2013 Newsletter
11 January 2013
WORD FROM THE MEISTER
Welcome to 2013…
Yep, it’s the first newsletter of 2013 – after nearly a month of chill time and holiday festivities it’s time to get back to work. But before I delve into what’s new at Casinomeister, I just want to wish everyone a healthy, peaceful, successful, and deeply satisfying New Year.
Moving on – there have been several announcements made in the forum recently. One is the creation of the Casinomeister Advisory Group. This is a group of approximately 30 members who have exemplified the Casinomeister philosophy via participation, dedication, their knowledge of games, gaming software, and general aspects of the gaming industry/community. These “advisors” will be called upon to test software, give quality input on casino design, reviews and critiques, and anything else “advisory” worthy.
These members have been selected by the moderators and notified. It is not obligatory for qualifying members to participate; they can opt out and leave a slot open for another person. The list of members is here.
The description of the group is in our FAQs here.
If you wish to be considered for the group. Please contact me via PM. If you are an operator or software developer and wish to utilize this service, please contact me as well.
Yes, the annual Meister Meeting has been announced. Drink and eat as much as possible for three hours on 5 February at Waxy O’conners in Leicester Square (in London, folks). Open for all forum members – only. See, there’s a legit reason to join, eh? More details here
It’s a huge deal actually. If a licensing jurisdiction has not set up safeguards against bad game design (meaning the game logic is skewered), and passes the responsibility on to the operator, we will eventually have issues like this. Thanks go to everyone involved in the thread who are demonstrating their ability to analyze the games and put forth a legitimate argument. The thread is nearly 30 pages long and has over 24,500 views, so stay tuned – it’s not over yet.
ACCREDITED CASINOS
Problems with Finsoft/Spielo G2 Games has been uncovered in a thread that appeared over the holidays here. So far the games involved are Hi Lo Gambler and Reel Deal. It’s a long convoluted story about how a bad game design and incorrect RTP settings got through the GRA and UKGC regulators. At press time the casinos that hosted these games (BetFred, Bet365, NordicBet, et al) have yanked them, performed audits (or have audits pending) – Betfred has already stated that affected players have been compensated.
Top rated Casinos at Casinomeister: these casinos are some of the top scorers via our ratings scheme. Check them out!
32Red – CM Score – 9.5
Current Promo: £32 for every £20 Deposited on first purchase, up to £160!
Read their Casinomeister Review!
And now for the humor…
A man went to a psychiatrist for his phobia.
“Doc,” he said, “I’ve got trouble. Every time I get into bed, I think there’s somebody under it. I get under the bed; I think there’s somebody on top of it. Top, under, top, under. You gotta help me, I’m going crazy!”
“Just put yourself in my hands for two years,” said the shrink, “Come to me three times a week, and I’ll cure your fears.”
“How much do you charge?”
“A hundred dollars per visit.”
“I’ll sleep on it,” said the man.
Six months later, the doctor met the man on the street.
“Why didn’t you ever come to see me again?” asked the psychiatrist.
“For a hundred buck’s a visit? A bartender cured me for ten dollars.”
“Is that so! How?”
“He told me to cut the legs off the bed!”
ha ha ha
The Best and Worst of 2012
30 January 2013
The only awards that matter…
Best Casino of 2012 – US Friendly
Best Casino of 2012 – Global
Worst Casino of 2012
Best Casino Group – Global
Best Casino Group – US Friendly
Worst Casino Group
Best New Casino of 2012
Best Player Experience 2012
Worst Player Experience 2012
Worst Affiliate Experience of 2012
Ted Loh Humanitarian Award
Evil Marketing Award of 2012
Worst Blundering Screw Up 2012
Best Customer Service 2012
Worst Customer Service 2012
Best Gaming Experience Award
Phoenix Award
Sitting on One’s Hands Award
Fourth Point of Contact Award
Head in the Sand Award
Stupidest Named Casino
Best Affiliate Program 2012
Most Annoying Affiliate Program 2012
Best Casino Manager of 2012
Worst Casino Manager of 2012
Biggest Disappointment of 2012 I
Biggest Disappointment of 2012 II
The Most Annoying Forum Member
Forum Highlight of the Year
The Stupidest Casino Trick
The Best Warning Robot of 2012
Fan Mail of 2012 Award
21 February 2013
ICE 2013 – London
Monday – Arrival:
Portrait of a lady…
Photographic proof of the following events can be found here.
