Playson: Hold and Win Slots and Network Promotions

Playson started out in 2012 and is headquartered in Sliema, Malta. Its catalogue is led by slots, and the studio has spent more than a decade combining polished visuals with mechanics that keep sessions going. Regulators including the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) and the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) have licensed or certified its software.

More than 250 people work for the company across several countries. Among its best-known releases are Bumper Crop, Gold Rush and Dracula’s Family, and the range now stretches from classic fruit machines to heavily themed feature slots.

Playson has put as much effort into engagement tools as into the games. Reel of Fortune and Cash Blast sit alongside the reels and give operators ready-made ways to reward activity. Today the studio supplies over 200 online gambling platforms and holds licences in 26 jurisdictions.

Partner programmes

In 2022 Playson created Playson and Friends, a series of gatherings for the operators and media partners it works with. Editions have taken place in Belgrade, Bulgaria, Gibraltar and other European locations. Playson Rewards followed in 2024: a programme for leading operator partners that bundles free-spin options, standalone competitions and other engagement mechanics.

• 92+ games
• Free spins features
• AGCC certification

The key steps in the studio’s growth, from launch to its latest licences:

Playson is privately owned and has been led by CEO Alex Ivshin. For 2024 the company reported annual revenue of $22.9 million.

Key people

• Ivan Farrugia: Managing Director
• Alex Ivshin: Strategic Advisor
• Vsevolod Lapin: COO
• Pleksii Mylotskyi: CTO
• Tamas Kusztos: CCO
• Michael Tadross: Director of Account Management
• Blanka Homor: Sales Director

Moving the whole catalogue from Flash to HTML5 changed how Playson games look and behave. The new stack brought 3D effects to the front of the design and made the same title playable on very different devices.

The studio also runs its own integration service. A dedicated technical team takes clients from the first API configuration through to ongoing maintenance, with support available 24/7.

That service covers multi-device compatibility, support for many currencies, security controls and regulatory compliance, so the games stay stable for players. For operators, Playson provides xEye Viewboard, an in-house back-end tool that tracks player transactions, monitors how each game performs and delivers detailed analytics.

Since 2016 every Playson game has been built in HTML5. Players get the full library on Android and iOS phones and tablets, and all they need is a stable connection.

xPlatform, the studio’s delivery technology, keeps desktop, mobile and tablet sessions consistent. It adapts each game to the screen size and resolution, improves stability, handles data securely and shortens load times. It also powers Playson’s promotional layer, so tournaments, jackpots and leaderboards work the same way on every device.

Promotions are a large part of what Playson sells. Operators can use configurable local jackpots, free spins, tournaments, loyalty mechanics and other bonus formats to bring players back.

Reel of Fortune

Players collect coins during normal play and spend them on spins of a virtual prize wheel. The steady trickle of coins gives people a reason to stay active.

Cash Blast and Short Races

Cash Blast drops random cash prizes into gameplay. Short Races runs quick tournaments with live leaderboards, which encourages frequent, short bursts of play.

Network promotions

Playson also runs large campaigns across all the casinos that carry its games, with prize pools that can reach seven figures. Some last a month and others run all year. Non-Stop Drop&Races, for example, usually lasts 12 months, combines several promo tools and pays out a €6,000,000 prize pool.

Playson operates in more than 20 regulated jurisdictions. Its licences come from the MGA, the UKGC, Romania’s ONJN, Sweden’s Spelinspektionen, the Hellenic Gaming Commission, the Gibraltar licensing authority, Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur) and the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario. Each of these regulators requires the software to be tested and verified before it goes live.

To guard against hacking and data breaches, Playson encrypts payment and personal data with SSL and uses firewalls to block unauthorised access. Independent testers check that its software meets fairness and quality standards.

Responsible gaming is built in too. Players get tools to manage what they spend and how long they play, and self-exclusion lets them block access for a period. Work with organisations such as eCOGRA adds a further check on the fairness of the games.

On top of its UKGC licence, its Romanian licence and its MGA recognition notice, Playson has had its software audited and accredited by QUINEL, an independent testing agency.

The company also holds ISO/27001 certification, the international standard for information security management. Its games carry GLI certification and have been audited by ECT Laboratory Georgia and BMM test labs.

