Aristocrat, IGT, Light & Wonder, and Konami are among the companies that make casino slot machines. Familiar examples include Aristocrat’s Buffalo and Dragon Link, IGT’s Wheel of Fortune slots, and Light & Wonder’s Dancing Drums. Online slots also come from specialist studios such as NetEnt, Pragmatic Play, and Play’n GO. I find the maker’s name useful for discovering related games, but it’s a browsing shortcut, not a clue about which machine will pay next.
Find a game’s maker or browse slot makers.
Who makes your favorite slot game?
Start with the complete game title. A cabinet name, familiar character, or jackpot sign may help you recognize a machine without identifying the exact game.
This selective lookup distinguishes the maker, game family, and playing format. “Online cash game” means a real-money release where legally offered, not a promise that your local online casino carries it. Physical-casino entries don’t rule out other adaptations.
| Game or family | Maker or studio | Where it appears | Helpful distinction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dragon Link | Aristocrat | Physical casino | A family with multiple themed games, not one universal pay table. |
| Buffalo | Aristocrat | Physical casino | The original and later Buffalo-branded releases have different features. |
| Lightning Link | Aristocrat | Physical casino | A separate family from Dragon Link. |
| Wheel of Fortune | IGT | Physical casino | A licensed entertainment theme used across different slot editions. |
| Cleopatra | IGT | Physical casino and online cash game | Match the edition rather than assuming identical rules. |
| Kitty Glitter Grand | IGT | Physical casino and online cash game | IGT documented a launch across both channels; local availability varies. |
| Dancing Drums | Light & Wonder | Physical casino | Record any subtitle to identify a particular edition. |
| Huff N’ More Puff | Light & Wonder | Physical casino | A distinct title within the Huff N’ Puff family. |
| China Shores | Konami | Physical casino and online cash game | Check whether the listing is the original or a separately named release. |
| All Aboard | Konami | Physical casino and online cash game | Family entries include separately named themes such as Go West. |
| Mustang Money | Ainsworth | Physical casino | Use the title and edition, not just the horse imagery. |
| Rakin’ Bacon! | AGS | Physical casino | Later editions can have different features and bonus structures. |
| Cash Machine | Everi | Physical casino | Everi remains a browsing label within the combined IGT business. |
| Starburst | NetEnt | Online cash game | Starburst XXXtreme is a separate game. |
| Gonzo’s Quest | NetEnt | Online cash game | Related releases and adaptations need their own rules check. |
| Sweet Bonanza | Pragmatic Play | Online cash game | Sweet Bonanza CandyLand is a live game show, not the slot. |
| Gates of Olympus | Pragmatic Play | Online cash game | Numbered or specially named editions are separate releases. |
| Book of Dead | Play’n GO | Online cash game | Book-themed slots from other studios aren’t the same game. |
A social-app version doesn’t establish real-money availability, identical mathematics, or the same jackpot arrangements as a casino-floor game.
Major slot machine makers
These are useful names for US casino players to recognize, not a ranking by company size, popularity, or payouts. The directory is selective rather than exhaustive.
Alphabetical maker index: AGS · Ainsworth · Aristocrat · Bluberi · Everi · IGT · Konami · Light & Wonder · NetEnt · Play’n GO · Pragmatic Play.
Aristocrat
Aristocrat makes Buffalo, Dragon Link, and Lightning Link. My advice is to browse the family first, then narrow it to the exact edition. Buffalo artwork tells you the family, not everything about the bonus.
The official game library covers its casino catalog. Its Hann Casino Resort announcement identifies physical installations of Dragon Link, Buffalo Gold Collection, and Bao Zhu Zhao Fu Chapter 2 at that property, not availability everywhere.
For an online example, Hard Rock Bet’s New Jersey announcement, updated January 5, 2026, lists Buffalo among its Aristocrat Interactive games. That’s specific to the operator and state, not every Buffalo edition.
IGT
IGT’s familiar games include Wheel of Fortune, Cleopatra, and Double Diamond. One maker can cover licensed wheel bonuses, Egyptian-themed video games, and traditional reel-style slots.
IGT also supplies online games. Its 2025 product announcement documents a simultaneous physical and online launch of Kitty Glitter Grand. It also distinguishes the Wheel of Fortune Cash on Reels game from the Wheel of Fortune RISE55 cabinet. I’d save the game title first when trying to find it again.
