Roger Raatgever: CEO of Microgaming

No one has been more influential in the growth of Microgaming than Roger
Raatgever, the company’s current CEO. Raatgever not only helped Microgaming in
the very early stages of its development, but he also has continued working with
the company through its many milestones. He developed a passion for the gambling
industry, and his innovativeness and willingness to take risks is what has
turned Microgaming into the multi-billion-dollar business it is today.

Please continue reading this detailed biography if you’d like more
information about Roger Raatgever. We cover his childhood, his educational
background, his contributions to Microgaming, and his personal life. You are
bound to learn something you never knew before.

Early Years

Roger Raatgever was born on July 6, 1970, in the small town of Stellenbosch,
South Africa, to his parents Richard and Marie Raatgever. His father owned a
small vineyard on the outskirts of town, while his mother worked at a local cafe
on the weekends. Raatgever was the oldest of 7 children, having 6 younger
sisters to look after.

Raatgever’s parents ingrained in him the importance of hard work at an early
age, encouraging him to get a job once he turned 14 years old. He worked as the
maintenance person for the same the cafe his mother waitressed at. He was
responsible for mopping the floors, thoroughly cleaning the kitchen appliances,
and fixing chairs and other miscellaneous items that broke throughout the day.
He would work two hours every night of the week except for Sunday. Later, he
became a waiter for the cafe, working over 50 hours per week during the summers.

Raatgever’s work ethic stayed with him throughout college. He enrolled in
Stellenbosch University, where he would graduate with a bachelor’s degree in
business. His final GPA for all four years was a perfect 4.0. With the
scholarships he received from getting good grades in high school and the money
he saved from working at the cafe all those years, he was able to graduate
without any debt.

Microgaming Is Born

After college, Raatgever started working at Discover Bank Limited. He worked
one on one with clients to handle their personal loans and investments. One of
his clients was a man named Martin Moshal, who wanted to take out a loan to form
his own software company. It was his dream to develop
online casino games that everyone would enjoy playing.

Unfortunately, his credit score was not high enough, and his loan got denied.
Raatgever believed that his business could be successful and offered to co-sign
on his loan in exchange for a 50% stake in the company. Moshal willingly agreed
to Raatgever’s offer, and Microgaming officially launched in 1994.

When asked in an interview with Independent News why he helped get
Microgaming off its feet, Raatgever answered, “I was in the rat race working in
merchant banking and thought it was an exciting opportunity. I had very little
knowledge about [the sector] but for me it had all the elements of excitement.
I’m an adrenaline junkie.”

In 1998, under Raatgever’s leadership, Microgaming launched its first slot
game, which was called Cash Splash. This game stood out among all other casino
games that were on the market because it was the first game to be attached to a
progressive jackpot. The jackpot would continue to increase in size until
someone won it. This was a revolutionary idea, and it caused some of the biggest
online casinos to make Microgaming their main game provider: BetVictor,
Ladbrokes, and 32Red.

Helping the Industry Stay on Track

One of the major problems Raatgever faced as CEO of Microgaming was erasing
the bad stigma that was often associated with his line of work. Many players
were hesitant to use Microgaming products because they had been ripped off by
similar companies in the past. In an attempt to remedy this problem, Raatgever
collaborated with some of his competitors in the industry to form the
Interactive Gaming Council (IGC).

The IGC helps regulate the online gambling market to ensure games are being
played fairly and players are not being taken advantage of. Here is a portion
from their mission statement explaining their standards for sites: “Noteworthy
gaming sites are those that have cultivated their reputation through ethical
means, building their credibility through fair play and fair treatment of their
clientele.”

Raatgever also joined the eCommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and
Assurance (eCOGRA) commission when it was first established in 2003, becoming
one of their board members. eCOGRA tests the fairness and safety of online
games. They are an accredited certification body that only gives their seal of
approval to games that are both fair and of extremely high quality.

Microgaming Continues to Thrive

Raatgever continually looks for ways to make Microgaming stand out among all
its major competitors like Betsoft, NetEnt, and Playtech. In 2005, Microgaming
launched its first co-branded slot game: Tomb Raider. This slot featured
graphics from both the comic strip and movie. This move caused thousands of
people who had never played slot games before to be drawn to Microgaming’s
selection of slots, and soon co-branded slot games would become the industry
standard.

Over the years, they released slot games based off other popular movies and
television series like Batman, Battlestar Galactica, Game of Thrones, Jurassic
Park, and the Terminator. Sometimes they even have clips from the movie featured
in the slot’s intro videos. Microgaming’s slots are known to contain vibrant
graphics and provide hours of entertainment.

They are also known for offering a high number of pay lines. After several
emails came in suggesting Microgaming offer more pay lines on their slots,
Raatgever worked closely with his developers to make that happen. In 2008,
Microgaming became the first company to launch an online slot with 100 pay
lines. Prior to that year, most slot games only offered 30 to 50 pay lines. Once
again, thanks to Raatgever, Microgaming was ahead of its competition.

Microgaming currently has over 1200 different titles to choose from, many of
which are accompanied by large jackpots. In fact, their Mega Moolah slot jackpot
has soared past $8 million on more than one occasion. Raatgever realizes that
players are encouraged to play more often when they have a chance to win a
significant amount of money, so he sets his jackpots’ baseline higher than most
other software companies would ever dare.

When the United States passed the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act,
it became illegal for casinos to serve US customers. This was worrisome for
Raatgever, as he knew many US-facing casinos were using their software. He did
not want to risk the future of the company by staying in that market, so he
closed their US-facing business and released the US-facing casinos from their
contracts. Microgaming initially lost some revenue as a result, but they have
since been able to recover their losses by picking up more clients in countries
across Asia and Europe. They set a new record in 2017, as their total revenue
for the year surpassed $1 billion.

Microgaming Gives Back

Since Microgaming has been so successful over the years, Raatgever felt it
was necessary to start a charity in its honor. He formed the Microgaming Health
and Care Trust, which would later be called PlayItForward. Through this
organization, Microgaming has funded several charity projects across the Isle of
Man.

Some of these projects include setting up automated external defibrillators
(AEDs) at various populated hotspots around the island, updating the island’s
public libraries to make sure they feature newer books, upgrading equipment in
outdated playgrounds, and donating medical supplies to local hospitals.

More recently, in 2017, Microgaming hosted a charity poker tournament to
raise money for the Save the Rhino foundation, a group that works hard to
protect endangered rhinos across Africa and Asia. Their donation was used to
build a national park in Africa to house both rhinos and elephants so that they
will not be killed by poachers. Microgaming’s charity work has slowly but surely
started to expand beyond the Isle of Man.

Personal Life

Being the CEO of Microgaming takes up a lot of Raatgever’s time and energy,
as he often works 70-hour work weeks. When he does find time to take a break, he
usually takes that time to spend with his family. He is married to Rachel
Raatgever, and they have two children: Marcus (15) and Sadie (12).

When he isn’t with his family, he will probably be found out on the golf
course. He plays golf almost every morning, as he finds it to be a very relaxing
way to start the day. He enjoys playing golf so much that he actually built his
own golf course on his property. His golf course is spread over 70 acres of land
and contains 9 holes.

Conclusion

Roger Raatgever is a successful businessman who has dedicated over two
decades of his life to being the CEO of Microgaming. He was there when the
company launched its first slot game, and he hopes to be with the company until
he retires. His innovative ideas and his drive to provide the best service
possible are why Microgaming continues to be one of the leading software
companies in the online casino industry.