There are dozens of variations of casino software out there, but there are only a few that are referred to as the best there is.
In this article, we will try to tell you what exactly casino software is, how it’s made, how it all began and in general, explain to you how it works. Although most would classify slots as the only product Australian casino software providers make we’ll make sure to give you all of the info about other variations as well.
Things like live casino software, digital card table games and all the other methods. In the end, though, we’d also like to answer some frequently asked questions about playing methods and how to get the best experience possible.
When did Aussie gambling software providers start?
Let’s try a go back in time to see when exactly casino software providers in Australia started to cater to local casinos. But we won’t go too back when the first slots were created though. Remember, we’re talking about casino software, not casino hardware, so we need to look into the 20th century mostly.
The first time slots became available in Australia was in 1974, but the first software for these games was developed in the United States, more particularly, in Las Vegas, the capital of gambling.
The first time Aussies managed to get their hands on this software was in 1984 when foreign companies started to cater to Aussie clients, but 1994 was when the real digital slot became available locally.
Next came the development of live casino software, which involves a large studio and a bunch of cameras watching games in real-time.
In order to make the article as informative as possible, we will try and focus on both slots and live casino games in order to give you the whole picture of the industry.
The reason why we want to diversify is that more than 90% of gambling software in Australia is associated with slots games, which is definitely not the case. There are more than enough developers that work tirelessly to give the best type of live transmissions they could possibly afford.
How are online casino slots made?
Let’s start with slots first because we’ve already established that they’re the most popular version of casino software.
It’s important to note just how much design and effort goes into developing these types of games. First of all, it’s important to note that they can’t be made by a single person, a whole group of individuals is required. Although slots also require some kind of investment, they’re far smaller in comparison to what live casino software providers in Australia have to spend to be effective.
Usually, software providers that work mostly on slots have around a dozen or two dozen employees all over the world. Very few of them work on management, sales and just the overall operations of the company, while the largest chunk of employees is dedicated to creating these games.
The creation teams usually consist of graphic designers, software developers, 3d designers, game designers, and gambling compliance managers.
The only person that may seem out of place in that list may be the gambling compliance manager. The reason why every company needs to have one is because of the rules imposed on algorithms. It may be surprising, but the slots games aren’t actually random, they’re pretty well structured.
Pretty much every online casino software Australia has to offer has its own algorithm that dictates what types of combinations appear. So this doesn’t mean that every single reel will have its own RNG feature. In fact, the whole game itself will apply RNG to pre-designed combinations. There are millions of combinations depending on how many reels exist, therefore the developers need to somehow manage their frequency. The low winning ones are going to be the most common, while the jackpots will be virtually unattainable.
It’s all a well-oiled machine that has a predetermined, scripted workflow and somebody needs to make sure it’s all up to date and according to global law.
But there’s a difference between good software providers and mediocre ones. The good ones make completely new algorithms nearly every game, while mediocre ones use the same one over and over. Let’s look at the development phase so that you see it more clearly.
The first thing that needs to be done is to gather all of the employees in a single room and somehow come up with a theme. A theme is a specific country, culture, historic era or pretty much anything that the game can be based on. That’s why we see so many Viking, Egyptian and zombie slots. All of these games are decided before development even begins.
Next comes the design of the symbols. The regulars, uniques, wilds and bonus symbols need to be sketched up by the designers that work with AU gambling software providers from all over the world.
Then comes the gameplay designer who will bring in new ideas about how to make the game more interactive, or how to bring in that extra spark that will interest the potential players. This could be unique bonus games or just additional benefits from the slot itself. Once these unique features are decided upon and designed, it will be time for the developers to write all of this in code.
Once the coding process is complete, it will be up to the gambling compliance manager to look over the algorithms, play the game and determine its volatility, RTP and fairness. If all of it ticks his or her boxes, the game is ready to be launched on partner casinos’ platforms.
This is basically the process providers rinse and repeats through, but it’s only for slots. What about live casino games? What kind of development does that require?
How is live casino software made?
Now let’s focus on companies that specialize in providing live casino software for Australian casinos as well as international platforms.
