NetEnt Casinos

Net Entertainment, also known as NetEnt, used to be one of the biggest online slot producers known to man. They seemed to only compete with a handful of other major players, like Microgaming for the last decade. And in a sense, that is what the company is and was, only they were acquired by the live casino giant Evolution Gaming. The modern ownership questions aside, this is a company whose releases are still guaranteed to make it to the front page of any online casino.

What then are the characteristics of a NetEnt casino? Are there common features to be found in their casino games? Does the company produce games other than online slots? What about progressive jackpot slots? And of course, where are you going to find the best NetEnt casinos? We’ll go through these questions, and more, with clear answers and explanations. Why not have a read, or at the very least grant some NetEnt no deposit bonuses and other promotions from our list of suggested NZ casinos.

NetEnt Casinos

NetEnt has always been able to provide unique online slots. They have countless hit games under their belt, some of which started whole new genres for online slots. Or at the very least, inspired countless carbon copies from other game providers. Though the competition has become quite stiff in the last decade, the company has managed to stay one of the most popular brands in casino gaming.

You’re not likely to find Net Ent as a sole game provider at any gaming site, that’s simply not how online casinos work in this day and age. However, you can be pretty sure that NetEnt is present at pretty much any and all online casinos. There are precious few sites that don’t host games from this provider, and it’s worth asking if such sites warrant a visit at all. Lucky for you, we’ve listed here all the noteworthy NetEnt casinos, plus if you scroll a bit down you will find out all the reasons to join these sites. But first, let’s take a look at the history of the company.

History of Net Entertainment

Net Entertainment was officially established in 1996, making it one of the very first online casino gaming companies to emerge. Remember, at this time there were hardly any online casinos in existence, and certainly they didn’t enjoy the widespread audiences they do now. 

The company has its roots in Sweden, with further roots in the local land-based casino markets. It took until 2000 before Net Entertainment really started going for online casino gaming, but once it did that the success was guaranteed. Funnily enough, it’s the local legislation that pushed NetEnt into international markets, as Sweden at the time used to have a state monopoly on gambling. Meanwhile, other European locations like Malta and Gibraltar were allowing players from all around the world for their online casinos, and this soon became the home for the vast majority of NetEnt casinos.

Something that really allowed the company to shine was concentrating on mobile gaming and international audiences. Acquiring a Malta Gaming Authority licence in 2006 proved to be a step in all of this. All the partnerships and business ideas aside, the ultimate step was ensuring that the online slots would be popular with players. 

Though the company released many popular games, it wasn’t really until Starburst came out in 2012 that they hit the sort of popularity they were after. The level of which hasn’t really been challenged by any other producer even a decade later. Starburst remains as one of the top slots when it comes to free spins, and its updated versions are still regularly enjoyed by almost all players.

After Success Comes What?

After the massive success of Starburst, the company seemed to be marching from one victory to another. A constant stream of new titles, the launch of their extremely popular progressive jackpots, and even the launch of their own live casino studio eventually followed.

At the same time, the number of offices increased. Spreading from Stockholm to Malta, USA, Gibraltar and further. At the same time, the licences have grown to include all the noteworthy ones, like the UK, Spain, Romania, New Jersey, Belgium, Alderney, and more. Not only that, but the company itself ended up being listed on the stock exchange.

But then how and why was the company acquired by Evolution Gaming? It’s hard to say. It seems like at some point NetEnt made some bad decisions, such as a line of very high-profile music slots that didn’t end up as popular as assumed. Or perhaps it was simply the success of the latter becoming the biggest live casino provider. Or, a merger that we mere mortals don’t really understand anything about. It certainly hasn’t changed the popularity of either company for the worse.

In any case, NetEnt casinos remain some of the most popular across the world, and in their core markets in Europe. This is especially useful for New Zealand players who are free to play tax free at all of these online casinos, often with the help of their local New Zealand Dollars.

Now, let’s take a look at what the Net Ent games themselves look like.

Net Entertainment Online Slots

You don’t have to play all too many rounds at any of NetEnt’s top slots to see what exactly it is that makes these games so popular. Common characteristics include high quality across the board, colourful setups, unique and interesting graphics, fun gameplay, massive wins and mathematics that work towards them, an excellent world of sounds, a barrage of promotions for the games, and availability across most all casino sites.

The games also come with a wide range of themes and influences. You can easily find extremely simple fruit pokies that use almost the same symbols the very first slots did. But you can also get your hands on innovative new games, the likes of which you won’t find with any other producer. At least, not until they copy the concept and make their own version of it.

Sure enough, there have been some flops in the mix. But without a doubt, most of these games are worth checking out, even if only in demo mode. Especially all the new releases, which tend to be supported by an avalanche of free spin promotions.

Top 5 Most Iconic NetEnt Slots

The newest games aren’t perhaps the best place to start. Why not try out some of the tried and true classics, most of which have retained their popularity for years? Keep in mind that some of these games also come with different variations. 

Top five online slots from NetEnt:

• Starburst
• Gonzo’s Quest
• Dead or Alive 2
• Narcos
• Twin Spin

NetEnt games are usually available in demo versions. Though playing on that setting doesn’t allow any real money wins, it does allow you to test which one of these five you’d like to play for real. They are all worth checking out. 

NetEnt Music Slots

NetEnt has produced tons of branded slots, but it’s the music slots that stand above them all. Other game producers still haven’t quite managed to deliver matching games. The so-called NetEnt Rocks -series started with the release of the Guns N’ Roses Slot, followed by the Jimi Hendrix slot and finished by the Motӧrhead slot, all released throughout 2016. All of the games come with their own features and wins, and with ample amounts of tracks from each band in question. These games are legendary in their own right.

