Online Casinos

The heart of any online casino operation is its software platform. Good software incorporates stunning graphics, a money management system, and casino games with fair odds. In particular, slot machine games must be programmed with strong RNG (Random Number Generator) systems, to ensure reliable and consistent operation. Finally, casino software must program and code the physics of each and every game it offers; including card games, dice games, Bingo, Keno, and many others.

After the USA passed legislation that prohibited banks from processing transactions to offshore gaming operations, many top gaming software companies, like Microgaming, Cryptologic, and Playtech, left the market entirely. These companies now exclusively operate in the European market, and are also reaching out to the Middle East, Australia, Canada, China, and Japan. For these companies, the extra work involved with processing transactions from the USA was not worth the effort. Instead, they chose to simply adapt to new regions.

The void left by the exodus of these major gaming software companies opened up the door for smaller companies to step in. Even though these companies know that their payment solution providers are technically breaking USA law, they continue to launch new casino websites aimed at attracting USA players. For these companies, the promise of the USA market remains strong, and they’re also banking on the eventual repeal of the UIEGA legislation.

As a result, RTG (Real Time Gaming), Vegas Technologies, Top Game, and Rival Gaming all have made strong gains in recent months catering to the USA. Many of their promotions revolve around USA holidays and seasonal betting trends. Additionally, many of their banner creatives and affiliate advertising explicitly welcomes USA players to come to their casinos. In effect, the USA online casino market never disappeared: it is now just being filled by other ambitious gaming companies.

Time will tell how these companies fare. If the USA, which is distracted by economic woes at the moment, strengthens its anti-offshore gaming policies, these companies might wash out or be forced to compete in the European market. If, however, the status quo remains, these software providers, all of which are private enterprises, will have made a risky, but wise bet on USA business.

Even better, if the USA legalizes online gaming, these companies will be ready to go full steam ahead marketing to players from USA, using the profits from their current legal “grey area” operations as a basis to improve. Prohibition never worked, and many of these companies are literally banking on the fact that the USA’s anti-online gaming stance will change.