Online Casino News courtesy of InfoPowa

Leach proposals get knocked off the anti-terrorism law

In America the tragic events of September 11 spurred the US federal government to launch anti-terrorism legislation designed to destabilise the finances of subversive elements. Senator Leach, never one to miss an opportunity tried to attach his anti-internet gambling bill (which attacks financial instruments used in Got2bet) to the coat tails of the government's urgent bill clearly thinking it would get a priority ride through the House and a better chance of succeeding than last year. He was more than a little miffed when his bill was detached from the anti-terrorist bill in the interests of focus and clarity.

The latest development is that Mr. Leach's bill has been passed by the Financial Services Committee and now goes the full route through the vote process. Another hardline anti-internet gambling Senator - Bob Goodlatte - is planning on taking another run at getting the business banned, too.

Did the Competition Commission submission influence events?

Sky TV scrapped its interactive betting joint venture with Ladbrokes after the Brit Trade and Industry Secretary referred the proposal to the Competition Commission for investigation.

Although this must have had some influence on the decision, a spokesman denied this and said the deal had been discontinued for a variety of commercial reasons. He would not elaborate on these for business security considerations.

The joint venture, which would have utilised the broadcaster’s Surrey Sports betting company and Ladbrokes’ own service, planned to offer fixed odds betting via the interactive digital television service.

Sky has another deal with online betting company Blue Square to provide betting via the Sky Active iTV platform, but had hoped to capitalize on the craze for interactive sports betting by establishing an exclusive service.

The Brazilians will be pleased with this one...

World Gaming, better known by its previous title Starnet continues to churn casinos out, with a Portuguese language operation among their latest.

Owned by Internet Empire Entertainment, the Brazilian site will go live this month at Querapostar.com using the latest World Gaming 3 Java software. The Querapostar site offers users 10 different java casino games, as well as bingo, lotteries, pari-mutuel and sportsbook. The site also introduces the first World Gaming sportsbook to offer Brazilian soccer.

Eyes down please, gentlemen!

Gambling mogul Dr Stanley Ho is no slouch at introducing the, dare we say titillating and unusual at his Got2bet casino. This month he teamed up with the Victoria's Secret lingerie company in an innovative move which could bring more male eyeballs to his operation.

Dr.Ho.com cost-a-plenty and uses live video streaming to enable clients to interact over the internet with attractive real life feminine Chinese croupiers. Yes - you guessed it - they will be wearing the latest enticingly minimalist gear from Victoria....

The Ho empire has been active in other areas, too. Boss Media have just announced that they have been selected to power a new online casino entitled drholite.com. The new site will give gamblers a more conventional online casino option than the present "live" site which has a colossal 70 meg download and is not everyone's favorite.

The major B & M and online casino operator Aspinalls published some bullish survey results this month which show that despite all the difficulties which currently plague the civilised world internet gambling is doing OK.

Aspinalls commissioned the respected researcher Greenfields to carry out the study, which shows that the Internet wagering business is expected to grow from $6.6 billion this year to $20.8 billion in 2005. Much of that growth will be due to a huge jump in the number of online gamblers - industry analysts are expecting that the numbers will rise from 2.9 million people this year to 7.4 million gamblers by 2005.

Greenfield also explored the gender split at casinos. It confirmed previous findings that women appear to be more comfortable playing table games in an online environment. The percentage of women to men playing games such as Blackjack at a land-based casino is 32% female to 68% male, but that ratio becomes even at online casinos.

There has been a similar shift with slot machines. Women generally dominate slots play in land-based casinos (88% of female visitors play slots), but only 24% of women played slots at an online casino.

Online security continues to be a major issue with gamblers. Almost half the respondents said they would prefer to play at online casinos run by a brick-and-mortar operator.

Whether the projections of numbers and revenue become a reality remains to be seen, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the growing popularity of Got2bet.

Gambling Software Systems and the manner in which they conduct business has been a cause celebre in the industry for some time, but this month it spilled over and tainted the Interactive Gaming Council, too.

The highly respected Gamemasteronline site took IGC to task for their apparent disinterest in GSS's practices after he reported the results of extensive and thorough research and evaluation into the GSS games.

That research produced irrefutable proof that Gamblingsoftware.com created software that allows their casinos to offer Video Poker games that can be "rigged". At the same time, all of these casinos have the following statement on their Websites:

The odds offered at our casino are equal to what one would find in the world's finest casinos: be it Las Vegas, Monte Carlo, Atlantic City, or Macao....Additionally, we make available to you the odds and pay out percentages of each game. Just ask. We guarantee that all of our games keep within the rules of play as established by the Nevada Gaming Commission.

