Pragmatic Play's Journey: From Scandals to Industry Leader

Find out the whole truth about how Pragmatic Play, formerly known as TopGame , went from a company with a bad reputation, fraud and lawsuits to one of the leading providers of gaming solutions. Interesting facts, pitfalls and names that are hidden behind the facade of success.

Content:

1. Introduction

2. The Birth of Pragmatic Play: How TopGame Entered the Industry with Deception

3. Lawsuits and a reputational crisis: the beginning of the end for TopGame

4. Rebranding at Pragmatic Play: A New Mask with a Dark Past

5. How Pragmatic Play Became a Leader: New Slots and Scaling

6. Modern Pragmatic Play: Real Transformation or a New Mask?

7. Conclusion

Introduction

Pragmatic Play, a modern giant in the world of casinos and slot development, is known to anyone who has ever visited an online platform. Its arsenal includes slots such as Gates of Olympus, Sweet Bonanza and Wolf Gold are games that have captured the attention of millions. But behind this glossy mask of a top provider lies a dark past that not everyone is aware of. After all, ten years ago, Pragmatic Play was not at all the “honest content provider” that it tries to look like today. Its path began in 2007 under the name TopGame , and the history of this company is full of scandals, fraud and litigation.

1. The Birth of Pragmatic Play: How TopGame Entered the Industry with Deception

Pragmatic Play was born under the name TopGame in 2007, and was founded by a certain David Barzilay . At the time, the company was considered an ambitious startup that planned to capture the market with innovative solutions and develop in the dynamic gaming space. But in reality, TopGame immediately acquired a reputation as a dubious company, and there were serious reasons for this.

Jackpot Scandal: How Players Lost in a Non-Existent Game

TopGame slots : reels 1 and 5 were missing the symbols needed to win progressive jackpots. This meant that the chance to win the top prize was not just a rare occurrence, but completely absent. For over five years, players chased ghosts, thinking they were about to hit the jackpot. But the truth was much more prosaic: without the symbols that they simply “forgot” to add, players were marking time, literally “feeding” the casino while it shamelessly enriched itself at their expense.

Fact: This behavior of the company can be compared to manipulation, and despite the protests of the players, TopGame stubbornly did not make changes to the slots, continuing to skim the cream off gullible users and pretending that nothing was happening.

White Label and Dirty Casinos: When Deception Becomes a Business Model

The company began issuing white label licenses, launching many casinos, and each of them worked on approximately the same principle: promises of payments turned into long and exhausting processes, and players hoping for easy winnings were left with nothing. The quality of the casinos under the management of TopGame was so memorable to users that the company's name itself became associated with deception, "cheap garbage" and low level of service.

Many casinos are based on white label were so bad that the names of their operators became a joke among experienced players. People knew that running into a brand operated by TopGame was almost guaranteed to be a disappointment.

2. Lawsuits and a reputational crisis: the beginning of the end for TopGame

In 2013, TG Services , also founded by David Barzilay , was hit with massive lawsuits seeking millions of dollars that the company later learned it had literally “made up.” As a result of these lawsuits, TopGame’s reputation reached its lowest point: it was no longer just a shady company, but an organization suspected of fraud and extortion.

At that time, TopGame , despite the obvious failure, continued to operate, taking advantage of legislative loopholes and hiding from major claims, although it was losing more and more customer trust.

The history of the lawsuits showed that TopGame was not just wrong - it built its business on violations and fraud. The connections with TG Services only added to the fire: both brands worked as a single flywheel for pumping out money. When it became clear that the old brand had "burned" itself, TopGame took drastic measures - it decided to change its name, essentially starting a new story.

Interesting fact: The owner and director of TopGame was the same David Barzilay, who, by absolute coincidence, owned the company that acquired PragmaticPlay in 2016. Of course, half of the employees from TopGame immediately jumped to the staff, and some of them could not think of anything better than to indicate the year of the start of work as 2013, for the company that​ opened only in 2015!

Guides

How to check the RTP of slots with the Pragmatic Play provider

Linked materials

3. Rebranding at Pragmatic Play: a new mask with a dark past

In 2015, TopGame acquired a new name — Pragmatic Play. This rebranding was not just a name change, but a carefully thought-out operation to cover its tracks. Pragmatic Play entered the market with a promise of “honesty” and “innovation,” and many initially believed in the sincerity of the new provider. It seemed that the company decided to move away from dirty methods, but not everything is so simple: Pragmatic Play began by zeroing out all the progressive jackpots accumulated earlier. It was a cynical move, but for the company, it was a convenient solution to forget its past and take the players' money. Yes, everything that had accumulated in one pool from players over all the years was simply “removed.”

Pragmatic Play also threatened to sue anyone who linked it to TopGame, demanding that any information mentioning their shared past be removed from the internet.

"The brainchild " of Pragmatic Play: Octopus Gaming and IGTech

In addition to the rebranding, the company launched two more divisions: Octopus Gaming , which is focused on the American market, and IGTech , which is targeting Australia. Both of these brands essentially continued the policy of deception, but now their history is almost erased, and many users do not even know about their connection with Pragmatic Play.

4. How Pragmatic Play Became a Leader: New Slots and Scaling

Despite its dark past, Pragmatic Play has managed to break into the global market and has become one of the main providers in recent years. The secret to its success lies in powerful marketing, rapid release of new games and attention to trends. The company regularly released slots that quickly became popular. Examples of such games: Magician's Secrets, Dog House Megaways and Big Bass Bonanza - each of them created a feeling of a new and interesting product.

Pragmatic Play began collaborating with the world's best casinos, and many did not even suspect its past under the name TopGame . Now Pragmatic Play slots are offered on almost all major platforms.

Popular Slots: From Wolf Gold to Gates of Olympus

Pragmatic Play slot machines is a successful combination of visuals, mathematical models and marketing. It has also long been known that the provider cooperates with famous streamers and influencers , offering them a " streamer account" that has an increased RTP , which allows them to make content with large and maximum winnings, thereby showing gullible viewers that they need to play here.

For those interested in a detailed guide to slots and their features, our website provides a complete overview of popular slots, where you will find more information about the hits and features of each of them.

Guides

TOP 10 Slots from Pragmatic Play: How the Provider Conquered the World?

Linked materials

5. Modern Pragmatic Play: Real Transformation or a New Mask?

Today, Pragmatic Play is synonymous with reliability and high quality, and even regular users no longer associate it with the past. However, many experts still question the company's honesty. Pragmatic Play has literally erased TopGame's traces , but is this enough to forget about the old? Perhaps this is just an improved version of the old, with the difference that now Pragmatic Play has learned to hide its "petty pranks".

Julian Jarvis and his role : the new CEO of Pragmatic Play confidently leads the company forward, but does he remember the past? Probably, for him this story is long closed, because today Pragmatic Play is a different company, with a new team and ambitions. But can users forget it?

Nevertheless, Pragmatic is the most popular provider and there are practically no complaints about it today. The company has gained momentum very solidly and already has a world name. Let's hope that they will not forget to add the necessary symbols to the reels anymore, because this is already the maximum scam .

And of course, we remind you that you should only play in proven and reliable casinos. In our Trusted list you can choose any you like: from GetSlots to Lazybar.

Conclusion

The story of Pragmatic Play is an example of an amazing transformation, when a fraudulent startup that started its journey with deception managed to become a market leader and win the trust of users in a few years. The only question is how sincere such a provider is, and whether it is worth trusting a company that is ready to “zero out” the past, built on deception, for the sake of a new name.