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Playtech plc is a gambling software development company headquartered in the Isle of Man. They’re one of the oldest and best-known companies in the business, and they’ve been providing online casinos with slot machines and other online casino games since 1999. They offer what’s called a “turnkey solution”, meaning they offer software for every gambling activity a website might want to offer, including:
This page focuses on the slot machine side of their business, which probably makes up 70% or more of their business. We start with an overview of the company and its history. We follow that up with an overview of the games they offer along with specific descriptions of slots games available via their software.
Finally, we link to full, detailed reviews of individual games—click on those links for specifics on each game. You can also find versions of many of these games available to play for free in your browser on those review pages.
The company was founded in 1999 but didn’t launch its first online casino games until 2001. Since then, Playtech has become one of the largest providers of gaming software on the Internet. Many of the biggest names in the industry use Playtech to power various aspects of their operation.
Some of these companies include:
The driving force behind the creation of the company was Teddy Sagi, who went on to sell his stake in the company in 2008 for $250 million. Since then, the company has been on an aggressive acquisition campaign. Playtech has acquired the following companies and/or assets from these companies:
The company now employs over 5000 people in more than a dozen different countries.
Like most online casino providers, Playtech slots games originally featured all original themes. In the early days of the company, they didn’t have the funds necessary to pay for licensed properties. In more recent years, Playtech has aggressively pursued a variety of intellectual property licenses, and they now offer one of the most diverse selections of games and themes in the business.
If you know little about slot machines, you might not understand exactly what we mean when we talk about intellectual property licenses. Basically, if a movie, a comic book, a novel, a band, or any other “brand” is popular with consumers, someone somewhere will want to make a slot machine game out of it.
Some of the most popular slot machine games in land-based casinos are based on intellectual property belonging to other people. Examples include:
Of course, those are just popular examples of games you’ll find in casinos. They’re not necessarily games you’ll find at Playtech casinos.
But you’re in luck, because we list by category most of the licensed games available from Playtech casinos below:
The following Playtech slot machines are based on movies:
This 1994 movie starring Jim Carrey made him a household name. The slot machine game is pretty cool, too, with 5 reels and 243 ways to win.
Gladiator was the Best Picture winner in the year 2000. The game is as epic as the Ridley Scott/Russell Crow film.
We cheated a little bit by including John Wayne here, but he’s a legendary actor who appeared in countless movies. We can only think of one movie star who might be considered more iconic.
Of course, there have been multiple King Kong movies through the years. The fact is, he remains an iconic monster movie star. This game is based on the 2005 Peter Jackson version.
Remember when we mentioned that only one movie star might be as iconic as John Wayne? We were thinking of Marilyn Monroe when we wrote that.
This one is based on a song from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The game has multiple bonus rounds inspired by scenes from the movie.
This game is based on the Sylvester Stallone franchise. It has 5 reels and 25 paylines, but we like it for the bonus games, where you get to fight Rocky opponents like Clubber Lang and Ivan Drago.
The 1999 film starred Brendan Frazier and Rachel Weisz. You can find lots of slot machines based on Egyptian themes, and even some of them have mummy themes. But this is the only one we know of based on the film.
This one was originally owned by IGT, but Playtech acquired it and converted it into a clever 243 ways game.
Playtech seems to have an exclusive contract where they get rights to games based on Marvel Comics movies. There are enough of these that they warranted their own section separate from the main movies’ section:
He was one of the more minor characters in Marvel Comics until the Wesley Snipes movie, which was a surprise hit. The game is based on the movies, but the graphics aren’t as exciting as you might think. The progressive jackpots are cool, though.
This is based on the most popular patriotic superhero in history. One thing you can be sure of in this game, too—you won’t see Steve Roger saying, “Hail, Hydra!”
This wasn’t one of the better-received Marvel movies, but the Netflix television series has fared better. The game is based on the movie, though.
Daredevil wasn’t so badly received that a spinoff was prevented. But it was even more poorly received. The game from Playtech is about what you’d expect.
So far all of the Fantastic Four movies have been disappointing, which is a surprise considering that this is the team which launched Marvel Comics back in the day.
Our favorite superhero in the Marvel canon has always been Ghost Rider. The Nick Cage movies weren’t bad, but they didn’t quite capture what made the comic book so special, either. The game is fun, but it’s like the movie—it just doesn’t quite capture what made the comic book so cool.