Light & Wonder
Light & Wonder’s casino catalog includes Dancing Drums, Huff N’ More Puff, and Ultimate Fire Link. Its catalog brings together several older gaming brands, which helps explain why a familiar game may carry a different company label on an older cabinet.
The official gaming site identifies LNW Gaming, Inc. as the licensed manufacturer and a subsidiary of Light & Wonder, Inc. Light & Wonder is the useful umbrella name for browsing; the individual title and rules matter more when choosing a game.
Konami
Konami’s games include China Shores, China Mystery, and the All Aboard family. If you remember an All Aboard game, save its subtitle, too. Go West, Charms of the Orient, and Piggy Pennies are more useful search terms than “the train slot.”
Konami Online Interactive, the company’s iGaming segment, documents delivery of selected land-based games to online social and for-wager sites. Konami spans formats, but that doesn’t make every version interchangeable.
Ainsworth
Ainsworth makes physical slot machines, with Mustang Money among its recognizable titles. The horse theme is a useful memory aid, but I’d still write down the complete name rather than rely on the artwork.
Separate the Ainsworth name on the equipment from the game running on it. To locate a particular release, the title, edition, and casino where you saw it are more helpful than the manufacturer alone.
AGS
AGS makes physical casino games including Rakin’ Bacon! and Fu Nan Fu Nu. The pig character in Rakin’ Bacon! is a handy recognition cue if you remember the screen but not the company.
I’d use that character to identify the family, then compare full titles. Later Rakin’ Bacon! editions can have different features and bonus structures. The family name helps you find related games; it doesn’t establish that they’ll play the same way.
Everi
Everi titles include Cash Machine and Smokin’ Hot Stuff. Cash Machine’s number-symbol presentation is a useful recognition cue when fruit, animal, or character symbols aren’t what you remember.
Following the combination completed in July 2025, the business operates under IGT, with Everi retained in selected markets and product lines. It still makes sense to browse by Everi when that’s the name you recognize on a game.
Bluberi
If you remember a devil character unlocking cash balls, Devil’s Lock is worth checking. Bluberi’s official catalog describes that interaction as the game’s central recognition cue. It’s a useful starting point when you remember what happened on the reels but not the maker’s name.
Online slot game developers
Online slot providers supply games to casino websites and apps. Some manufacturers also make physical machines; other studios are primarily recognizable for digital games.
For US players, location matters: a studio appearing in an overseas casino lobby doesn’t establish that its games are offered by a licensed operator in your state.
NetEnt
NetEnt’s online titles include Starburst, Gonzo’s Quest, and Dead or Alive 2. These offer different browsing starting points: Starburst uses expanding wilds, while Gonzo’s Quest replaces winning symbols through its avalanche feature.
That’s why I wouldn’t stop at the studio filter. If expanding wilds were what you enjoyed, search for that mechanic as well as NetEnt. Another game from the studio may have a familiar look but a different bonus structure.
Pragmatic Play
Pragmatic Play develops Sweet Bonanza, Gates of Olympus, and Wolf Gold. Its official catalog shows why complete titles matter: Sweet Bonanza Super Scatter is a slot, while Sweet Bonanza CandyLand is a live game show.
There’s variety within its slots, too. Fortune of Olympus uses cluster pays, while The Dog House Megaways features multiplier symbols and two bonus games. I’d compare mechanics before assuming a shared provider means a similar experience.
Play’n GO
Play’n GO’s online titles include Book of Dead, Legacy of Dead, and Reactoonz. Book of Dead and Legacy of Dead offer a thematic connection. Reactoonz, by contrast, uses a cluster-based grid rather than conventional paylines.
I’d look beyond the artwork. You might enjoy a studio’s presentation without enjoying every mechanic it uses. Compare individual rules, available bet settings, and bonus features before deciding another release is a good fit.
Manufacturers, developers, and casino operators: who does what?
Several names can appear around the same slot without doing the same job.
- Machine manufacturer: supplies physical gaming equipment and associated games.
- Developer or studio: creates game software, artwork, and features. A manufacturer may do this, too.
- Casino operator: provides the venue, website, or app where you play.
- Platform or distributor: helps deliver games to operators, particularly online.
- Licensed entertainment brand: provides a recognizable theme, not necessarily the slot software.
