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Novomatic is one of the world’s leading slots developers. Based in Austria, the company has grown to employ over 20,000 people worldwide, serving the European market in particular with some of its most famous slots titles, in addition to other popular casino games. With its offices spread across 43 countries, Novomatic has moved beyond casino software development to actually run and operate some of its own casinos, with sites currently standing in Santiago and Chile.
The company was founded back in 1980 by Johann Graf, an Austrian billionaire who started his career importing, installing and maintaining pinball machines. Today, he presides over a company that has established a solid reputation for high quality casino games, not to mention legions of followers, in particular for its slots titles like Book of Ra.
For the online gambling sector, Novomatic remains one of a few developers offering high quality, transparent games. As a result, it currently works with a range of online casinos to provide different games on license, adding to the selections already available with these casinos. It’s range of games includes over 50 different slots titles, as well as casino favourites like blackjack, baccarat, roulette, sic bo, and many more.
Novomatic Slots
Novomatic has a reputation for creating no-nonsense slots. These aren’t the type of games you’ll find from the newer kids on the block – the likes of Microgaming and NetEnt. Instead of focusing on developing games that have all the bells and whistles you’ve come to expect from Microgaming/NetEnt titles, they have instead channeled their focus into games that get straight to the point, or have a more retro feel about their graphics and gameplay.
A consistent feature that runs extensively throughout Novomatic slots is the Gamble feature – essentially, a chance to double your money, or lose it all, on every winning slot. It’s up to players whether they want to take the gamble – but for the company and the games operator, this represents an excellent way of sliding the house edge back in their favour, offering up a 50/50 chance for players to double or quits at the end of each spin.
Book of Ra is by some way their most significant slots title. This is the game that gamblers most associated with Novomatic, famous for its expanding scatters, free spins, and altogether generous paying bonuses.
Aside from Book of Ra, and of course the subsequent iterations in the same series, Novomatic also offers slot games like Dolphin’s Pearl Deluxe, and Lucky Lady’s Charm.
Novomatic Video Poker
Novomatic also have a well-established line in video poker games, with several variants available to choose from. Joker Wild, Deuces Wild, Jacks or Better in a couple of variants – the list goes on, and they all benefit from the same, no-nonsense approach that has made Novomatic a force to be reckoned with in this industry.
One thing that’s unique about their video poker games is that they allow auto-holds, while showing win percentages on the screen for each of your hands. This means you can effectively get steared into the most logical next move as you play through your hand, based on the probabilities.
This is the perfect feature for beginners, and indeed for more advanced players, meaning you need to consciously deviate from the most logical play if, for some reason, you think the maths doesn’t apply to you. All in, it makes it easier to land winning hands from your holds and picks, without the need to hold the arithmetic in your head – much more conducive to a relaxing video poker session!
Novomatic Blackjack
Novomatic’s table games are arguably better than their slots, at least as far as the graphics are concerned. Their blackjack games include support for up to 8 decks, with the house edge varying accordingly, as well as allowing for multiple different variants of the game to be enjoyed.
The dealer will always stand on soft 17s as per the game rules, and cards are shuffled after every hand. There’s also the ability to split and double down on a single hand if you want to, a factor many blackjack players actively look for in their choice of blackjack titles.
Novomatic Roulette
Of its total selection of 7 casino table games, four are turned over to different versions of roulette, with albeit minor differences between each of them.
Again, their graphics and layout for roulette is significantly better than their slots games, and players are in for a treat when they take any of these versions for a spin – from the standard Roulette game, through to Globe Roulette, Vegas Roulette and European roulette.
Verdict
While still a sizeable company by anyone’s definition, Novomatic are by no means a market leader, and you won’t find their games at every other casino. However, their partnerships with online casinos are wide enough and varied enough to ensure that every player has the chance to find somewhere decent to play these games.
The games themselves are often simplistic, and don’t rely too heavily on gimmicks or other novelties. This means that they can focus on being straightforward, high quality casino games, something which has and continues to win Novomatic fans from within the online casino industry. For players, the games are open, transparent, and entertaining enough to compete with the best of the rest.
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