NetEnt Megaways Series

Megaways slots have taken the world by storm, and it’d be a real surprise if NetEnt hadn’t made a handful of their own. The idea behind Megaways is the handiwork of Big Time Gaming, who licences out their unique mathematical models for producing these games. The main idea is to give the players a chance to score relatively small individual wins in hundreds of thousands of ways on a single spin.

Twin Spin Megaways was the first game to join the party, with 117 649 ways to win. This was followed by Divine Fortune MegaWays in 2020, and Fruit Shop Megaways in 2021. Dazzle Me Megaways is the latest instalment in the series for now. Pretty much all of these use the same Megaways setup, but each comes with a completely different set of special features.

NetEnt Slot Features

Throughout its existence, NetEnt has always been looking for new ways to play slots, which mostly means adding new features. Whether this means borrowing from other casino producers, or simply inventing on their own is one and the same. The end goal is to always bring the players the best possible gaming experience with the slots. Let’s take a look at some of the innovations, and games that brought them.

Starburst is of course the first one, as it’s known as the origin point of free spins. That is, free spins for the game, not free spins as a game feature. Aloha Cluster-Pays introduced cluster pays, and was the first online slot to do so. Instead of normal paylines the combinations were simply formed by a cluster of matching symbols. The avalanche feature, which replaces winning symbols with new ones for another chance at winning, was first introduced with Gonzo’s Quest.

Of course, when it comes to counting the wins, all the methods are in use. Cluster Pays, paylines, ways to win, and Megaways are the most common ones. Variance, which is the frequency at which wins land, tends to be on the high or the very high end. This is something that goes hand in hand with big wins, which in normal Net Ent games tend to be from several thousand to tens of thousands of times your set bet. Of course, there are plenty of options that go above this, as well as some that go below.

And if you’re wondering about normal game features, like wilds, scatters, multipliers or double-ups, it’s all there. Not in every single game, but across the hundreds of online slots available you can find every imaginable game feature present.

NetEnt Progressive Jackpots

There’s really only one company that can challenge NetEnt when it comes to progressive jackpots, and that’s Microgaming. The two have been competing with their progressive jackpots for decades, and even though the latter rules the list of biggest jackpot wins, it’s clear that NetEnts progressive jackpots are just as popular.

NetEnt uses pooled jackpots. They don’t have a system where several different games would feed into the same pools, instead, it’s the same game across all casinos that play into the same jackpot. That is to say, wherever you end up playing Mega Fortune, the bets you make will be paid to the same jackpots, and the wins come from the same. This ensures that the pots grow up fairly fast. No wonder the biggest of these games sort out millions in wins every time they hit big.

The most popular NetEnt progressive jackpots are:

• Mega Fortune
• Mega Fortune Dreams
• Imperial Riches
• Irish Pot Luck
• Super Lucky Frog
• Hall of Gods
• Arabian Nights

NetEnt Highest RTP Games

We know where you can get the biggest wins overall, but what about the games with the highest RTP? Return to player, as you might know, is the average percentage that the game pays back to players in the long run. Now, it doesn’t mean you get exactly this return every time, as the average is calculated over millions and millions of rounds. However, for players who are looking for a good slot to turn their no deposit NetEnt casino bonuses over, the following games might be of great interest:

• Blood Suckers – 98%
• Devil’s Delight – 97.6%
• Secrets of Atlantis – 97.1%
• Demolition Squad – 97.1%
• Jack Hammer 2 – 97.07%

Reasons to Join A NetEnt Casino

Why would you join a NetEnt casino? Well obviously to get your hands on the awesome pokies. This is a company whose history with hit games reaches several decades and even a time before online casinos. Not only are their slots extremely popular, but they also happen to be some of the most iconic slots ever. A handful have literally changed the way online slots function.

Besides the online slots, you will get access to progressive jackpots, some of which are the biggest in the industry. The presence of NetEnt in an online casino usually also means that live casino giant Evolution Gaming is available. This means you’ll also get your hands on the best live casino table games there are.

When it comes to bonuses you get to enjoy the high RTP slots, and of course, the same games are fun to play even without bonuses. Gameplay itself is certainly safe and secure, with the company holding licences and certificates from pretty much every and all jurisdictions and institutions worth mentioning.

And of course, you will get your hands on plenty of bonuses.

NetEnt Bonuses

NetEnt itself rarely offers bonuses, though from time to time there might be network campaigns. What they rather do is give individual NetEnt casinos the tools necessary to offer their own promotions. In fact, Starburst pretty much invented the whole genre of free spins in this regard.

And that’s something you’ll be running into a lot. It’s not only because NetEnt allows free spins, but also because players want them. And that is why every new release from the company tends to come with a match deposit offer or free spins offer to celebrate it. NetEnt slots are also pretty popular games for casino tournaments.

NetEnt Casinos FAQ

1. Did NetEnt invent free spins?

It’s quite hard to say, free rounds have been a thing before NetEnt too, and bonus cash certainly was. What we can say is that Starburst is the first slot to have made free spins a popular casino bonus.

2. Is it NetEnt or Net Entertainment?

Originally Net Entertainment, with the name later officially changed to NetEnt. Both are considered brand names for the company.

3. Is NetEnt still an independent company?

Not really, as they are part of Evolution Gaming. However, when it comes to designing, producing and releasing games they are. After all, their parent company is concentrated on table games and not online slots. We would expect the company to keep up releasing interesting games just like they have so far.

4. Does the company produce something else than online slots?

You can find table games and video poker titles. The former are not really of much interest, especially considering what live casino offers today. And the latter aren’t that up to date either. On the other hand, there are a handful of games that take on the theme of joker or poker and make the most of it. Check out games like Mega Joker.

5. Does NetEnt offer mobile support?

All games offer full mobile support. Not only that, but the company has managed to snatch some industry awards for mobile design and interface along the years.