A number of companies have a prominent place on many casinos’ floors when it comes to slots on the casino floor. Other companies have a smaller presence, but still can be a meaningful one. Today we take a look a bit into that topic:
Who are the major manufacturers of slot machines? Is there a better chance of winning on one manufacturer over another? Is there any advantage to seeking out one versus the other?
Tim Stewart
There are a handful of companies with some prominence when it comes to games on the casino floor. The “big three” are:
- Aristocrat Gaming (maker of Lightning Link, Buffalo, etc.)
- Light & Wonder (maker of Huff N’ Puff, Gold Fish, Fire Link, etc.)
- IGT (maker of Cleopatra, Top Dollar, Prosperity Link, etc.)
Other manufacturers include:
- Konami (maker of China Shores)
- AGS (maker of Rakin’ Bacon)
- Ainsworth (maker of Thunder Cash)
- Sega Sammy (maker of Railroad Riches)
- Gaming Arts (maker of Brian Christopher’s World Cruise)
- Incredible Technologies (maker of Crazy Money series)
Manufacturers tend to make games with a similar range of return to player (RTP) settings, and casinos will tend to opt for similar settings for games regardless of manufacturer to achieve their target. So in terms of chance of winning in the long run, there’s probably not enough difference to say one will be better.
Where historically there can be some differences is how some manufacturers will be more likely to skew towards a lower or higher volatility design than another. But even then, things have been changing.
For instance, Incredible Technologies was frequently a reliable source of lower volatility slots, but in the past couple of years has shifted gears and delivered some well designed higher volatility ones. IGT use to be a pretty consistent source of mid-volatility titles where 10x line hits and up would come with some frequency, but they, too, have shifted their energy to a degree towards higher volatility slots.
This shift upward is part of an industry trend that shows no signs of stopping just yet, and that’s in part because we as players are voting for those types of machines with our coin-in.
On the other side, Aristocrat has a legacy of higher volatility options, and that reputation has been maintained, especially given their popularizing the win zone mechanic on Mo’ Mummy, introducing the three-pot format on Fu Dai Lian Lian, and creating Hold and Spin with the launch of Lightning Link. Given higher volatility games are where the demand tends to be today, they were in some ways already in the right place to take advantage of it.
So then, if that’s becoming a bit more consistent, the differentiator will be in the game mechanics. While popular formats will see variations coming out by other manufacturers, some makers will simply lean heavier into some formats than others, and that shows in the games they release.
So where you may find a difference in one manufacturer vs. another can be how they address and offer a hold and spin bonus, or what types of free spin formats they lean into, or how they handle progressive offerings. Otherwise, there isn’t any heavy circumstances that would lead you towards one game maker vs. another.
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