This movie, starring Robert Downey, Jr., launched the current batch of extremely popular movies from Marvel. The game has spawned sequels of its own, too.
Next to the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man is probably as iconic a character as Marvel has ever published.
The World’s Greatest Heroes assemble to defeat a threat that no single superhero could handle on his own. The first batch of movies led up to The Avengers. The slots game is cool, with 4 randomly triggered progressive jackpots.
None of the movies based on this character have done especially well, but The Incredible Hulk arguably stole the show during The Avengers movie. We got a kick out of one of the symbols in the game, the gamma-ray irradiated liquid in a flask.
He’s not just a character from Norse mythology. He’s also a superhero. AND he’s one of The Avengers.
He’s easily the most popular of The X-Men, who were, for years, the most popular team in Marvel Comics.
The X-Men were hugely popular for years, but The Avengers now seems to be a bigger hit. But if you’re a fan of these children of the atom, this game is for you.
Some of their slots games are also based on TV shows, but these titles make up a smaller percentage of their overall offerings:
We found this show just as strangely addictive as everyone else did. You can expect the game to become even more popular after the movie relaunch comes out.
This game isn’t based on the movie series starring Peter Sellers. Instead, it’s based on the classic series of Pink Panther cartoons.
Because of when it was made, The Love Boat is almost certainly targeted at an older demographic. We’re in our 40s, and we barely remember the show, so it must be aimed at the 50-somethings.
This show was on even earlier than The Love Boat, but it targeted a younger demographic in those days. We’re still guessing that most fans of Steve Austin are in their 50s, though.
But Playtech doesn’t limit its slot machine game selection to those games that are tied into other intellectual properties. They have a wide variety of games with unique themes that appeal to various interests:
This game is based on billiards.
This game has a bar-hopping theme.
If you’ve ever seen a board game or video game called Age of Empires, you’ll immediately notice the resemblance. This one has a sequel, too, Age of the Gods: Furious 4.
We like the theme of this one because it’s a little unusual. Many gambling games use a treasure theme, but most of them aren’t concerned with alchemy and pseudoscience.
Ancient cultures are also popular themes, but Atlantis is especially cool because we know so little about their culture.
This one has a similar theme to Age of the Gods.
This is a more generic game with a theme similar to Baywatch.
This is one of several sports-themed slots available.
If you love Atlantis, you’ll probably also get a kick out of this game based on The Bermuda Triangle. Maybe Playtech’s designers were big fans of the 70s TV show, In Search Of.
You’ll find no shortage of slot machine games with a theme based on pirates and treasure, but this one has cuter animations than most.
This one features a quirky theme, although Asia is often associated with gambling because of their cultural affinity for luck.
This is, of course, another licensed property, but it’s not based on a movie or anything like that. The obvious target audience for this one is the ladies who like to gamble.
Another “cute” theme.
As generic a theme as you might imagine, but well-executed.
This isn’t a licensed version of Indiana Jones, but the theme will be familiar to anyone who’s seen these movies.
Another treasure-themed game.
Any kind of gemstone is also fair game for the video slots treatment.
Another one of those “quirky” themes. Cute animals are also always fair game.
We thought this one was unusual and original. It reminds us a little bit of the old video game, Leisure Suit Larry, but it also reminds us of an RTG title, Mid-Life Crisis.
We love fantasy themed titles.
Titles based on holidays are popular, too.
One of multiple titles based on Asian culture.
More sports themed goodness.
We weren’t so sure that football fans made up such a large percentage of the slots playing population.
Cute animation and a familiar theme.
The word “fortune” is a double entendre of sorts, meaning both luck and wealth.
A nice companion to the Dr. Lovermore game, in a thematic sense, anyway.
An animal-themed title that’s kind of cute—it’s probably aimed at a feminine audience.
This one’s based on horse racing themes.
Playtech doesn’t have as many games with a fruit-based theme as you’d expect. That’s a popular iconography used by most slots designers.
Another animal themed game.
More Asian themed goodness.
Another holiday themed title.
We love this one because of the cute theme.
This is an odd set of images to use in a gambling game. You need to see it for yourself.
This is a 5 reel game with a sports tournament theme.