I really love London, and those who know me or who follow my yearly excursion would know this well. Since 2001, I’ve been hoofing it to London attending the ICE and now the LAC – two conferences/exhibitions that involve the online gaming industry, but within two different spectrums. But more on that in a few. One of the best things about the trip is the city itself…
…and my pilgrimages. One in particular is the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square. In London, the national museums are free – just like they should be. You should never have to pay to experience art like this. During my yearly tour, I try to spend a few minutes loitering in front of 500 year old painted canvases looking at the people who lived a half millenia ago – it helps putting things into perspective before the conference mayhem begins. Two of my favorites are here and here – I would have invited them for a meal 500 years ago. They look like they had a lot of tales to share.
It also helps catching a movie before it all begins. I had time for Stephen Spielberg’s “Lincoln”. It was ok. I’m a fan of Daniel Day-Lewis and Sally Fields – great job from both of them. I just find Spielberg movies a little too overly dramatic – at times being saccharine sappy, e.g. the opening scene with the recitation of the Gettysburg address – “meh”.
But capping off the evening with good food and company was the plan. I had a very nice dinner with Max Drayman and the folks from Kahnawake at Langan’s Brasserie. It was quite a nice meal – and it was great catching up with these folks. More on Kahnawake later.
Early to bed – early to rise, well that doesn’t happen in this town – but we did our best. Max and I ambulated back to Trafalgar square eager to find our respective rooms at the Grand, and to commence on the ICE first thing in the morning.
Tuesday – ICE Day One:
Earl’s Court – I long for thee…
This year was different. Instead of the International Casino Exhibition being held at Earl’s Court, we were obligated for a long tube ride and a connection to the DLR (Docklands Light Railway) – to the Excel. The docklands – yes, it was as appealing as it sounds. What a desolate bore of a place. The Excel is gargantuan in size, and just sucks you in. The exhibition hall is/was massive – and sure, it can hold all of the exhibitors’ stands, but this was a prime example of “mine is bigger than yours.” I have to admit, there were a number of modest booths – pragmatic functionability; brochures laid out, stack of business cards, free pens, and a couple of smiling sales reps. But these were few and far between. Microgaming had a massive cocktail bar (not free), and a separate two-story structure that had bouncers at the foot of the stairs. Playtech had erected an apartment building I’m guessing with private bathrooms. Max had it spot on: “…same noise, same hawkers, same scantily-clad booth babes wearing silly outfits to (supposedly) make you forget that you couldn’t give two shits about whatever crap it is they’ve been hired to peddle…” What is important though, are the meetings and/or networking that we had scheduled.
Our first meeting was with Betfred’s rep who was prepared to explain completely what had happened during the Finsoft/Spielo Games issue that was widely reported in our forum and then some. My main concern was the status of the investigation, and what safeguards were in place to prohibit this from happening again. What most people have not understood about this situation is its complexity, and with proper licensing (the GRA for one), there is time-consuming due diligence, auditing, reports from differing companies, and a menagerie of persons involved. After my meeting with the rep, I was satisfied that they have done what they should have done in this circumstance. My comments here.
We had another productive meeting – this time with the reps for Jackpot Party – and there is a fantastic promo coming up – I’m sure the winners will want to give me a “kiss” when it’s over.
Max and I wandered about for a bit more – and decided that we needed some fish and chips. Even though the Excel had an almost endless string of food-courtish cafes and sandwich counters, we needed a pub. And there is no pub anywhere around these “docklands”, so we headed back to the west end where we were able to partake in beer-battered fish, pints, and a discourse on Casinomeister.
One thing that we discussed was the PABs. After years of PABs being processed and resolved, (one way or the other), we only have the archives and quarterly reports posted on the site. We decided that it would be a good idea to post the current PABs and their status – and I’ve done that here. At the moment there are about twenty some-odd PABs open – only six of these have corresponding threads. Just goes to show that there is plenty going on in the background in our complaints section.
