Playtech Review

In 1994 at age 22, Tel Aviv-born Teddy Sagi, founder of Playtech, became entwined in an inside trading scheme in Britain and wound up serving nine months in prison. When he got out, he was determined to make his fortune by any means necessary, returning to securities trading, eventually realizing true riches could be earned via new technology called the Internet stating, Sex and betting are the most profitable businesses. Sagi chose the former and started investing in companies building pornographic websites and unsurprisingly received a decent return on his investment.

By 1999 he had turned attention to gambling and set up the firm while recruiting top mathematicians to develop software. It was still the early days and they concentrated on user-friendly creations to build up a customer base.

Shortly afterwards in 2006, scandal arose when Sagi attempted to list the company on the London Stock Exchange as a way to secure future working capital and legitimize the business. Unfortunately, the United States Congress then passed strict anti-online gambling laws forcing Playtech to leave the American market rather than risk legal action. Stock price fell 40% in one day.

Industry Standing

After the bombshell U.S. legislation, Sagi and Playtech dusted themselves off, concentrated on European market growth and launched a sports-centric operation. Through aggressive acquisitions they now claim to be the world’s largest supplier of iGaming software listed on London’s Main Market, even providing the bulk of technology powering Great Britain’s ubiquitous fixed-odds betting terminals.

As part of Sagi’s diversification strategy, in 2018, his investment firm Globe Invest sold its remaining shares in Playtech, his affiliation completely terminated. Remarkably, 2021 was their 22nd anniversary, basically a lifetime in this still-young industry.

Game Design

Like main competitors, Microgaming, Playtech likes to spread action out and cover as many genres as possible. As a result, rarely are products “spectacular”, but each one delivers reliable action and a consistently attractive appearance.

In 2011, style was injected through the acquisition of licensing from Ash Gaming and founder Chris Ash. He had built his mini-gaming empire on player-friendly, Flash-based designs not requiring downloads. Ash was equally at the forefront of enabling slot machine wins other than lines on reels via Midas Millions, potentially distributing coins up to an astounding 118,700 ways.

Much technological innovation stems from labs constantly searching for faster processing and ways to enhance user experience. Through Playtech IMS, clients can access all games and platforms with a single login, a one-stop shop for every product.

Game Selection

Besides Ash, Vikings, Psiclone Games, Quickspin, Sunfox Games, Eyecon, and GECO Gaming were additionally acquired. Between its original catalog and these other offerings, over 600 titles are available.

Particularly strong are its British-based branded titles, Monty Python’s Life of Brian, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, and X-Factor leading the way. Other deals are inked with Universal, HBO, MGM and NBC, Marvel slots becoming a “superhero” generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenues before sold to Disney and decommissioned.

Consequently, they promise to release 50 new games annually to keep customers interested, recently expanding to include a Live Dealer platform, bingo, lottery, and countless other products.

Playtech Blackjack

A nice mix of Playtech Blackjack is effortlessly found, payouts usually printed directly onto virtual felt so rules are known before sitting down and risking chips. Table stakes typically range between 1 to 300 units, obviously dealt quickly while maintaining high quality graphics.

Depending on destination, multiple versions of 21 should be found via unique variants featuring special rules and odds. Here is a sampling of most popular.

• Standard Blackjack

A basic Twenty-One table using 6 decks, doubling on any two cards permitted, but re-splitting Aces is prohibited. House edge is 0.43%.

• Blackjack Pro

Dealt from a single deck, participants may strictly double on 10 or 11 and never after a split. Still, Aces may be re-split, resulting in a House edge of 0.44%.

• Lucky Blackjack

This variant does not involve any cards dealt to players and is strictly a guess on the final value of dealers’ hands between 17 and bust. After billions of computer hands dealt by simulators, professionals already know dealers bust 28.4% of the time. That should yield a 5:2 payout, however, this version only awards 2:1 so House edge swells to 20%. If partaking, optimal strategy is to always back 18 as it results in a mere 3.36% edge for hosts.

• Perfect Blackjack

This twist on “American Blackjack” utilizes 6 decks, immediately familiar to anyone visiting a land-based operation before. House edge is 0.43%.

• Blackjack Surrender

This one offers participants a chance to lose just half of initial stakes if opting to fold terrible cards and not continuing. House edge is 0.35%.

• Blackjack Switch

Players use two hands and are permitted to exchange top cards to form one strong hand, or two good hands against dealers. Concessions for this advantage are conceded, although House edge is only 0.14%.

• Double Attack Blackjack

A 48-card game with no 10s, those seated can double antes after seeing dealers’ up-cards. This madness results in a 0.67% advantage for operators.

• Progressive Blackjack

This normal blackjack variant will be familiar to all, but it’s linked to a progressive jackpot. Overall House edge is 0.43%, not counting the possibility of hitting a huge prize.

• Live Dealer Blackjack

Streamed directly to devices from luxurious offshore studios, Playtech Live Dealer Blackjack arrives in full HD quality. A celebrated table is Unlimited Blackjack featuring 7 seats with multiple hands allowed. They were actually one of the first to offer live dealer products back in 2003, maturing to include both male and female croupiers, eventually adding chat functionality for everyone seated.

• Playtech 21+3 Live Blackjack

This version of live 21 comes with a side bet of poker in every round, based on players’ two cards and dealers’ up-card. Wins arrive if the three combined cards create a straight, flush, 3-of-a-Kind, straight flush, or suited 3-of-a-Kind. These naturally pay out at inflated odds.

• Playtech Practice Blackjack

Numerous operators extend free Playtech Blackjack without requiring real money deposits, depending on geographical location. If living in an accepted region, simply register to test them before making financial commitments. Signing up requires submitting basic personal information in order to confirm identity, although zero costs are incurred.