Letter from Jackpot Factory re: new games

[Marcie Mac]

At least some got letters. I only play at one Casino, and its a MG one. I got the display that said "New December Games" but when I looked, nothing was there, and just went hmmmmm, thinking I would check here first before I sent them an email

I believe the ban on line gaming here in the U.S. will be lifted soon as some bright spark, looking to find a way to tax us more to make up for a lot of money being spent, has a lightbulb moment.

But this doesn't bode well for seeing MG staying in the marketplace here

MM

 

[vinylweatherman]

Couldn't have said it better! . Moves like this WILL affect players in other countries in the long run as then they will be wondering why they can't get a win ever again and then be told you're just having a run of BAD LUCK!
They have a profit margin they are accustomed to and having a decreased playing community will concentrate the profits being made from a decreased audience.
But our actions is what will make them either take notice or have regret for making the decision to eliminate an entire country from their casinos.

We have been seeing the effects already, but not in "rigged games". (Downward RTP adjustments in RTG excepted).

When the US players were all playing without any real restrictions, I saw regular scoreboard promos at Jackpot Factory with top prizes of 2000 credits, even more in some cases. Now, these types of promo are less frequent, and the prize pool is lower. Top prizes are now 1000 credits, sometimes as little as 500. BelleRock also ran some of these with a top prize of 3000 credits, but I have not seen a SINGLE one of these events there since UIGEA put the boot in.

There is widespread evidence that other casinos are tightening their offers, both with bonuses, and with competitions. The loss of US players means a smaller pool of players is competing, so less wagering is available to generate the hold required to fund the prizes.

If the US decide to regulate, I am sure we will see an increase in promotional offers, aimed mainly at getting US players to return to their existing accounts, as well as recruiting new ones. Hopefully, this should drive the rogues out.

 

[Mavin1]

Speaking of, received this email today from All Jackpots. Hmm, maybe the crunch is on????
And oh yeah, 10 free spins YEAH!!!!!! Like I give a poop.




Exclusive $5,000 promotion - for Americans only!

Hi Evelyn,

We are celebrating our American players with an exclusive promotion just for you! Play Tomb Raider - Secret of the Sword this weekend to win a share of $5,000!


We've given you 10 free spins to get you started. Log in now with your account, and click on Tomb Raider - Secret of the Sword to start playing.

Then, keep playing this popular game between December 10th & 12th and you could be one of 50 lucky winners to share $5,000!


$200 - six prizes | $100 - 32 prizes | $50 - 12 prizes


Plus we have an extra $500 prize for the player who wins the highest payout on Tomb Raider - Secret of the Sword!

Go team USA!


Charlie Burton
Casino Manager
All Jackpots Casino

 

[gloria460]

I hope everyone continues to boycott MCG and the phasing out won't even be necessary. I personally don't believe I would come back to MCG when gambling is regulated here.

There are still USA players wagering there but you will see a increase in complaints from the slots tightening up with this particular group. This is my opinion. I'm so pissed right now I could make a snow angel!

 

[kauphy]

Dear Kathy



I suggest you raise your concerns directly with Microgaming (I assume thats who you are referring to as mgs). They are not licensed by the Isle of Man Government, we have no control over what they do.



Kind regards



Lisa



Lisa Underwood

E-Gaming Development Manager
Department of Trade & Industry - Isle of Man Government

Hamilton House

Peel Road

Douglas

Isle of Man

IM1 5EP

Tel : (01624) 682365

Fax : (01624) 687171

Mob: (07624) 422900
o.k guys i e-mailed that one address that was in one of the post and this is what they sent back to me.the one in i,ve been there post. at least they got back to me. but said they have nothing to do with anything going on its all micogaming.

 

[I BEEN THERE]

Dear Kathy



I suggest you raise your concerns directly with Microgaming (I assume thats who you are referring to as mgs). They are not licensed by the Isle of Man Government, we have no control over what they do.