Voice from the past – ICE 2008
I don’t come here to hang out in booths, I come to talk to people, to meet with them get to know them and their operations. My digital recorder, lost in my backpack and belonging to some thief right now, was to assist me in making some unprecedented interviews with figureheads of this industry�so I bought a new one, and put it to good use.
Ed Ware, the operator of 32Red, was my first guest and we met in a rustic pub just down the road from the ICE. Our conversation was very informative. He touched on his policies on how his casino handles problem gamblers (which is a hot topic in the UK), and his casino’s relationship with US players. This is an operator truly dedicated to this industry and to his players. This is what operating a casino should be all about, and it’s nice seeing this personified. You can listen to this interview here.
Meister Meeting: Tuesday’s main event – and one of the highlights of the trip was the Meister Meeting – a meeting at Waxy O’Conners in Leicester Square that we do every year. And as always – it was great. It was a extremely satisfying experience hanging out with old friends, and meeting members from the forum that I’ve never met before, and hearing Irish pub music from and two band members of the local Bible Code Sundays.
The feedback that I get is usually the same each year – it’s the best meet up. Low key, plenty of jocular jovialities, and early enough in the week before everyone gets strung out with a flood of meetings and business dinners. Thanks Club World Casino for their sponsorship.
From there, a few of us meandered to the Joy King Lau restaurant around the corner. This is definitely a hidden gem – I’ve been there a few times and it’s really, really good. The deep fried tofu is to die for. No doubt about that.
The evening turned to a blur as we went on to the obligatory O’Neills, hung out there for a bit and headed to the Hippodrome Casino – a relatively new hangout for us.
Wednesday – ICE Day Two:
Back to the Excel. I was starved and needed a bite to eat before our meeting with the Kahnawake folks. Ah ha! I could order a fried egg muffin with bacon at the exhibition hall. Little did I know that when you say “fried egg” in British English, this means that the yolk is especially fluid and dripping with clear snotty chicken embryo substance. I tried to be as discreet as possible during our meeting, but it’s hard when runny egg yolk is dripping all over your hands – and I forgot to snag a napkin at the take-out stand (sorry Kahnawake). It was a great meeting. The Kahnawake Gaming Commission is making strides forward with its transparent and effective complaints procedures and reports. In fact, it is the only gaming jurisdiction that posts a disputes resolution summary. The same goes with its Player Self-Limitation and Self-Exclusion Summary.
This is a jurisdiction that has done a 180 degree turn from a few years back. I only wish that some of their peers would do the same (IOM, UKGC, GRA, et al.). Good going KGC – I’m looking forward to next year’s meeting. I promise no runny egg mess next time.
Max and I met Jay from Red Rabbit Casino – a contender for the Baptism by Fire. It seems they have their act together – so we’ll see.
And then lunch – Max and I had to head out once again for some deep fried battered fish. We had to prep ourselves since we were scheduled to have pints with some of the guys from Sports InterAction at the Ship & Shovel pub by Charing Cross. This is another one of our yearly pilgrimages. Some people chose to pilgrimage to holy sites like Mecca and Lourdes – we choose pubs in London.
It was mirth all around – and after a couple of hours, Max and I mosied on to the Salisbury pub at St. Martin’s Lane meeting Ed Ware and co. What an awesome pub – famous for its etched Victorian glass and amicable ambience. When it’s dark and rainy outside, this is where you want to be. There always seem to be famous faces about since this is in the theater discrict – we spotted Nigel Havers – who slipped out at a moment’s notice.
From there we ventured to The Ivy – our dinner spot for the night. This was a place to be seen – and to look for others who may be worthy of seeing. What I found whimsical was the co-ed toilets. You are standing at the urinal and in walk the ladies. The night wore on – it was a very memorable experience.
