Sydney
Big Time Gaming
The Australian studio that invented Megaways and licensed it to much of the industry.
Reference last reviewed 27 October 2026
The studio that defined the modern online slot, and whose catalogue remains a fixture in every lobby.
NetEnt was founded in 1996 and was for a long period the reference point for online casino content. Starburst and Gonzo's Quest are the titles most often named, and their influence is visible in the design conventions the whole industry now shares: the way a free spin round is announced, how a win is animated, how a paytable is presented.
The company's other contribution was being early to browser-based games built in HTML5 rather than Flash, which made its catalogue usable on mobile before much of the competition had rebuilt.
NetEnt was acquired by Evolution in 2020, together with Red Tiger, which it had itself bought the year before. The combination moved a large share of European slot content under one owner.
The companies that design and build the games themselves, principally slots. They are paid a share of the revenue their games generate rather than a licence fee, which is why a studio's commercial fortunes depend on a small number of titles performing across many operators.
Sydney
The Australian studio that invented Megaways and licensed it to much of the industry.
Isle of Man
The business that took over Microgaming's content operation, combining a studio network with aggregation.
Malta
A studio that moved from instant-win scratch games into some of the most played high-volatility slots.
Las Vegas
The former Scientific Games, now a cross-channel supplier of land-based machines, online slots and social casino.
Stockholm and Malta
A studio defined by extreme volatility and deliberately uncomfortable themes.
Växjö, Sweden
A Swedish studio that stayed independent and slot-only, with Book of Dead as its signature title.