Kind regards



Lisa



Lisa Underwood

E-Gaming Development Manager
Department of Trade & Industry - Isle of Man Government

According to the Microgaming webpage these people are in charge of ALL gaming period. They have not responded to my mail. I sent 1 to each of the above mentioned and 4 to Microgaming themselves.

Perhaps the Meister himself would like to HELP his USA forum members and of course affiliate members in directing us to the actual proper people. I am absolutely certain he knows who to contact. How about it CASINOMEISTER, help your AMERICAN followers ! We should be able to voice our opinions don't you think ? Actually, I am hoping you are helping us do the same.

I BEEN THERE

 

[Marcie Mac]

Well, I just decided to send an email to the casino re the new games issue. They came back and said it was due to a new law put out by the feds effective December 1st.

So I googled new law for on line gaming and came up with this

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The issue has been moved up to June, but I guess Microgaming feels it will be a done deal and the party is pretty much over, but in case it isn't, you can play the games you already have.

You would think that with 50% of the income comming from the U.S. the casinos would be flooding the players with emails to contact their congressman. You would think with that kind of money being spent and the amount of taxes it would garner the government would be having a second look at their position.

But I guess logical thinking has gone the way of the dinosauer

MM

 

[vinylweatherman]

Well, I just decided to send an email to the casino re the new games issue. They came back and said it was due to a new law put out by the feds effective December 1st.
So I googled new law for on line gaming and came up with this

You do not have permission to view link Log in or register now.

The issue has been moved up to June, but I guess Microgaming feels it will be a done deal and the party is pretty much over, but in case it isn't, you can play the games you already have.

You would think that with 50% of the income comming from the U.S. the casinos would be flooding the players with emails to contact their congressman. You would think with that kind of money being spent and the amount of taxes it would garner the government would be having a second look at their position.

But I guess logical thinking has gone the way of the dinosauer

MM

This new law reason is BULLSHIT. The new law applies to EVERY DAMN GAME, not just the NEW ones. BY their own admission that it is due to this law, MGS WILL be seeking a TOTAL US exclusion at some time, since this law makes the transactions illegal, IRRESPECTIVE of whether these transactions are related to "new" games, or pre-existing games, on any gambling site.

The delay to next June MAY mean that MGS will wait until then to completely pull the plug.

To claim that only new games need to be blocked for US players because of this new law is an INSULT to our intelligence.

MGS initially wanted to pull the plug, but it seems operators were unhappy, and a few ditched MGS for RTG at the time. Maybe MGS had their arm twisted back then, which is why we had the U turn with "grandfather rights" for existing players, and a ban ONLY on NEW players. Maybe now they are trying againto pull the plug, but more slowly so as to not lose more operators to other software companies. By June 1st 2010, the law will either be enacted, delayed again, or ditched, and MGS may well hang on until then with no new games available to existing US players, but could well lock these accounts overnight if the law does go into effect then, so US players should empty their MGS accounts at the end of May, until MGS have made their next move.

Intertops is an example, who ditched MGS for RTG so as to cater again to NEW US players, and challenged MGS because they did this in spite of it being against the terms for their MGS contract (sister casino running under different software). Intertops had to sell Royal Joker to Jackpot Factory, but it appears that it is merely "managed by JF", rather than OWNED by them, so maybe Intertops still own it, but using a subsidiary entity to get around the MGS terms.

 

[Marcie Mac]

I agree. The reply didn't make a lot of sense but gave me a 'hmmmm" moment. With MG not giving any kind of response and being pretty well mute on the issue of new games, pulling the jackpot games, not to mention its almost impossible possible to come out even a little ahead anymore, or even keep playing for any length of time, me thinks its at this point money down a rabbit hole.

Cant cash a check, can't make a wire transfer- maybe they should think about paying us with gift cards

Marcie

 

[vinylweatherman]

It just got even weirder.

