There are hundreds of online casinos. There are just a handful of casino platforms. Most sites lease a platform from a software owner. This can come in one of two forms. A site may pay a set amount for the rights to use the software or the online casino operator will give a percentage of the revenue to the company that owns the software. The latter is most common.
The operator markets the software under a brand that makes it unique to other sites. The color scheme and logo are different, but typically one site using a specific platform is nearly identical to other sites that use it in terms of games offered.
Most online casino software companies are not involved in the day-to-day operations. The casino is usually in charge of marketing, player support and payment processing. This can make one casino that uses a type of software vastly different than others. Some operators are dedicated to making sure that customer support is in line with expectations and paying players quickly is a top priority. Unfortunately, some site operators do not care about their sites to put in the effort needed to satisfy players.
For these reasons, you may see a lot of the same casino platforms reviewed on our site under various names. We make sure to distinguish the quality operators from those that take their business less seriously than they should.
For U.S. players, Real Time Gaming is the most popular software. It is used by more than half of the online casinos reviewed at Safest Casino Sites. It is quick and the games offer competitive returns. There are several rogue operators that use Real Time Gaming. This is why we go into so much detail in their reviews. There are major differences between one Real Time Gaming licensee and another. Bovada is our favorite online casino that uses Real Time Gaming.
The most popular casino platform outside the U.S. is Microgaming. It spreads hundreds of slot titles, many with progressive jackpots that are linked between all Microgaming casinos. It also offers many unique table games. While most are legitimate, there have been some problems with Microgaming licensees failing over the years. It is important to trust the site because it handles all payments.
Playtech is a major online casino software company that does not accept U.S. players. It is used by many popular brands in the online gaming world. Each Playtech site processes its own payments and supplies internal player support. There have been few problems with Playtech casinos over the years, but most are safe.
Rival is a white label online casino provider. This means that it sells turnkey casinos to companies, most of which are simply glorified marketers. Rival Casinos provides all of the support and payment processing for its licensees. One exception is BetOnline, which is one of our favorite online casinos. BetOnline uses its own support and payment processing.
Top Game is an amateur operation that seemed to want to capitalize on the U.S. market when players had few choices. Its payment processing and support are terrible. Its software is even worse. We cannot think of any reason to ever play at a Top Game casino site.
Vegas Technology is another turnkey online software provider. It licenses many casinos, yet you have probably not heard of any of them. We feel that there are better options out there, even for U.S. players.
