The Shady History of Betsoft

Betsoft has become known as one of the most-popular game developers in online gambling. Their slots are especially notable and found at many internet casinos.

Betsoft has also gained licenses in several online gaming jurisdictions, including Italy, Malta, Romania, and Curacao. Therefore, they seem like a reputable developer on the surface.

However, Betsoft has experienced several questionable scandals in its history. This developer has done everything from run faulty games to not paying a big slots jackpot.

Assuming you play Betsoft games, you’re definitely going to want to read this. I’ll cover more on this developer along with their biggest scandals.

Why Is Betsoft Popular?

Launched in 2008, Betsoft is among the most successful game developers in the industry. They’ve produced hundreds of online slots and dozens of table games.

They first became famous through their 3D cinematic gaming. The latter refers to how Betsoft uses a combination of 3D graphics and detailed animations in their slots.

The end result Includes exciting games that offer interesting themes, fun second-screen bonus rounds, and great graphics.

4 Seasons provides an excellent example of this provider’s ingenuity. Set in an Asian mountain range, it gradually changes into each of the four seasons as you play.

This slot shows graphical prowess and offers well designed symbols. You can also look forward to multiple features, including a prize wheel, win multipliers, and wild symbols.

Here are some of the other notable Betsoft slots:

• Alkemor’s Tower
• Birds!
• Blood Eternal
• Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
• Fire & Steel
• Frankenslot’s Monster
• Fruit Zen
• Glam Life
• Good Girl Bad Girl
• Vegas
• Quest to the West
• Spinfinity Man
• Sugar Pop!
• Yak, Yeti and Roll

Betsoft is mainly known for the games that they’ve produced over the years. However, they also offer other services to casino operators, including banking options, customer support, and marketing.

An operator that wishes to start a real money online casino without investing considerable amounts of money can pay for Betsoft’s services. This route allows a casino to quickly launch without developing their own games, support department, and marketing tactics.

Betsoft Has Struggled With Scandals

You can see that there are plenty of reasons behind Betsoft’s popularity. However, you may question this developer after reading about the following scandals.

Faulty Keno Games

Absolute Poker is one of the most-infamous poker rooms of all time. The now-defunct site scammed players through a superuser account (reveals opponents’ hole cards) and, eventually, went offline without repaying an estimated $50 million to customers.

This poker site was actually one of Betsoft’s first customers. It decided to get into casino gaming and tabbed Betsoft as their main provider.

Eventually, many customers who played Absolute’s casino games started complaining about the results. Following an investigation, some within the online gaming community pointed out that the keno action seemed rigged.

Of course, keno always gives the house an advantage (usually 5% online). But these faulty games ensured that the house won by a wide margin every time.

Players quickly blamed Absolute Poker for the problem. After all, an Absolute insider initiated the superuser scandal just two years prior.

The reality, though, is that Betsoft was the one to blame. They failed to ensure that the casino offered players a fair chance to win.

Since this incident, the developer has obtained fair gaming certification from Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) and Quinel. Nevertheless, they can’t completely erase the blackmark left from the bad keno games they were running.

Losing an Alderney License

As mentioned before, Betsoft’s maintains licensing in multiple online gaming jurisdictions. But one license that they don’t hold any longer is one from the Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC).

In July 2014, the AGCC revoked Betsoft’s license under mysterious circumstances. They didn’t make a statement on the revoking, but some speculated that it had to do with the developer’s US-friendly status.

Betsoft appealed to have their license reinstated. However, they gave up this appeal in the fall of 2014.

Of course, serving the US market isn’t entirely unheard of in the internet gambling world. Rival Gaming and Realtime Gaming (RTG) both accept US customers in states that haven’t made a strong stance on an internet gambling.

The fact that Betsoft was willing to abandon one jurisdiction to continue serving Americans, though, is yet another strange occurrence in the provider’s history. Furthermore, the AGCC has never really confirmed the reasoning behind their decision.

