Games
WMS initially only focused on developing top end gaming machines for land based casinos but has since spread their reach to the online gambling market as well. They are constantly expanding to new operators but players can already enjoy WMS’ offerings at a great variety of well known casinos. It’s important to note that thus far WMS’ focus has been set purely in the UK which is also the only region where their games are currently available.
WMS has remained true to their roots in that every game they offer online is also available in certain land based casinos. Mostly the games are developed as casino machines first, then ported to the online market, usually making only minor adjustments to the games in order to make the desired impact.
Being such a big name in the gambling industry, WMS is constantly working to remain complaint with regulations which includes having their games regularly tested and audited for fairness. Their Random Number Generator (RNG) is tested by TST and the TST seal they’ve been awarded can be seen at the bottom of any online casino hosting games from WMS. They also need to provide frequent proof of fairness to the Alderney Gaming Commission in order to retain their gaming license.
WMS History
WMS is in fact a much bigger company than people may realize. This only comes to light when you mention names like Williams Interactive and Scientific Games and realize that they’re all the same company. Their name is respected even further when you find out that they’ve been in business since 1943, having started in the industry as a humble supplier of pinball machines and was at one point even known as the King of Pinball. They were also responsible for inventing the famous “tilt” technology found in pinball machines all around the world.
After reaching the pinnacle of what pinball could offer them they made the only reasonable move in expanding to slot machines. While pinball may have been their first passion, today you’ll find that some casinos devote up to half their floor space to house WMS slot machines.
It wasn’t until the early 2000’s that they finally moved to the online market and started porting their most popular land based slot games to the Internet. But while most casino game suppliers stick to a tried and tested setup for their slot games, WMS is constantly looking for ways to change it up, whether it’s as simple as adding another reel or offering a strange number of paylines, they don’t do anything in a boring way.
WMS Games, Features and Services
All of the WMS games available online are available to play instantly without needing a download, this is due to the implementation of flash based software design. Only a few of their games are currently available on mobile platforms though but this is still a new development for them and should see expansion in the coming years.
As mentioned, WMS also rarely sticks to the classic slot layout that features 5 reels and 3 lines with a set number of paylines. Instead they’ll often add a sixth reel and increase the symbols in those reels. Or they’ll offer double the number of reels which basically feels like combining two slot games into one. The point here is that WMS’s games are unique in various ways which is a breath of fresh air in an industry where too many of the big players keep things simple and safe.
A special feature unique to WMS slot games is their Sitewide Progressive Jackpots. This works similar to progressive jackpots from other providers in that it keeps growing every time someone spins the reels on a certain slot game, regardless of their location. The only difference with the Sitewide Progressive Jackpot is that this jackpot is linked to each and every WMS slot game and thus can be won from any of their games as well. This feature is coupled with their Jackpot Party Progressive Feature which is available in all their games and is randomly triggered. When it appears players will be able to select from a range of presents in the hopes of progressing to the following jackpot level. Even if they don’t win the jackpot then, they will also stand in line to win various other cash prizes.
For their land based operators WMS offers a range of gaming platforms, each of which offer a range of games, features and benefits. These platforms include Blade Stepper, Blade S23, Blade S32, TwinStar and Barcrest.
Having kept their focus mostly on their land based products, the selection of online or mobile casino games from WMS may be limited, but this should by no means be interpreted as being sub par. In fact it has been said that even an average game from WMS should still be of higher quality than the average game of anyone else.
