What happened to Netent?

[Garf79]

Net Entertainment or Netent was established in 1996 and grew quickly in to one of the leading online gambling providers. Netent employs over 700 people and has its headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden. In 2007 Netent was listed on to the Stockholm stock exchange. Netent at one point dominated the live game sections of most online casinos. Its Black jack and Roulette tables were by far the most popular for players, although in the early 2000's there was not much competition.

                                                   

Not only did Netent absolutely dominate the live table games section they also had some of the best early online slots out there. Some really classic slots like Starburst, Gonzo's Quest and Secret of the Stones. So how did they go from leading innovators in the iGaming world to a 3rd rate provider that hardly gets any stream time at all?

Well Evolution Gaming had something to do with this and after Evo was established in 2006 they quickly took over the throne of casino kings. Evolution clearly had a different business model  to Netent and you would have to say the people in charge of netent over the years have made some really bad decisions. Instead of focusing on innovation like Evolution, Netent seemed to bank on signing big names to their slots like Gun'n'Roses. Netent paid millions hoping that having iconic brands in their slots would bring the players back to them, they were wrong and all that happened was a lot of mediocre slots were produced. Evolution on the other hand focused on innovation and software, offering players new, smoother games with incredible potential.

In 2019 Netent acquired RedTiger slots but Netent were already wobbling at this time and even RedTiger who had a megaways license could not save them after releasing some iconic Netent slots as a Megaways version. In 2020 Evolution made the move to buy Netent, the once kings of the industry had been snapped up by the more versatile and dominant Evolution group. This acquisition clearly goes to show how fluid and fast moving the iGaming industry is and proves if you take your finger of the pulse for on minute then it spell the end for you.