European i-Gaming Expo - post your questions here

[Casinomeister]

Yep, I'll be on the road again. EIG in Milan next week, and I'll be meeting with a few people - and mostly hanging around collecting information.

So here is your chance to pose some questions. MGS will be there as well as Playtech, WMS, and maybe I'll be able to track someone down from RTG

Anyway - if you have something you'd like me to ask anyone - please post it here. I'll be checking in periodically throughout the week.

 

[SlotMonster]

Bryan, please reply on my email

I would like to know if SW providers are going to expose their mobile games, btw.

 

[rainmaker]

Net Entertainment will also be there, on stand 530

 

[Crusnik02]

Mac, iPhone, and iPad Support

I know in the United States ever since Apple changed the operating system to OSX and started using Intel processors the various Mac computers have started gaining market share. Most people still think they're expensive, and don't realize how much pride Apple has swallowed to reduce the mfg costs and lower the prices. Their TV adverts are slowly getting more frequent and better, but of course they never want to put their product in the cheap seats so the apple lovers have to inform people that the prices are getting much more competitive, and Apple computers typically have a longer useful life.

Anyway, I know more people are getting Macs and if a software provider has native support for the Mac it will make a difference who the mac users choose first. We don't like running Windows in boot camp or fusion. It takes up space and you still need viruse and other protective software as well as maintain patches.

Flash based support is OK, but many casinos will say they're instant play (flash) option doesn't have all the games.

Last but not least, the iPhone is the shit in the USA. People try to down play it and name other options but everytime they come out with a new version if you're not one of the lucky ones you sometimes wait months just to get your order filled. Well I am in a smallish town. When I lived in a big city I could usually track one down.

You don't know how many times I've wished I could play casino games on my iPhone, and if they came out with iPhone/iPad apps I would buy an iPad in a heartbeat. It would be the ultimate platform for casino games and poker. There are already simulation apps for both, and admittedly I haven't looked real hard lately for a real money app, but none of my fav casinos offer it.

I say the Apple lovers want the iCasino!! Embrace it and we will make deposits

 

[Crusnik02]

Real Table Games Please

I haven't researched it, but I'm sure the online casinos like the extra edge they get from their table games that use cards and shuffle every hand played.

I know some of us still try to win something at these tables even if its just a big one timer and hope you get lucky and double it, but the word is out, been out for awhile, online card games got that extra edge and you should just go to a brick and mortar casino if you want to get a fair card table game.

We know they can do it, the software vendors. I've been in programming and info systems for years. It would be very simple to write code that creates an array based on the number of decks you are using and then use whatever algorithm the auto shufflers at land based casinos use, or develop your own that meet the approval of the gaming commission, and randomly load the array with the deck(s) of cards. You could even create a routine to cut the cards if the game typically does that. Then you can deal the virtual card from the "shoe" until X% is used, and then reshuffle and notify the player the shoe has been reshuffled.

People have already done this with their own practice games (I mostly play black jack).

I guarantee a casino that makes this change (or pressures a vendor to make it for them), and they already have a good rep for service and the other stuff that matters, they will have every black jack and other card game players at their site, period! It's a great marketing gimmick, especially if you partner with a vendor and are first to market. Then the vendor gets paid because all the other reputable casinos want upgrades, and the players love it because now they know they're playing the same odds and game they would get at the land based casino.

I know numbers have been shown that the current method is suppose to be random and somewhat the same card distro you would get at the land based casinos, but it's not the same. Do it right and it will pay.

Also another thing I miss is other players. I would love to sit at a black jack or texas hold'em bonus table with other virtual players, and we're all getting the cards dealt from a realistic shoe. Poker sites have online players at the same table playing poker, why not casino table games or even include craps where the dice can be rotated around the table.

Tell these vendors to make it more engaging with multi-player tables and chat, and you are going to take it to the next level and the money will flow. I know about how some B&M have the live tables, but a virtual version like they do with online poker would take hold much better IMO.

 

[Stamatina]

YOUR TRIP TO MILAN EIG

One serious question is: what is happening and ALL Rival Casinos delayed cash-out payments to their players? Lately, you have to beg and plead and they might pay you in 10 business days! There should be some kind of regulatory action, we pay in a matter of seconds and it takes them 10 business days?????
Lots of times a player feels totally unprotected and start looking for help left and right ....mostly to have no reply to his inquiry for assistance; in a nutshell the internet casinos are becoming a pain!!!!!! a painful one.....
Have a good one!