Playson has appeared on the shortlists of several industry awards, including these categories:

Playson slots appear in many well-known lobbies, including:

• Mr. Green
• LeoVegas
• SlotsMillion
• Casiplay
• Casumo

Playson’s library is not the largest on the market, but it covers what a new casino needs to start acquiring players: video slots first, plus table games and roulette.

Hold and Win is the studio’s signature mechanic. You will also find cascading reels, expanding reels, Megaways, Hit the Bonus and progressive multipliers across the range.

Popular titles include:

• Vikings Fortune: Hold and Win
• Clover Riches
• Sakura Dragon
• Solar King
• Solar Queen
• Imperial Fruits
• Sevens & Fruits
• Mighty Africa
• Wild Warriors

Sevens & Fruits is a good example of how Playson treats the classics. It pays tribute to old fruit machines but plays on 20 paylines, with a design that still feels fresh to players who have seen countless fruit slots.

Book of Gold 2

This follow-up to Book of Gold puts two 5x3 grids on screen, each with expanding wilds and its own scatter. Three or more scatters on either grid award 10 free spins, and the double layout raises the odds of landing a win.

Mighty Africa

Mighty Africa uses an unusual six-reel, four-row layout. The shape gives 4,096 ways to win: any matching symbols on adjacent reels pay, with no fixed paylines to follow.

Buffalo Power: Hold and Win

A North American wildlife slot with buffalo, eagles and wolves against a mountain backdrop, played on a 5x3 grid with 20 paylines. Collecting bonus symbols triggers a Hold and Win respin round with cash prizes and the Mini, Minor, Major and Grand jackpots, while a free spins round adds multipliers linked to the wild buffalo. The series also includes Buffalo Power 2: Hold and Win, Buffalo Power Megaways and Buffalo Power Christmas.

Solar Queen

An ancient Egypt slot built around Flaming Frames. In each ten-spin cycle, every Sun symbol that lands leaves a frame on its position, and at the end of the cycle the frames turn wild. A progressive multiplier that grows with each Sun adds to the win potential, which helps explain why Solar Queen is still one of the studio’s favourites.

Piggy Power: Hit the Bonus

A farm-themed 3x3 slot with cheerful pig characters. Instead of paylines, players look for matching symbols anywhere on the grid. Three bonus symbols trigger Hit the Bonus, a round packed with cash prizes and multipliers.

Best-sellers

• Treasure of Tombs
• Happy Jungle
• Thunder Reels
• Eastern Delights
• Future of Nile

The full catalogue, with descriptions, videos and demos, is on the Playson website. The studio pairs HD graphics with simple interfaces and keeps investing in new mechanics, which helps it stand out even without the scale of the industry’s largest suppliers.

• Game content for online and land-based partners
• 92+ casino, slot and social games
• HTML5 games for desktop and mobile
• Bespoke gameplay design
• Network promotions
• In-game promotional tools
• Back office and API integration

Playson works with operators both directly and through the major platform providers.

Playson works best as a dependable slot pillar rather than long-tail filler. A few practical ways to use it:

• A Hold and Win row. Group the Power, Coins and Buffalo titles together for players who like respin-and-collect mechanics.
• Retention campaigns. Reel of Fortune, Cash Blast and Short Races let your CRM team run rewards inside the games without building separate promo tooling.
• Network prize events. Joining Playson’s network promotions gives your players access to prize pools far larger than one casino could fund alone.
• Regulated launches. With licences covering the UK, Malta, Sweden, Romania, Greece, Gibraltar, Peru and Ontario, the content is ready for many licensed markets.
• Mobile-heavy traffic. HTML5 delivery through xPlatform keeps load times short and sessions consistent on phones and tablets.

Playson is part of our Slots Bundle. You choose which studios go live, agree any customisation, and we connect them to your site through our casino API. Your front end stays as it is: the games slot into your existing lobby and user journey.

Because Playson supports many languages and currencies and its HTML5 slots run on any device, it suits a casino that is just launching as well as an established brand that wants a few dozen 3D-animated slots. One integration also opens the rest of our games catalogue: 3,600+ games from 170+ game providers.

Short answers to the questions operators ask most often before adding Playson to their lobby.