Although American players may not know too much about NetEnt online casinos (also known as Net Entertainment), European gamblers have been well acquainted with their creations for well over a decade. That's because NetEnt is one of the leading software developers in the world of online gambling, and their suite of options includes everything you could want, even if you're not a slots person - well, especially if you're not a slots person, since most of the other games I've played from them are far more engaging than the typical slot machine.
Brief History of NetEnt
In the vibrant 1970s, a company called Cherry was doing well in Sweden, where it operated as a casino. But that all changed when the Swedish parliament passed laws banning the operation of slot machines, and Cherry was forced to find alternative - and legal - ways to make money. It was a very difficult time for them.
In the late 1980s, Cherry was supplying slot machines all over Eastern Europe. One of the people who worked for them was a guy named Pontus Lindwall, and when the Internet came along, he thought it would be a good time to take the traditional casino model and turn it into a digital experience. Lindwall, of course, had a lot of help - mostly in the form of funding from a number of different investors - when he started a little company called Net Entertainment in 1996.
For the first six years, the company focused on producing simple games like roulette and blackjack. Their collection was small and they often sold their titles individually. In 2002 everything changed. The first casino powered solely by Net Entertainment was launched. It was a huge milestone for the company.
The company has experienced a period of rapid growth. They went public in the Nordic and Baltic regions in 2009 and two years later enthusiastically entered the mobile gaming market.
The year 2014 was a momentous one, with NetEnt's online casinos processing more than €20 billion in transactions. By this time, the company had established a solid reputation among operators, with more than 100 online casinos partnering with the software provider.
NetEnt and U.S. Players
For most of its existence, Net Entertainment has stayed out of the American gaming market. This has left many serious U.S. players disappointed, as they yearned to get a shot at some of the company's huge progressive jackpots.
Good news! This is about to change. As of 2015, NetEnt's casino software will be legal in the USA. Unfortunately, what should have been a huge unveiling turned into a modest rollout at best, with restrictions that allow NetEnt products to go live only within the borders of New Jersey. Nevertheless, we Rosetta Stone the situation: Start with New Jersey, but soon we fully expect NetEnt to push into more states with more opportunities to show off more of its expansive library.
Game Selection & Return Percentage
NetEnt is a bit unusual with their selection of games. Although they have a fair number of titles for players to choose from, not all of the expected staples are included. Craps, perhaps the most notable example, is missing from their line-up, and you'd be hard pressed to find many other casinos that don't offer this classic.
One of my favorite features of Net Entertainment is that they provide return percentages for all of their games. This is a rarity in the gaming industry, especially for slots.
If you want to play their virtual slots that consistently pay the best, I suggest one of these: Blood Suckers (98%); Kings of Chicago (97.8%); Devil's Delight (97.6%); Simsalabim (97.5%); or Pirate's Gold (97.3%). Conversely, I suggest avoiding these NetEnt slots with the worst returns: Relic Raiders (90%); Tiki Wonders (93%); Super Lucky Frog (93%); Geisha Wonders (93.1%); or Tales of Krakow (93.3%).
Jackpots
Like most software providers, NetEnt's casinos offer a mix of progressive and non-progressive games. The former are certainly the ones that pack the biggest punch in terms of payouts, but the latter hit more often and therefore offer players a more consistent and reliable return on their investment.
No matter what kind of jackpot you are looking for, Net Entertainment is one of the best in the business when it comes to paying out the big bucks. Last we checked, they had 48 progressives (most of which are slot games) and a total of 266 jackpots. These high profile, life changing cash prizes have been won over 38,000 times since June 2009 and the total payout of these prizes is a staggering €381,349,269.
Below are the biggest NetEnt jackpots of all time. If you ever fantasized about a world-changing progressive payline, this is certainly one to remember.
- The largest online slots payout to date was made by the company in January 2013 when they paid out 17,860,868 Euros. This is by far the company's largest payout
- In September of the year 2011, Mega Fortune awarded a payout totaling 11,735,446 Euros, a sum that still stands as the second largest online jackpot win from a slot machine (regardless of manufacturer)
- Arabian Nights - paid out 8,635,872 Euros in November of 2012
- In November of 2015, a payout of 8,577,104 Euros was made by Mega Fortune
- Hall of Gods Mega - paid out 7,820,888 Euros in April of 2015;
Net Entertainment offers four different slot machines, each with an average jackpot of over one million Euros. These are: 1. Mega Fortune Dreams: 3,867,143 Euro average jackpot 2. Mega Fortune: 3,935,757 Euro average jackpot 3. Hall of Gods: €5,039,025 average jackpot 4. Arabian Nights: 1,231,423 Euro average jackpot The jackpots awarded by Net Entertainment are among the largest in the gaming industry.
For players who prefer games with more frequent payouts, the company also offers several attractive options. Two of my favorites are Mega Fortune Dreams Rapid and Hall of Gods Mini, which have average jackpots of 639 and 1,052 Euros respectively. While these amounts are small compared to the progressive jackpots, which I will get to in a moment, keep in mind that these top prizes are paid out (on average) every 4 hours and 11 minutes and 10 hours and 32 minutes, respectively.
Final Words
Although NetEnt has primarily focused on the European market, this has not stopped them from building up quite a following - a following that in all likelihood will make them a household name in the near future. They remain a very talented game developer. Their products are of the highest quality and, despite their lack of presence in the US, are very popular experiences for many internet gamers. In fact, when it comes to progressive jackpots, NetEnt has the distinction of having two of its top games hold the title of having paid out the most money in the history of the Internet.