Voice from the past – ICE 2006
That evening I – and a number of very cool webmasters and personalities in the online gaming world met with Ed Ware, Patrick Harrison, and Lee Simmonds from 32Red at Quaglinos’ Restaurant on Bury street. It’s a brightly lit modern English restaurant which serves modern English food. Some of the people joining us were Ted Loh, the webmasters for the Japanese portal Online Casino Fan, Online Casino Reviewer, onlinecasinouk.com, and forum member Vinylweatherman. The service was slow as hell, but it gave me the chance to find out that Ed Ware and I share many commonalties music-wise. I had no idea he was a big Joe Strummer fan (the Clash), and really into the new wave punk scene when it was happening. Some of my best “rock and roll” memories come from DEVO’s performances in Santa Cruz 1979, 1980, Elvis Costello’s Armed Forces tour and a myriad of other blurry memories. It was nice to finally talk to someone who could relate.
Thursday – ICE Day Three:
I didn’t spend much time at the ICE that day – in fact, I spent the morning at The Grange Hotel at St. Paul’s (the official hotel for the LAC) since many people were meeting up there. Met the Intercasino people who are hoping to have more presence on the site – I more or less told them it’s up to them. We have a specific forum at Casinomeister where casino reps can post their current or special promos. It’s all here.
That afternoon it was our annual lunch with the iNetBet guys. The Roka at Canary Wharf was our venue – totally first-class – some of the best sushi ever. The conversation began with a few current issues in the forum – which were articulated and resolved. And the conversation moved on to Tarentino and his recent films – and discussing favorite movie soundtracks and composers (Bernard Hermann, Danny Elfman, Ennio Morricone et al.).
From there we were back at the Grange – I was able to meet up briefly with the rep from Monaco Aces congratulating him on a job well done with the Baptism of Fire. They should be on the Accredited list within the next couple of days. I bumped into a few more people wanting to chit-chat, and by this time – I felt something was missing from my trip. Something that had been ticking in the back of my head for the past few days. I hadn’t seen “The Hobbit” yet on the big screen; my son had seen it in Germany (in German) and I had promised him I’d see it while in London. What choice did I have at this point? I decided to slip away and play hooky – I went to the movies.
That was probably one of the best decisions of the week. What a fantastic film! I really enjoyed the Lord of the Ring films, but I found that if you weren’t too familiar with the tales of Middle Earth, it was easy to get disoriented. Too many names of characters, places and things – these films need repetitive showings.
But “The Hobbit” was a pleasant surprise – an engaging character-driven story. When the last scene played out (after nearly three hours) I was thinking – “that was it??” I longed for more – I yearn for the next installment. (Max is a big Tolkien fan btw so we had additional things to discuss).
Friday – LAC Day One:
Friday was the first official day of the of the London Affiliate Conference. I was anticipating this event since it’s become a bit more popular each year – and there were a handful of people I was looking towards to meeting – besides, the Paddy Power booth hosts a FREE Guinness bar. I was also moderating a panel discussion late that morning, and I was especially looking forward to that. Not just because of the intriguing and highly informative topic – “Inside Players’ Minds”, but because there was rumor of a small group of forum trolls who were planning to highjack the discussion with their misguided and ill-informed agenda laden bullshit.
I was ready for a verbal throw down, but alas, I was dissapointed – they were either no-shows, or cowering in the back row somewhere too chicken-shit to confront me in person. But this is typical for forum nobodies – these trolls. Their importance to the affiliate community and gaming industry is bloated in their tiny heads. Talk is cheap. And as expected – it was all bluster. Fine – that’s one less bug to squash.
Besides the slight mental distraction, it was a good panel discussion: Greedygirl: expertise is with US players, marketing strategies, and Vegas casinos; KasinoKing: is an active affiliate and big time bonus player; Maxd: complaints manager and moderator at Casinomeister. These were the panelists.
We discussed whether or not affiliates were doing their part in keeping casino complaints to a minimum – and what they could do better to serve players effectively. Players have needs and wants (two separate things) and affiliates and operators need to understand these to become a positive force in the industry. Much of this I cover here. We covered current player concerns, and how well operators and affiliates are meeting those concerns. Not very well was the consensus (as we agreed last year).
The day flew by – I had a quick lunch with Max and Tom (Club World’s Manager) – mmmm… Fish ‘n Chips – I can’t get enough. Max and Tom have an annual pow-wow on anything outstanding, or where improvements can be made, and it’s all good.
