to put the onus of finding additional info/sources on anyone who's already being nice and taking time to help out! And I know the rebrands are definitely a thing, such as Lucky in AUS for GameART to skirt around licensing, or some casinos listing games under the developer studio rather than the software provider (Iron Dog/1x2, for one).

All of those articles hinting at where Octopus stands are what I could find, but I know this place is rich with in-the-know folks who might be able to offer more than the theories and quieter speculation. I can see the Top Game --> Pragmatic tie for sure, but Octopus and how they're presented is what I'm trying to pin down. I accept that there isn't a straightforward answer either! Just wanted to check with the Casinomeister experts