Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the true heavyweights of 21st-century football. The pair have shattered records and achieved all there is to win, enchanting fans worldwide with their skill, desire, and ingenuity.
Their rivalry is the stuff of legends. Let’s face it, it’s the driving inspiration behind this entire website. Away from the pitch, there are several other industries out there increasingly dominated by two brands or names, famed for driving standards in the pursuit of excellence.
In the live casino space, a subsector of the iGaming industry, there are two heavyweights seemingly slugging it out for supremacy as the world’s number-one supplier of authentic, real-time live dealer casino software.
Within this article, we explore the rise of Evolution and Pragmatic Play, the two pioneers of live casino technology. We document their ascendancy to date and explain why their pursuit of excellence has continually raised the benchmark, much like Ronaldo and Messi in the early stages of their playing careers.
Enter Stage Left, Evolution Gaming
The Swedish firm Evolution Gaming was established in 2006 at the dawn of live-streamed casino gaming. They quickly blazed a trail for immersive live dealer gaming, bridging the gap between online and land-based casino experiences. This firm was passionate about delivering real-time interaction between online players and professionally trained dealers, replicating the social enjoyment of brick-and-mortar casinos.
From the get-go, Evolution cleverly invested in developing its own proprietary live casino studios, located across Europe and beyond. Its studio in Riga, Latvia, is a nine-story behemoth of live casino technology. From the Mission Control Room to the studio floors, decadently designed to replicate the lavish land-based casino décor, Evolution’s live casino operations are notoriously slick from the first minute of the day to the last.
Over the years, Evolution has also broadened its horizons away from traditional table games towards “gameshows”, with wheel-based games like Crazy Time and Monopoly Live, inspired by the world-renowned Monopoly board game seen at https://www.henrygeorge.org/dodson_on_monopoly.htm. These fuse casino gaming with new, entertaining elements.
The Emergence of Pragmatic Play
The Malta-based Pragmatic Play was established almost a decade later than Evolution, so there’s no debate as to who the founding fathers of live casino gaming are. Nevertheless, Pragmatic Play entered the iGaming subsector with a bold vision to topple the dominance of Evolution. Having originally made its name in the online slot scene, Pragmatic Play soon diversified its offerings to feature live dealer gaming services.
Like Evolution, Pragmatic Play developed their own proprietary live casino studios, with all games streamed in high-definition (HD) quality on any device. Pragmatic Play has always placed significant importance on mobile compatibility, helping to usher in a new era of fully responsive live casino gameplay.
Pragmatic Play’s live casino experience is characterized by several other features too. Not least its commitment to multi-language support, spanning 33 languages (and currencies), white label B2B branding for iGaming operators, as well as interactive in-game elements.
Evolution Vs Pragmatic Play
Both live casino software providers have changed the face of the live casino gaming niche, but how do they compare side-by-side?
Given that Evolution celebrates its 20th anniversary in a couple of years, it’s no surprise to see the Swedish firm boast a significantly bigger live casino game portfolio to Pragmatic Play. The latter are playing catch-up in this regard, but they have worked hard on their user interface. Many would agree it's just as intuitive as Evolution’s now. That’s why many iGaming operators look to arrange supply deals with both studios like https://casinodays2.com/in which also leans on its focus on localized games like Andar Bahar and Teen Patti.
Pragmatic Play also has the edge from a B2B perspective. The customizability of its live dealer games appeals greatly to operators new to the live casino space. However, Evolution’s market share remains hugely dominant and its forward-thinking gameshow-style additions to their portfolio have been well-received by players.
It’s a bit like the Ronaldo Vs Messi debate seen at https://www.messivsronaldo.app/detailed-stats/. Ronaldo was established in European football before Messi, in the same way that Evolution got a head start on the likes of Pragmatic Play. Evolution appears to retain the tag of number-one live casino provider, but Pragmatic Play is gaining ground fast thanks to its strategic partnerships, which can only mean good things for the wider industry.