Playtech plc is a gambling software development company established in 1999. The company provides software for online casinos, online poker rooms, online bingo, online sports betting, scratch-off games, mobile games, live dealer games and fixed-odds online arcade games. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. Since Playtech's founding in 1999, its approach has centered on the continuous development of best-in-class gaming products and content, with its success built on strong partnerships with our licensees.
Playtech was founded in 1999 by Israeli entrepreneur Teddy Sagi in Tartu, Estonia, with partners from the casino, software engineering and multimedia industries. Playtech launched its first casino product in 2001 and since then it has grown to become the world's leading and largest international designer, developer and licensor of web and mobile application software for the digital gaming industry, serving a majority of blue chip clients Companies in the industry (William Hill, Ladbrokes, Bet365 in the UK, Snai and Sisal in Italy, etc.), as well as governments and regulators. In March 2006, Playtech was successfully listed on the AIM market at a valuation of approximately $950 million (approximately £550 million).
After the passage of the Illegal Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, the company's stock price fell more than 40% in a single day. On October 22, 2008, Playtech announced that it would acquire private assets from Teddy Sagi for $250 million. Then in March 2011, Playtech acquired PT Turnkey Services from Teddy Sagi for £125m. In July 2013, Playtech acquired PokerStrategy.com, one of the largest poker communities in the world with almost 7 million members, from etruvian Holdings Ltd for $49.2 million. In September 2014, Playtech announced the acquisition of Aristocrat Lotteries from Aristocrat Leisure Limited for €10.5 million.
In January 2015, a number of Playtech-backed casino sites announced that they would be withdrawing from the German market. In February 2015, Playtech announced that it had acquired GameMaker Studio game development software maker YoYo Games for £10.65 million ($16.4 million). It was revealed in June 2015 that Playtech would acquire online foreign exchange trader Plus500 for $699 million. The planned deal was terminated in November 2015.
In May 2016, Playtech acquired Swedish online games developer Quickspin. The first EUR 24 million payment will represent 100% of Quickspin's shares and will be paid on a cash-free, debt-free basis and the remaining EUR 26 million will be paid profitably based on Quickspin's EBITDA during 2017 and 2018. Playtech acquired rival operator Best Gaming Technology (BGT) for €138m in 2016, as gaming groups continued to respond to the wave of consolidation sweeping the industry. Playtech entered Romania in January 2017, opening a casino studio in Bucharest with the aim of offering live casino games to local online gambling operators. With Playtech's licensing contract with Marvel Comics expiring on March 31, 2017, the provider announced a new partnership with Warner Bros. in February 2017 to develop slot machines based on DC Comics feature films, Examples include Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, The Dark Knight Trilogy, Suicide Squad, and Justice League.
In November 2016, Playtech announced the acquisition of prime broker CFH Group among the prime brokers to strengthen the B2B offering of its financial division, which was later renamed TradeTech Group.
In October 2017, Playtech announced that they had acquired BetBuddy, a leading responsible gambling analytics company. BetBuddy's behavior recognition and modification software will be integrated with Playtech's current player management system, which it is hoped will enable faster identification and assistance of problem gambling.
In January 2018, Playtech finally integrated Featurespace's machine learning real-time fraud detection platform into its information management system. Strategic partnership with behavioral analytics firm aims to help Playtech's licensees identify and mitigate fraudulent attacks.
In March 2018, Playtech entered into an agreement with Poland's national lottery provider, Totalizator Sportowy.
In April 2018, Playtech acquired a 70.6% stake in Italian gaming company Snaitech for 291 million euros. Including Snaitech's debt, the deal has an enterprise value of 846 million euros.
In September 2018, Playtech announced the sale of its 10% stake in Plus500 Ltd. for a total of £176 million.
In November 2018, founder Teddy Sagi sold his remaining stake in Playtech. While Sagi has been steadily reducing his stake in the company, the final sale comes shortly after investor Jason Ader urged the company to shed remaining ties to Sagi, who Ader claimed could hinder Playtech's U.S. market ambitions .
In April 2020, Playtech appointed non-executive director Claire Milne as interim chairman after former chairman Alan Jackson said he intended to step down following the company's 2020 annual general meeting.