 

[Crusnik02]

One serious question is: what is happening and ALL Rival Casinos delayed cash-out payments to their players? Lately, you have to beg and plead and they might pay you in 10 business days! There should be some kind of regulatory action, we pay in a matter of seconds and it takes them 10 business days?????
Lots of times a player feels totally unprotected and start looking for help left and right ....mostly to have no reply to his inquiry for assistance; in a nutshell the internet casinos are becoming a pain!!!!!! a painful one.....
Have a good one!

Just want to throw in my $0.02. I think a lot of payment methods and delays have to do with the casino's business model and actual cash/credit available.

As for the business model, any business knows that you delay payments as long as your customers will stand it. It depends on the banking regulations of where they are registered, but any business will want to be able to put all deposits into whatever type of holding that would earn them interest, and based on expected losses they may even take an advance out of the deposits to pay down some debt or even pay their employees.

This leads into cash/credit available to thier business. If they are not handling their money properly the delays may be them scrambling to make enough funds available for higher than expected withdrawals.

When you see casinos listed as paying within 24 hours, you can probably bet they are an extension of a land based casino and/or a fairly healthy casino because they are known to be the place to go based on a good business model to make money by attracting volume and keeping it. Also when you factor in the number of countrys they might serve, they will need a good, probably costly in the beginning, payment transaction network with one or more partners that make those fast payments happen.

Good customer service is fairly expensive to setup and get working well for any business that's in it for the long haul.

If popular opinion appears to be that no matter what country you are in that a casino takes 10 or more business days to pay you then more than likely any answer they give you will be BS, and they are using your deposit for as long as possible to serve their interests as well as hanging on to any winnings as long as possible to serve their interests. If you have the option to chose almost any casino out there, but like a particular one that is slow to pay but you're winning there, pressure their customer service to improve their payouts or you will be taking your money to xyz casino that has a 24-72 hour payout. They may not care but that is all you can do.

If you just seem to be getting lucky at a place with horrible customer service and long payout waits then you might want to just put up with it, otherwise I don't know why you would stay.

I think if the forum is available to raise this issue it certainly would be nice to address a large number of operators what customers are expecting for payout times and those that offer those expectations will be published for the masses along with other reasons to register and play there.

That still won't stop some from offering other incentives like better return to player % and better player odds as long as you're willing to wait 10, 20, 30 days to get your winnings and put up with horrible customer service. Personally I would put a little money on sites like that if it paid off in the long run, and just look at it as a long term investment

 

[shaner9]

Blackjack randomness

Re:Blackjack If a person logs out of the program and comes back, do they get the same hand they would have if they didn't log out? Does changing the size of the bet affect the outcome of the cards at all? Do the audited statistics we see for payouts include bonuses given? Is the outcome of each individual hand affected by anything at all? Is it possible to find out the audited payouts for each individual game at a casino instead of just the overall average of all table games or all the blackjack games? I've played well over $100 million dollars worth of bets at online blackjack, and I would like to make a couple comments. I somewhat understand the law of variance and attempt to take advantage of it by using bonuses offered to me. I understand human nature is to look for patterns, even though, such a pattern may not actually exist when tested over time. However, I can't help but notice a couple things that seems to be quite consistent, at least at one or 2 of the main casinos I've been playing at a lot lately (Vegas Red for example at Blackjack Surrender single player) It seems like if I'm having an extremely bad streak and am close to hitting 0 or actually do hit 0 dollars, when I add more money, the bad streak seems to reverse, at least temporarily. Also, when I bust with a 22, the next hand almost always is a loss as well. I admit I haven't recorded it to be completely sure but it seems like I've played enough to notice. Somebody else should play and let me know if they experience the same thing.

 

[Simmo!]

Can you ask Microgaming why they changed LOTR rather than added to the series. And what the future plans are for sequels (dates/features etc)?

 

[tania29]

.

can you ask if it will be launched any casino (doesent matter the software) that will pay to the players in the same time that we deposite
when a deposit is made (e-wallets and credit cards) the funds are instant into the casino and the money cash out instantly (in less than 5 minutes)
pay to the players in 5 minutes too
it will be lauched any kind of casino doing that??

 

[4 of a kind]

When will online gaming commissions (Licensor’s) release to the public their online gaming regulations? (Not owner licensee regulations) Also, what type of regulatory enforcement and protocol is in place that would protect and confirm long term game integrity?

 

[plasticnote]

1) Is it possible to ask MG if they will reuse the old LOTR with a different theme? So a complete new game, with the exact feature of Old LOTR.
2) For netENT, do netENT have a plan to support AUD as currency?

thank you

Cheers

 

[Casinomeister]

Okay - I survived the first night, and I'm heading out the door with my questions

Keep posting them since I'll be here all week.

