NetEnt Slots

NetEnt slots are online slot machine games designed by Net
Entertainment. NetEnt, as the company is known these days, is a
Scandinavian game design firm that transitioned into the online
market after beginning life as a land-based game designer.

NetEnt’s software is available in twenty world languages, and
the company has been publicly traded in the Swedish market since
2007. NetEnt has earned a reputation as a provider of
high-quality, graphics-intensive slots, stuffed with bonuses and
heavily plot-driven. To date, their gaming library is made up of
just over 200 casino games, mostly slot and video poker titles.

With offices in Sweden and Malta, NetEnt has one foot in
tradition and one in innovation. Their presence in Malta puts
them on solid ground in a part of the world solidly steeped in
Web-based gaming. Their offices in Stockholm indicate the
company’s forward-thinking ways.

NetEnt & US Players

Bad news for US players – NetEnt’s top-rated slots, table
games, and video poker titles are totally unavailable to you if
you live in America. This is due to the 2006 UIGEA bill, still
an active law, which limits the ability of known gambling
businesses to work with Americans. If you live in the United
States, you can’t even test out the games in “free play” format.
You’re literally blocked from their game servers.

There’s good news in this front. NetEnt has entered the US
gambling market – in a limited way. The company earned the right
to offer “simulated gaming” in America through a deal with a
virtual gaming provider that exists under a grandfather clause.
Americans can’t wager real money on these games – instead, they
purchase virtual currency. Basically, NetEnt is trying to creep
into the US market through the burgeoning social gambling
market. This is good news for the future of NetEnt and US player
relations.

NetEnt History

NetEnt’s roots in gaming go back more than forty years. The
company was founded in 1974 as a chain of land-based casinos
called Cherry. In 1976, Sweden banned slot machines. This was a
huge problem for Cherry, since slots were their primary product.
At the time, technology limited the company’s options, so they
moved to casinos in Eastern Europe for twenty years or so,
remaining focused on building land-based slot games for legal
markets.

Lindwall and the other executives at Cherry worked out a deal
with some European investment banks and put together 8.5 million
Euros to launch an online gambling company. In 1996, that
company (renamed Net Entertainment) was born.

The first NetEnt-powered casino didn’t open until 2002. This
is a repeated pattern at NetEnt – they don’t do anything too
quickly. The company has always been patient. It took them more
than a decade, but they would eventually be listed on the NASDAQ
(in 2009). NetEnt didn’t release a mobile game until 2011, a
year or two after their competition. They released their live
casino game section in 2013, well after other companies released
theirs.

We figure it’s this policy of moving slowly and waiting to
see how their competition fare that’s responsible for NetEnt’s
“under the radar” status. Whatever the reason, NetEnt doesn’t
seem to mind playing the part of the boutique game designer.

NetEnt Management

Per Eriksson

Eriksson was added to NetEnt’s executive staff in 2012, after
a three-decade career in the IT industry. He signed on to helm
NetEnt during the company’s next transitional period after his
success as President and CEO of Dustin Group. Eriksson’s resume
includes time as the CEO of Dell Nordic, and as the founder of
several small IT firms related to the mobile gaming industry.
Mr. Eriksson has been an active alumni of the University of
Stockholm since graduating with a degree in Business
Administration in the 1970s.

Enrico Bradamante

A native of Malta, Mr. Bradamante was brought on board by Per
Eriksson in 2012, as part of an effort to prepare the company
for a surge in game production. Enrico Bradamante has two
decades’ experience in the IT industry, working as a General
Manager in Document Imaging & Commercial Business at Kodak.
Enrico earned his MBA from INSEAD and also holds a Mechanical
Engineering degree from the University of Trieste.

Maria Hedengren

Maria Hedengren was one of the first additions to the new
executive staff when the decision was made to steer NetEnt in a
new direction. Hired in 2011, Maria brings with her a variety of
experiences from a number of high-profile positions in finance
for the IT industry. Prior to joining the NetEnt staff, she
worked as an auditor for Arthur Andersen in Sweden and in
America, having earned her stripes as CFO of Swedish publishing
house Resco AB. She earned three degrees from the University of
Gothenburg, excelling in Business, Economics, and Law.

Karin Palmquist

The most recent executive hire at NetEnt is Karin Palmquist,
brought on board in June 2015. Her extensive experience in
business leadership, management changing tactics, and leadership
development made her an obvious addition for a company in
transition. She’s previously served in executive positions at
Gula Tidningen, Dale Carnegie, and for her own private
management and leadership development firm. She has a long list
of high-profile private clients in Europe, the US, and China.