On 29 May 2020, Playtech agreed to pay £3.5m to responsible gaming charities following the suicide of 25-year-old Chris Bruney, a customer of the company's TitanBet and Winner gambling sites, five days before he committed suicide. Losses of more than £119,000 were lost during his death, with the manager of the site's VIP program handing out multiple bonuses to him during the period. The UK Gambling Commission had planned to fine Playtech subsidiary PT Entertainment Services £3.5m after finding "serious systemic failures in the way PTES managed its social responsibility and anti-money laundering processes", but the company handed over the fine before the fine. Over its UK license can be imposed. After media reports of the controversy, Playtech agreed to pay £3.5m and chairman Clare Milne promised to personally apologize to Bruni's family.
In August 2020, Playtech began offering online casino games through Bet365's New Jersey licensed site, marking the company's first entry into the US regulated online gaming market. Playtech confirmed that it is exploring the possibility of selling its trading technology unit to TradeTech. As part of the divestiture of its casual and mobile games business, Playtech announced that it has sold YoYo Games to Opera Software for $10 million in January 2021.
On October 18, 2021, Aristocrat Leisure announced that it had made an offer to acquire Playtech for $3.7 billion.
Playtech is the world's largest provider of online gaming software with 6,400 employees. With offices in 24 countries, 170 global licensees and 30 regulated jurisdictions, Playtech has established itself as a trusted online casino worldwide.
Cross-platform functionality is run through a unified information management system called IMS, which provides operators with the tools to maximize cross-selling opportunities, player loyalty and revenue. Turnkey Operations Packages include a range of market-leading tools and services designed to optimize the performance of any gaming operation.
Playtech's product suite can be fully integrated into a complete cross-platform offering, enabling players to access online, broadcast, mobile and server-based gaming terminals through a single account. Leading online gaming apps include online casinos, poker, bingo, sports betting, live games, casual and fixed odds games.
We are committed to providing our partners with best-in-class gaming products and services across all platforms. Our vision is to remove technical barriers for our customers while keeping them at the forefront of innovation. With our comprehensive portfolio of products, platforms and content, we enable our partners to leverage our industry-leading technology to grow their business and differentiate in a rapidly changing and increasingly competitive environment.
We gain a deep understanding of how to deliver the best technology in the industry by listening, communicating and working with our long-term partners, including many of the world's largest and most recognized gaming brands. Establishing, maintaining and growing these key relationships is the focus of our business. Commitment to Quality and Innovation
Our complete and fully intuitive suite of technology services flexibly changes and grows according to our clients' requirements, from the industry's most powerful player management system (IMS) and its data-driven BI tools to our front-end portal technology and Playtech Open Platform (POP) All used by the world's largest and most successful brands.
Playtech provides all the tools and technology our licensees need to present their players with the ultimate gaming experience while producing record-breaking results.
Playtech's award-winning player management platform, the Information Management Solution (IMS), allows operators to gain full visibility and control over the entire player lifecycle from a centralized point for all operational needs. A single account overview gives operators the flexibility to tailor data-driven communications for player segments or even individual players, increasing the relevance of marketing campaigns to simplify costs and resources. IMS provides an enhanced player experience through unique omni-channel capabilities, enabling players to seamlessly transition between games and platforms through a single account and wallet. Playtech IMS Technology
Our player engagement and CRM toolset includes a real-time player journey canvas, a campaign planner for scheduled marketing and communications, and our real-time clustering engine, which allows you to build data-driven player clusters with dynamic auto-selection.
IMS works in conjunction with Playtech Protect, which brings together Playtech's safer and more responsible gambling and compliance technologies, tools and services, enabling operators to combine BetBuddy's sophisticated machine learning-driven insights with IMS' personalized communications capabilities Combine. Tools such as in-game and live messaging, proactive chat, push messaging, and direct email and SMS communication provide an important way to proactively address player risk and help create a safer environment for all. Through our SAAS program, the services of TruNarrative, our preferred partner for player onboarding, compliance and risk management services, can be accessed through IMS.
IMS also allows operators to customize the look and feel of their products, freely configure and choose their communication channels, and define risk policies according to their own policies. Another key advantage of IMS is the integration flexibility it provides for third-party elements such as content providers, brick-and-mortar entities, and other online wallets.
The IMS can be adapted to individual client bespoke requirements, and its unique modular structure makes the system scalable and adaptable to the needs of different regulatory jurisdictions. IMS is also set up to easily integrate with other solutions, allowing us to continuously expand and enhance its functionality. Our predictive alert monitoring technology identifies and resolves system issues before they occur, preventing costly downtime or erroneous escalations.
BIT delivers superior innovation to new and existing licensees to facilitate their next phase of growth. Our unique data-driven business intelligence marketing technology, unique to Playtech, significantly increases licensee revenue by increasing player experience and lifetime value.
