Archive for September, 2008

Sep
30

A day at the races

Posted by jacques ADD COMMENTS

f you think about it, horse racing is as much a part of gambling as poker and roulette. Some gamblers are solely horse racing enthusiasts and will tell you off if you try to argue that horse racing is not as pure as what you will find at online casinos. It makes sense then that Microgaming has released a new video slot game called “First Past the Post”.

If you are looking for this game then it can be found at a few of Microgaming’s online casinos – just not all of them. Microgaming always has the ability to release an online casino game at the right time because quite frankly, I was looking for something new. This game really tickles me in the right way. Even though this software developer has developed the most games in the history of online gambling, the quality is still great and “First Past the Post” is no exception.

So just when you thought there is a rift between the guys that hang out at the racetrack and the guys that hang out in online blackjack rooms, things have seemed to change for the better. You may even find some horse racing enthusiasts switching over to this video slots game. It’s fast, exciting, and the graphics really add to the game’s charm. It also comes highly recommended by me, so what are you waiting for?

Sep
30

I don’t know how many of you follow online gambling lawsuits. They may sound boring to you, but they seem to fascinate me for some reason. This is because these online casinos do not operate on small budgets. Online gambling brings in billions of dollars every year and these online casinos and software developers have to have the best lawyers to be able to deal with all the new laws that seem to be surfacing.

The latest news is that Poker Trillion has withdrawn its case against Boss Media. This case has been going on for a while and I at first thought that it was Poker Trillion’s way of getting back at Boss Media for expelling them from their poker network for what Boss Media deemed unethical practice. The fact that the lawsuit has been dropped would suggest that Poker Trillion did not have a strong enough case – but the fact that they spent who-knows-what on their initial lawsuit means that they must have thought that they had some sort of case.

Due to the fact that there will no longer be a judge involved in the case, you can be the judge as to what happened. The case could have been filed out of spite or maybe out of sound legal reasoning. Whichever way you look at it, the case is now closed and it us business as usual for Boss Media.

Sep
28

GoldenCasino has informed players from the state of Kentucky that they will no longer be accepting wagers. This is in response to an effort of Kentucky’s governor to ban online gambling in Kentucky.

Apparently, other casinos will be following suit as the legal proceedings continue. So what should Kentucky gamblers do? Obviously, the first line of attack should be petitions and letters to the governor, but the noose is tightening around online gambling in the United States. More and more states are making internal laws against online gambling.

Will Americans eventually be cut off from gambling online entirely? If so, will the online casinos be able to survive? Many online casinos have focused efforts on the European and Asian markets, reading the writing on the wall, but many other online casinos have worked out ways to allow American players.

Will regulations tighten further? Will American players still be able to make deposits or will the casinos voluntarily shut out American players to avoid future prosecution?

My advice to American gamblers is to write to your representatives, congressmen, and governors and tell them that you don’t need to be protected from your entertainment. If you don’t work now to stop them from taking over the internet, soon only tribal casinos will be available for gambling.

With gasoline prices skyrocketing, driving to casinos is really becoming less and less attractive daily.

Online casinos are getting more and more exciting with new games coming out every day. Taking these options away from American players amounts to censorship.

Sep
24

Things are not looking too rosy for parts of the land-based casino industry. In the last few days, shares in General Growth Properties have plummeted to their worst levels in six years. This is not that surprising due to the current state of the world’s economy, but one likes to think that a place like Las Vegas is above all that. Personally, I prefer the solitude of online casinos but sometimes it is nice to get away from the online casino world and visit a land-based casino.

General Growth Properties owns quite a few pieces of prime real estate in Las Vegas. These properties include Meadows and Fashion Showmalls and Grand Canal Shoppes. With shares dropping about a quarter of their value, people will think twice before investing in the casino industry in Las Vegas. This is a great pity, because the city has so much to offer.

I’m sure there is more than enough cash to go around in Las Vegas for even the regular gamblers not to notice a change and I sincerely hope that the economy rights itself in the near future. For the moment, I’ll stick to gambling online, but maybe another trip to Las Vegas should be on my to-do-list too. I can always justify the costs as “research”.

Sep
24

Who wants to be a millionaire? I sure as hell do. A good place to do this would be at an online casino – but it seems that I have just missed out. Just a few days ago an online casino player by the name of “TengB” won a whopping $1.7 million. We can all agree that this is no pocket change.

The online casino responsible for making TengB so happy (or so one would assume) is Mansion Casino. I had never heard much about this video slot machine called Gold Rally before TengB became a millionaire, but now it seems like a good a time as any to give it a try. Unfortunately the jackpot will not be as high for some time to come, but I’m still quite interested nevertheless.

However, the game has paid out over $30 million in progressive jackpots since its launch, so TengB is not the only ecstatic online casino player. The game is available at certain Playtech online casinos and is connected to a progressive jackpot. You can also play this video slots game via your mobile. Playtech has a knack of always stepping back into the media spotlight at the right times. Well done to Playtech and especially to TengB. Splurge that money wisely, and if you want to give me some then you know which blog to find me at.

