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Amaya Gaming was a reputable developer of Amaya Casino gaming software. It was established back in 2004 and operated under the name of Amaya Gaming until 2017 when its name changed to The Stars Group Inc. This came about following a deal struck in 2014 that would see Amaya Gaming purchase The Rational Group, the parent company of Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars. Following this deal; the company became the world’s single largest online gambling company to be publicly listed. The name change didn’t happen until just over two months after the final payment of the deal had been made.
Before the name change, Amaya Gaming was a well-respected casino games developer. Over the years, it had developed a range of both online and land-based Amaya Casino games, including slots, table games, poker, scratch cards, live dealer casino and lotteries; it had also launched a fully-fledged online sportsbook. As well as developing original content, Amaya Gaming made a number of third-party acquisitions; some of the big-name companies it acquired include CryptoLogic (2012), OnGame (2012) and Chartwell (2011).
STRENGTHS
The key to Amaya Gaming’s continued success has been its acquisition of numerous top brands. The most important of these was the deal to acquire The Rational Group. As previously mentioned, this included the PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker brands, the former of which is the world’s largest online poker site, while the latter is the second largest. PokerStars is particularly noteworthy because it commands a share of two-thirds of the online poker market, with some 15,000 real-money players taking part in poker games and online tournaments every day.
While there’s no denying Amaya Gaming has been a leader in online poker, the developer has also excelled in developing and acquiring top casino games. Its portfolio of games includes pretty much every type of casino games there is, from video slots and progressive jackpots, to live dealer games, video poker games and many more. No software download is required to play their games, and they’ve been well-received thanks to their vibrant, high-quality graphics and immersive sound effects; the slots tend to have a more substantial number of paylines and an above-average RTP.
WEAKNESSES
While many would regard Amaya Gaming’s many acquisitions as a strength, its aggressive acquisition of these big-name software companies can also have negative consequences. Towards the end of Amaya Gaming (before its name change), the developer was not only known for its own games created in-house, but also for the games it had licensed created by various third parties and subsidiaries. In other words, a lot of games associated with the Amaya Gaming brand hadn’t been produced by Amaya. While the practice of third-party licensing is quite common, it can result in a brand’s original content being overshadowed. Amaya Gaming’s own original titles were well received at Amaya Casinos, though some of its third-party games have been better - an example being the various Marvel-themed slots by Cryptologic.
More than half of the developer’s 300 games are created by others; other developers that have provided games for Amaya Gaming include IGT, BetSoft, Aristocrat and Bally’s. When over half of the developer’s games library comes from multiple other brands, it can be hard to determine what exactly makes the developer’s games unique.
KEY INFORMATION
Amaya Gaming (and subsequently The Stars Group Inc.) boasts of being one of the world’s most licensed casino software development companies. It has active gambling licenses from 17 different jurisdictions across the globe, such as the UK Gambling Commission, the Alderney Gambling Control Commission, the Malta Gaming Authority and the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority, to name a few.
The company has continued to receive awards as The Stars Group Inc. While it was known as Amaya Gaming, it won several industry awards, including the following: In 2012, Amaya Gaming started releasing mobile versions of some of its most popular Amaya Casino games. It was the very first casino software developer in the world to launch live mobile casino games; in addition to these, the developer has:
GIA Casino Operator of the Year Award 2017
GIA Poker Operator of the Year Award 2017
Re-leased numerous slots, table games, and lotteries for mobile devices.
FINAL VERDICT
Amaya Gaming is a goliath in software development and a prominent player in the industry in all areas. When it was known as Amaya Gaming, it was able to enjoy very steady growth thanks to some notable acquisitions. What’s great about the developer is how diverse it became. It has never become complacent and stick to creating its own games; instead, it set about becoming the biggest company of its type, amassing an impressive collection of brands and deals along the way.
Their weakness, if any, is in the developer’s own games, those produced in-house and not acquired from any third party, haven’t received as much attention as they deserve at Amaya Casinos. They’re produced to a very high standard and are great fun to play, as they have advanced visuals and sound effects that do an excellent job of immersing players in the game. They also have a user interface that’s very straightforward and makes the games fully accessible to beginners, which is always a plus. The line-up of table games, in particular, is worth mentioning; while there's a good variety of games available, there are several variants of the more popular games (namely blackjack and roulette), such as Atlantic City Blackjack, Single Zero Roulette, Blackjack Single Deck and Common Draw Roulette.
It’s clear that the developer has always intended to meet the needs of pretty much every casino player and so far, it’s been able to do that, offering a broad range of enjoyable and entertaining Amaya Casino experiences (both offline and online). The company had an awe-inspiring history as Amaya Gaming, and the future certainly looks bright for The Stars Group Inc.