Today, I noticed that about half a dozen games were REMOVED from All Slots casino, but these same games were STILL available at their VIP Lounge casino, and at a selection of other MGS casinos I checked on.

I noticed because a couple of these games had made it into my "favourites", and so I noticed pretty much straight away they had gone. I do not know how many in total have gone, but MGS are known for one thing, they NEVER remove games, not even the very old ones, such as the old weighted video slots with no bonus rounds or free spins (5 Reel Drive, Winning Wizards etc).

Maybe this has happened because the programmers at MGS have been screwing around with the code so they can lock out US players from non-jackpot games released after a given date, and have now f***** up the code base for EVERYBODY.

All Slots is different in another respect, in that it uses (probably trialling) a "bespoke" lobby configuration, yet to become brand wide.
MGS have before tried previous lobby upgrades at just one or two casinos, before rolling out the inevitable screw-up across the entire network

 

[I BEEN THERE]

Maybe this has happened because the programmers at MGS have been screwing around with the code so they can lock out US players from non-jackpot games released after a given date, and have now f***** up the code base for EVERYBODY.

I want to simply say thanks to ALL the people that voice their opinions. Not just in this thread but everywhere here. I am sure they would prefer we just accept the unfair changes and constant frustrations that we ( the paying players ) deal with way the hell too often and never say a word. For that I am grateful to those that do not fear them. ALL peeps from around the globe who have stepped up to the plate to voice their opinions and TRY to help their American fellow players ( hats off to u ! ). All the ones that sit back and do nothing in fear of losing some kickback or perhaps fear of what they might think of you if you can KMA ! I have been helping people for many years in many different situations and believe me, without the help nothing gets done. Without a voice, nobody hears.
I see now who cares and who does not and I must say I will be a much less frequent flyer at many places these days. I don't deal with cowards and I most definitely do not deal with those that do NOT RESPECT MY MONEY enough to come forward and explain why in hell this crap is going on. They manipulate, twist, change at he drop of a dime but HIDE when they have to explain ! I no longer have the time nor the patience to play their little games ( literally ) ~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good luck to all of you, as I will not be looking in here as much any longer due to the lack of help from here for the Amercian followers and long time readers. I certainly did not expect it, but it is what it is and just like so many things I cannot change it ! Good ol land based is gonna start loving me all over again not to mention I can start helping our much needed economy right here in the GOOD OL USA !!!

I BEEN THERE !

 

[Mavin1]

Hey Been There, first the big letters hurt my eyes , but totally agree that again that as we have said we need to just phase them out boycott them or whatever, they're really not fun anymore anyways.
From what I have seen, could be wrong, Microgamming marches to the beat of a different drummer. They don't post or answer threads that I have noticed. So I think they being so big, pretty much don't care as they will be on top for a very long time to come even if it means squeezing every last cent out of players that are not in the US to make up the difference and still keep their profit margins they are accustomed to.
I would have had more respect for them if they had just dumped us in the first place than slowly acting as if we were vermin that is taking awhile to exterminate.
The unfortunate part is the real VERMIN are in our nations capitol and they are the ones that have caused all this in the first place. Just like pushing the CARBON TAX down our throats, it's a sham, carbon is what every living thing on earth thrives on! So not only are they trying to kill the gaming industry and our freedoms, but they are also going to kill the entire planet by depriving it of an essential element to all life "CARBON"!!!! So we can't totally blame the online casino's but we can be dissapointed in them for dragging out our execution so painfully slow.
But hey, don't let it bother you, our lives can go on just fine without them anyways. Well until the retarded politicians and the Bankers that control them/everything/everyone, have their total way with us and the rest of the world.

