Microgaming

History and founding

Microgaming was established in 1994 on the Isle of Man as one of the two pioneering developers of real-money online casino software, alongside CryptoLogic. Its first real-money casino sites went live in 1995, and the company's long-held claim to have built the world's first online casino became central to its brand identity. The legal entity behind the business is Microgaming Software Systems Limited, registered in the Isle of Man, and the company grew through the late 1990s and 2000s by licensing its software to a network of online casino operators, including Jackpot City, Royal Vegas and Lucky Nugget.

Business model and products

For most of its history, Microgaming ran a dual B2B model. The first side was a full iGaming casino platform covering player accounts, payments, bonuses, risk and compliance tools, which powered dozens of licensed online casino brands. The second was an in-house game studio that grew to more than 800 slot and table-game titles, including flagship slots such as Immortal Romance, Thunderstruck II, Game of Thrones (HBO-licensed), Jurassic Park and Playboy, together with a full suite of roulette, blackjack, baccarat and poker variants.

Progressive jackpots — Mega Moolah

Microgaming's most famous product is the Mega Moolah progressive jackpot network, launched in 2006. The linked network of safari-themed slots became the most recognisable jackpot product in online gambling and holds multiple records for the largest online slot payouts. In October 2015 a British player won £13,209,300, certified by Guinness World Records as the largest jackpot payout in an online slot machine. In April 2018 a player in Finland won €19,428,508, and in September 2021 a German player won €23,611,284, then the largest online slot payout of all time.

Platform, aggregation and poker

The Quickfire remote game server and aggregation platform, launched in the early 2010s, was among the first widely adopted casino aggregation services. It allowed operators to integrate Microgaming titles and selected third-party content through a single API. Microgaming also operated one of the industry's larger B2B poker networks, the Microgaming Poker Network (MPN), which was retired in 2020.

Third-party studio network and LinkMerge

From the late 2010s, Microgaming became an early pioneer of the open game studio model, opening its remote game server to third-party development studios and distributing their games under the Microgaming umbrella. Those games were linked through the LinkMerge feature, a system allowing slots from different studios to share linked progressive pots and game mechanics. The slot 123 Soccer LinkMerge is an example of this model and was the title that originally led the database to Microgaming.

Regulatory and licensing

Microgaming has been licensed by the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission, its home jurisdiction, and by the UK Gambling Commission, with supplier certifications across European regulated markets. The company is a multiple winner of EGR B2B, SBC and Global Gaming awards, reflecting its long-standing position as one of the largest B2B suppliers in online gambling.

Demerger and current status

In November 2021, following a strategic review, Microgaming confirmed it would split its games and platform businesses into two independent companies. In April 2022 the games division launched as Games Global, taking with it the games portfolio, the Mega Moolah network, Quickfire and the third-party studio network. Microgaming retained the B2B casino platform and managed-services business, led by CEO Andrew Clucas, and continues to operate from the Isle of Man. In practice, this means the classic Microgaming slot catalogue, including Mega Moolah, is today owned and operated by Games Global, while the Microgaming name denotes the platform business.