Before you deposit money at an online casino you should examine what brand of software they use. You can often get a good idea of the credibility of an online casino by looking at which software they use. Normally online casinos will tell you which casino software they use on their website. If they use a software brand with a reputation for offering fair play and if they offer in depth information on their software, then you can be almost sure that the online casino is offering fair play to its players. If they use a software brand with a bad reputation and/or seem very reluctant to share information about their software, then you should think twice before you open an account.

Generally speaking online casinos do not develop their own software. They lease their software from a company who develops and maintains the software for the casino. There is a large difference in quality from casino software to casino software. This is not in itself a large problem. But what is really problematic is that there is also difference in fairness from casino software to casino software. Most casino software is fair. The large majority of casino software use a random number generator that evenly distributes the outcomes in a totally unpredictable manner as they should. But some casino software is rigged. Some casino software produces outcomes that benefit the casino, giving it a much larger house edge than a random number generator would produce. It has been revealed that some software companies leases software where the casino operator can pre-select the size of the house edge (the profit margin). The cards and dices are then dealt/rolled accordingly.

Below I have made a run-through of casino software developers. The run-through will not be a complete list of all casino software brands. Such a list would be very long and more confusing than enlightening. I have therefore chosen to focus on the largest software brands and software brands that stands out from the rest, for good or bad. In this part of the guide I will not focus on rating software quality and/or functionality. Instead I will focus on whether or not I believe that players are offered fair play at online casinos using the software brands in question. My valuations are based on a combination of personal experience, correspondence with fellow gamblers and what I have read online.

Microgaming is the largest developer of casino software in the world. The UK-based company released their first casino software back in 1994 and ever since they have been market-leading. More than 100 online casinos use Microgaming software. Microgaming has won numerous awards for their software over the years and their portfolio contains of more than 250 different casino games. Microgaming games are fair and online casinos powered by Microgaming software are generally very reputable. Online casinos that use Microgaming software include 32 Red Casino, Spin Palace Casino, River Belle Casino, 7 Sultans Casino, Roxy Palace Casino, The Gaming Club and Crazy Vegas Casino.

CryptoLogic is a Canadian-based software provider with more than 150 casino games in its portfolio. The CryptoLogic software was among the pioneers when they entered the online casino industry in 1996. Many of the largest casinos in the online casino industry use Cryptologic. Cryptologic software offers a fair game to casino players and online casinos that use Cryptologic software are honest and dependable. Online casinos like InterCasino and VIP Casino use Cryptologic software.

Boss Media is one of the oldest casino software brands. Over the last couple of years the Swedish-based company has lost its status as one of the major software developers in the industry. Boss Media is still an important actor in the online casino industry though with more than 25 online casinos using its software. Boss Media software is fair and Boss Media casinos have a close to spotless reputation. Boss Media software can be found at casinos like Cowboy Casino and Players Club Casino.

Chartwell was established in 1998 and operates out of Canada. Chartwell has grown a lot the last couple of years and today more than 30 online casinos use Chartwell software. The Chartwell game portfolio is rather small compared to others. It seems to fit many of the sports bookmakers who recently have expanded their business to include an online casino. The majority of casinos that use Chartwell software are "sportsbooks casinos". Chartwell casino software offers fair play to players at casinos like Eurobet Casino, VC Casino and Coral Casino.

RandomLogic is a casino software provider founded in 1996 that operates out of Israel. RandomLogic is one of the smallest software providers. But they the are worth mentioning, because they have licensed their casino portfolio of over 60 games exclusively to Cassava Enterprises, the company that operates the world's largest online casino, Casino-on-Net (888 Casino). RandomLogic software offers a fair gaming experience to players at the reputable Casino-on-Net.

Playtech is a company from Cyprus that designs and develops games for the online gaming industry. Playtech was founded in 1999 and more than 100 online casinos use software developed by Playtech. The software is fair, but unfortunately it seem that Playtech is willing to sell licenses to just about anyone. Many casino operators using Playtech software have cheating players and/or behaved unfairly over the years. Playtech has done very little towards these operators, basically allowing they to do whatever they please. As a result, Playtech-powered casinos have a bad reputation in the online gambling industry. There is nothing wrong with the software itself, but the casino operators who use Playtech range from reputable to horrible. The reputable Playtech casinos include Casino365 and Totesport Casino.

RealTime Gaming was founded in 1998 in Atlanta, United States. RealTime Gaming software is used at more than 70 online casinos worldwide. RealTime Gaming suffers from the same "sickness" as mentioned with Playtech. The software itself is fair, but there seems to be no policy whatsoever for dealing with casino operators that cheat players. There are some very questionable casinos that run on RealTime Gaming software and nothing seems to be done from RealTime Gaming to prevent the casinos from cheating again and again. Many RealTime Gaming casinos do not live to the bonus offers they promise when players open accounts and/or come up with stupid explanations why you cannot cash out your winnings. Online casinos run on RealTime Gaming software generally have a bad reputation, but there are also reputable casinos among them. Bodog Casino and INetBet are good examples.

Casinova software is rather new to the online casino industry. The company has been around since 2001 and they currently supply software to six online casinos. Ever since coming onto the scene, Casinova software has been in the headlines. Unfortunately, it has always been for all the wrong reasons. The fairness of the software has been seriously questioned by casino watchdogs and Casinova-powered casinos have also sent out large amounts of spam mails. I cannot recommend opening an account at any online casino that use Casinova Software.

COA Software seems to be operating out of Nicosia, Cyprus. The company does not have a website so I am not quite sure. Usually casino software developers have websites where they explain why their software is the best in the world. Not this company. In 2002, leading online casino watchdogs proved that COA software did not offer a fair Black Jack game. Nothing seems to have improved since then. I cannot recommend play at online casinos that use COA Software.

B3W Software is a British software provider whose games are used at six casinos. When I played the Jacks Or Better Video Poker I lost in a manner that made me suspicious. When I checked various watchdogs sites, I found out that I was not the only player that felt cheated after playing at a B3W powered casino. Other players have also lost their deposits in lightning speed. Loosing 10, 15 or even 20 hands in a row is apparently everyday business at B3W powered casinos. The outcomes of the B3W games in no way corresponds with those in a fair game.