 

[vinylweatherman]

Hey Been There, first the big letters hurt my eyes , but totally agree that again that as we have said we need to just phase them out boycott them or whatever, they're really not fun anymore anyways.
From what I have seen, could be wrong, Microgamming marches to the beat of a different drummer. They don't post or answer threads that I have noticed. So I think they being so big, pretty much don't care as they will be on top for a very long time to come even if it means squeezing every last cent out of players that are not in the US to make up the difference and still keep their profit margins they are accustomed to.
I would have had more respect for them if they had just dumped us in the first place than slowly acting as if we were vermin that is taking awhile to exterminate.
The unfortunate part is the real VERMIN are in our nations capitol and they are the ones that have caused all this in the first place. Just like pushing the CARBON TAX down our throats, it's a sham, carbon is what every living thing on earth thrives on! So not only are they trying to kill the gaming industry and our freedoms, but they are also going to kill the entire planet by depriving it of an essential element to all life "CARBON"!!!! So we can't totally blame the online casino's but we can be dissapointed in them for dragging out our execution so painfully slow.
But hey, don't let it bother you, our lives can go on just fine without them anyways. Well until the retarded politicians and the Bankers that control them/everything/everyone, have their total way with us and the rest of the world.

Well, this could backfire on MGS. I have noticed that almost all US players are deciding to leave the sinking ship that is MGS NOW, rather than go down with it when MGS eventually decide on an unannounced total withdrawal from the US market, leaving US players to wake up one day & find their accounts locked, with money still in them, and having to get it back the slow and painful way. Remember Intercasino, when first US players got the email for the monthly reload. Those who deposited straight away got it, those who waited till Monday didn't - but were told they could still play without the monthly bonus, and were still eligible for the other promos...... until Tuesday as it turned out, as on Wednesday, their accounts were locked. Those who got the bonus at the weekend couldn't finish WR, those who deposited on Monday, even though they could only play the other promos, found they could neither play nor withdraw. ALL US players who didn't simply take the monthly & run on day one were screwed. Instead of being able to submit a withdrawal, and exit in an orderly manner WITH NOTICE, they were told they had to claim their balance by contacting support, whereupon a process that took about a DAY when done through the software, would take "up to a MONTH" being done through support.

Now MGS are following a similar course. First, it was JUST the progressives you Americans couldn't play. This at least was logical, paying a $1Million+ win covertly to a US player would have presented considerable problems.

Next, it was no more NEW players, clearly a watered down full withdrawal under pressure, probably from operators. Grand Prive first off announced a COMPLETE closure of their 5 US facing casinos, and used this as an excuse to screw affiliates. Then, it was watered down to no more NEW players, and "grandfather rights" for existing players in states lacking SPECIFIC anti-online gambling legislation.

Next, "grandfather rights" were attacked, along with a block on progressives, they blocked the multi player game "Wheel of Wealth". Next, ALL new games were blocked from December 2009 onward.

Next....? Well, can ONLY be a full withdrawal, unless they start removing some of the OLD games a bit at a time for US players, until eventually all they have is a blank lobby.

This brings me back to MY All Slots "weirdness". Friday - games were there, even played one of them. Sunday - GONE

I have presented a screenshot pair of one category most hit by this, so obvious that no searching is required.

SIX existing games REMOVED sometime between Friday and Sunday last.

This has not happened at ANY OTHER MGS casino on my hard drive, and I have checked more thoroughly now.

Cash n Curry - REMOVED
Game On - REMOVED
The Gee Gees - REMOVED
Treasure Ireland - REMOVED
Who Wants to be a Stallionaire - REMOVED
You Lucky Barstard - REMOVED

Quite a while ago, MGS ditched the idea of operator specific clones, and this was evident when former operator exclusives like Agent Jane Blonde appeared in ALL MGS casinos, despite being pretty OLD games. This happened around the time MGS changed to having a common cache for the game files. The December update actually ADDED quite a few former "Flash only" AWP games, and originally All Slots had the SAME extended set as at VIP lounge. THEN, this fuss erupted over US players having the new games, and then having them disappear a day or so later. Now I have seen this, just with a different set of games, and only on ONE SINGLE casino (so far).

