The Playtech Story
Founded by entrepreneurs from the casino, software engineering and multimedia industries. The company welcomed its first Casino licensee in 2001 and began adding more products to its portfolio, such as bingo, live casino and mobile casino. In 2006 the company went public on the London AIM, then in 2010 they began integrating several acquisitions, such as GTS, Virtue Fusion and Ash Gaming.
Today, several leading brands such as Betfair and Bet365 use Playtech's complete casino and slot game package. The company employs over 5,200 employees in over 16 regions as of 2016, with a revenue of €708.6 million in the same year.
Playtech Bingo Software
Playtech is known for an impressive bingo setup, through its Virtue Fusion subsidiary. This platform allows several sites to host original, tailor-made bingo products. Gala Bingo is a well-known Virtue Fusion bingo site, employing the software in creative ways with signature photography for decoration and creative bingo rooms, such as Coronation Street and The Chase rooms based on the TV shows. Betfred Bingo uses the same software to create a different atmosphere, with the bespoke Betfred Bunker room and unusual bingo variants such as Bouncy Balls Bingo. Coral Bingo has the candy-themed Allsorts room and Betfair Bingo offers Rainbow Riches bingo, based on the popular slot. The Big Wheel room at Betfair offers prizes in the hundreds for just a 2p ticket price, playing 90 ball bingo. Meanwhile, Bingo Linx provide networked big money jackpots throughout the day.
The Virtue Fusion product is clearly very flexible. Each site is also able to offer its own promotions and welcome bonuses for bingo players. Furthermore, Playtech provides hosts for most of these sites, who really bring the chat to life, with conversation, helpful support and games for fun and cash. The addition of chat is a huge draw for online bingo, connecting players in a way that slot games cannot, with banter, company and shared entertainment.
Virtue Fusion
Playtech’s Virtue Fusion platform draws over 60,000 players daily and has over 13,000 concurrent players at peak time. The real value of Virtue Fusion is flexibility and customisation; each site using it gets a bespoke look and feel, tailored to their brand and the needs of their customers. Each site therefore feels distinct, unlike some white label bingo solutions which adhere to a basic template.
With 65 embedded minigames from Playtech’s slots arm, including games from Playtech, Ash and GTS studios, there’s more than just bingo balls for Virtue Fusion users. These include slots, scratchcards, roulette and blackjack, with specifically designed small-scale controls and even progressive jackpots. One of the platform’s biggest draws is the Win a Jackpot networked progressive, which has paid out over €195 million since its launch in 2002. This is certainly a bingo setup with plenty of entertaining options.
Playtech Online Slots and Progressive Jackpots
Playtech have produced many slot titles over the years, with some gaining huge fan followings, leading to spin-offs and updates. The company offers over 400 innovative games, plus all those from partners like Ash Gaming. Over 50 games are released each year between slots, casino and other products. The company is particularly noted for comic book slots, having the license for DC Comics titles like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and the Green Lantern. These include a range of 60s Batman games, featuring footage from the classic TV show.
Age of the Gods is a flagship Playtech slot, which has seen several spin-offs, such as Furious 4, King of Olympus and Goddess of Wisdom, plus themed roulette games. These titles use high quality artwork of the Greek gods, with interactive bonus rounds, to create an experience far richer than the classic 3-reel slot machine. The franchise includes progressive jackpots, split into four size categories that can easily reach into the hundreds of thousands. Several Playtech games boast these huge jackpots, with the Gladiator Jackpot slot hitting it’s personal high with a €2,374,847.22 win in 2013. From original characters like Cat in Vegas to licenced names like Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Playtech always focuses on fun slot features.
Other Playtech progressive jackpot slots include Beach Life video slot which regularly pays out £2-4 million, and Gladiator Jackpot which has paid out over £2.5 million on several occasions. Spamalot The Holy Grail, Gold Rally, and the top Marvel jackpot (which is no longer available) all pay out seven-figures on a regular basis.
Fair Gaming and Security
Playtech sites are licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission and the Alderney Gambling Control Commission, ensuring that they adhere to good and safe practises in line with government legislation. Playtech is an active member in the Remote Gambling Association (RGA) that has developed an industry code of practice on social responsibility and age verification.
Playtech sites work in partnership with groups like Gamcare to ensure that responsible gaming is upheld, including giving players access to self-exclusion controls and time limits. These sites are always tested to the upmost standards and Playtech often uses the IBAS service for independent adjudication in case of player disputes.