Two years later, the first licensed casino running on Microgaming software came online (i.e., a casino that used Microgaming software but was not owned by Microgaming). The following year, the company became a founding member of the Interactive Gaming Council (and later eCOGRA). In 1998, Microgaming’s Cash Splash game became the first game connected to the jackpot network on the Internet.

In 2008, the company withdrew from the American market in the aftermath of the UIGEA law change. They have still not returned to the Yankee market and there will be no return in the near future.

In the world of online poker, the poker sites running Microgaming software were long known as Prima Poker until the company finally changed its name to Microgaming Poker Network (MPN) – surprisingly, such a name was not used from the beginning but better late than never.

This year (2016), the company once again seemed ready to innovate by developing virtual reality games. The company plans to start with roulette and move on to other games.

Casino game selection

Throughout its history, Microgaming has had a selection of over 850 casino games with 1,200 variations. Many associate the company not only with blackjack, slot machines and other casino games, but in reality, the company has also been successful in the poker and bingo markets. Their mobile portfolio now includes more than 350 games.

The current selection covers about 600 games in total (so some games have been removed from the selection over time). Games can be played in the form of both downloadable casino software and browser casinos.

Return percentages

The payback percentage is an extremely important concept for both players and the casino. It determines how much money a particular game will return to a player in the long run (and on the other hand how much money the casino will make in the long run).

For example, if the slot machine has a 98% return percentage, it will return an average of $ 0.98 for every $ 1 wagered. The results will vary like a roller coaster in the short term but after millions of games, the casino is likely to have a payout percentage in line with the payout percentage.

The average return percentage for Microgaming slot machines is about 96%, which is clearly better than what is returned by slot machines located in Finnish shops and kiosks. However, each slot machine has its own payout percentage.

From a player’s financial standpoint, the best options are Vegas Single Deck Blackjack (99.69%), Double Exposure Blackjack (99.68%), Spanish Blackjack (99.58%) and Aces & Eights Video Poker (99.09%).

On the other hand, some of the worst financially available options are, for example, craps bets as you can see: Big 6/8 (90.91%), Hard 4 or 10 (88.89%) and Any Seven (83.33%).

The most popular slot machines

Some like slot machines that are as simple as possible (which usually also have the best payback percentage) and others like slot machines that have a lot of wonders. Here are some of the game maker’s most popular tricks:

• Mega Moolah Mega – The largest progressive jackpot on the internet.
• Bridesmaids – Licensed game based on the 2011 hit movie.
• Playboy – A brand known around the world.
• Thunderstruck 2 – A game based on Norwegian mythology has been one of the most popular on the internet for years.
• Major Millions – This progressive gambling game has created over time several millionaires.

Jackpots

Although it does not have several of the biggest jackpots on the internet, Microgaming still has the largest progressive jackpot on the internet, the Mega Moolah (its other jackpots are almost always not worth less than a million). Currently, the Mega Moolah prize pool is once again around four and a half million. (On average, this jackpot offers a $ 4.6 million win every 13 weeks).

King Cashalot is another popular jackpot that offers an average payout of over half a million dollars. At best, about $ 1.8 million has been won from the Major Millions.

Award-winning game maker

Microgaming has won a variety of awards over its more than 20-year journey. They won e.g. in 2001 as the Best Game Producer Award, in 2012 as the Best Casino Software Award, and in 2016 as the Best Innovator Award (here are a few examples of dozens if not hundreds of awards they have received). The winning streak has therefore continued for some time.