BIT revolves around a series of game-changing features:
Playtech Portal is an open framework designed to integrate content and provide operators and their players with an unrivaled experience. Playtech Portal allows operators full control and flexibility with all the tools they need to configure customer-facing front-end solutions on any channel and device.
Playtech Open Platform It is fully optimized across all platforms for a seamless product and experience and is fully integrated into Playtech's industry leading IMS player management system.
The portal supports multiple languages and markets, and comes with a full CRM and tools for personalization, reporting and analytics, and player communication. IMS features include cashier integration, personalized login and registration, and cross-platform bonus and promotion features.
The Playtech Open Platform (POP) allows licensees to access over 3,000 of the industry's most popular online and mobile internal and third-party games, anytime, on any channel and on any device.
The POP content library includes a comprehensive selection of classic slot games, multi-line videos and premium branded slots from our cutting-edge in-house studio and 30 of the industry's largest suppliers. All new POP titles are released simultaneously on mobile and desktop.
Key components include ongoing support; live content and competitor performance leaderboards; a game development kit; multiple game integration frameworks; seamless third-party wallet integration; game standard.
Playtech Turnkey Services (PTTS) provide operators with all the necessary tools and expertise needed to run the product. Through our PTTS division, we provide product design, operations management, internal and external marketing, fully customizable applications and 24/7 live support to ensure operators and their players receive a fully optimized gaming experience.
Use our robust and reliable service. We take care of all your hosting needs. We have successfully managed thousands of sites across all major gaming jurisdictions, ensuring they run trouble-free and are 100% functional. Customers can choose hosting services for game servers and player databases in a shared environment if they wish.
This includes:
We are able to manage any specific business needs. Our feature-rich managed services provide complete operational optimization to keep your business running efficiently and smoothly without any downtime.
We offer 50 payment methods for you to choose from. Credit card processing gateways, acquirers, e-wallets, electronic funds transfer (EFT), global bank draft payment options through local banks, wire transfers and prepaid cards, and more. We remain committed to meeting the specific needs of our clients and can tailor specific payment models to meet each client's specific financial requirements.
Our payment consulting services also include advising on:
Our unrivaled network management services. We can assist with many issues including jackpot claims, player complaints and collusion to cash out checks. We provide our clients with all the necessary tools to efficiently manage their networks, including data analysis, server hosting and tournament setup, all backed by 24/7 support.
Our intuitive web service means our clients are guaranteed profitable from day one, benefiting directly from high bonuses and established games with extensive player traffic.
We employ online global marketing experts. Maximize the performance and overall lifetime value of every player across all of our licensees.
As a result, we have developed a number of key marketing services, including affiliate marketing, media plan management, SEO and CRM strategies:
Product-specific marketing strategies, including loyalty programs, communication tools and full deal room services for sportsbooks.
Playtech's customer service is unparalleled. We ensure that every element of the products we offer is supported 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year.
Our email and phone customer support is provided by a highly skilled team of industry experts with leading response times. Support is available 24/7.
Our expert support team is able to guide customers through their entire gaming journey. We put our operators and their players at the heart of everything we do and in doing so make sure every query and issue is heard and handled appropriately
As a leading supplier in the gaming industry. We offer our partners an unrivaled gaming offering powered by our award-winning IMS player management platform. This is further enhanced by providing our licensees with comprehensive financial services, including reporting and analysis, and real-time online monitoring. We have two decades of industry insight and expertise in developing best-in-class financial reporting and analysis tools, created by our industry experts to help our clients scrutinize and monitor vast amounts of online activity.
Our financial reporting and analysis tools include:
We provide fully licensed cutting-edge software to our licensees. At Playtech, we pride ourselves on our robust, certified and secure products, software and platforms that keep our customers happy and their players safe. Our intuitive risk management tools monitor all aspects of gaming operations and provide automated alerts to ensure any suspicious activity is quickly detected and any fraudulent activity prevented.
Clients can rely on our broad expertise backed by state-of-the-art technology to help prevent and combat fraud and ensure their businesses remain fully operational.
Playtech offers the industry's broadest portfolio of casino games, offering over 700 innovative in-house and premium branded titles, including DC Entertainment's tie-ins such as Justice League, Superman and The Dark Knight, as well as movie-themed hits including The Matrix, Gladiator and RoboCop, plus original content like Age of the Gods and Giant Jackpot.