The Gamemaster provided proof that on the rigged games these casinos do NOT "keep within the rules of play as established by the Nevada Gaming Commission."

Gamemaster pointed out to the IGC that that is clearly a false and misleading statement. Because GSS is a member of the Interactive Gaming Council (IGC), it should be honouring one of the sections in the IGC’s Code of Conduct which deals specifically with truth in advertising.

There has apparently been no indication that GSS has either changed its advertising or its dishonest practice on this issue, and that unfortunately will not burnish the image of the IGC.

A facelift, licence change and new games Downunder

That crazy Australian internet gambling legislative scene has not slowed down one of the better casinos on the 'Net. The large and stringently regulated casino Lasseters has just upgraded its Access gambling software and given its website a pretty good facelift to boot. Take a click over there and see for yourself - it's impressive.

Lasseters has also surrendered its Queensland interactive gambling licence after failing to negotiate a reduction in tax from the current exhorbitant rate of 50%. The casino company - formerly Gocorp Ltd - won the licence in mid-1999.

Despite the fallour, licencing is not a problem - all existing interactive gambling activities will now operate under Northern Territory legislation, where the gaming tax rate is a considerably less greedy 8%. How these Aussie government minds work is beyond me...

On a separate note, Tattersall’s, the largest gaming operator in Australia, has launched their Internet casino tattsgames.com for both cash-based and play-for-fun gaming with the imprimatur of the Tasmanian Gaming Commission that enforces strict regulations.

A quick read-up

Now that all the dust of the two big Vegas gaming shows has settled, the debates are raging as to whether two are really necessary and which one was best. Global Gaming Expo have certainly been quick off the mark with there internet based briefing - for those of you couldn’t make the show, or want to familiarize yourselves on the three day event, click over to www.GlobalGamingExpo.com.

New games from Net Entertainment are added

Cherry Casino fans who like the intricacies of the game Pai Gow are in luck - the casino is adding Pai Gow Poker and a high roller Multi-Box Blackjack to their standard Net Entertainment powered collection of casino games. The Pai Gow variation chosen is played with a 53 card deck, including a joker. The object of the game is to split a seven-card hand into a five-card, and a two-card hand and beat the dealer's two hands. It is a challenging game, but the software features built-in advice if the player wants to heed it. There is also an optional side bet facility, where players can win up to 8000 times their bet. Table limits are $1-100 for the regular bet, and $1-40 for the side bet.

Cherry has been equipped with the brand new Net Entertainment range of blackjack games with a high roller version, too. Players can bet up to $500 on each of up to three boxes. The blurb tells us that "This is a game for the real blackjack player."

Bigtime internet casino plans are laid in Europe

Wagerworks, a US online casino software specialist, has teamed up with UK betting technology firm Orbis to offer an integrated online casino and sportsbook platform to big-brand casinos and bookmakers at the end of this year. Orbis is owned by interactiveTV outfit NDS and currently provides interactive betting technology to several of the major Brit players, including Ladbrokes and Blue Square. Both companies are said to be keen to tap into the expected growth of the European online casino sector, triggered by the Isle of Man and Alderney offering online casino licences for the first time.

Wagerworks already works with MGM Mirage on providing the back-end technology for its free casino site. It's understood to be in discussions with the group over extending this to include the soon-to-launch Isle of Man casino.

Casino On Net pulls a Bond on the business

The biggest promo this month was undoubtedly the "Shaken Not Stirred" competition offered by Casino-on-Net/ Cassava Enterprises.

The promo featured a bonus giveaway of almost $4,000,000 in less than two hours; by far the largest amount of money ever given away in a single-day promotion at an online casino, claims Cassava Enterprises which regarded the event as "a huge success" and promises more of the same soon.

How did CON do it? Well, according to promotions manager Mike Herea it's all about "volume, volume and volume - we simply have the most members, and we're really committed to keeping them happy and satisfied." Three players walked away with more than $100,000 each. Randy C. won an amazing $163,625, Stuart A. banked $127,050, and Robert D. took home $117,250.

Another land casino looking at the internet

Online Gaming Systems is not generally regarded as one of the top turnkey casino software suppliers, but it landed a big contract this month with the Australian bricks and mortar casino Burswood, which is reputed to enjoy a turnover of A$370 mill a year.

OGAM revealed that the contract is to produce a "play for free"promotional Internet site for Burswood Casino, which is based in Perth, Western Australia. The launch is expected later this year.

Casinos play software musical chairs...