There has been NO ANNOUNCEMENT WHATSOEVER as to WTF is going on, and we had to drag even a lame excuse from MGS about the original "technical issues" US players were having with "disappeared games".

So wtf IS actually going on here. I am NOT an American, but it is now b*******G up MY Viper Clients.

Put this another way.

Say I played 200 spins on Wealth Spa, and had 3 coins, but the coin didn't even appear for 100 spins - so I give up, vowing to try my luck later for coins 4 & 5. I return, and the game is "disappeared" without announcement or explanation, yet I TRUSTED the MGS concept that "games NEVER get retired", and feel cheated because I have "lost" the potential value of being only 2 coins short of free spins, rather than five, and would in fact have DEFINITE value stored in the 3 coins I had.
Scrooge is another game like this, as is Tomb Raider - Secret of the Sword. (even Great Galaxy Grab in some respects) If either are "disappeared", then "stored value" can be "stolen" from players.
Without any explanation from MGS about this, how do I know, as a player, that one of these games will be there next time I deposit in the hope to complete my trail towards the top bonus.

Now with Scrooge, there may well be US players who have played a bit, and accumulated some extra free spins and days, and NOW find this "stolen" from them because Scrooge is no longer available from now on to US players.

Casinos DO announce new ADDITIONS, but they FAIL to announce games that they will be REMOVING. Incidentally, NONE of the extra AWP games that appeared this month were mentioned in the "December new games" newsletters. WHY not, they were new games just as much as the others, at least as far as the DOWNLOAD casino was concerned.

 

[gloria460]

I haven't heard from Ben yet although I was told he would be in the office in 5-6 hours...maybe some of you are saying that you're not going to play at MCG and you really are still playing. I really wish that you would step back and look at the big picture. You are never going to win over a certain amount, play progressives, multiplayer games and you'll also be excluded from some tournaments. Do not let MCG treat you in this manner bc if it shows they had minimal fallout from this decision they pretty much can do to you what they want.

You know what else is surprising to me is the lack of affliates responding to this thread or coming together to confront the operators who willingly submit to anything MCG throws out. There has to be quite a few USA players signed up at MCG casinos thru affliate links.

They jumped all over that Gp thread when money was mentioned but disregarded this one altogether.

 

[Mavin1]

Ya know, since I have cleaned Microgamming casinos off my computer I have more space for my Big Fish games that are way more enjoyable and cost me only $6.99 a game and I can play it for as long as I want! Yeah. Saved money in my bank not there's!!!!!!!



This is for Microgamming

 

[bonustreak]

Intertops is an example, who ditched MGS for RTG so as to cater again to NEW US players, and challenged MGS because they did this in spite of it being against the terms for their MGS contract (sister casino running under different software). Intertops had to sell Royal Joker to Jackpot Factory, but it appears that it is merely "managed by JF", rather than OWNED by them, so maybe Intertops still own it, but using a subsidiary entity to get around the MGS terms.

Actually Intertops is the only MG operator to take a stand for the USA players against MG! I hope they get everyone's full support and if your going to play in a casino go there to play they really deserve it !

 

[Casinomeister]

Just to throw in my two Pfennings - I don't think it has anything to do with MGS pulling out of markets or screwing players etc. - I'm guessing it has to do with outsourcing their game development to third parties.

As some of you may know, NextGen builds a lot of games for Crypto and MGS

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for instance the Marvel Games and Casinomeister slots One of the stipulations in the contract is that the game cannot receive US bets. I haven't looked into who developed the latest MGS games, or if they were outsourced at all, but this could be a logical explanation.

 

[Mavin1]

Just to throw in my two Pfennings - I don't think it has anything to do with MGS pulling out of markets or screwing players etc. - I'm guessing it has to do with outsourcing their game development to third parties.