I met up with the operator of the Main Street Group. If you recall, the Mainstreet Group of casinos were an accredited group for years, but they had some processing issues a couple of years ago and were removed from the site. I’ve been assured that everything is functioning as it should be. They will be re-entered into the Baptism by Fire section here shortly.
That afternoon, I met up with The Pogg to discuss briefly the Betfred/Finsoft fiasco – talk about webmaster stuff, and to chill and have a couple of beers (thank you again Paddy Power). He mentioned in his blog here that he hadn’t expected me to be so tall. And I hadn’t expected him to be so Scottish
. He’s a pleasant bloke, and I hope he does well in the industry. He has a lot to offer.
That evening crept up fast – and it was the iGB Affiliate Awards dinner. And honestly, I think this was the last time I attend. It was really nice – don’t get me wrong, but I think I enjoy a more intimate locale with close friends – which I was able to do after the awards show.
Every year they have a comedian – this year it was some Canadian – and he really sucked. He was painful to watch – his jokes fell flat – his last yarn was a joke from the Internet. (In fact, it’s probably in one of my newsletters.) I can’t remember what we ate, but I would have rather had the deep fried tofu from Joy King Lau.
We were entertained by dancers in Soviet garb. I’m usually pretty astute to thematic nuances. But this – I couldn’t wrap my head around it. A Soviet Cold War theme is a bit extraneous. I just didn’t get it.
But there are the awards (more important than some Russian dancers and comedic milquetoast) – you can check them out here.
I was like Cinderella. I needed to get back to my room by midnight since I was catching an early flight back home the next morning. School vacation was kicking off and we had planned to drive down to Austria for a few days of skiing, (which actually turned a bit disastrous since both kids sustained injuries to their left arm – one broken wrist/one torn tendon). Nevertheless, I made it back in one piece and am now churning out this newsletter. Well, actually I’m finished with it since you are reading it right now. Thanks for getting this far – you are a true trooper.
Voice from the past – ICE 2001
I’ve had a couple of weeks to contemplate my experiences of the Interactive Casino Exhibition and would have to say it was overall a satisfying experience, but it was too small. It was great seeing the faces behind the websites and emails I’ve been in contact with over the past couple of years, but the ICE could have been bigger. There were perhaps only about twenty-five booths; that was it. I was also surprised by how many “newbies” were in the business, people who have never visited the forums of Casinomeister, Winneronline, Got2bet, or other quality gaming information sites. This was scary. It goes to show that many of these vendors have not done their homework when it comes to finding out what is “really” happening in the online gaming world. It was the “oldtimers”, people who have been in the business for a while, who knew about our sites, and consequently, understood the importance of sites like ours. This new budding industry has a lot to learn.
Photographic proof of the events can be found here.
1 March 2013
WORD FROM THE MEISTER
I’m finally getting caught up, which is amazingly refreshing for me since I have a number of projects I’d like to get started on. I have about five weeks before I’m obligated to head off somewhere – so wish me luck.
A couple of things that have been happening on the site; one is the PAB section. Here you can read a bit about the PAB service and note the PABs’ current status here. At the moment there are about 30 open cases – some are pending rogue. This may be a good page to bookmark in order to track problematic casinos.
Also, slowly but steadily, I’ve been posting reviews on some of the Accredited Casinos here. Here I give the numerical Meister rating, and list pros and cons of each casino. I should be able to bang out a few each week, so I should be done in about a year <grin> – seriously, I’m starting with some of the newly accredited casinos, and some of my favorites as well. Watch this space for more.
The Forum
Donate now! Mattsgame still has some time left raising funds for The Leukaemia Foundation. If he reaches his goal, he’s going to cut off all of his hair, and he has a lot of hair to cut. You can check this out here. He is just short of his goal – let’s make it happen, people.
You can check out the site directly (and see his hair) here.
ACCREDITED CASINOS
Top rated Casinos at Casinomeister: these casinos are some of the top scorers via our ratings scheme. Check them out!
32Red – CM Score – 9.5
Current Promo: £32 for every £20 Deposited on first purchase, up to £160!
Read their Casinomeister Review!
RedBet – CM Score – 9.4
Current Promo: 100% Welcome Bonus!
Read their Casinomeister Review!
Bet 365 – CM Score – 9.2
Current Promo: £100 sign up bonus!
