Have you ever wondered how the gaming industry is organised? By this we mean how many of the companies which produce all these fantastic online slots are independent and how many are owned by bigger players within the gaming sphere. If you’re sensible you probably have no interest at all in the following information but we’ve put together the following facts just in case you’d like to know.
AGS acquired:
- Gameiom – 2018
Aristocrat Leisure acquired:
- Video Gaming Technologies – 2013
Blueprint Gaming acquired:
- Games Warehouse – 2018
Flutter (formally the Stars Group/Amaya Gaming) acquired:
- Chartwell Gaming – 2011 (subsequently sold to NYX Gaming in 2015)
- Cadillac Jack – 2012
- Cryptologic – 2012 (subsequently sold to NYX Gaming in 2015)
- Ongame – 2012 (subsequently sold to NYX Gaming in 2014)
- Diamond Game – 2014
- Rational Group (Pokerstars) – 2014
- Sky Betting & Gaming – 2018
Flutter merged with the Stars Group in May 2020, adding the above to its existing portfolio of brand – Paddy Power, Betfair and FanDuel.
Gaming Realms acquired:
- Slingo – 2015
- GameHouse – 2015
GEGO Gaming Group
- Created by the merger of The Gaming Lab and Wagermill in 2014
GVC Holdings acquired:
- Ladbrokes Coral in 2017
- bwin.Party in 2018
IGT acquired:
- Barcrest – 1998 (subsequently sold to Scientific Games in 2010)
- Sodak Gaming – 1999
- Silicon Gaming – 2001
- Anchor Gaming – 2001
- Wagerworks – 2005
- DoubleDown Casino – 2012
- GTECH (merger) – 2015
Microgaming acquired:
- Playwize – 2008
Novomatic acquired:
- Admiral Leisure World – 1996
- NSM Löwen-Entertainment – 2003
- Astra Games – 2004
- acq. Empire Games – 2011
- acq. Greentube Internet Entertainment Solutions – 2011
- acq. Extra-Games Entertainment – 2005
- acq. Mazooma International – 2012
- acq. Gamestec – 2012
- acq. Bell-Fruit Games – 2012
- GiGames – 2015
NYX Gaming Group acquired:
- Ongame – 2014
- eGaming Consulting – 2015
- Cryptologic – 2015
- Chartwell – 2015
- Game360 – 2015
- Side City Studios – 2015
- Betdigital – 2016
Playtech acquired:
- Gaming Technology Solutions – 2009
- Virtue Fusion – 2010
- Ash Gaming – 2011
- Mobenga – 2011
- Pokerstrategy – 2011
- Geneity – 2012
- Aristocrat Lotteries – 2014
- Psiclone Games – 2014
- GECO Gaming – 2016
- Quickspin – 2016
- Betbuddy – 2017
- Sunfox – 2017
- Rarestone Gaming – 2019
Light & Wonder (formerly Scientific Games) acquired:
- MDI Entertainment – 2003
- The Global Draw – 2006
- Games Media – 2007
- Barcrest – 2010
- WMS Gaming – 2013
- Bally Technologies – 2014
- Red7Mobile – 2017
- NYX Gaming Group (inc. OpenBet) – 2018
- Authentic Gaming – 2021
- Playzido – 2022
The last few decades have been a period of creative entrepreneurship and consolidation in the gaming industry. Those companies doing the buying have become gigantic through acquisitions and mergers but there’s still plenty of room for startups with talent and some good ideas.
Smaller outfits enter this market all the time and the successful ones get their products licensed to the online casinos where we spend our time. Not all make it of course – Sheriff Gaming is an example of a company falling foul of regulatory authorities and disappearing from view but others will survive and prosper independently while still more will catch the eye of of the larger companies and ultimately take the money.
Please let us know of there are any errors in the above list – it’s a constantly changing one.