CryptoLogic

CryptoLogic - from a basement in Toronto to an industry veteran

CryptoLogic was among the first online casino software development companies to be founded. It was established way back in 1995 by two brothers, Andrew and Mark Rivkin, in their parents’ basement in Toronto, Canada. They had seen how successful Microgaming - credited with creating the world’s first online casino - had been, and wanted to launch their own similar company.
The company would go on to be based in Dublin, Ireland, and was listed on the To-ronto Stock Exchange, the NASDAQ and the London Stock Exchange. At its peak, it had more than three hundred full-time employees. Over its years of operation, it gained an excellent reputation thanks to the high-quality video slots and other casino games it launched. What players particularly enjoyed was its themed slots based on a range of popular franchises.

In 2012, the company, along with its subsidiary WagerLogic, was acquired by the Amaya Gaming Group. With this acquisition, CryptoLogic’s downloadable software was retired, and the focus was put on instant play games. The company’s casino game offerings have been integrated into its parent company Amaya Gaming Group’s collection of casino games.

STRENGTHS

A key advantage of CryptoLogic is the fact that the provider has worked with a number of different partners to create themed and branded slots. Some of the developers best-known slots are its Marvel collection, featuring famous characters such as Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man and many more. CryptoLogic was the very first provider to land a contract to produce Marvel slots, however when Disney acquired Marvel, the licence to run these games wasn’t renewed, and they ended up being pulled from casinos (another developer, Playtech, ended up acquiring the rights to produce Marvel slots).

CryptoLogic has also launched slots based on various movies such as Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Braveheart, Conan the Barbarian and Forrest Gump, to name a few. Other examples of its licensed slots include ones based on DC Comics charac-ters such as Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman and many more. Along with its themed slots, CryptoLogic is known for its progressive jackpots and its selection of table games.

While many progressive jackpots are aimed at those willing to spend lots of money, CryptoLogic decided to cater for the mass market, making its progressives accessi-ble to players with a range of budgets. As such, not every one of its progressives has high jackpots. If you’re keen to take a gamble and play for a big pot, the best CryptoLogic progressive to play is Millionaire’s Club - its average payout is a cool $1.6 million.

WEAKNESSES

The only real negative to point out about CryptoLogic is the fact that it’s one of the oldest online casino software developers. This isn’t a bad thing in itself, as the de-veloper certainly has plenty of industry experience under its belt. What some might consider a negative is the fact that a few of the developer’s games, in particular, its earliest releases, aren’t quite as advanced or compelling as some of its more recent-ly released titles. In fact, some of its older titles were retired following the acquisition by the Amaya Gaming Group.

Though some players may find some of the developer’s older games not up to the standards of today’s games, CryptoLogic still has more than enough recently re-leased games to satisfy a new generation of players looking for modern, innovative games. Another minor point is to do with its progressive jackpots; as mentioned above, they tend to cater for budget and middle-range players, not high rollers look-ing to land huge, life-changing cash prizes.

KEY INFORMATION

1. Though CryptoLogic hasn’t necessarily launched any firsts, it is well known for producing a large number of video slots themed after various big franchises and IPs.
2. Most of CryptoLogic’s many casino games are fully compatible with mobile devices and don’t require any downloads to run. The mobile games are designed to operate smoothly and flawlessly on pretty much every kind of smartphone and tablet.

FINAL VERDICT / RATING

The story of CryptoLogic is inspirational, from starting out in a basement to becoming one of the best-known developers of online casino games. Though it’s since been acquired by a much larger company, its legacy remains intact, and its games remain popular. They’re known for being entertaining, visually stunning and full of exciting features, with many of them themed after all sorts of popular fran-chises and IPs.

If you’re keen to play some of this developer’s hundreds of games, you’ll find that there are many top casinos where they are available, though you’ll more than likely see them listed under Amaya Gaming Group. Visit the likes of Bet365 Casino, Leo-Vegas Casino, SlotsMillion Casino, and you’ll be able to try out some of the developer’s highly rated games.