Read their Casinomeister Review!
BAPTISM BY FIRE
Casino:Main Street Group
Las Vegas USA
Slots Plus Casino
Sun Palace Casino
Vegas Casino Online
Old Havana Casino
Software Provider: RTG
Date listed: 1 March 2013
Problems? Contact the Casino Rep here Active forum thread is located here.
The Main Street Group was listed in our Accredited section for a number of years until the US market bottomed out. Their payments for winnings slowed down which prompted a number of complaints concerning their inability to process cashouts expediently – thus they were removed from the Accredited section.
Their treatment towards players has always been in sync with Casinomeister’s philosophy statement(listed here) – they are one of the good guys. We are giving them another chance.
And now for the humor…
I met an older woman at a bar last night.
She wasn’t bad for 57, we drank and bullsh*tted a bit, then she asked if I’d ever had a mother and daughter threesome?
I said no.
We drank a bit more, then she says that tonight was my lucky night.
I went back to her place.
She put the hall light on and shouted upstairs:
“Mom you still awake?”
ha ha ha
8 March 2013
WORD FROM THE MEISTER
It’s been one heck of a busy week – getting a lot of areas on the site updated and such. I’ve revamped the Microgaming page which lists Microgaming Casinos, their status at Casinomeister, licensing jurisdictions, and points of contact. There may be a handful of new casinos not listed there yet, but this should be finished this next week.
The Reservation has been upgraded as well – this lists casinos that have been on the site, and may still be acceptable for some players to play at. But me, I have “reservations”, thus the title. <grin>
I mentioned last week of my posting reviews on some of the Accredited Casinos here. I was hoping to bang a few out this week – alas, I only had time for one. Here is iNetBet’s review.
The Forum
Thanks Everyone (who donated)! Mattsgame is still at it with his raising funds for The Leukaemia Foundation. He has reached his goal!!! Thanks to those who have so generously donated funds to this worthy cause. You can check this out here. Even though he has met his goal, there is no reason to top it off a little 
You can check out the site directly here.
ACCREDITED CASINOS
Top rated Casinos at Casinomeister: these casinos are some of the top scorers via our ratings scheme. Check them out!
32Red – CM Score – 9.5
Current Promo: £32 for every £20 Deposited on first purchase, up to £160!
Read their Casinomeister Review!
RedBet – CM Score – 9.4
Current Promo: 100% Welcome Bonus!
Read their Casinomeister Review!
Bet 365 – CM Score – 9.2
Current Promo: £100 sign up bonus!
Read their Casinomeister Review!
BAPTISM BY FIRE
Let’s welcome Trada Casino into the Baptism by Fire section. Powered by Viaden, and licensed on the Isle of Man, they seem to have what it takes to become Accredited. You can play on your iPad, iPod, and Smart Phone as well as your computer at home.
Active forum thread is located here.
Casino: Main Street Group
Las Vegas USA
Slots Plus Casino
Sun Palace Casino
Vegas Casino Online
Software Provider: RTG
Date listed: 1 March 2013
Problems? Contact the Casino Rep here Active forum thread is located here.
The Main Street Group was listed in our Accredited section for a number of years until the US market bottomed out. Their payments for winnings slowed down which prompted a number of complaints concerning their inability to process cashouts expediently – thus they were removed from the Accredited section.
Their treatment towards players has always been in sync with Casinomeister’s philosophy statement(listed here) – they are one of the good guys. We are giving them another chance.
And now for the humor…
It was George the Mailman’s last day on the job after 35 years of carrying the mail through all kinds of weather to the same neighborhood. When he arrived at the first house on his route, he was greeted by the whole family who congratulated him and sent him on his way with a tidy gift envelope.
At the second house, they presented him with a box of fine cigars. The folks at the third house handed him a selection of terrific fishing lures.
At the fourth house, he was met at the door by a strikingly beautiful blonde woman in a revealing negligee. She took him by the hand, gently led him through the door, which she closed behind him, and took him up the stairs to the bedroom where she blew his mind with the most passionate love he had ever experienced.