As already mentioned, these companies have it a little easier when it comes to developing the software, simply because the gameplay mechanics don’t need to be created from scratch.
Live casino games are things like roulette, poker, blackjack and various other things that are being done by a real person behind a camera. The only thing players do is they place bets while watching the dealer bring out new cards or simply spin the wheel.
In this case, the only things that are complicated about these types of games are the schedules of dealers. Most providers need to find multiple dealers in different countries in order to cover as many markets as humanly possible.
These dealers need to be quite talkative and friendly to the players, congratulate the winners and wish luck to the users. Overall, they’re under quite the spotlight that forces them to constantly multitask.
When it comes to development, the technicians, aka the developers focus on making the interface for the gamblers and develop them within a week or so, which is quite a small time frame.
Other than that these AU casino software providers spend most of their investable money on real estate and up to date equipment such as video cameras and gaming tables.
How to play online casino slots
Now that we’ve discussed how software providers handle the development phase of their games, it’s important to teach you about ways you can play these games. As already mentioned, every provider tries to make their games unique, but the idea is always the same. Therefore, let’s explain that idea and the tools for it.
Reels
With this, we are kickstarting the explanation of how these games are structured. And what better way to explain it than start with the whole foundation of the game itself. Yes, reels are often referred to as the foundation of every slot game, simply because they house the symbols and are actually the parts of the game that do the spinning.
Almost every gambling software provider Australia casinos list on their platform pays most of their attention to keeping the reels as optimized as possible. The reels are actually the parts that get programmed the most because they’re the ones that participate in the combinations.
To give you a visual representation of a reel, we need to imagine a typical slots game. Let’s say the fruit slots game. You know, the one with 7s, fruits, and bars. In order to get a jackpot, you need to get three of the same symbols in a row multiple times. Well, the place where the symbol is housed and the part that actually spins to get it on the screen is what’s referred to as a reel.
The most common number of reels on classic slots games is three, while the industry standard is slowly moving to five nowadays.
But, even though the reels are the backbone, the symbols are the ones that create the combinations, so let’s focus on them next.
Symbols
Symbols come in different shapes and sizes and every software provider out there has its own method of creating custom ones. But in the grand scheme of things every Aussie online casino software or otherwise is based on the existing norm of four types of symbols.
These symbols line up in different ways that create combinations. These combinations lead to people being paid for their win, and depending on the types of symbols you got in those combinations, you’ll get paid accordingly.
But this is just banter right now, let’s look at some symbol types and try to tap into them as deeply as possible.
The regular symbols
Regular symbols are the most common ones you will find in every single game. It doesn’t matter how hard the game designers try to remove them and replace them with something else, it’s simply unavoidable to have them. Why? Because not every game can be 100% profitable.
If there weren’t regular symbols everybody would be playing with slots and making themselves rich through all of the high-stakes returns. The regular symbols are there to tone down those winnings so that the casino has some chance at staying profitable as well.
The best way to distinguish regular symbols from Aussie casino software providers is to call them what they truly are. They’re the symbols you see such as Qs, Js, and Ks or just numbers from 1 to 10. These symbols have the least amount of RTP simply because they’re so common.
And a side note here, those Qs, Js, and Ks aren’t there for nothing. They’re representations of the cards Queen, Jack, and King as well as Ace in some games, while the numbers are the numbers. Depending on what type of regular symbol combination you get, you’ll have the opportunity to make more from a single spin. If it’s a combination of As they’re going to pay much more than a combination of 5s or 2s. But that much is obvious.
But, no matter how good of a combination you get through these symbols, they simply cannot compare to unique symbols which we will talk about next.
The unique symbols
The unique symbols are not that hard to distinguish as well, simply because pretty much every symbol that is not a regular symbol is classified as a unique symbol. For example, imagine that we are playing Aussie casino software slots based around Greek mythology. We’d still see those regular symbols appear during spins, however, there will also be symbols representing greek gods.
These are the most typical unique symbols you will find in nearly every slot game. They represent the theme of the game, while also being the ones that pay the most. For example, if you get a combination of 10s on a spin, you can expect a payout of around 1x your bet, meaning that you pretty much got a free spin.