 

[chayton]

If you happen to talk to anyone regarding what I PMed you about...? If you don't remember I'll PM you again!

 

[Casinomeister]

Bryan, please reply on my email

I would like to know if SW providers are going to expose their mobile games, btw.

Yes I did - yes they are.

Net Entertainment will also be there, on stand 530

Yep. saw them

I know in the United States ever since Apple changed the operating system to OSX and started using Intel processors the various Mac computers have started gaining market share. Most people still think they're expensive, and don't realize how much pride Apple has swallowed to reduce the mfg costs and lower the prices. Their TV adverts are slowly getting more frequent and better, but of course they never want to put their product in the cheap seats so the apple lovers have to inform people that the prices are getting much more competitive, and Apple computers typically have a longer useful life.

Anyway, I know more people are getting Macs and if a software provider has native support for the Mac it will make a difference who the mac users choose first. We don't like running Windows in boot camp or fusion. It takes up space and you still need viruse and other protective software as well as maintain patches.

Flash based support is OK, but many casinos will say they're instant play (flash) option doesn't have all the games.

Last but not least, the iPhone is the shit in the USA. People try to down play it and name other options but everytime they come out with a new version if you're not one of the lucky ones you sometimes wait months just to get your order filled. Well I am in a smallish town. When I lived in a big city I could usually track one down.

You don't know how many times I've wished I could play casino games on my iPhone, and if they came out with iPhone/iPad apps I would buy an iPad in a heartbeat. It would be the ultimate platform for casino games and poker. There are already simulation apps for both, and admittedly I haven't looked real hard lately for a real money app, but none of my fav casinos offer it.

I say the Apple lovers want the iCasino!! Embrace it and we will make deposits

Both Playtech and MGS have plans for Mac/ipads/apps - these should be coming out soon.

One serious question is: what is happening and ALL Rival Casinos delayed cash-out payments to their players? Lately, you have to beg and plead and they might pay you in 10 business days! There should be some kind of regulatory action, we pay in a matter of seconds and it takes them 10 business days?????
Lots of times a player feels totally unprotected and start looking for help left and right ....mostly to have no reply to his inquiry for assistance; in a nutshell the internet casinos are becoming a pain!!!!!! a painful one.....
Have a good one!

I didn't see any reps from Rival - no one was there that I was aware of.

Can you ask Microgaming why they changed LOTR rather than added to the series. And what the future plans are for sequels (dates/features etc)?

The change came about after feedback and suggestions from their operators. They had also planned to bring in more branding elements like the Golem - so it was a natural development of the game in their opinion. There is no schedule set up for more changes

can you ask if it will be launched any casino (doesent matter the software) that will pay to the players in the same time that we deposite
when a deposit is made (e-wallets and credit cards) the funds are instant into the casino and the money cash out instantly (in less than 5 minutes)
pay to the players in 5 minutes too
it will be lauched any kind of casino doing that??

Don't think that any casino would be willing to do this unless it's a VIP sort of setup for individual players. It's too problematic with player fraud.

When will online gaming commissions (Licensor’s) release to the public their online gaming regulations? (Not owner licensee regulations) Also, what type of regulatory enforcement and protocol is in place that would protect and confirm long term game integrity?

The problem with the stands at the EIG, most of these are manned by sales people, they only refer these sort of questions to the administration. Hopefully I'll have better luck at the ICE.

1) Is it possible to ask MG if they will reuse the old LOTR with a different theme? So a complete new game, with the exact feature of Old LOTR.

They are open to this - it may be a good idea.

2) For netENT, do netENT have a plan to support AUD as currency?

This shouldn't be a problem. They said all you need to do is request this via your casino manager, and he can forward the request up to the operator who requests this from NetEnt. Their rep said it should be no problem to install a AUD platform. All the operator has to do is to request it.

I'll be writing more about the trip in next week's newsletter. Stay tuned for that

 

[Casinomeister]

If you happen to talk to anyone regarding what I PMed you about...? If you don't remember I'll PM you again!

Opps - missed this one. If I see anyone at the G2E in Vegas, I'll ask about it.

 

[Simmo!]

{Re. LOTR:} The change came about after feedback and suggestions from their [Microgaming's] operators. They had also planned to bring in more branding elements like the Golem - so it was a natural development of the game in their opinion.

3 or 4 years ago I remember chatting to them over a dinner about setting up a player focus group and they said they had one. It's a little odd that that they don't take their lead from them really. I think the 'operators' they listened to have got this one wrong personally but it's only a hunch.