Simon Hammon

The youngest member of NetEnt’s executive staff, Hammon has
been a member of the top brass at NetEnt for among the longest
of the current staff, since early 2011. Mr. Hammon was hired
because of his extensive knowledge of the gaming industry, and
for his experience creating platform games, developing games
with designers, operating networks, and managing casino
affiliate programs.

NetEnt Slot Machines

NetEnt’s game library includes exactly 100 slot games. Unlike
other big slot designers, NetEnt doesn’t categorize their games
or produce any classic slots or anything like that. Some of
their games include progressive jackpots, others include
licensed characters, but they haven’t gone so far as to break up
their list of games into different sections.

That makes our job a bit easier. We’ve decided to highlight a
dozen of the company’s most-popular slot games. Below you’ll
find brief reviews of twelve of NetEnt’s best-known and
best-loved slot games.

Creature from the Black Lagoon

Made in conjunction with Universal Studios, the Creature from
the Black Lagoon video slot was used to promote a major
re-release of classic monster movies. All three slots in this
series have proven surprisingly-popular. We think it’s because
they have cool feature, are based on the awesome standard NetEnt
slot design, and are based on spooky themes. Slot players love
anything spooky.

This entry into the Universal monster series is a five reel
and twenty pay line slot. The main story is the rescue of a
classic damsel in distress. She’s been abducted by the Creature
from the game’s title, which you do by collecting target
symbols. By capturing these symbols, you take potshots at the
Creature, depleting his health and earning bonuses like wild
symbols and free spins.

NetEnt doesn’t use Spreading and Sticky Wild symbols that
often, but this title has both. What this means is that spinning
wild symbols (represented by the game’s animated and flashy
logo) either spread and create new wild opportunities on
neighboring reels, or they stick to the screen on a specific
number of future spins. It’s a cool feature that adds to the
game’s high replay value.

The Invisible Man

The Invisible Man is another of NetEnt’s popular monster
video slots. The company is just starting to dip their toes into
licensed games – that might explain the relatively-inexpensive
subject matter. Even though characters like The Invisible Man
aren’t exactly buzzwords these days, the designers at NetEnt
have managed to make them, well, cool.

The Invisible Man is a five reel and twenty pay line video
slot that offers wins in both directions. If you aren’t familiar
with the source material (which first premiered in 1933, after
all) the main character is a scientist who loses his mind in
search of an invisibility potion. The Invisible Man slot
includes two different bonus rounds, as well as a special
feature called Walking Wilds, a free spins round, and a few
other goodies.

The first bonus round is called Griffin’s Rage. In this game,
you’re tasked with finding Dr. Griffin (in his invisible form)
as he hides in three different spots. Your ability to find him
leads to different prizes, most of which are multipliers and
free spins. NetEnt doesn’t include a lot of skill bonuses, but
this is certainly one. The better you are at finding clues, the
more you’ll win. The other bonus round is a traditional pick’em
game in which the prize is anywhere from a few dozen to a few
thousand credits.

Frankenstein

Frankenstein was NetEnt’s first release in the Universal
monsters series. The success of this release was what prompted
NetEnt to spend more time and effort (and money) on the other
two monster games described above. Frankenstein was one of
NetEnt’s first licensed slots, which is appropriate, since
Frankenstein’s monster is easily Universal’s most famous movie
monster.

It uses the now-familiar five reel and twenty pay line system
we’e talked about in the other two monster games. The plot is
identical to the plot of the old Universal movie – a hideous
monster is created, he escapes and attempts to connect with
people, they try to destroy him. The burning windmill scene in
this game is just beautiful, by the way.

This slot’s base game uses NetEnt’s only Lightning Wilds
feature – each wild ignites a spark that may turn into a bolt of
lightning and create two, three, or four more wild symbols. The
game’s Windmill bonus scene, which depicts the end of the film
and the death of the misunderstood giant, rewards a huge amount
of free spins and multipliers, but you have to land three
Windmill scatter symbols with a max bet in order to trigger it.

Aliens: The Video Slot

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that lots of NetEnt’s
most-popular slots are licensed games. Licensed slots are
popular – and why shouldn’t they be? They take products and
brands we know and love and build an interactive game around
them that could actually make us rich. It’s a win-win situation.

Aliens: The Video Slot was produced in conjunction with 20th
Century Fox, and is based on the James Cameron films. The slot
puts you in the boots of a space marine tasked with finding and
killing deadly aliens on their creepy home planet. The game
finds you doing things like scanning for alien life, blasting
attacking critters, and taking out the hive of the alien queen.
Because it tells such an immersive story, you move through
several different screens. It has huge replay value, and a lot
of appeal to sci-fi fans AND fans of horror.