However, these unique symbols can sometimes pay as much as x10 of your bet, giving you 10 extra spins before your next large combination.
They’re one of the most popular, but not the most popular symbols to get during a spin. Plus they sometimes come with 3d animations which are always welcomed by those looking for that extra bit of entertainment.
The most popular symbols to get during a spin, are the wilds, let’s explain them next.
The wild symbols
The wild symbols are the most required symbols to have by any Australian software provider out there. The reason? Well, they’re paying the most and introducing players to totally unavailable combinations beforehand.
The best way to describe wild symbols is to call them the “Jacks of All Trades,” merely because they can take part in any mix and thus lead to a fat cashout.
Imagine, for instance, that you are playing the Greek mythology slots game we talked about previously and three reels are accessible. On reels one and three you get the Zeus symbol, but the second reel has a wild symbol.
Beginners would think the spin is a bust, but it would be ecstatic for veterans. You see, whenever a lawful combination is possible, the wild symbol acts as the Zeus symbol in between. Therefore, it leads to a win even though there is not direct combination on paper, but in the code, it reads as the correct phase.
In the situation we used as an instance, the wild symbol would assume the Zeus symbol characteristics, in a sense, it would become the Zeus symbol.
But that’s not the whole thing. There is one more type of symbols that every player is happy to see, in fact, happy isn’t enough to define the emotional flow when you get three of these guys in a spin. We’re discussing the bonus symbol of course.
The bonus symbols
As stated earlier, the bonus symbol is the sign you should aim to get if you want to play true big-money Aussie casino software and we mean big money.
These symbols bring a whole fresh function into the game, often referred to as the free spins function or bonus level function, but every supplier enjoys spicing stuff up and changing the overall understanding of what a bonus level is.
In most cases, a slot game will initiate the bonus level if the player gets three bonus symbols during a spin. The number of free spins varies from game to game, but it’s usually in the range of 5-10 on most occasions. If you get less it’s still fine because hey, it’s still free spins.
The best thing about these features isn’t the fact that they ‘re free though. It’s the fact how much one can make during these levels because of how many earning opportunities are added by the developers themselves.
For instance, Australia gambling software providers are infamous for several internet slots because it could have the free spins and nothing at all connected to it. But other people tend to have stuff like multipliers, rolling reels, wild exploding, wild game, jackpot cards, double-way payments, and so on.
The concept is that after playing the bonus level, you will definitely be richer.
What is RTP?
You’ve probably noticed us mentioning RTP in the previous paragraph, and we’re pretty sure you don’t know what this thing is if you’re a beginner. Well, that’s what this article is for, to explain everything in as much detail as possible, so let’s get to it.
RTP is often referred to as the best filtration tool for choosing games there is, but we tend to disagree, there are other tools that are much much better. RTP is an abbreviation of Return to Player and is usually measured in percentages. For example, you can expect a AU online casino software provider to say that their game has a 96% RTP, what does this mean?
This means that on average, players should expect to receive 96% of their bets back as winnings after playing the game. But we’ve all had moments when our account got wiped clean because of an unlucky run no matter how bit the RTP was. This is why there are better filtration tools out there as RTP is not very trustworthy in this sense.
Sure it can be used to calculate the average return on occasion, but it’s not very reliable. The only thing we can say is that it’s good when it’s too low for a game. Be sure that if the provider themselves says the RTP is below 60%, then the game should be avoided in favor of a 96% one or something.
But let’s look at the best tool for filtration.
Volatility
Volatility is yet another indicator that Australian gambling software providers use to classify their games with. There are two types of volatility though, high and low. Now it may seem a bit weird on the surface or confusing, but let’s try to explain it as much as possible.
A low volatility slots game is when a winning spin, meaning a spin that will bring any type of profit should be expected after 10 or more tries. This may seem quite disadvantageous on the surface, but it’s actually not that bad. If the players are ready to hold through those 10 spins, low volatility games tend to value their winning combinations much higher. For example, a winning combination could bring in as much as x50 your bet.
The high volatility slots game is the opposite. The winning combinations are much more common, but they pay significantly less. For example, the average gain players can expect on high volatility spins is x2 per spin, but that’s also occasional and not very trustworthy.