One of the Big Four online casino turnkey providers, Microgaming has been having a tough time with the flight from its books of several major casinos.

The English Harbour Group comprising English Harbour, Caribbean Gold and Silver Dollar casinos has changed to Odds On software which boasts a better fraud screening system and more operator control, and Geisha Lounge, King Solomans and Lucky Liner have decamped to an outfit called Cytech, in a deal we understand was brokered by Aquaonline.

The Cytech breakaways will use CFI e-cash, but the new Odds On clients are turning to ECX, which Odds On favours.

Cytech Limited, which is described by the casinos involved as "an independent software company" is an interesting phenomenon. It apparently has no website, and doesn't seem to generate any business information. The company has not appeared at industry shows, issued press releases, or engaged in any dialogue with the player community or the industry press. Its software has been used by the notorious Golden Palace group since their less than amicable departure from Microgaming a year back, but Cytech remains something of a mystery and few have heard of it. When the King Solomans management were taxed on the issue, their response was that the software was Cytech, obtained via Aquaonline International.

Aquaonline offers a diverse range of internet services and has some hefty clients. On the internet gaming side it has Support services and it has been marketing an ingenious digital horse racing product under the brands Digiturf and Raceclubs.com. The mainly South African based personnel are able to leverage that country's weak currency to provide cost-effective services to foreign operators.

A recent press release by Microgaming offered a $500,000 reward for information which will enable them to apprehend software pirates and is possibly a consequence of the defections. The company would probably like to get its hands on some source code for analysis and comparison.

Other intriguing Microgaming connections flow through the Gaming Club Group. Home Casino (ex Midas group which has now been taken down as a site) is now apparently part of the Gaming Club group owned by Microgaming and also a member of the Referback affiliate program. The other Midas group casinos were Mystic Dunes, Kingston and Fatcatz - all of which are mentioned too.

Wildsafaricasino is registered to Martin Moshal at Derivco in Durban, South Africa - but seems to be on the Aquaonline servers. This could be part of their Support service.

Showdowncasino has disclosed it is also part of the Gaming Club Group, which is registered to IBC SA in Durban and is on Isle of Man servers with Riverbelle and Lucky Nugget - we know MGS has a strong presence on the Isle of Man. Associated with the IBC Durban registration is the name Shayleen Raubenheimer who is (or was?) a well known MGS staffer.

Some pearls among the swine...

Some interesting newcomers that stand out from the usual raft of banal and uninspiring newbie casinos:

www.globalsportnetwork.com
This is a very workmanlike, no frills but professionally executed casino and sportsbook site with software and services by Starnet AND Boss Media - a dual gambling software platform which is the first such combo we have seen. The owners are an AIM listed London public company. The site has EFS e-cash with online statements and bet tracking. Good - and the partnering of World Gaming/Starnet with Boss Media is a very interesting development.

We picked out this next one because it is another in the growing band of casinos which are offering WAP mobile gambling:

www.gamblingwebtv.com
Owned by Casino Bar (World Entertainment Corp out of Cyprus) which was originally Starnet powered. This has software with which we are not familiar so a change of providers has seemingly taken place. The new software is not that good - it is fast but the graphics on the 10 games are very basic. What is interesting is that this well-executed site carries the software in Java, HTML and WAP formats. 20 pc signups are on offer.

www.crazyvegascasino.com
This is a link to the latest Microgaming online casino, which seems to have 33-odd games on download and Flash with every conceivable whistle and bell you can imagine and many promotional bonus offers linked to the cash facilities. E-Cash is via Proc Cyber and SFC but they have ACH and Paypal too. It's a cartoonish, funky kind of site but it goes the whole nine yards in terms of facilities... A 15 pc signup maxed on $1500 is available through Paypal, and there is also a 10 percenter on all cc transactions up to $1000. The presentation uses the cartoon technique to good effect and is easily navigable. Good.

www.aceshigh.com Here's a link to another new Microgaming casino. This seems to have only the MGS progressives on board with e-cash from Proc Cyber and its own Support, VIP, Cash and Playcheck and other facilities. We suspect that it shares a common ownership with Riverbelle Casino which it describes as it's partner.

www.goldenreefcasino.com
Look out for this one soon - it's almost ready to launch and is powered by Microgaming. This new casino has been commissioned by an as yet unidentified land-based casino and is due for launch. The design is good, with a South African mining connotation of the "reef" rather than anything aquatic. The quality 16 download games include progressives and power poker and e-cash is through Proc Cyber and Firecash. They are offering a generous 25 pc maxed at $400 deposits and have a loyalty program which gives $1 for every $10 deposited and played. Good

www.sphinxvirtualcasinoonnet.com
This Starnet casino and sportsbook features an ancient Egyptian theme which is well executed on a practical, easy to navigate site. The sportsbook connects to SportsgamblingUSA.com. All the usual Java and download games and Starnet facilities. Good.

www.swisscasino.com
Definite European feel to this professionally constructed and easy to use site which is very attractive. There are 12 good quality download games from the Dutch Playtech BV turnkey casino provider company, an Antiguan licence and full Support services. The owners are Global Interest Gaming who also own California Casino - where they selected Boss software - go figure!

