Though many online slot players will not yet have come across Amatic, this company has been around for more than 20 years. They are based in Austria, and create live slots, automated roulette systems, video poker and other casino machines. These can be found in casinos around the world, though particularly in Europe – 90% of their products are exported.

When you look at many of the Amatic online slots, you will get the feeling that they had a big project to bring their entire legacy catalogue online in one go. These include many simple and retro titles, which – while they have their place in many casinos – feel like strange choices to bring online. These are entertaining machines – that live play experience Amatic has accumulated has been put to good use. At the same time, titles lacking in features where you are just lining up fruits are always going to find it hard going in today’s ultra-competitive slots market.

Some more recent titles do include modern features and game-play. For example Lucky Zodiac includes ‘elements’ as an additional way to win on top of matching the symbols. Book of Aztec is one of several Amatic slots which include an expanding symbol (randomly selected) during the free spins bonus round.

Company Overview

Formed in Austria in 1993, Amatic has been supplying casinos throughout Europe for more than 2 decades. Their focus on live games includes products like automated roulette tables (including some with 2 reels), bingo machines and of course slots. Amatic are regulars at the big industry conferences including ICE in London and G2E in Las Vegas. Deals were recently signed to see this company expand into the UK and Irish markets.

This software house is solid rather than innovative. After playing more than 40 of their games there is nothing I have come across which is not already out there in one form or another. You can select the number of lines on online Amatic slots by clicking on the total bet amount. This brings up sliders either side of the reels where you can pick your coins and lines.

You will also find some games which pay an extra-large prize for landing the entire screen full of the same (stacked) symbols. Otherwise the mix of all-ways and win-lines, wilds (including stacked, sticky and expanding varieties) and scatter wins are pretty much standard.

If you come across Amatic slots in a live casino, you might well see the innovative curved cabinet. This is a semi-circle which curves out from the cabinet above the player’s head – and does look very smart.

Hallmarks of Amatic Slots

Fruits used as symbols are a theme which you’ll find throughout the Amatic range. Expect these retro symbols to have a modern makeover. This can include light effects and even a glow that surrounds each one.

These slots also share a gamble-after-win system. This is a separate mini-game, which allows you to guess the outcome of the turn of a playing card. You can either guess the colour, or the specific suit.

You can choose from simple retro games, or the simple end of the video slots spectrum with one or max two features. Below you will find 3 different Amatic slots, all of which will appeal to players with different tastes.

#1 Dragon’s Pearl: This is an Asian themed slot with 5 reels and 4 rows of symbols. There are 40 win-lines, which makes great use of the stacked wilds (elaborately drawn dragons which are 4 symbols high). As well as the chance of multiple stacked wilds in the base game, there is a free spins round which can be extended for a long time. Each time you hit a pearl symbol in the feature, one more free spin gets added.

#2 Lucky Zodiac: This slot has a more modern feel than many Amatic slots. All 12 signs of the Zodiac are used as symbols. These are divided into earth, air, fire and water elements – each of which has a different coloured background. If you line up 5 of the same element, you get an extra prize. There is also a bonus game (free spins) where you’ll get a special stacked symbol selected before these spins begin.

#3 Wild Respin: Many of the ‘wild’ slots look and play in a similar way – varying in the number of lines used and details of the bonus features. This example has simple fruit / sevens style graphics, and a bonus feature where 4 of the same symbol on the first reel can get you multiple respins. The reels keep spinning while you get more and more of your symbol (and stop when you miss). In combination with wilds, this can mean a lot of wins!

What we have seen to date is the retro back-catalogue from Amatic move online. This includes many older games, and some simple video slots. While these are entertaining and playable, they do not really stand out in today’s crowded marketplace. There are some positive signs with more recent titles that more involved game-play and interesting features are coming through. I would rate Amatic as one to watch, it will be interesting to see what new titles they come up with in the coming years.