International Game Technology, more commonly known as IGT, have been supplying casino games to land based casinos since before most of us were born. In fact, if you’ve ever been to a casino in the bright and sparkly Las Vegas, chances are you’ve played at more than one casino game developed by IGT.
IGT is one of the oldest and most respected casino software companies in the world and as such has quite a few popular games to boast of. They are also partnered with a seemingly unending list of great casinos such as Paddy Power, Kerching, Virgin Casino and Unibet. Today they trade through multiple partners in over 100 countries and 6 continents.
IGT History
IGT started its humble beginnings in the 1950’s as a slot machine designer, creator and provider for land based casinos. It is since this time that IGT have been gaining experience in the gambling world and are now able to utilize that experience to be one of the best casino game providers out there. As IGT grew it inevitably went public and became a publicly traded company in 1981. In 1984 it took over Electronic Data Technologies, a company who was working on software that allowed casinos to track their player activities in order to better understand their customers. With this merger IGT became one of the very first software companies to computerize player tracking software which also led to frequent-player reward programs being developed as casinos better understood the needs of their players.
IGT is also credited for being the very first company to create and supply video Poker machines, a phenomenon that’s taken the gambling world by storm. They are also responsible for most of the EZ Pay systems and electronic bill acceptors found in land based slot and game machines. In 2005, IGT acquired Wagerworks and it officially became one of the few online software companies with direct ties to land based casino activities. This in turn allowed them to turn a great number of their games that were originally developed for land based casinos to the online casino market.
IGT Games, Features and Services
The games library at IGT is not as vast as its closest competitors, something you might find odd considering their many years in the industry. However, the reason for this is that IGT don’t focus on mass producing games like their competitors but rather spending more time on the development of each individual game and ensuring they are up to par. As such IGT’s games will most often have many more features than those of their rivals.
One of the points IGT focus on that shows their experience is their dedication to accommodating all clients. One such feature that can be mentioned is the option for players to adjust the graphics quality of the games they play. This allows the games to perform quicker when dealing with a slow Internet connection.
Another high point for IGT is their progressive jackpots which always offers a minimum of £1.5 million which makes them a rival for any progressive jackpot network out there. Whenever this jackpot is claimed by a player, it will reset back to £1.5 million, no less.
While IGT offers a great number of services and software platforms, the most important is obviously their games of which they have a good selection. Their games cover a wide range of categories including classic slots, video slots, table games, video Poker and Bingo. Among their slot game selection players will also find a good number of branded slots based on current trends like movies and TV series. These games include names like American Idol, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Aladdin Prince of Adventure, Monopoly, Cluedo, Elvis and Star Trek to name but a few.
They are also well known for the quality of their other themed slot games and have quite a few that have gained international popularity. One such slot game is called 100 Pandas which features, you guessed it, panda bears in a bamboo filled forest. This game features one of the world’s most beloved animals and presents players with 100 ways to win which already sounds like a winning combination. Add to that additional bonus features like stacked wilds, free spins and some amazing graphics and audio, then it’s clear why this game is so loved.
Another popular slot game by IGT is the Egyptian themed Cleopatra Online Slots. This game was so popular in fact that it warranted the creation of a sequel which features a higher variance that translates to bigger wins. The game features a pretty standard layout with 5 reels and 20 paylines but offers players the chance to win up to 10 000 credits. What makes this game stand out however is how well it incorporates the ancient cultural theme in the visuals, sound and gameplay.