Aliens is a five reel and fifteen pay line video slot with a
three-tiered bonus system based on the game’s level hierarchy.
In other words, this is an awful lot like a video game. Each
level leads to a boss scene. All three boss scenes pay out
different amounts of free spins, multipliers, and other bonuses.
Max bets range from $1.50 to $150 per spin, making it perfect
for a variety of bankrolls.

Cosmic Fortune

Cosmic Fortune was the first progressive slot designed by
NetEnt. The theme of the game seems to be a reference to the old
Space Invaders–style video games of the Atari era. The game
reminds us of old alien monster movies with cheesy special
effects. Cosmic Fortune was released in November of 2014, with a
series of five tiered jackpots, two of which are progressive.

The game’s Avalanche bonus rewards instant credit prizes, and
the game also uses multiple wild symbols and scatters. But those
aren’t the most appealing aspect of the game itself. That would
be the five jackpots. The first two are worth $1,000 and $2,000,
at a fixed rate. Then there are the Midi, Major, and Mega
Jackpots, which grow progressively larger. You trigger these
jackpots by landing different combinations of wild and scatter
symbols on active reels with max bets.

The Midi jackpot tends to hover around the $6,000 mark, while
the Major jackpot pays out at around $20,000. The game’s Mega
jackpot pays out around the $150,000 mark, though at least one
lucky winner has earned seven figures in a single payout.

Dragon Island

We’re not totally sure why NetEnt fans like Dragon Island so
much. Maybe it’s the Win Both Ways system, not common at NetEnt
games. Maybe it’s the fantasy theme – dragons are always
popular. It could also be because NetEnt produces attractive
games with high replay value and cool bonus features, and Dragon
Island is appealing just for that reason.

How does Win Both Ways work? Rather than working to form
combos from left to right only, this game rewards payouts for
symbol combinations from right to left, as well. This game is
set up to double all winnings earned for combos made up of five
symbols, and it works in both directions. It’s a unique feature,
one that you won’t find on many other NetEnt titles, and it
means that big combos pay out way more than on an average NetEnt
machine.

This is a typical NetEnt video slot, with five reels and
fifteen pay lines. Unlike most of the other titles on this list,
there’s no real plot or involved story to this game. It’s one of
NetEnt’s few classic-style games with video scenes, so the
replay value is a bit limited compared to other games with more
complex themes. The symbols themselves are gorgeous, as are all
the animations of dragons soaring around and breathing fire.
Throw in a free spins feature, multiple wild and scatter
symbols, and great audio effects, and maybe it’s not so odd that
a game without much plot would be one of the company’s most
popular titles.

Steamtower

This video slot tells the classic “genie in a bottle” story.
The game’s major appealing feature is called the Wish Master
Feature, in which the game’s titular genie escapes from his
bottle when the player spins enough scatter symbols, activating
the bonus pick’em game that leads to huge instant credit prizes.
We think the frequency of this and other bonus features, and the
simplicity of game play, are mostly responsible for this game’s
high position in the hearts and minds of NetEnt fans.

This game includes tons of little mini-scenes and bonus
features that lead to 2x and 3x multipliers and the addition of
new expanding wilds to the screen. This game even occasionally
hands out an entire wild reel, which is activate by tallying
points on a special spin counter. As an added bonus, all of this
game’s features are eligible for re-trigger. That increases the
excitement and replay value.

This game accepts wagers in denominations between $0.01 and
$0.50, with wagers of up to 200 coins per spin. That leads to a
max bet size of between $2 and $100. That means it’s not exactly
a low-roller slot, since most of the game’s best features
require a max wager.

The Wish Master

This video slot tells the classic “genie in a bottle” story.
The game’s major appealing feature is called the Wish Master
Feature, in which the game’s titular genie escapes from his
bottle when the player spins enough scatter symbols, activating
the bonus pick’em game that leads to huge instant credit prizes.
We think the frequency of this and other bonus features, and the
simplicity of game play, are mostly responsible for this game’s
high position in the hearts and minds of NetEnt fans.

This game includes tons of little mini-scenes and bonus
features that lead to 2x and 3x multipliers and the addition of
new expanding wilds to the screen. This game even occasionally
hands out an entire wild reel, which is activate by tallying
points on a special spin counter. As an added bonus, all of this
game’s features are eligible for re-trigger. That increases the
excitement and replay value.

This game accepts wagers in denominations between $0.01 and
$0.50, with wagers of up to 200 coins per spin. That leads to a
max bet size of between $2 and $100. That means it’s not exactly
a low-roller slot, since most of the game’s best features
require a max wager.

South Park

Based on the animated show of the same name, South Park is as
much an institution of the NetEnt library as the show it’s based
on is for Comedy Central. This is a twenty-five pay line slot
and five reel slot featuring all the familiar characters from
the original cartoon series.

