Casino software providers at new online casinos

What casino software is

Two kinds of company sit behind a casino. Game studios make the pokies and tables you play; platform providers run the accounts, cashier and back office. On this site, studio means the company named in a game's info screen.

A casino therefore has two software layers. The platform layer handles your account, your deposits and your withdrawals. The studio layer handles the games themselves. A casino can change its platform without changing its studios, and the reverse is also true.

Main types of studio

• Pokie studios: Pragmatic Play, Play'n GO, NetEnt, Hacksaw Gaming, Nolimit City and many more.
• Live casino studios: Evolution, Pragmatic Play Live, Playtech and Ezugi.
• Crash and instant games: studios such as Spribe, maker of Aviator.
• Aggregators: companies that bundle many studios for a casino in one contract.

Pokie studios build games around a random number generator, so each spin is independent of the last. Live casino studios stream real dealers from a studio floor, so the result depends on a physical table. Crash and instant games are quick rounds with a rising multiplier, and the player decides when to cash out. Each type suits a different pace of play.

What to look for

• The games you actually play are in the lobby, not just the studio's name in a list.
• The RTP version shown in each game's info screen.
• Demo modes, so you can try a game before staking money.
• A licensed casino, because the payout depends on the casino, not the studio.

Studio pages: Pragmatic Play, Evolution and Play'n GO.

How a studio shapes the games you play

A studio designs the maths model of each game. The maths model fixes the paytable, the volatility and the theoretical return to player. Studios often release one pokie in several RTP versions, and each casino chooses the version it runs.

The RTP figure is a long-run average across millions of spins, not a promise for one session. A pokie with high volatility can pay nothing for a long stretch and then pay a large win. A pokie with low volatility pays small wins often. The studio sets this balance, and the info screen shows the RTP the casino selected.

Players who want the figure to be fair should read it at every casino they use. The same title can show different figures at two sites. Our casino games guides explain how RTP and volatility fit together before you pick a game.

Why new casinos list so many studios

An aggregator is a company that licenses many studios and delivers them to a casino through one technical integration. Aggregators let a new casino open with hundreds of studios on day one. This is why new casinos often carry the same large studios as older casinos.

894 casinos in our knowledge base list Pragmatic Play among their studios.

661 casinos in our knowledge base list Evolution among their studios.

A long studio list shows the casino's contracts, not its quality. A casino with fewer studios can still have a better lobby if it carries the games you play. Check the lobby before you read the studio count.

Live dealer studios

Live casino games come from a small group of studios. Evolution is the largest of them, and many other studios build their own tables to compete. A live dealer game streams from a studio floor, so the dealer, the table limits and the betting window are all set by the studio and the casino together.

Betting windows are short, so choose a stake you are comfortable with before the round opens. Live tables suit players who want a slower, social pace. RNG tables from the same studio play faster because no dealer is needed. Our page on Evolution lists the new casinos that carry its tables.

What a studio does not protect

A studio's reputation protects the game, not your balance. Independent labs test studio games for fair random results, but the casino holds your money and sets the withdrawal rules. A trusted studio inside a poorly run casino still leaves you exposed.

Check the casino's licence on the regulator's register, read the bonus terms, and set deposit limits before you play. Our responsible gaming page sets out the tools that help you stay in control, and it lists where to get help in New Zealand.