Rival Gaming is one of the newest high profile software developers to catch the attention of gaming professionals and online casino operators. Offering unique, interactive games with exceptional graphics, user-friendliness and trademarked security protocols, Rival Gaming is a young company brimming with potential. While Rival still needs to incorporate more transparency standards into their corporate operations in our opinion, the overall progress, changes and innovations that the company has undertaken since being launched in early 2006 is commendable. Currently, Rival Gaming powers seven online casinos, one of which is an all-in-one gaming site with a sportsbook and poker room.

About

One of the latest online casino software develops to have caught the eye of the gaming industry at large is Rival Gaming. Following a two-year development phase starting in 2004, Rival came on the scene after helping launch six online casino licensees in early 2006. This was soon after followed by a public launch at the widely attended Global Interactive Gaming Summit and Expo (GIGSE 2006). Rival Gaming is a wholly owned subsidiary of Black Chip Ltd., which is a private gaming company headquartered and incorporated in Cyprus (Arch. Makariou III, 3 Mitsi House, Office 111, Nicosia, Cyprus). Black Chip Ltd. is the owner of the proprietary software source code, which has been independently tested for fairness by the computer security consultant and cryptographic algorithm specialist, CertainKey Inc. However, more information is still needed at this time to adequately verify these claims.

At this time, it is not known whether Rival Gaming has finalized a management team with a proper Chief Executive Officer, Operating Officer and Financial Officer, which certainly should have been finalized prior to an operational launch. What is known is that Rival's former sole online casino licensee, the 400 Group, is no more. Silverstone Overseas Limited - a wholly owned subsidiary of Bonne Chance NV, now manages Davinci's Gold Casino, This is Vegas, Pantasia Casino, Paradise 8 and Cocoa Casino. Rival's other two licensees - Empire Sportsbook, Casino and Poker Room and Superior Casino are under separate management. All of Rival Gaming's online casino licensees are licensed by the Curacao Gaming Authority through the Lesser Antilles and Kingdom of Netherlands (except for Empire, which is licensed in Costa Rica). Silverstone Overseas Ltd. is headquartered at Ingles Manor, Castle Hill Avenue, Kent, Folkestone, United Kingdom.

While most gaming authorities would agree that Rival still has headway to make in terms of transparency, the fact remains that Rival has not been at the heart of any disputes or major operational blunders. The management team at Rival consists of Scott Geisbrecht (scott@rivalpowered.com), Rob Lockhart (rob @ rivalpowered.com) Justin Kattan (affiliate rep) and Justin Kelly, who is connected with GamingSolutions.ca - a company which Rival consulted during the developmental stages of its software platform. Both Lockhart and Geisbrecht are also connected with Unified Support Systems, which the company says is for providing back-end support to Rival Gaming online casino licensees. Another promising testament to Rival's commitment nurturing to a fair gaming environment is a dispute resolution process set up for players who cannot resolve issues with a the management of a Rival licensed online casino. Dispute inquiries can be sent to disputes @ rivalpowered.com, while general inquiries can be emailed to inquiries @ rivalpowered.com. Telephone support is available at 1-866-253-3509 or +599-9-433-8844.

In terms of the software features, this is where Rival Gaming truly stands. As a pioneer in graphics and software concept innovation, Rival Gaming has deservedly caught the attention of other software companies looking to make a step forward in the interactive realm. For the backend, Rival InTouch™ and RivalPro™ offers a comprehensive "total solutions" suite of analysis tools, real time reports, website hosting, and complete hardware solutions, including PDA syncopation. For the user-end, Rival provides some of the most advanced graphics and intelligent playing solutions we have ever seen, including an intelligent sign-up structure that cater to playing levels and personal preferences. Rival is also at the forefront of developing a downloadable software platform fully compatible with computers using Windows or Mac OS.

Embodying the peak of entertaining interactive playing features are Rival's iSlots. Incorporating a very funny, unfolding storyline as play progresses, iSlots are an animated movie and gambling session in one. Even after logging off, the storyline picks up where it left off when a player logs back in. Additionally, players are presented with new bonus rounds that get more rewarding as play goes on. Software navigation features are highly user-friendly, via an all-in-one toggle that lets players navigate back and forth between games, the casino lobby, cashier, game rules, and customer support via the software's live chat capabilities.

Rival's security and anti-fraud prevention protocols are likewise impressive features. The RivalPro™ security system uses unprecedented technology that gives online casino operators highly advanced fraud detection and prevention controls, including the IdentiPrint™ device fingerprinting system (tracking all devices that connect to the software platform) and the Rival ClassAct filter sytem (seamlessly awarding and tracking bonus and promotion awards). Players can rest assured knowing their personal information and banking details and securely protected and will not be shared with third parties unless required by law. In other words, Rival's software servers, which are continuously protected against physical and virtual intrusion, do not share information with third parties and are only accessible to specifically designated online casino licensees. Again, considering the fact that Rival's software implements such a degree of advanced security protocols, Rival Gaming gets the Online Casino Conditions vote of approval. We are expecting good things to come from this software provider.