Aristocrat Leisure Limited is an Australian company headquartered in Sydney. Established in the early fifties, Aristocrat slots quickly became one of the biggest slot machine manufacturers in the world.
Aristocrat live gambling devices are currently available in more than 200 jurisdictions – and if that wasn’t enough, the company proved to be more than capable of developing quality versions of its most popular titles for the online gambling market even though it was extremely late to branch out into the iGaming industry.
Considering this kind of late start, it’s somewhat impressive that Aristocrat is one of the few gaming software developers that assist other land-based companies in moving their business online.
Aristocrat Online and Land-based Slots
As mentioned above, Aristocrat is first and foremost a brick-and-mortar slot machine company – the online slots developed by Aristocrat are simply an addition to an already successful business. Land-based Aristocrat slots can be found in virtually every popular casino destination in the world.
The online slots designed by this company aren’t as ubiquitous, but finding a quality site that hosts them shouldn’t be much of a challenge. This is especially true if you’re able to access Europe-facing casinos, such as Bet365, Genting Casino or MoneyGaming.
Aristocrat Slot Game Reviews
Aristocrat slots aren’t as flashy as the games designed by IGT in terms of gameplay, but many hardcore casino enthusiasts simply prefer this simpler style, as it makes the games progress at a faster pace. Aristocrat slots usually come with simple free spins bonus rounds instead of innovative mini-games.
Nevertheless, many Aristocrat five reel slots allow you to gamble your payout on a simple card flip game whenever you score a line win. The odds of winning at the card flip game are exactly 50:50, which makes it a popular feature among players who are interested in maximizing their winnings.
While some experts argue that this formula doesn’t really fit some of Aristocrat’s branded slots, there’s no denying the fact that it goes along rather well with the linked jackpot games, which are very popular among all kinds of casino enthusiasts and which account for a huge part of Aristocrat’s overall revenue.
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Reception by Players
Some of the five reel land-based slots designed by Aristocrat are widely considered to be cult classics, so it should come as no surprise that their online and mobile versions tend to attract a lot of players. Many people who aren’t really enthusiastic about classic jackpot slots or standard five reel games turn to Aristocrat products whenever they feel like getting some old-school action.
The reasons behind the popularity of Aristocrat products are rather simple – while the company isn’t really big on producing cinematic games that stray from the basic formula of a modern video slot, most of its products are exceptionally well-designed.
This holds particularly true for Aristocrat game cabinets, such as the VERVE hd, which comes with two 21” HD displays and which was featured in Casino Journal’s list of 20 most innovative casino products in 2009.
Most Popular Aristocrat Slot Machines
The most popular Aristocrat slot machines include the Nile series and the popular Pokies, such as the Big Red, Chicken 2 or Imperial House. Other than that, the company has produced several movie-themed slots based on popular TV franchises, such as the Sopranos and the Walking Dead.
Many people believe that Queen of the Nile is the most iconic classic five reel game ever designed by Aristocrat, but others argue that Cash Express and Jackpot Carnival-themed games were better.
It’s worth pointing out that the online versions of some of the most popular Aristocrat slots have been mathematically remastered, which means that the return to player rates tend to differ between online casinos and land-based gambling establishments.
In most cases, the internet casinos that offer Aristocrat games will allow you to take advantage of higher payout percentages than their land-based counterparts, as the competition between online casino sites forces them to offer extremely competitive odds, which isn’t really the case when it comes to most land-based gambling venues.
It’s also worth pointing out that most Aristocrat games should be played using the highest stake settings, as this maximizes your chances of hitting the jackpot and allows you to get a larger return on your investment whenever you do manage to score a payout.
Company History
Aristocrat produced its first slot game in 1953. The company was listed on the Australian stock exchange in 1996 and is currently the second largest land-based slot machine maker in the world, with IGT taking the lead in the overall ranking.
The architect of Aristocrat’s success is Len Ainsworth, who has since then moved on to lead its sister company, Ainsworth. Nevertheless, Len continues to hold a huge stake in Aristocrat and has a lot of influence on the direction the company is likely to take.
Aristocrat’s current CEO is Jamie Odell. The company employs over 2,000 people and has development and marketing offices in South Africa, Russia, United States and Japan.
As briefly touched on above, the company was extremely late to enter the online gambling space – the first Aristocrat slots became available to internet players in early 2011 and were hosted by Bet365.
Outlook and Latest Developments
Aristocrat has been facing severe financial difficulties over the past few years – the bad financial results started as early as 2008 and were initially blamed on the financial crisis by the current CEO, Jamie Odel.
Aristocrat’s answer was to purchase Video Gaming Technologies in 2014, which essentially tripled the company’s business in the United States.
Whether this ends up being the right answer to financial difficulties on the home turf in Australia remains to be seen, but there’s no denying the fact that the company always managed to make it through difficult times.