The game is made interesting by the use of each character for
a unique bonus round. You can help Cartman hunt hippies, gather
credits with an exploding Kenny, earn free spins with Kyle, and
kick footballs with Stan for a shot at re-spins and expanding
sticky wilds. Basically, the name of the game is to play for
these bonus rounds, at least one of which (kicking footballs) is
a skill game.

During the game, the characters pop up, with quotes from the
real show, video and animated clips from the original series,
and some pretty foul language that makes this game at least
PG-13. These mini features add additional wilds and other
goodies to the screen, increasing the replay value of the game
and providing more frequent bonus payouts.

Jack and the Beanstalk

NetEnt produced this video slot version of the classic
children’s fairy tale with the same attention to detail they pay
their licensed titles. It’s a gorgeous game that no doubt
remains popular just because of its graphics.

This is a five reel and twenty pay line slot that follows the
classic story of Jack and his pursuit of fortune. It’s a typical
five reel and twenty pay line NetEnt arrangement, which hands
out lots of free spins and uses both Stacked and Walking Wild
symbols. Walking Wilds shift over to the left on all re-spins,
and they also pay a 3x payout multiplier when they complete
winning combos.

The plot of the game is furthered by the collection of keys,
which you unlock by spinning wild symbols. Every key you collect
also unlocks larger bonus rewards and payouts. The game’s main
appeal in terms of features is its collection of wild and
scatter symbols, which make for a ton of on-screen action and
bonuses.

Glow Touch

One of two brand-new releases we included on this list, Glow
Touch is a rebranding of a game NetEnt licensed exclusively to a
customer a few years ago. The new version of Glow translates the
game for mobile customers, and adds a few new design elements.
NetEnt is using this game’s release to introduce what we hope
will be a long series of new mobile titles with mobile-friendly
features.

Glow is a five reel and fifteen pay line video slot that
accepts wagers between $0.15 and $150 per spin. The theme, such
as there is one, is the Northern Lights. Glow (along with other
NetEnt titles Spark and Element) is all about pretty visuals,
glowing light effects, and haunting melodies. You won’t find a
bonus game or a progressive jackpot. Instead, Glow is meant to
act more like an interactive art piece or a video game. Plus,
you can win access to a free spins feature, and the game’s wild
doubles increase wins and complete winning combos.

What we love about the Touch series is the little details
that NetEnt has worked into the games. These new features are
optimized for mobile play – you can play in either landscape or
portrait mode, you can dim or raise the game’s lights, and you
can customize everything about the game from an intuitive
touchscreen interface. Plus, all the game’s features (including
wagering) take place on sliders, a feature that should be
familiar to mobile gamblers. It’s a beautiful game, if a little
bit simplistic.

Guns ‘n Roses

Guns N’ Roses is one of NetEnt’s newest games, and we
included it here because we’re sure it’s going to be one of
their most-popular titles in no time. NetEnt has been releasing
new games by the half-dozen on what seems like a monthly basis
since 2015, many of them to great fanfare. But none have had as
much buzz as this release, the first-ever licensed slot
featuring the likenesses of the real band members.

Guns N’ Roses is a standard NetEnt design, a five reel and
twenty-five pay line video slot stuffed with bonus features. The
game’s triggering symbols are a series of animated scatters,
many of which require a maximum wager in order to trigger a
bonus feature. You can set your credits to values between $0.01
and $2 each, and since the game’s max wager is 200 credits per
spin, your actual max bet ranges between $2 and $200 per spin.

The main feature of the game is the Crowd Pleaser Bonus. This
is a glorified pick’em game, but we like it because it provides
rewards in a three-tiered system, and because it takes place on
a second screen. Basically, you’re picking songs that lead pick
free credit prizes. Your possible winnings increase as you move
up the different tiers.

With awesome video and audio effects, a theme that appeals to
men and women of all ages, and licensed material from the real
band, we expect big things out of Guns N’ Roses. We hope to see
more band-themed slots from this company. Who’d you like to see
next? The Rolling Stones? The Beatles? We don’t think any theme
is out of reach of the designers at NetEnt.

Summary

NetEnt is not the best-known name in the gambling industry.
That may be changing. The company is shuffling its Board of
Directors and executive management, making inquiries into
mergers and acquisitions, and expanding their mobile gaming
catalog – all signs of increased expansion into new markets. At
the time of publication, NetEnt’s games were available at just
over 100 online casinos worldwide, usually as part of a hybrid
collection of games from multiple providers.

The fact is, NetEnt produces top-quality games with gorgeous
graphics and high replay value. They’re starting to produce more
licensed games and porting more of their titles to mobile
format. In short, we expect a lot more out of this company’s
library, the best-kept secret in the online game design
industry.