Overall, it’s about the taste of the player. Do you like to beef up your account step by step with smaller wins, or do you want the big wins?
How to play online live casino games
Live casino games are where most of the diversity in AU online casino software providers comes from. Since there are many game types that are classified as live casino games, there’s quite a lot to cover here as well, but we’d like to boil it down to the essentials, or at least the three game types you should be expecting when playing these games.
Live roulette
Live Roulette is one of the foremost in live casino games online. It’s primarily like being at a land-based casino with an evening dress, enjoying within the presence of wealthy people attempting to seek out a lucky stroke.
The game is pretty straightforward to explain, but still, let’s focus on the fundamentals for beginners. There are thirty-eight winning locations in total, just because there are thirty-eight positions wherever the ball can fall.
In total, there are eighteen Red, eighteen Black, and two Green positions. All of those positions are numbered from 1-36 and also the Green ones are each zero. A player will decide if he or she wants to place a bet on the red, black or green color, or they can choose just the number. The payout depends on the chance of the ball falling thereon specific position.
The reason why the Live Roulette is, therefore, helpful for Australia online casino software providers is due to what number individuals play it, and the way a lot of diversity within the sport can give.
There are totally different variations of the sport. There’s the French Roulette, the American Roulette, and also the European Roulette. however the most effective feature far and away is the Double Ball Roulette. But very few casino software providers have this game type.
Live Blackjack
Blackjack is as old as it gets. In fact, it’s sometimes considered as the oldest gambling game there is, but there have been older variations before it.
The game is sometimes called 21 because that’s the maximum number in terms of card value that the player can hold in his or her hands. The whole idea of the game is to have a few cards in your hands which all have different “score points” and hope that whatever you’re holding is much higher than what the dealer has.
Those who are pretty good at math and can count the overall numbers in their heads could indeed push through with this game and be successful.
But, as already mentioned, there aren’t too many completely digitized blackjack games that casinos use, they’re most popular for live blackjack games, meaning that the casino software provider Australia company has hired will have a dealer give out the cards from a specific studio somewhere in the world. The cards given to a player will display to him digitally, and then he or she needs to determine if it’s a good opportunity to go for the win. If the numbers exceed those of the dealer’s they generate profit.
It’s quite a straightforward game, which can be altered with some skills later on.
Sic Bo
Sic Bo is the one that’s believed to be the most ancient gambling game ever, simply because of how little it requires to function.
The game is extremely simple. You guess the overall number that appears on three regular dice once they’re done being handled and you win.
But modern technology has brought in much more for this game and has diversified it immensely. The reason is that it’s very hard to guess the exact number that three dice can lead to because it’s so hard. There are so many variations that it’s extremely rare to be correct, and the payout isn’t that big.
Therefore modern software providers Australia casinos list on their platforms, tend to allow players to guess the total sum of the three dice within a range. For example, you can choose that the sum will be somewhere in the range of 5-12 or 12-18. This has much lower payouts, but at least it has a higher chance of being correct.
The biggest payout one may expect from this game is from the triples. If the player says that the sum is going to be 15 because a triplet of 5s, then they can expect a payment of 1:1000 of their initial bet.
It’s quite rare, but the pay is worth it.
How software providers make money
After talking so much about these games, it may be hard to understand how these providers make money right? They simply make these games and give them to casinos, who are the ones actually making money. Well, these providers don’t just give away their content for free, they sell it, how they sell it though, is a whole different story.
The most common selling method that Aussie gambling software providers use is the monthly payments system. They basically make an agreement with a casino and tell them that their games are “subscription-based”. This means that as long as these games are available with a casino, they have to pay the provider a dividend of the profit they’re generating from it.
That is why so many software provider companies manage to reach billions in evaluations. Of course, there are other methods such as just selling the game for a really high price and not forcing the monthly payments on to the casino, but every company thinks long-term, which is why this method is either through desperation or because the game is not expected to do too well.
The final method is that several providers become shareholders of the casinos that they cater to, therefore becoming eligible for the dividends that the company pays out to their investors. This keeps both parties involved on high alert, as the provider can always sell their share and take the profits.