When he had enough, they went downstairs and she fixed him a giant breakfast: eggs, potatoes, ham, sausage, blueberry waffles, and fresh-squeezed orange juice. When he was truly satisfied, she poured him a cup of steaming coffee. As she was pouring, he noticed a dollar bill sticking out from under the cup’s bottom edge. “All this was just too wonderful for words,” he said, “But what’s the dollar for?”
“Well,” she said, “Last night, I told my husband that today would be your last day, and that we should do something special for you. I asked him what to give you. He said, ‘Screw him. Give him a dollar.’ The breakfast was my idea.”
ha ha ha
Thanks to Weesie for posting it here.
ONLINE FRAUD MOST PREVALENT IN AFRICA
Latest study by fraud protection company shows that 7 percent of online fraud comes out of Africa
Online fraud protection group Iovation reports that its latest risk assessment study indicates that Africa had the highest rate of online fraud when compared to all other continents in 2012.
Billions of online transactions processed with ReputationManager 360 – the Portland, Oregon company’s shared device reputation and real-time fraud prevention service – were analysed for geographic trends.
The list of the top five continents that originated online fraud in 2012 were:
1.Africa – 7 percent of all transactions were fraudulent, with the highest percentages from Nigeria and Ghana.
2.Asia – 5 percent of all transactions were fraudulent, with higher than normal percentages from Bangladesh, Vietnam and India.
3.South America – 4 percent of all transactions were fraudulent, with Chile and Brazil recording the highest percentages for the region.
4.Europe – 2 percent of all transactions were fraudulent, with the highest percentages from Poland, Romania and Portugal.
5.North America – 1 percent of all transactions were fraudulent, with Mexico leading the list.
“While fraud origins are regionally diverse, these geographies were unified in the kinds of fraud cyber-criminals attempted,” said Scott Waddell, Iovation’s CTO. “The majority of fraud in 2012 involved credit card fraud, identity theft, and account takeover or hijacking attempts.”
When examining the industries targeted, Iovation found the following by continent:
1.Africa – The majority of fraudulent transactions originating from Africa targeted online dating and retail websites. The continent’s top offenses included credit card fraud, identity theft, profile misrepresentation, and online scams and solicitations.
2.Asia – Nearly half of all fraudulent transactions targeted retail websites, with online dating and massively multiplayer online gaming fraud making up a solid third. Major offenses in retail included credit card fraud, identity theft and shipping fraud, while gaming offenses included gold farming, chargebacks, chat spam, and theft of virtual goods through account hijackings.
3.South America – 70 percent of fraudulent transactions targeted retail websites, with credit card fraud and identity theft once again topping the list. The majority of fraudulent transactions targeted gaming and online dating, followed by financial services.
4.Europe – Transactions originating from Europe that were deemed fraudulent were more evenly spread across various industries including retail, dating, gaming, gambling, financial services, travel and telecommunications.
5.North America – Like Europe, fraudulent transactions from North America were spread across a diverse group of industries including retail, gaming, financial services, travel and logistics. Credit card fraud, identity theft, spam and solicitations, and account takeover attempts were most prominent.
Many of the fraudsters attempted to mask their true location and bypass fraud prevention processes by using web proxies, but were defeated by Iovation’s Real IP product, a component in its ReputationManager 360 device reputation service.
Real IP bypasses proxy IPs and goes directly to the source to determine each device’s true IP and geolocation, enabling businesses to:
* Link seemingly unrelated accounts and behaviour to a common source IP address
* Block access from unsupported or high-risk areas of the world
* See the true region, country, state and city of the device
* Identify legitimate users who are using proxy IPs to protect their privacy
Online Casino News courtesy ofInfoPowa
12 April 2013
WORD FROM THE MEISTER
CASINOMEISTER’S WEBCAST!!!
It’s about time! New webcast at YouTube!! Yee – haw!!
Spot the Rogue! Forum shout-out!
All this and more here!!
https://www.youtube.com/embed/aFDm2Ir7mEc?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0&enablejsapi=1 NEVER BE LEFT OUT IN THE COLD!! Subscribe to our videos here!! You’ll be automatically emailed whenever a video is uploaded!! I guarantee that these videos will make you a smarter, better person.