The power of our Playtech ONE omni-channel solution allows players to enjoy a seamless experience anytime, anywhere, on any device, with a single account and wallet. With industry-leading content, a powerful IMS platform, business intelligence technology and fully automated marketing tools, we provide our licensees with everything they need to deliver the ultimate casino experience.
With nine different global studios now developing content under the Playtech umbrella, we can offer an unrivaled selection of games to suit every need, while our open platform offers hundreds of additional titles.
Four pillars of content strategy - Signature (studio's personal touch), Impact (relevance to the market), Reliability (stable games and release dates) and Value (maximum jackpots, bonus tools, engagement tools ) - enabling us to deliver custom titles in a wide range of territories on record time and budget.
Playtech Origins is a true pioneer in online game content creation, with a track record of producing some of the most famous, successful and innovative games on the market for over a decade. With a diverse team of professional game designers in locations around the world including Gibraltar, Estonia, Ukraine, Israel and Bulgaria, Origins is the creative force behind some of Playtech's most popular games and game suites. Origins has collaborated with Hollywood studios such as Warner Bros. to design some of Playtech's leading branded content suites including Batman and Superman, as well as top performing original content such as Jackpot Giant, White King, Buffalo Blitz and most notably award-winning And the popular Age of Gods series.
Leading games studio Ash Gaming was founded in 2002, was acquired by Playtech in 2011 and has since produced some of the group's most popular titles, including Ace Adventures, Classic TV Batman, Gladiator: Road to Rome and Leprechaun's Luck . Using a math-first design model, Ash Gaming combines a unique back-end model and feature set with engaging themes and eye-catching graphics to deliver a wide range of high-quality, smash-hit games.
With years of experience and a passion for developing the most engaging content, the Playtech Vikings team has produced some of the most unique and successful slot games over the past 10 years. The studio's prodigious creativity has resulted in a string of smash-hit branded and original games, including Justice League, Legacy of the Wild, Age of Gods: God of Storms, and Ice Cave. The Vikings team takes a holistic approach to game creation, with designs, concepts, themes, mechanics, sounds and graphics all tailored to fit together seamlessly.
Based in Lichfield, UK, Psiclone Games was established in 2007 and acquired by Playtech in 2014. Focused on the retail market, Psiclone focuses on producing unique and engaging high-quality slot games, including the famous Fairground Fortunes. Always striving for excellence, Psiclone Games has built a top-notch reputation in the industry for innovative slot machine designs and player engagement.
Acquired by Playtech in 2016, Quickspin is a Swedish gaming studio developing innovative video slots for real money online gambling and free-to-play social marketplaces. Quickspin's mission is to cause a market-changing shift in terms of quality and innovation through its games. Its team of 60 gaming industry veterans are all passionate about games, with the philosophy that they create games that gamers love to play.
Established in Brisbane, Australia in 1997, Eyecon is a leading gaming studio developing slot and table games for real money online gambling and free social marketplaces. Playtech acquired over 70 leading games in 2017, including the hugely popular Fluffy Favorites. Eyecon has a team of over 40 highly experienced staff across Brisbane, Malta and the Channel Islands.
Rarestone is the latest addition to the Playtech family of studios. Founded by veterans of major players in the industry, the Australia-based studio was built on a passion for developing games with global appeal. Adhering to the principle that the best game designers are gamers, Rarestone focuses on math-led development, creating games tailored for experienced players. Rarestone's key products include the Fire Blaze series - a set of games themed around ancient cultures, all linked together by an exciting "hold and re-spin" feature that gives players the chance to win four in-game progressive bonus.
The world's largest "next generation" live facility, an enhanced platform powered by the latest data-driven technology, a new dynamic user interface - all this and more combine to provide our licensees' players with the ultimate Personalize your gaming experience.
Players can experience all the excitement of a real casino without leaving their homes, offering a wide range of classic games and innovative new variations, from blackjack, baccarat and roulette to unlimited blackjack, prestige roulette and Baccarat and Casino Hold'em.
We broadcast in premium HD quality using state-of-the-art cameras with the fastest streaming speeds and longest uptime in the industry. We have dedicated tables for native speaking distributors in the UK, Italy, Spain and Romania, with more to come as demand in newly regulated markets increases. With 24/7 dedicated support services, custom branding options and in-depth dealer training, our core focus is to provide our licensees with unparalleled service and provide players with an exceptional experience.
Playtech is the global leader in cutting-edge omni-channel live casino software, content and services. Our three global studios feature hundreds of state-of-the-art cameras broadcasting in premium HD quality, delivering the fastest streaming and highest uptime on the market.