Like Old Faithful this casino keeps popping winners

Sunny Group's Casino Fortune has paid more of those big, juicy progressive prizes out than most and this month has been host to yet another singularly lucky player.

Christine B., an insurance manager from Ohio, hit a progressive jackpot twice in three days while playing at the casino. She hit the jackpot on Treasure Nile, a 50-cent game, for $40,098 on Oct. 15 and again for $42,347 on Oct. 18, for total winnings of $82,445.

Christine said she didn’t play much online before May this year, when she started gambling at Casino Fortune. In June, she won about $9,500 on a progressive slot called Wild Pot.

We guess you could call that an outstanding case of Beginner's Luck!

Like Death and Taxes the baddies are always with us...

Regrettably, there is never a shortage of candidates for our Bad Boys section, so here goes.

The first incident involves Geisha Lounge which recently abandoned Microgaming software in favour of the mysterious Cytech. The indefatigable Julie at Gambling Grumbles dealt with the case and we cannot do better than her accurate and descriptive write-up:

"The game... Roulette. The spinning... over. The ball had landed on Linda's number and she was ecstatic. She was awaiting over 5500 credits. They weren't coming. Why weren't they coming? "No big deal" she thought, "Geisha will fix it. Simply take and send them the screen shots and a note." So she did.

The response shocked her. The win disallowed. "Kindly note that this is just a defect in the graphics of the game and in no way affects the true outcome of the games played, as they are randomly operated by computer systems, which hold the true values."

"Just a defect in the graphics," ? It made no sense to her so she wrote again, "Please then kindly tell me why have a casino if your game is going to show one result, but honor another? Something doesn't fit in here.... It would be like the roulette ball at a land based casino landing in 23, but management declares 32 as the winning number."

The casino responded, "the screen graphic of the game is entirely ornamental, it is to enhance and provide you with the atmosphere and feel you would have at an actual casino but it is open to defect as it is dependent upon many factors. Factors being your computer systems performance and internet connection to name a few. As stated, the true outcome of games played is randomly operated by computer systems which are specifically designed for this, and owing to this provide you with the true and accurate outcomes of games played.

"We do understand what you are saying and appreciate the fact that you have pointed this defect out. However it is not ethical to compare a land based casino with an online casino as they are different in many aspects."

To say Linda was in shock at this point would be putting it mildly.

"You should have to be held to what the game displays, if it displays something other than what was picked, that should be your responsibility and your loss, not mine. Simply saying I am not a winner despite what your own game shows is wrong.

"Furthermore, UNETHICAL to compare you to a real casino? I might have to agree with you because no real casino would attempt this." Clearly she was getting more angry, but not gaining any ground.

We never received a reply from Geisha involving this case, but it seemed a very serious issue that deserved some serious answers."

We concur - this nonsense deserves further communication from Geisha - not an arrogant silence.

SciFi Casino is up next in a deplorable display of contempt and total disregard for player privacy.

This is an RTG powered operation managed by a guy called Mark Delano who incidentally has some pretty unusual views on "no risk betting". His staff also admit to using a "bonus abuse" negative database which (a) does not notify players if they are included on it and (b) certainly does not give them any right of appeal against being included. Not what you would call ethical or the stuff of integrity.

But it gets worse. Sci Fi uses this negative database to retroactively disallow bonuses if it unilaterally decides that any player is a "bonus abuser". An increasing number of complaints are surfacing that Mark and his merry men and women are refusing to pay out winnings and bonuses by accusing players of being abusers, or due to the fact that they are on this mysterious negative database about which noone wants to be upfront.

As has been pointed out ad nauseum - if players play to the casinos' rules and are allowed to register and wager they are entitled to their winnings and the bonuses. If a casino has a problem with a player it regards as a bonus abuser the time to take action is BEFORE he or she has wagered - not AFTER. And you don't see them returning the deposits of LOSING bonus abusers, now do you?