As some of you may know, NextGen builds a lot of games for Crypto and MGS

You do not have permission to view link Log in or register now.

for instance the Marvel Games and Casinomeister slots One of the stipulations in the contract is that the game cannot receive US bets. I haven't looked into who developed the latest MGS games, or if they were outsourced at all, but this could be a logical explanation.

I haven't looked at the link in your post yet, but do you know what the reasoning is behind the stipulation to disallow the US players bets on just regular games?

 

[Casinomeister]

I haven't looked at the link in your post yet, but do you know what the reasoning is behind the stipulation to disallow the US players bets on just regular games?

It's the same reason why Wager Works, Cryptologic, Party Gaming, 888.com, Playtech, Boss Media, etc. don't take US bets. They don't need the hassle

 

[vinylweatherman]

Just to throw in my two Pfennings - I don't think it has anything to do with MGS pulling out of markets or screwing players etc. - I'm guessing it has to do with outsourcing their game development to third parties.

As some of you may know, NextGen builds a lot of games for Crypto and MGS

You do not have permission to view link Log in or register now.

for instance the Marvel Games and Casinomeister slots One of the stipulations in the contract is that the game cannot receive US bets. I haven't looked into who developed the latest MGS games, or if they were outsourced at all, but this could be a logical explanation.

Unfortunately, MGS DID give an explanation for this decision, but this wasn't it. If NextGen built games for MGS, then MGS would have to block ALL these games from taking US bets, not just the latest ones. If this IS the explanation, then it has NOTHING to do with the new law being implemented, but due to a long standing contractual agreement.

It's the same reason why Wager Works, Cryptologic, Party Gaming, 888.com, Playtech, Boss Media, etc. don't take US bets. They don't need the hassle

MGS will NOT in any way reduce the hassle until they cease COMPLETELY from taking bets from US players, as the groups listed above have done.

I doubt they will get anywhere in a US court if they pleaded in mitigation that they blocked US players from NEW games and progressives, but allowed them to continue playing the 300 to 400 games already released prior to that date.

This mitigation did NOT work for Neteller, who ceased transacting for US customers BEFORE this new law was implemented, yet not only did they have to plea bargain, they were punished for transactions that took place before UIGEA was even drafted, let alone passed and signed by the President.

MGS casinos are STILL allowing US players to play the old games, and fully intended to continue allowing this after the original implementation date of December 1st. From that date, MGS would have become an accessory to the crime of making available a product that allowed operators to supply a service for which payment by US players was now illegal - the service being play for real money on OLD games.

 

[doc3738]

Microgamming casinos all of them

If any of you believe for one second that the casinos did not know microgamming was going to stop the play of new games on DEC 1 , then I have some ocean front property to sell you cheap.
The casinos knew as I was told around the 5th of Dec that all USA players were restricted from the new games period but could still play the old games
I then played them under the instant play
A day latter I get an answer that the games are not working properly and they are being delayed so again I keep depositing ,after asking again about them I get an answer that that they are just checking them out for our playing pleasure or something like that
Finally I tell them not another deposit will be made until I get a straight answer,after 2 more days of sending me deposit bonuses and match bonuses I get an email that then says all new games are no longer available for play by USA players as of DEC 1
I had them downloaded and was going to play but shut down the casino to do something and when I went back they were gone and that is what got me to wondering why they dissappeared
Now another issue is the free spins the free spins are set to yield you very little, I got into a heated arguement over a $50.00 deposit and a bunch of free spins they finally offered them to me but I had to play by a certain time that day
what finally ensued was them offering me 10.00 with no w/r and was told that is way more than what the free spins would have yeilded. Now if that is not a set up how could they know what the frees pins would give if it was not preset
MIcro casinos are not innocent in any of this I may still have the email on the new games

 

[nisosbar]

MIcro casinos are not innocent in any of this I may still have the email on the new games

There are times when I wish I could play on MG, the games are fun, the software is nice, but then I remember Eurolinx and Battlefield Poker/casino and I'm like, I'll take Rival.