Our entire operation is linked to the industry's most advanced mission control center and our team of experts is on call 24/7, 365 days a year. Our operations team manages the playing field, monitoring every spin and every hand. Armed with the latest business intelligence tools, the team is dedicated to managing key customer service tasks including player chat, dealer performance and sensitive storage area control, analyzing table traffic and player trends to improve performance and ensure seamless business continuity.
All of our hardware is managed and regularly assessed by our expert technical support team to keep it running smoothly and minimize downtime, extending game time and increasing player satisfaction.
Our flagship live casino operation in Riga has a state-of-the-art training facility dedicated to ensuring we always provide the highest quality customer service. With over 500 resellers and native speakers of multiple languages, we constantly evaluate the performance of our team members against rigorous standards and closely monitored targets, ensuring we are always meeting licensee requirements and exceeding expectations.
We provide our clients with a powerful single interface to monitor and investigate suspicious player behavior. Powered by the latest business intelligence software, our system immediately alerts operators of any suspicious activity in real-time for an immediate response.
Our high-end experience offers the look and feel of a true VIP standard, offering Playtech licensees and their players exceptional features, functionality, and personalization and segmentation.
The Grand Royale attracts high-value customers and is built around delivering the same experience VIPs have come to expect at any high-end casino, incorporating a range of new studio design elements including Playtech's Grand Blackjack, which offers VIP customers the same gaming tables as Salle Privée experience.
New style gaming tables are also spread throughout the room, with the Grand Roulette upgraded to Playtech's Mini Prestige Roulette for an even more engaging and richer player experience.
The new experience features a total of seven gaming tables, including five blackjack tables, one baccarat table and one roulette table. Grand Royale has been handcrafted to meet the needs of the clients who use it and contains unique elements designed specifically to maximize the impact value we get from our clients and diversify our existing network.
Playtech is developing some of the most advanced technologies in live casinos, including augmented reality. This allows players to experience a whole new level of product, with never-before-seen content that really jumps out of the game, taking Roulette, Blackjack, Baccarat and all of our other games to a whole new level.
Take your place in our single zero live roulette and get involved. This wheel has a total of 37 numbers, 0-36. This is one of the easiest games to play and understand, so it's perfect for both beginners and more advanced players. With our highly trained dealers on call, you are sure to have an unforgettable experience.
Prestige Roulette Lite
Our Prestige Roulette Lite offers the same products as our Prestige Roulette. Fewer cameras would allow players to experience this at a faster pace, and offer a perfect version as a dedication offer.
Our exclusive Market Speed Roulette offers the fastest hand roulette anywhere on the market. This offers everything our single zero roulette does, but faster, producing more rounds per hour and allowing players to get more games without waiting.
Our 7-seat live baccarat games are played by trained live dealers and, as the name suggests, can have up to 7 players at the same table. This means that there is always a fantastic atmosphere similar to land-based casinos in the game. As a result, you'll find yourself so immersed in the excitement of the game that you'll soon forget you're playing on your computer.
Our market-leading Baccarat Squeeze tables offer players a game like no other. With multiple camera views, players will experience a closer squeeze that will add suspense to every match. Crafted by our best studios, this truly authentic game has broad appeal for both Asian and European markets.
Our Live VIP Baccarat is played with up to 7 players at a table with our highly trained live Baccarat dealers. Players will feel as if they are sitting at a baccarat table in one of the top casinos in the world. This immersive gaming experience creates an extremely exciting atmosphere that players will find hard to beat.
Our unique Mini Baccarat is our simplified version of Standard Baccarat. Players can play this game in a small window while playing on other products such as Sportsbook or Vegas. This is a great way to cross-sell your Live Casino products into other products.
Our Live Blackjack game is played with eight decks, a live dealer, a real blackjack table and multiple players. You can watch the cards dealt and other players place their bets. This creates a believable gaming environment where you'll soon forget you're playing at home and imagine yourself in one of the top casinos in the world.
Our Live Unlimited Blackjack is played with eight decks of cards and of course our live dealers are trained to our exacting highest standards. While our regular Blackjack tables limit the number of players at the table, our Live Unlimited Blackjack allows an unlimited number of players to play ensuring your customers always have a seat
Our Live Casino Hold'em is a variation of five card poker played by our trained dealers and real Casino Hold'em tables. We provide a dedicated shuffler to manually shuffle the deck after each round of play.
