Novomatic is a specific case in the online gaming business. This international gaming company is deeply rooted in the land-based casino industry, having been founded in 1980 and running hundreds of betting outlets across the major worldwide markets. Novomatic is a name that acts as a pillar supporting cabinet gambling, with subsidiaries in 45 countries.

Greentube is one of their subsidiaries, but it is the one that powers the company´s online gaming products, and that´s what struck our interest above all. After developing a successful software platform, Greentube was seen as a potential asset for Novomatic and the company eventually purchased the brand in 2011.

Instead of losing its integrity, Greentube continued to develop distinguishable games under Novomatic´s roof, and there have been some hits over the years that impacted and shaped the online casino scene as we know it today.

Company Status, History and Software

Greentube Internet Entertainment Solution began operating in 1998 – by no means is it a newcomer. It is actually a rather popular European manufacturer of games for real money online casinos. The company was established in Vienna, Austria, and that’s where the firm’s headquarters are located now. It was initially called Durrschmid & Reisinger OEG, but for marketing reasons the name was changed to Greentube Usually encountered in multi-software lobbies alongside other providers and their respective products, Greentube maintains a high level of respectability.

Even though they’ve opted for a less aggressive approach, letting third-party software platforms to integrate their games, the company has made a name for itself and became a strong competitor on the market.

Without Greentube’s efforts and accomplishments, it is hard to see Novomatic as an important name in the iGaming industry. Focused mainly on video slots, the Austrian provider delivers a variety of game themes and gaming formats. The slots are generally well-designed, sporting quality video and audio segments. When compared to the iGaming industry giants like NetEnt or Playtech, Novomatic’s slot machines lack that polished finish and crisp graphics, but they manage to make up for that through good gameplay choices, attractive potential win numbers and volatility stats.

Yes, the focus of Greentube is on video slots, but don’t be surprised if you come across some pretty neat table games, video poker games or bingo. The brand also stands behind skill-based games by the likes of Mahjong, Rummy and Backgammon. Thanks to cutting-edge software development tools like Java, HTML5 and Flash, Greentube has been able to produce around 300 games so far. At the moment, Java and HTML5 are dominant, which allows the games to be accessible in-browser, without any need to download software or any mobile apps.

Greentube now counts on its own subsidiaries, such as AbZorba Games, purchased in 2015, and Stakelogic, focused on producing 3D HTML5 casino games, so the speed of releasing complete games has increased considerably. Some Novomatic-powered online casinos launch exclusive games once a week!

Games

Someone out there had free time and counted at least 100 Novomatic slots with a fruit theme, and that’s a lot. Other frequent themes you can encounter in the Novomatic/Greentube portfolio are Ancient Egypt, the underwater world, mythology, jewels and animals. Most of them have 5 reels and their structures fall inside the range of 10-40 lines.

Novomatic is not the synonym for unconventional and eccentric slot features, but its games offer plenty of action across the reels, from Scatters and Wild substitutions to free spins bonus rounds.

Greentube developers make sure the games are embellished in bright colours, and the audio usually plays an important part in rounding up the theme of the game. The Gamble feature becomes Double Up with Novomatic, and if you play their games at the best Canadian online casinos you will see that a lot of the titles include this risky, yet exciting feature.

So, what are some of the finest Novomatic online slots? Surprisingly, that is not a hard question to give an answer to. The absolute hit is the slot Book of Ra, which also has its Deluxe version available online. Book of Ra made the jump from bricks and mortar casinos to our desktops and mobile devices, and became wildly popular. It features 5 reels and 10 paylines, and its greatest advantages are smooth gameplay, a free spins round with expanding symbols and an in-built Gamble feature.

In Book of Ra, the player follows and adventurer in his quest of finding forgotten Egyptian treasure – a theme that has fascinated developers and gamers alike for decades. As a result, Book of Ra has been copied many times by other software providers, or so it is believed, as it is hard to determine which came first, the chicken or the egg.

Let’s get back to slots. Novomatic has other gems on offer, like Sizzling Hot and Sizzling Hot Deluxe, then Lucky Lady’s Charm, Dolphin’s Pearl, Mermaid’s Tale, and more recent Almighty Reels: Realm of Poseidon and Power of Zeus. Sizzling Hot, much like Book of Ra, became somewhat of a cult classic, despite its simplicity and similarities to a plain ol’ one-armed bandit.

It has 5 reels and an equal number of paying lines. It serves traditional symbols, like fruit, bars, 7s, and bells. This is a slot without Wilds and Scatters, no free spins either. Stripped of any added features, Sizzling Hot provides genuine slot fun, and that’s what makes it appealing.

Our Take on Novomatic/Greentube

The Austrian developer seems to be keeping up with the occurrences, but in a way, it seems to be doing things its own way. Both Novomatic and Greentube share common ground, as they’ve both conquered the local European market, but here we are to remind you that online casinos for Canadian players also feature games made by this combo of developers.

Keep in mind that high variance characterises a fair number of their slots, so expect adrenaline-boosting winning runs or rapid busts without much in between. Also, they can sometimes be picky about which games to release at certain casino sites, but you shouldn’t have the trouble finding the most popular ones. The Novomatic/Greentube cooperation has proven to be able to support both modern video slots and simple ‘spin and win’ slot machines, and with those traits the item stands to prolong its already long-lasting career.