The casino industry opened its doors to the public during the 20th century. Before we talk about how we played casino games, we need to understand the history and development of Australian casinos and gambling as a whole. As with most countries, Australia has seen a significant increase in urbanization where people leave their homes for work or better opportunities. This led to more men and women spending time alone or waiting for news from others that live away from them. Some went into bars, pubs, cafés, and restaurants for entertainment purposes but gambling was banned throughout the country until around 1985-1990 when this law was finally lifted.
In 1978, the casino and gambling industry in Australia was taken over by a Tasmanian hotelier named Lloyd Williams. For years, he had been attempting to bring Las Vegas-style casinos and entertainment centers to his own country but it wasn’t until after all of the legalities were settled that we began seeing these changes throughout the country. The first casino opened its doors in 1985 at Wrest Point Hotel Casino in Hobart, Tasmania. It only took ten years for this one venue to reach $2 billion in revenue with more than $100 million being raked yearly at their Crockfords Club alone.
The 2000s brought along many new opportunities for Australian casinos and skyrocketing revenue numbers as well (Casino Industry). In 2009, it was reported that Australia had more than 100 casinos throughout the country. In 2013, this number increased to 126 and by 2014, revenue from these venues also rose to a record-breaking level of $9 billion.
Wow! Of course, illegal gambling activities have been around for many years but it wasn’t until recently that we started seeing a decline in illegal betting venues. This is largely due to the fact that legal gambling casinos are heavily regulated, are built in areas with high foot traffic, and offer activities for everyone within the family.
Which Casino Developers are Based in Australia?
1. Betsoft Gaming
Based in Australia, Betsoft Gaming has been around since 2008. This company has a unique portfolio when it comes to its branded games and continues to be greatly appreciated by gamers from all over the world. In 2016 alone, TechNavio named this organization as one of the top five emerging companies in the industry of online gaming software development.
The company has created some of the best titles in the history of online gaming including Alkemor’s Tower, A Christmas Carol, Art of Pirates, Battle of Slots, Genie Jackpots, and more than 500 other games that are available when playing at top rated Australian casinos.
2. BGaming
Another top online and mobile casino developer, BGaming is based in Australia. This company was founded in 2012 with a strategic goal of creating branded software that offers the best possible entertainment to players from all over the world. In 2016 alone, they grew by more than 15 percent when it came to their monthly revenue which has been attributed to gamers taking advantage of the mobile casino gaming platform.
They have developed numerous online games including 3D slots, video poker, table casino games, and other fun titles that make playing a memorable experience each time for gamers from all over the world. Their popular titles include Blood Suckers II, Fantasini Master of Mystery, Hocus Poker, Magic Portals, and others.
3. Booming Games
The Isle of Man-based company, Booming Games, was founded in 2014 and offers over 50 titles. It is approved by Quinel and thoroughly checked by industry watchdogs such as AskGamblers, VegasSlotsOnline, SlotCatalog, and Mr. Gamez. All games are built using HTML5 to ensure that they run well on mobile devices and work seamlessly on all popular systems like Windows, Mac OS X, iOS, Linux, and Android.
Their titles include Fruit Case II, Cash Boom, The Finer Reels of Life, Fishin’ Frenzy, Treasure Chests, Fortuna Fortune, Bugs ‘n Bees, Oink Country Love, Fisticuffs, and many more.
4. PlayAmo Casino
Playamo Casino is a popular gaming site with a wide range of casino games, full-scale Bitcoin support, and bespoke software developed by many contributors. Playamo provides a generous First Deposit Welcome Bonus worth $100 in bonus money. Those who make a second deposit can earn $200, while all gamblers can participate in Friday Reload events or Monday Free Spins.
Part of the PlayAmo platform is a huge selection of several hundred games created by more than 40 leading developers. These include Betsoft, Xpro Gaming, Ezugi, ELK Studios, GameArt, Gamevy, Genesis Gaming Solutions, Iron Dog Studio SG, NetEnt, Nyx Interactive Ltd., OpenBet, Pariplay Ltd, and others!
5. IGT
From the 1950s, IGT was involved in servicing land-based casinos. The firm debuted on the stock market in 1981 and was the first to build a working video poker machine in the 1980s. It acquired WagerWorks in 2005 and has been offering a variety of high-quality games – many of them adaptations of its land-based casino games – for players who like to wager real money.
IGT has been involved in the development of software for gambling machines and other entertainment games since 1975, including video keno and slot machine titles such as Buffalo, Double Diamonds, Monopoly, Pharaoh’s Fortune, and Wheel of Fortune.
6. Rival Gaming
Rival Gaming is a well-known online gaming software developer that was founded in 2006.
It provides operators with a complete range of services and products. The portfolio of more than 160 exciting games, including the amazing i-SlotsTM, is what makes it so appealing.
In January of 2017, Rival’s software was integrated into the Jackpot Party Casino by NYX.
This is one of the most popular gaming destinations for players from all over Australia and New Zealand. In fact, it counts among its roster some renowned titles such as Blood Suckers II, Gold Rally, The Bermuda Mysteries, and others.
7. Realistic Games
Another well-known developer of online casino games, Realistic Gaming was established in 2004. The company has been a part of the prestigious International Game Technology group since 2008. In 2016, it witnessed an increase of almost 20 percent when it came to its bottom line.
The portfolio of Realistic Gaming consists of more than 100 titles, including 3D games, i-slots, and slots. They include fun-to-play games like Safari Madness, Top Cat, Hot Ink, Panda Wilds tm, and others.
Conclusion
The popularity of land-based casinos has been decreasing in the last few years as more and more people prefer to play games via online platforms. By 2024, it is expected that around half of all gambling will be done online.
