Rival Gaming was founded in mid noughties and is probably best known for three things. It is one of the few major software developers that continue to work with US-friendly operators, it designed a series of so-called iSlots, which combine the features of adventure games with classic video slots and it is the biggest rival of RTG in the American online gambling industry.
Unfortunately, the company hasn’t really been able to threaten the dominant position of RTG over the past few years and it doesn’t seem likely for anything like that to happen in the foreseeable future.
Rival Online and Land-based Slots
Like all the other US-facing online slot makers, Rival Gaming focuses exclusively on the online gambling markets, which means that its products simply aren’t available in land-based casinos. Rival slots are available as a downloadable Windows PC package or via a browser-based client.
The latter option allows for maximum compatibility with all the popular desktop systems, while the former speeds up the loading times of the cases, which might be beneficial for casino enthusiasts who want to enjoy the games without having the access to a stable internet connection.
Rival Slot Game Reviews
Most of the slots designed by Rival follow the classic five reel, up to 25 pay lines formula, but the company also offers a wide range of innovative iSlots. iSlots were designed to allow the player to progress through a branching story line while enjoying smooth slot machine gameplay.
Most of the story lines tend to mimic popular soap operas and are filled with intrigue and romance, which keeps the players entertained and makes them curious about what’s going to happen next. Many iSlots feature dynamic visual themes, which adjust to the progression of the story and reflect the overall mood of the events that unfold in front of the player’s eyes.
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Reception by Players
Rival software is the second most popular casino platform in the United States, with the first place obviously being taken by RTG. Quite obviously, this isn’t exactly all that bad for Rival, as it still means that its slots are available on over 50 casino sites.
Most of the Rival-powered US-facing sites don’t really offer any slots designed by third party software developers and they still manage to attract plenty of players on a daily basis.
Most Popular Rival Slot Machines
Generally speaking, if you haven’t played iSlots, you haven’t really seen what Rival’s most skilled developers are capable of. The slots of this kind are widely considered to be well above the industry norm and actually don’t compare all that bad with Playtech, BetSoft and Microgaming games in terms of production values.
Every iSlot adventure begins with an animated intro, but once the movie ends, the player is required to complete certain tasks by playing a fast-paced slot machine in order to advance the story. If you’re looking for a good slot for an iSlot novice, you might Reel Crime or A Switch in Time.
Nevertheless you should keep in mind that one of the greatest qualities of iSlots is the fact that they aren’t complicated to play – the gameplay isn’t all that different from standard video slots, but the overall experience simply has a different feel to it since you’re actually following an interesting story instead of simply staring at pretty pictures or animations on the reels.
Company History
Rival’s launch was preceded by years of research and development concluded by a team of iGaming industry veterans. The new software was finally unveiled during GiGse 2006. Since then, the company has managed to sign long-lasting partnership deals with more than 50 operators located in the United States and across the pond.
Recently, Rival decided to redesign its software in order to add live chat to the lobbies and to expand the company’s library of games by adding several mobile-friendly titles. Rival Games aren’t produced using a single formula on method – some of the browser-based slots use Java Script, while others rely on Flash or HTML5.
One of the biggest achievements of Rival Gaming was developing its own casino platform, which is called Casino Controller. Rival’s platform has several interesting features such as real-time access to reports and a high degree of customizability.
Outlook and Latest Developments
Over the past few years, Rival Gaming has been working on the remastered editions of some of its most popular games, which are currently being rolled out across most Rival-friendly platforms.
The company is also trying to gain a foothold on the US mobile gambling market, which shouldn’t be all that hard since all the similar efforts on the part of the other high-profile companies such as RTG or BetSoft have been rather lackluster so far. It’s impossible to say whether Rival’s plans will succeed or fail, but it’s quite obvious that the company finally managed to get a chance that’d allow it to improve its standing on the American iGaming market in a significant manner.
