The Wiser: Know Your Digital Slot Machine Maker

Casino Software Matters: Who is the Best Online Slot Provider in Ontario?

It may surprise you to learn that online casinos – and more importantly, their games – are not created equally. Most of today’s digital gambling sites are built on an amalgamation of software platforms. The more games a casino boasts, the more software suppliers you can expect to contribute to that menu. When there are hundreds if not thousands of online slot machines to choose from, knowing the manufacturer(s) can be useful.

Why does it matter, you ask? Because different suppliers are known to integrate different themes, features, and RTP ranges. Thematic popularity is undeniable. It’s often the largest companies that get big brand-licensed contracts. Other manufacturers rely on entertaining and high-paying features, or above-average RTPs. Every company tends to fall into a category; industry innovator, niche marketer, or copy-cat trend follower. The best ones occupy the first two positions.

In this short guide, we’ll give you a synopsis of the best providers of online slots games. This analysis only covers software companies that are actively participating in Ontario’s regulated iGaming market. We’ll also give you a brief list of the highest RTP slot machines on their menus.

Software Matters: Who is the Best Online Slot Provider in Ontario?

The Best Online Slot Provider in Ontario

Choosing Ontario’s number one maker of online slots is no easy task. For starters, there are a lot more companies competing in this market than you may realize. Leo Vegas Casino alone employs 36 different software suppliers, and that’s just one of 75+ iGO licensed gambling sites.

In terms of overall superior product, the honors go to Microgaming, with International Game Technology (IGT) as a close runner-up. Both have an extensive history in the industry. IGT is more widely available, but Microgaming’s digital-centric approach and integration with the world’s most distinguished operators wins out.

Microgaming #1 in Ontario Slots

Microgaming (a.k.a. Games Global) is an online-only games company that’s been pioneering the iGaming revolution since 1994. Its veteran status shows in the quality, acclaim, and innovative nature of Microgaming products. It is most famous for titles like Immortal Romance, Thunderstruck II, Jurassic Park, and of course the Mega MoolahMillionaire Maker‘ progressive jackpot slots network.

Microgaming’s is unquestionably the most innovative brand on the market. It was the first company to introduce mobile slot machines. It was the first to debut a license-branded slot, Tomb Raider, featuring visuals from the official comic book and movie. Microgaming launched the first 100-payline slot, and was also the first to look beyond pay-lines by debuting the first ‘ways to win‘ slots. Its progressive jackpot network paid the first online jackpot to exceed $10,000,000. I could go on, but you get the idea.

The Isle of Man-based company is not just an innovator, but a multi-award-winning software studio with ethical and environmental motivations. Its PlayItForward campaign gives back to the community every year. It’s headquarters earned the BREEAM ‘Excellent’ sustainability rating. There’s just so much to admire, beyond an impeccable line-up of digital games.

Highest RTP Slots at Microgaming Ontario Casinos
  1. Xcaliber Slot – 97.62% RTP
  2. Retro Reels: Extreme Heat – 97.50% RTP
  3. Wild Orient – 97.50% RTP
  4. Lucky Riches Hyperspins – 97.49% RTP
  5. Cricket Star – 97.00% RTP

Looking for Something More Specific?

If the “overall” best isn’t what you’re looking for, these next segments break down the top performers in critical categories. They include topics like:

The Popularity Contest – Favorite Slots Overall

We all have favorites. We have favorite movies, television series, celebrities, musical artists, etc. The largest slots manufacturers can capitalize on this. They often expand their investment portfolio to include big contracts with major production companies. This is how immensely popular slot machines came to integrate themes like Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, Ellen Degeneres, and Guns’N Roses.

If your idea of a great slot machine eludes to popular themes such as these, this is the section for you. A few years ago, I would have said Microgaming was unbeatable in this category, but not today. This unofficial award goes to… NetEnt! 

This company has truly outdone itself in relation to brand-license marketing. It’s as if they employ a special-ops team that works in the background to ink contracts with every major trend as it happens. Current partnerships include the largest production groups in the world; names like 20th Century Fox™, Colombia Pictures Industries Inc.™, Universal™, and more. Through these relationships, NetEnt has developed these immensely successful titles.

Just to name a few:

  • Conan Video Slot
  • Creature from the Black Lagoon
  • Dracula Online Slot
  • Gordon Ramsay Hells Kitchen
  • Guns N’ Roses Slot
  • Jimi Hendrix Online Slot
  • Motörhead Video Slot
  • Ozzy Osbourne Video Slots
  • Scarface Online Slot
  • South Park Slot
  • Street Fighter™ II: The World Warrior Slot
  • The Invisible Man

It’s worth noting that branded slots, by default, rarely come with high payout percentages. Normally, the average online slots RTP is about 96%. When it comes to license-brand slots, software companies rely on the popularity of a theme to draw an audience. Therefore the RTP is, most often, on the low side. Most often, but not always.

