Cryptologic

Born in a Toronto bedroom, based in Dublin, then brought back home in a multi-million dollar deal; the life of Cryptologic has been anything if unspectacular, and the developer continues to make top-notch games each year.

If you're a slots player, a roulette fiend, or a poker nut, Cryptologic will have been on your radar at one point or another. But now, everything the legendary developer produces under Crypto is done under new owners, NYX. Software provider WagerLogic, meanwhile, is now an Amaya subsidiary but continues to provide 200 games and support to some of the leading casinos online.

About CryptoLogic

From an outsider's view, it appears that CryptoLogic has been treated like a piece of meat, passed around by a pack of hungry wolves from buyer to buyer.

The short story is that the leading slots developer is now owned by NYX Gaming Group, but the long story is - well - a lot longer.

CryptoLogic is actually one of the oldest igaming providers in the industry. It began in the bedroom of its two Canadian founders, brothers Mark and Andrew Rivkin, before helping InterCasino with the launch of its casino in 1996. They went on to provide the first UK bookmakers to launch an online casino site - William Hill - with software, and moved into online poker during the mid-2000s boom.

Around the same time, CryptoLogic was responsible for some of the most popular online slots on the net, and started trading on the London Stock Exchange in 2003. However, trouble was around the corner when the US passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) which scuppered the developer's chances of gaining any more footholds in the USA.

In 2012, CryptoLogic was bought by the Amaya Gaming Group in a deal worth $35.8 million (the firm was once valued at over ten times that), just two years before selling off its games licensing arm, WagerLogic.

And in a further twist, in April 2015 NYX announced it was acquiring CryptoLogic as part of an agreement with Amaya. The Toronto-listed gaming firm paid CAD110 million in cash as part of the deal - which also included buying Chartwell.

Popular CryptoLogic Slots

CryptoLogic were around a long time, so it's fair to say some of their slots look a little...dated.

Cleo: Queen of Egypt looks a bit rusty compared to other Egypt-themed slots, but progressive games like Millionaires Club II and III are leading games at the big CryptoLogic sites like InterCasino.

CryptoLogic will perhaps best be known for its wrangle with Playtech in the late 2000s. In 2010 it transpired that both slots developers had signed deals with Marvel and their subsidiaries to produce slots based on Marvel comic book heroes.

CryptoLogic was first - producing games from 2005 onwards - before Playtech joined the party. A bust-up that Iron Man would have been proud of ensued in court.

Amaya started to release new Marvel slots after their buyout until the superhero franchise's new owners, Disney, got shirty with gambling and forced new slots deals to be scrapped. As a result, Amaya turned to DC Comics for its ideas, thanks to a new deal with Warner Bros. New slots like Batman, The Zombies, Superman and Wonder Woman subsequently hit the casinos in 2014.

Other CryptoLogic Games

At one point, CryptoLogic was one of the biggest poker network providers around, supplying sites like InterPoker with their software.

A merge with Boss Media (IPN) in 2009 put paid to that, and many leading Crypto sites moved networks. William Hill, who had benefitted from CryptoLogic's casino software, moved its poker wing to iPoker, while InterPoker moved to IPN.