Sep
24

I always love new games that are launched by Microgaming. These guys are a virtual machine when it comes to pumping out new stuff – and you would think that this would compromise on their quality. The launch of a new online video slot is based on the brilliant comedy “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure”. Once again, the guys at Microgaming have surprised me because this game is set to be another brilliant piece of fun.

There are quite a few new games that are on the horizon from Microgaming. As a part of three no-download flash games, the new games will bring new blood to a few of the online casinos that will purchase these games. I’m not too sure which Microgaming online casinos will launch this game, but I will let you know as soon as I do. I’m quite keen to try this one because the graphics are said to be cutting edge and the game itself is hopefully as hilarious as the movie.

If you have not had the pleasure of seeing this film, you should do so before the game comes out. You will then be able to appreciate the in-jokes and nuances that will be portrayed by the virtual characters. I’m a huge fan of this film, so I know I’ll love this new video slots game.

Sep
24

I was looking at a new network of poker sites this week, the Merge network. Their sites are overall rather nice. They offer a very wide variety of games, including several holdem games, several stud games, and a number of different draw poker games, including some triple-draw lowball poker games.

They even offer a few games that are far from standard poker games, such as backgammon and a card game which resembles spades, with teams taking tricks. They have a nice casino full of side games, including roulette, blackjack, and a few types of video poker.

The sites seemed to be quite accessible. There were plenty of bonuses and freerolls. There were some interesting features, including one they call a rabbit hunt. The rabbit hunt feature shows the turn and river in games that are won by everyone folding out of the round. A cute feature is a progressive jackpot available on every no-limit holdem game for an extra fee.

One feature left me scratching my head, though. Their emoticons seem to have gone crazy. They have all the normal smiling faces, which makes sense. Everyone likes to give a nice smile when they’ve taken a jackpot or even split a good jackpot with a worthy opponent. What I found perplexing is that they have emoticons like a set of different pandas. Even more perplexing is that you can type a word like “donkey” and have a donkey show up on the poker table. Is this a site for adults playing a serious game? Since players under 18 are obviously not allowed, who are they trying to appeal to?

Anyone have any ideas?

Sep
24

You may have noticed over the past few years that Cryptologic’s management staff has been a bit quieter. If you keep in mind how much has been going on in the last few years regarding the restructuring of gambling laws then you will understand why a lot more thought has gone into their press releases and other marketing activity. This said, however, Cryptologic’s CEO, Brian Hadfield, has said that things are about to change. His team has promised to start taking a more active role in the future of online gambling and will not hesitate to challenge the lawmakers and other authorities when new issues arise.

The software development company has always been one of the big players, so it will be great to see them back in the fray. The company has a lot to offer in terms of expertise and experience and will therefore benefit the entire industry as a whole. I’m pretty sure that anti-gambling bodies will not be too eager to see Cryptologic taking the high ground once again, but this is where a free and fair society is on our side. The European iGaming Congress and Expo which started on 23 September is the first time that Cryptologic will be at an exhibition in force. It should be fun to watch the authorities squirm.

Sep
23

There is something that really baffles me. How is it that people in this world are still so trusting, with everything going on around them? You wouldn’t hand over money to a complete stranger and expect to get it back, right? So then why would you consider handing over a deposit to an unlicensed casino? It is not a case of getting better value for money at unlicensed casinos. In fact, many people learn the hard way that it is better to use a licensed partner when using an online casino. Online gambling is generally all above board and quite reputable and most online casinos are in fact licensed.

An online casino makes most of its money from a loyal customer base. If online casinos are found wanting in the reputability and trust department then word will spread quickly and they will lose steam. A lot goes into receiving a license as an online casino operator. The online casino has to pass stringent tests and audits and this is followed up by monthly and yearly further checks.

It will honestly take you less than a few minutes to read the license agreement and this is generally displayed on the online casino’s home page. This openness and transparency is what keeps online casinos safe and fair. Luckily, we can still trust our online casinos to provide us with great service and to keep our money safe.

Sep
22

Live Game Systems, based in Ireland, are going to start offering a whole new level of live play for online casinos. The plan is to offer live dealer games from a variety of different live land-based casinos, making sure that players will have plenty of selection.

The plan is to begin by offering baccarat and roulette live from the Malpas Casino in Cyprus and from Fitzpatrick’s Casino in Limerick, Ireland. Players are already familiar with live-dealer games, and many players prefer to play with live dealers, either because they do not trust online casinos’ random number generators, or because they prefer to be able to see live action. Some players choose live games because of the social aspect. The press release does not mention whether or not chat between players will be available.

Allowing players to choose from different casinos and different dealers will give players a much stronger feeling of control and involvement. On the other hand, these live dealers will be able to serve a much wider audience than they could at their home casinos, both because their tables are limited by size in a land-based casino and because not all players can afford to travel to their land-based casinos. This truly seems like a great way to match up online home players with live land-based casino play!

Overall, it looks like a great idea. I hope that the technology will be successful and that they will be able to offer more different games from more casinos world-wide soon. Of course, we’ll have to see how it looks live before we can judge whether it’s successful or not.