Proprietary online slots is what CORE Gaming is all about, and judging by all the successful partnerships the UK company has it seems as if their vision has been recognised in the industry. Casino games developed by CORE are tainted with various special features, quest elements, non-standard bonuses and much-loved free spins.
If only they would expand some more on their table games collection and the software would be tight and ready for conquering new territories. CORE was acquired by Sky Betting & Gaming Ltd. in 2016 and in 2018 The Stars Group Inc. acquired Sky Betting & Gaming.
The return to player rate is a very important indicator of the value of a slot machine, both in terms of payout size and their frequency. The higher the percentage, the better the return. That’s why players pursue games with higher RTPs. In the case of CORE Gaming, the return rate varies between 95% and 97%for the most part. The highest RTP belongs to Furballs (97.71%), whereas Caribbean Wild follows with a 96.33% RTP. Cashzuma features a return percentage of 96% and Wolf on Win Street is equipped with a 95.58% RTP.
Game | Return to Player (RTP) | Our Rating |
---|---|---|
Cashzuma and the Tomb of Wonga Slot | 96.33% | 89 |
Caribbean Wild Slot | 94.33% | 85 |
Furballs Slot | 97.71% | 92 |
Captain Cashfall Slot | 94.86% | 88 |
CORE’s range is still fairly small (40 or so slots), when compared to the industry giants, but what’s there is well worth noting, both for providing top-notch user experience as for creativity and uniqueness. When HTML5 was first released in 2014, CORE Gaming was among those who have decided to produce their games exclusively in HTML5. That’s why you’ll find them on a variety of mobile devices, operating systems and browsers, fully optimized for each. They gave a miniature portfolio of table games, a couple of scratch tickets and a video poker game.
Pharaohs Wild, The Sky is the Limit and Balthazar’s Wild Emporium are a few other CORE slots Casino Bloke feels happy to recommend. The UK provider is most inclined towards producing slots with 5-6 reels, featuring 20-40 paying lines. The video quality is always kept on the highest of levels and powerful 3D animations are not uncommon. You can also try out Pacific Boom, Furballs and Witch Doctor Wild to see what we are talking about.
One blackjack and one roulette game are currently on offer. They add an element of diversification to the library but do not consider them revolutionaries of the genre. The virtual roulette follows the standard European-style layout and supports conventional roulette bets such as split, street, corner and straight. Further items include mobile-optimised versions of 3-Card Brag and Video Poker (Jacks or Better Multihand). Not much to brag about, but these are still decent options to try if you are more into table stuff than slots.
CORE has around a dozen progressive jackpot titles which cannot deliver breath-taking amounts like Mega Moolah, but they reach well-sized pots. You can expect to see tiered jackpots in slots such as Rolling Stone Age, Tipping Point, Frank’s Freak Spin and Jackpotz.
Captain Cashfall is one of the more notable progressives from the inventory, with three progressive awards on offer. You have to land 3 of the same coloured lobster to win the corresponding jackpot prize. Jackpotz features not one, not two, not even four – but 7 progressive jackpots. It is a 5-line game in which you must wait for the game logo to light up at random and release the Jackpotz Trigger, which will award one of the pots displayed across the bottom of the reels.
Reels: | 7 |
---|---|
Paylines: | Cluster pays |
RTP: | 97.71% |
Bonus game: | Yes |
Free spins: | Yes |
Multipliers: | Yes |
Progressive: | Yes |
Rating: | 92% |
Reels: | 5 |
---|---|
Paylines: | 20 |
RTP: | 94.86% |
Bonus game: | Yes |
Free spins: | Yes |
Multipliers: | No |
Progressive: | Yes |
Rating: | 88% |
The current 2020 repertoire includes one video poker game (Jacks or Better Multihand), a virtual blackjack game, virtual roulette, two scratch cards (Scratch Diamonds and Scratch Emeralds) and two speciality games, Football Frenzy and GrabbaDabba Dough. These are often distributed through the SG network, though.
The Jacks or Better Multihand game has two modes, retro and modern. It looks pretty nice and it plays out smoothly both on mobile and on desktop. GrabbaDabba Dough works like a cute claw machine game, while Football Frenzy is an instant-win game taking place on a virtual pitch. The player needs to hit one of three trophies to win, and there are also “free-kick” and “penalty” bonuses.
CORE Gaming is a company dedicated to the development of HTML5 gambling content. They have never released any live casino games, and we doubt they ever will. With the market being dominated by Evolution, it has become more and more chalenging for any company to enter the live casino sector. CORE Gaming is doing just fine practicing what they do best, eading the way in HTML5 technology.
Though they’ve yet to win a reputable industry award, CORE Gaming have made it to the finals in two categories during the Global Gaming Awards: Digital Product of the Year and Digital Gaming Innovation of the Year. In 2016, they have been shortlisted for the Innovation in Slot Provision category at the EGR B2B Awards. Seeing how their portfolio isn’t extensive, this is a remarkable accomplishment.
All things considered, CORE Gaming is a solid casino software provider that takes its time to deliver top-notch products that fit the profile players are looking for. Their slots are a mix of brilliantly rendered 2D graphics with 3D highlights and you can expect a lot of special features to come into play. With progressive jackpots and innovative engines like the honeycomb, CORE Gaming isn’t following beaten paths – it is creating its own trail. The company has established valuable partnerships and delivers mobile optimised games to dozens or operators. Not much to protest here.