Another dolphin themed game.
This is our favorite holiday and one of our favorite holiday themed games.
This isn’t really holiday-related; it’s just a horror themed game.
We like the unusual choice of truckers for this game. Apparently a lot of gamblers like it, too, because the game has a sequel titled Highway Kings Pro.
We love the miner icon and the imagery here. It’s obvious why this might make a good game.
If you’re not a fan of football, Playtech still has sports games that might please you. This is one of them.
We mentioned already that any kind of cultural symbolism related to wealth is a popular theme. When we think of the Irish, we don’t just think of treasure, but also leprechauns and luck.
You’ll notice that a lot of these original titles combine common themes—in this case, the idea of a big win and a character from mythology.
This is not based on the song of the same name. It only has 3 reels and 1 payline, making it easy to understand.
Another Irish-themed game.
Americans love the lottery. It’s too bad they can’t enjoy this title from Playtech because of the company’s ban on U.S. players.
This combines a lot of common themes, including good luck, animals, and Asia. (That’s where pandas are from.)
Most of the symbols are cubes which transform magically while you play.
Mythology is a rich source of ideas for gambling machine designers.
Another cute game with 5 reels and 15 paylines. The top jackpot is 7500 coins.
Another Asian themed game.
This one has 3 reels but 5 rows of symbols. Symbols include marine life like seahorses and crabs.
Playtech has 2 titles related to panthers, and they couldn’t be more different from each other. The panther in this game is black and has nothing to do with “The Pink Panther”.
Gambling games often feature iconography related to parties and festivities.
This one is based on the classic fairy tale The Three Little Pigs.
Another Irish-themed, treasure and luck combination.
You’ll love the cute animation of a gypsy woman with her crystal ball.
Rock and roll music isn’t as popular in these kinds of games as you might expect.
Exotic locales are big, too.
Another exotic locale, although this one is a little more modern than most.
We love Christmas themed games, especially when they feature Santa Claus.
Jungles are popular because there’s often treasure hidden there.
This is only very loosely based on the Conan Doyle novels. The character is in the public domain now, and this game is based on no particular version other than the original.
We can’t pronounce most of these Asian themed games, but we don’t need to, as long as we keep winning jackpots.
This one is a little bit of a different spin on the Asian theme, as it’s specifically Japanese in nature.
This is not based on the Stephen King novella, even though it has a similar premise.
More Irish goodness.
Anything to do with luck seems to make for a fun experience.
Any far-flung land can be combined with treasure to make for a fun adventure.
This one has animated girls in bikinis.
We like these images as they’re related to candy, which is an under-used type of imagery in gambling.
Another sports-centered idea.
More exotic locales and Asian-fueled treasure hunting.
This exotic location is a little closer to home. We expect games based on rock and roll music, but jazz, not as much.
Egypt is probably the most popular exotic locale, because of the treasures and treasure hunters that the country is so well known for.
This one isn’t based on any of the movies, but rather, the novels. Since they’re in the public domain, we don’t really consider this a licensed game.
This is a whole series of games that have nothing to do with Donald Trump or his empire.
You don’t see a lot of Mexico-themed slots, and when you do, they usually focus on Mayan or Incan treasure. This is a neat exception.
A unique 3 reel slot machine.
Another location based theme.
Another unique 3 reel slot machine.
Ever wanted to take the trip of a lifetime without leaving the comfort of your desk chair?
Vikings aren’t featured as often as some other cultures, and in this game, they’re more cartoonish than usual.
5 reels and 15 paylines of underwater fun.
This one has an unusual theme—that of a beautiful albino lion, the king of the jungle.
Wild animals participate in the Olympics. We love this one.
This one is based on early pilots flying early airplanes.
Another Asian-themed game.
Another hard-to-pronounce game based on Asian culture.
This page doesn’t claim to provide an exhaustive or comprehensive list of Playtech slot machines. The best we could do is provide highlights. We think we’ve covered the biggest and the best of the games they offer.
It’s an interesting company, and they roll out new slot machines all the time, so it’s worth keeping an eye on them. One thing to keep in mind if you’re a player in the United States though—Playtech does not allow the casinos using their software to accept real money players from the USA. So if you’re looking for real money slots for United States players, you might want to take a look at some of the games available from Realtime Gaming.