Highest RTP Branded Slots at NetEnt Ontario Casinos

  1. Jimi Hendrix Online Slot – 96.9% RTP
  2. Jumanji – 96.33% RTP
  3. The Invisible Man – 96.30% RTP
  4. Narcos Online Slot – 96.23% RTP
  5. Gordon Ramsay Hells Kitchen – 96.07% RTP

Most Entertaining Feature Slots Creator

Decades ago, every slot machine was built on the same premise. One or more rows of symbols spun around, and if they aligned with enough matching symbols, you won a prize. Today’s games are far more complex. All video slots, and even most classic 3-reel games, now come with a variety of “features”.

There are all different types of features, from sticky wilds, free spins and pick’em bonuses, to cascading reels and respins, to dice-rolling games that play out like progression on a board game. The one thing they all have in common is that, once triggered, these features lead to higher potential rewards. In some cases the ability to unlock massive progressive jackpots.

So, the question is, what digital games manufacturer has the best of the best in feature-rich slots? After a great deal of debate and comparison among our team, we have to recommend Pragmatic Play.

Pragmatic Play #1 In Slot Features

We gave this category to Pragmatic Play for several reasons. As an avid player of slots, it’s apparent that the development team puts a great deal of time and thought into developing unique and interesting features.

Pragmatic Play’s Hold & Spin feature is one of the more entertaining and lucrative features on the menu. With this feature, players can trigger a respin bonus wherein all spaces are either filled with a blank or a special symbol. The more special symbols, the more lucrative the bonus. Every time a special symbol appears, the player gets 3 more spins. The bonus doesn’t end until three consecutive spins occur with no special symbol. At that point, the bonus pays out and the game returns to normal.

The company is also known to endow slots with the famous Megaways feature. It’s a ways-to-win type of deal in which the reels can expand far beyond the usual 5×3. As the reels grow, so does the number of potential ways to line up a win. These games can feature anywhere from 117,649 up to a million or more ways to win.

Highest RTP Feature Slots at Pragmatic Play Ontario Casinos

  1. 3 Kingdoms: Battle of Red Cliffs – 96.5% RTP
  2. Colossal Cash Zone – 96.5% RTP
  3. Happy Hooves – 96.49% RTP
  4. Sweet Bonanza – 96.48% RTP
  5. Towering Fortunes Hold & Spin – 95.5%-96.5% Adjustable RTP

Ontario’s Top Online Slots Maker by RTP Value

The RTP is the return to player, or payout percentage, programmed into each game. If you’re the type of player who looks for the best odds, you’ll want to be playing the highest RTP games. By no means do they guarantee a player will win, or even win more often. However, in the long run, probabilities are that you will at least lose less on these types of games. And if you can equate losing less with winning more, high-RTP slots are worth seeking out.

This is the easiest category to pick a winner for because there’s no judgment call to make. The winner is simply the best online slot provider for high RTP games. It’s based entirely on numbers, probabilities, real statistics. And that title goes to Relax Gaming.

Relax Gaming #1 in High RTP Slots

It’s not often you come across a slot machine with a payout percentage similar to blackjack. Relax Gaming’s Book of 99 Slot hits the mark with an RTP of 99.00%. That’s crazy high for a slot machine, and it’s not a fluctuating RTP, either. you don’t have to make an enormous bet to reach that mark. The 99% pay rate is static. Plus, the game is filled with lots of features to keep things interesting.

Relax Gaming doesn’t have the largest portfolio of slots, but it does offer a few really good paying ones. The top 5 are listed below.

Highest RTP Slots at Relax Gaming Ontario Casinos

  1. Book of 99 – 99.00% RTP
  2. Marching Legions – 98.12% RTP
  3. Money Cart Bonus Reels – 98.00% RTP
  4. Money Cart 2 – 98.00% RTP
  5. Epic Joker Slot – 97.00% RTP

Author

  • Donna Dorsa is a veteran practitioner of the linguistic arts. As an independent writing and editing professional, she's spent more than 15 years researching and playing an active role in the world's ever-evolving iGaming industry. The daughter of a novelist and electrical engineer, her passions include creative literature, mathematics, game theory, and sitting around the table with her family for a good old-fashioned card or board game. In her spare time she runs a 3D printer business from home. Here is her Patreon. You can read her bio and find her socials on our meet the team page.

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