Mark recently got into a very unpleasant public message board tussle with one of the expert "advantage players" who comply exactly to a casino's promo rules in order to win bonuses and narrow the house edge. And in the dispute Mark or one of his minions crossed the player privacy line by identifying without question this advantage player to a hack called David Ray from a site called Video Poker Review. This guy didn't seem to understand the privacy thing too well either because he published this player's identity and Sci Fi gaming history on a message board and then defended his actions by claiming it was justified due to the aggressive posture adopted by the gambler in his exchanges with Sci Fi! The posting was later removed at Sci Fi's request after a storm of protest but the damage had pretty much been done by then.

Sci Fi has been posting loooooong defensive explanations, and the issue is being hotly debated on several boards. As if he did not have enough hassles on his plate Delano also ignorantly accused the Online Players' Association of being "a bunch of scammers" and that will not sit well.

Online Casino News courtesy of InfoPowa

A Million Dollars Worth of Multiple Winners!

October 9, 2001 - London.
Jackpot Madness (www.jackpotmadness.com), the Internet's largest gaming portal, has given away over $43,000,000 since launching a year ago. Featuring 6 popular progressive games, the portal is the gateway to biggest jackpots online. Multiple winners have become more and more common on the huge network, as people are finding that their Jackpot Madness ship can come in more than once, twice and even more….

Following are excerpts from 5 multiple winner's stories. All told, these 5 lucky winners have won a total of over $1,000,000!
When Accountant/Specialist in Commercial Law, Vincenzo D. won his first jackpot of $18,848.66 on WowPot back in February at Colosseum Casino, he prophesized "I've always felt that I would win something sooner or later. Of course this is only the beginning... watch out, I'll be back!" True to his word, he has hit two more jackpots since: $52,530.75 on Cash Splash in March and $26,679.78 on LotsaLoot in August. To date, his total Jackpot Madness payouts are $98,059.19 and as he told us recently, "I still have three more progressive jackpot games to win on!"

LotsaLoot is Jean G's game and there's luck in Jean's genes! An active mother and hardworking parts manager for a car dealership, Jean holds the record for the most times one player has won a progressive online jackpot. She has won on the LotsaLoot progressive no less than eight times for a grand total of $383, 595.35! Thrilled winner Jean tells us that the wins really changed her life, "It is nice to be able not to worry about your bills, it is a stress when you are living week to week, so the winnings helped me to live a stress-free life from that end. So now I am happy. Also, now I can go into a store and buy something that I need or want, when before the winnings, just like most people I had to think twice."

Peggy L, Export Inspector, was just amazed when she won her first jackpot of $16,757.88 playing Cash Splash at First Web Casino on June 30th. . If that wasn't enough, on September 4th she hit the Treasure Nile jackpot, this time to the tune of $58,683.68, bringing Peggy's progressive jackpot total to $75,441.56. "I could not go to sleep after hitting the jackpot." a thrilled Peggy related. "In the morning when my family woke up I told them what had happened and they could not believe it! Then we all screamed loudly! I plan on purchasing a new vehicle and I want the license plate to read 'JACKPOT'!"

Debbie R., a five-time winner, has steadily won a progressive a month for the last 5 months, in a different casino each time, totaling $271,263.24. As far as plans for this unexpected windfall, Debbie reported, "With all these winnings, we decided to go ahead and build the house we were dreaming of. The winnings are really a great help. We are already starting the construction very soon!"

Lucky Jewelry Company Manager, Tammy R, won two huge Cash Splash jackpots. First, she won $78,415.36 last year and then in August she hit the jackpot again and won an enormous $122,059.72 for a grand total of $200,475.08. "Although I won both times on Cash Splash, I really love the new Treasure Nile, it's awesome! Online is great, it's better than Vegas. It's convenient, fun and the odds are better. I only play at the Jackpot Madness casinos. I tried others and they just don't have the great graphics. I tell everyone!

Vincenzo, Jean, Peggy, Debbie and Tammy are just a small sample of the many winners who have gone back to win more than once, and who are determined to win yet again, enriching their lives and the lives of their families. In the words of big-time winner Vincenzo: "Winning does change how one sees life and the future. It makes one feel more serene, gives you the mentality of a winner. It makes you feel better about yourself."

About Jackpot Madness:
Jackpot Madness (www.jackpotmadness.com) is the world's number one online jackpot destination. The goal of the portal is to provide jackpot enthusiasts with a single destination offering a wide choice of progressives, featuring frequent payouts and record-breaking jackpots. Jackpot Madness has changed the lives of hundreds of people. Read their "clicks to riches" stories and remember…it happens every day and you could be next! Stay tuned for more heartwarming stories from Jackpot Madness: the center of the jackpot universe!