Few names command more respect in the online gambling industry than that of Microgaming. This software provider was founded in 1994, when they opened what they say was the first fully functioning online casino in the world. Today, the privately-owned company is based in the Isle of Man, and provides software to dozens of online casinos, including some of the biggest ownership groups in the industry today.

With such a long track record of success, Microgaming has had plenty of time to build an impressive library of games and software that it can roll out to its clients. They offer complete site solutions for operators along with hundreds of different games, ranging from slots to video poker, table games, and much more. These include some of the most popular slot machines in the online world, some of which have awarded massive progressive jackpots to players over the years.

But this company isn’t one to rest on its laurels. While the provider is now over 20 years old, they have continued to innovate year after year, coming up with new ideas or quickly implementing the new standards set by their competitors. This means that Microgaming casinos always tend to be among the most advanced in the sector, making them a favourite of many players in the UK and worldwide.

If you have ever walked into a land-based resort and marvelled at the selection of games sprawled out across the gaming floor, you have some idea of what it feels like when you first fire up a casino powered by Microgaming. There are hundreds of different titles to choose from, and most of these are slots, allowing you a nearly endless number of options to choose from.

Where to start with such a vast collection? Our choice is with one of the biggest jackpot games of all time, Mega Moolah. On the surface, this looks like an African wildlife-themed slot, with little to do with the name plastered on the machine. But this five-reel, 25-payline game has become immensely popular for a good reason: it awards some of the biggest prizes in the entire gaming industry.

Players can enter the Mega Moolah progressive bonus round randomly, with your chances of triggering the feature being proportional to the amount you bet on a spin. Once you’re in, you can win one of four jackpots, each of which starts at a different funding level. Of course, it’s the Mega Jackpot that attracts the most attention, being seeded at $1 million and usually rising significantly before being won. The record jackpot of more than £13.2 million was actually won in the UK in 2015. It’s worth noting that this jackpot can actually be won from several different machines, including Mega Moolah Isis, Mega Moolah 5 Reel Drive, and The Dark Knight. 

One of the most popular styles of gaming that Microgaming has helped promote is the “All Ways” machine. These games dispense with the formality of paylines, instead asking players to pay one flat price in order to gain access to every possible winning combination on the reels. The provider has developed a number of great machines that utilize this format, with 243 Ways (the total number of possible combinations on a five-reel slot with three symbols on each reel) being the most common layout.

A great example of this type of slot is Thunderstruck II, the smash hit sequel to one of the company’s other big successes, Thunderstruck. The game uses a Norse mythological theme, allowing you to play with Thor, Loki, and the rest of the Nordic pantheon. This was the original 243 Ways machine, but that wasn’t the only attraction: there is also a multi-tiered bonus system that offers up four different kinds of free spin games. Unlocking all four takes time, but once you’ve played enough to have the full menu of options, you can choose to play whichever version you like each time you hit the special feature.

Not surprisingly for a company of this size, Microgaming has also managed to lock down a number of major licenses, allowing them to create games based on some of the biggest movies and gaming franchises in the world. The best known of these include popular slots like The Dark Knight Rises, Tomb Raider, Terminator 2, Jurassic Park, and Game of Thrones, though this is only a small sampling of what you can find at their sites.

One big advantage this developer has over some of their smaller competitors is that they have created a range of games that allows them to offer a complete casino suite to operators, rather than just a few fruit machines that they can add to a larger site. That means that while it is becoming less common to see Internet casinos that are based entirely on one provider’s software, this is still sometimes the case when that provider is Microgaming.

What do they have to offer outside of slots? Their collection includes more than 50 table games, including nearly a dozen different standard blackjack options, each of which has its own set of rules. This includes both Vegas and European style options, and each of these games comes with a house edge of well under 1%.

Many other tables are also available. Baccarat, roulette (in both European and American forms), craps, and sic bo are among the classic games offered, while more modern favourites like Three Card Poker, Caribbean Stud, and Spanish 21 can also be found. Video poker, keno, and bingo-based games are also well-represented in the software package.

One of the great things about Microgaming is the fact that they have continued to push forward even when it would be easy for the developer to play it safe, given their large market share. In recent years, they have been among the first providers to switch a large portion of their games over to HTML5, ensuring that they are available for play on mobiles as well as on desktop computers.

In addition, the company has made sure to at least make efforts to incorporate emerging technologies into their operations. In 2016, the growing popularity of virtual reality headsets like the Oculus Rift encouraged the company to begin developing games specifically designed for these devices, showing off a VR Roulette game at the International Casino Expo.

Microgaming has established themselves as one of the true giants of the online gambling industry, and that’s not a position they are likely to give up anytime soon. Few competitors can match the sheer number of games they offer, and they have the quality to go with that quantity.

That doesn’t mean that they are the only game in town, of course. While they have incredible variety in their offerings, there is a certain style to their products, and that may not be to everyone’s liking. And while they can power a whole casino, that’s not always a plus: there’s certainly something to be said for drawing on the different collections that various providers can bring to the table. But there is a good reason why they have become such a major player, and we expect that their sites will continue to prove popular among players in the UK and around the world for many years to come.