Unpaid Bitcoin Jackpot

The biggest Betsoft controversy ever involves an unpaid bitcoin slots jackpot. This incident occurred in 2016, when a player named Jason won a payout worth one million milli-Bitcoins (mBTC).

Jason was playing Glam Life when he triggered free spins and won the jackpot. He bet the five-coin maximum on 25 lines (125 coins total), which, according to the info screen, should’ve qualified for the top jackpot.

Rather than receiving a 1 million mBTC jackpot, though, he only collected 500 mBTCs. He reached out to the casino that he was playing at, Betcoin, and asked for help.

However, he received no assistance from Betcoin since it wasn’t their responsibility to pay the jackpot. Instead, Betcoin and other online casinos act more like affiliates that receive commissions from Betsoft’s games.

Therefore, it was the provider’s responsibility to cover the jackpot. After getting nowhere with the casino, Jason reached out to Betsoft and was again turned down.

The only thing that the developer did in response to Jason’s emails involved changing Glam Life’s info screen. The updated pay table noted that jackpots can’t be won during a bonus round.

With no other recourse, Jason posted his story on a forum. It was only then that Betsoft, after seeing themselves defamed publicly, worked on a settlement with the player.

Jason received a settlement that was worth less than the jackpot he won. In exchange, he agreed not to take legal action against the provider and also released a positive statement on the forum.

Nobody truly knows why Betsoft failed to pay up when they should have. However, the fact that Jason went through this ordeal just to collect a portion of his jackpot doesn’t reflect good on the developer.

Jackpots Not Hitting

2016 was a rough year for Betsoft. Aside from the Bitcoin jackpot scandal described above, they also dealt with allegations that their jackpots weren’t hitting at all.

CasinoListings, which tracks progressive jackpots, launched an investigation into the matter. After monitoring games at Bovada and Slots.lv, they concluded that Betsoft’s jackpots didn’t pay unless players bet at higher coin denominations.

In contrast, slots from other developers paid at various coin denominations—both big and small. In response to the investigation, Bovada removed all of their Betsoft slots until the situation was resolved.

CasinoListings conducted another study that showed more irregularities in this developer’s games. Their second investigation discovered that no Betsoft games paid a jackpot for three straight weeks.

Then, suddenly, many of their games paid the top prizes all at once. This strange occurrence cast even more doubt on the legitimacy of the provider’s games.

Will You Get Scammed by Betsoft Games?

The first eight years of Betsoft’s history were quite shaky. They dealt with allegations and, in some cases, legitimate proof that they were offering faulty games.

They also flat-out refused to honor a large Bitcoin jackpot in 2016. They only paid a portion of the prize after the winner complained publicly on a forum.

Nobody can offer undeniable proof that Betsoft intentionally designed rigged keno and slots games. Furthermore, the provider hasn’t been convicted of any wrongdoing in a court of law.

However, enough complaints and investigations have gone against them to cast some doubts on their legitimacy. At best, this game provider has been extremely incompetent in the past.

The worst-case scenario is that they’ve intentionally scammed gamblers through rigged games and jackpots that can’t be won.

The only good news is that they haven’t suffered any such scandals within the past several years. Maybe Betsoft has changed their ways and is now going straight.

I don’t personally think that they’re one of the worst gaming providers of all time. But I would also caution risking too much money on their games.

Conclusion

Betsoft has more questionable incidents in its past than the average developer. Amazingly, they’ve not only overcome these problems but also remain successful.

I can’t wholeheartedly recommend playing Betsoft slots and table games. After all, it has only been five years since they failed to cover a massive Bitcoin jackpot.

But this developer seems to be doing better in recent years. Maybe they’ve turned the corner and are trying to do the right thing now.

If you’re from the US, you can’t help but run into Betsoft games at many casinos. It’s up to you to decide if these games are trustworthy, or at least worth risking a little money on.