It may seem complicated from the surface, but the business methods Australian casino software providers use are the simplest there is. Provide value, and be paid for it.
How are software providers rated?
In order to get the best experience out of your gaming activities online, it’s always important to choose the best casino software providers available because the quality of the games is pretty much guaranteed. But how do you find the best ones available? Aren’t these games quite subjective when it comes to who likes them or not?
Well, yes, something around that explanation, but there are ceremonies nearly every year where multiple industry experts gather and vote on the best game of that year. The winners of these types of events get to evaluate their games much higher, and therefore always strive to make the most innovative options possible.
You can simply pay attention to how these events go by and see which Australian software provider gets rated the best and base your choice of games on that.
What are software providers all about?
If you’re new to gambling, understanding the role of software providers could be a bit hard. For example, we’ve heard multiple people ask why the casino can’t develop games themselves and why they need software providers. It’s quite a valid question with both a simple and a complex answer. We will go with the simple one here and the complex one down in the FAQ section. The easiest way to put it is to imagine the casino as something like Steam, while the software providers are like the game development studios.
The casino does the marketing for itself in order to bring in as many customers as possible, while the software developer lists their game there and does not have to worry about marketing costs and strategies. It’s pretty similar to how Steam used to be when it did most of the marketing on its own, but now, companies have started to prioritize their own marketing movements.
Overall, there’s a lot of correlation between Australian software provider companies and various other industries, but it all boils down to allowing each participant of the deal to focus on a specific niche so that they don’t get too distracted.
Although we’ve answered most of the major questions in this article, there are still some minor things gamblers like to find out about on their own terms, so let’s try and answer those questions one by one.
Frequently Asked Questions about casino software providers
Why don’t casinos make their own software?
In order to be a successful casino software provider, the company will need millions in investments, and in some cases, the casino itself is unwilling to invest that much in a single studio, when it can simply rely on others to provide the software required.
Furthermore, the games themselves rely on popularity to be profitable for the providers, meaning that they should be on multiple casino websites. If a casino made its own games, they’d want to have them exclusively, thus limiting the popularity of the game.
How hard is it to become a software provider?
It’s not that hard to become a successful software provider in today’s market. All you need to do is have quite a lot of money ready as an investment, especially if you want to focus on live casino games. The equipment required, such as the cameras, the gaming tables and etc are all quite expensive in the grand scheme of things. Add to that the real estate that you’ll either have to buy or rent, and you get quite the price tag.
Focusing on slots is much cheaper. It only requires equipment such as strong Personal Computers and skilled workers. Some of the best software providers today started out in 1 room offices which were more than enough to produce quality.
How do I find trustworthy providers?
We did mention how to find the best ones but trustworthy is a bit different. You see every Aussie casino software provider has to apply for a license from the local gambling authority. The license will pretty much say that the games these people make are in accordance with local law, and therefore can be trusted.
But don’t worry if you find a provider which doesn’t have an Australian license. You can dig around their website and find out that they have a license from places like Malta, Isle of Man or any other country. As long as they’re certified somewhere in the world, their products are trustworthy.
Also, make sure to check the regulator’s website to see if the license hadn’t been revoked in the past due to mishaps.
Can software providers provide bonuses?
Yes, in fact, software providers sometimes make deals with the casinos they cater to in order to provide bonuses to the community.
You see, even though we mentioned that the provider doesn’t need too much marketing, it doesn’t mean they need no marketing. If they’re able to provide free spins or deposit bonuses for their games on a specific casino, they’re ready to give the casino a discount for purchasing their games.
It’s the cycle of pretty much every Australian gambling software development company out there. You may have noticed that when casinos offer free spin bonuses, they offer them only for specific games.
Does every casino feature every provider?
Unfortunately no, not every casino can hold that many games, or at least afford to pay that many providers to feature their games on their platforms.
The most you’re likely to get is around 30-40 providers on a single platform, but the average is usually to dozen at most.
However, that’s the beauty of the industry. The scarcity and diversity of software providers across multiple platforms help you find new opportunities with new casinos, that are quite unique in their offerings.