Wheel of Fortune is a straightforward example: the entertainment brand supplies the theme, IGT makes the casino slot versions discussed here, and a casino offers access to a particular machine. The cabinet and game can have separate names, too.
Online, the casino’s logo usually identifies the operator. Check the opening screen, information menu, or copyright notice for the developer. Pragmatic Play supplying a game doesn’t mean it operates the casino offering it.
A licensed mechanic adds another distinction. Evolution’s brand guide identifies Megaways as Big Time Gaming’s system and explains that it’s widely licensed across the industry. “Megaways” in a title doesn’t, by itself, mean Big Time Gaming developed that game. Check the studio credit separately.
Older slot brands and current company relationships
A label on an older cabinet can outlast a corporate name. These distinctions help when searching for games:
- IGT and Everi: the July 1, 2025, combination announcement says the combined enterprise operates as IGT while retaining Everi in selected markets and product lines. They shouldn’t be treated as unrelated businesses.
- WMS and Williams: older slot labels whose catalog heritage sits within Light & Wonder. New corporate branding doesn’t turn an older game into a new design.
- Bally and Shuffle Master: additional names in Light & Wonder’s gaming heritage. Bally-branded slot equipment and a Bally’s-branded casino are different references.
- Scientific Games: an older name associated with the gaming business now called Light & Wonder. Scientific Games is also used in the lottery industry, so context matters.
- VGT: Video Gaming Technologies is associated with Aristocrat and is a name players may see on Class II machines. Don’t assume those games use the same underlying structure as a familiar Class III Aristocrat slot.
I’d search by the player-facing brand and complete title first, not the ultimate parent company. Ownership alone doesn’t tell you whether a game’s rules have changed.
How to find more slot games you might enjoy
My approach is to use the maker to narrow the search, then use the game’s features to make the choice.
- Save the complete title. Include the subtitle, sequel number, or edition. If the casino permits photos, a title-screen photo can help.
- Identify the maker separately. Check the opening screen, cabinet branding, help menu, or copyright notice. Don’t mistake the cabinet model for the game.
- Name what you liked. Was it free spins, expanding wilds, a hold-and-respin bonus, the theme, or a simpler reel layout?
- Browse the family, then the catalog. Related releases are sensible starting points, but compare rules rather than assuming equivalence.
- Check the total wager and feature requirements. The denomination isn’t necessarily the cost of a spin. Check what each spin costs and any requirements for the feature you want.
Someone who likes Gonzo’s Quest for its avalanche mechanic has a more useful starting point than simply “more NetEnt games.” Similarly, another Sweet Bonanza-branded product may not even use the same game format.
A legitimate demo can help you learn controls and features without risking money. It can’t predict future results, establish a reliable bonus frequency from a short session, or prove that a cash-game configuration uses the same return setting.
Explore more slot guides or return to the game-to-maker lookup.
Frequently asked questions about slot machine makers
Who makes the slot machines found in US casinos?
Slot machine manufacturers you may encounter include Aristocrat, IGT, Light & Wonder, Konami, Ainsworth, AGS, and Everi. Casinos can carry games from several makers. Selection varies by property and jurisdiction, and this directory isn’t exhaustive.
Who makes Dragon Link and Lightning Link?
Aristocrat makes both. They’re separate game families with multiple themed entries. Similar cash symbols or jackpot displays don’t establish identical features, wager requirements, or pay tables.
Are online slots made by the same companies as casino machines?
Sometimes. IGT and Konami supply both physical-casino and online games. Specialist studios such as NetEnt, Pragmatic Play, and Play’n GO also develop online slots. Check the exact release and your local operator’s catalog rather than assuming a familiar title is available in every format.
Does choosing a manufacturer tell you which game has better odds?
No. The maker’s name doesn’t establish a game’s return to player, volatility, jackpot chances, or likelihood of triggering a bonus. Those depend on the individual game and, where applicable, its configuration. A disclosed return percentage describes a long-run mathematical expectation, not what your session will return. Liking a maker’s games doesn’t create a financial advantage.
Sources and availability
The official catalogs, company announcements, and operator announcement linked above provide details about the named products and company relationships. For a particular release, consult the game’s rules for its features and the casino’s current listing for availability in your location.
A shared family name, promotional image, or social-app listing doesn’t establish identical rules or real-money availability. Set a spending limit before playing, and don’t let a favorite maker become a reason to chase losses.