ACCREDITED CASINOS
Top rated Casinos at Casinomeister: these casinos are some of the top scorers via our ratings scheme. Check them out!
32Red – CM Score – 9.5
Current Promo: £32 for every £20 Deposited on first purchase, up to £160!
Read their Casinomeister Review!
RedBet – CM Score – 9.4
Current Promo: 100% Welcome Bonus!
Read their Casinomeister Review!
Bet 365 – CM Score – 9.2
Current Promo: £100 sign up bonus!
Read their Casinomeister Review!
BAPTISM BY FIRE
Let’s welcome Trada Casino into the Baptism by Fire section. Powered by Viaden, and licensed on the Isle of Man, they seem to have what it takes to become Accredited. You can play on your iPad, iPod, and Smart Phone as well as your computer at home.
Active forum thread is located here.
And now for the humor…
A journalist assigned to the Jerusalem bureau takes an apartment overlooking the Wailing Wall. Every day when she looks out, she sees an old Jewish man praying vigorously. So the journalist goes down to the wall, and introduces herself to the old man.
She asks: “You come every day to the wall. How long have you done that and what are you praying for?”
The old man replies, “I have come here to pray every day for 25 years. In the morning I pray for world peace and then for the brotherhood of man. I go home have a cup of tea, and I come back and pray for the eradication of illness and disease from the earth.”
The journalist is amazed. “How does it make you feel to come here every day for 25 years and pray for these things?” she asks.
The old man replies, calmly: . . . “Like I’m talking to a wall.”
More news here.
13 May 2013
GiGSE 2013 – San Francisco
San Francisco Trek 2013:
No flowers in my hair…
It’s always a little strange for me to be in the States. I’ve been living in Germany for thirteen years, and as most of you are probably aware Europe is quite different than the US <gasp>. But there are some things that I miss from my homeland – uncrowded beaches, sunny skies, sushi, Barnes & Nobles, and Target – just to name a few. But here I was again, attending the GIGSE in San Francisco – the annual “not to be missed” iGaming conference that has definitely changed over the years. More on this later.
My main mission was to (hopefully) gather information for both players and affiliates on the state of the i-gaming situation in the States, also to grab some much deserved sushi. Sushi is one of my few vices; I can never get enough of it – and besides Japan, San Francisco is the place to indulge in this much needed oceanic subsistence.
I have a lot of childhood memories of SF. I grew up not far away (Los Altos in the southern peninsula), and on this trip I was planning to hook up with an old friend of mine who I knew from the first grade through high school. We had experienced everything together from getting hooked on the Three Stooges as kids, to late nights with “Creature Features“, the Boy Scouts, Jr. High mischievousness, a garage band (he played guitar, I played bass), to the crazy stuff that we do in High School that we never tell our kids about.
I drove down to my old town where we met – we hadn’t seen each other for about 36 years, that’s a long time – older, grayer, a few pounds more here and there. And it was a day of some serious memory-lane meanderings – (some of the memories were pretty clouded btw). We had been through a hell of a lot together. We met up with another childhood acquaintance (he played drums in our garage band, and we used to camp together in the hills) and took a drive up to Steven’s Creek, where a couple of guys we knew in high school were driving too fast and plummeted off of a cliff into a gorge below – both died. These were the first two losses of youth from our high school days. 38 years later, the car is still down there – they never removed it from the ravine. Too steep – too deep down.
I’m grateful that I didn’t have a car back then at that age. Those were some crazy times.
Back to SF – and a great Sushi experience at the Hana Zen near Union Square. Scrumptilicious – a fine way to knock off a long day. Tomorrow was Day 1 of the GIGSE, and I was a little curious about how that day would play out.
I’ve been attending the GIGSE for over a decade, and over the past handful of years it has changed immensely. Gone are the carefree party days – the upbeat visions of entrepreneurs and startup companies. It’s strictly corporate and stoic – and I was anticipating (hoping) that the delegates would be progressing their companies steadily into the US market.
This year – like last year – I was staying at the relatively inexpensive boutique hotel The Hotel Palomar. It’s only a block away from the conference hotel, and a five minute walk from the Powell St. BART station. They have a very comfy leather clad lounge where they serve free coffee in the morning, and complimentary wine from 5-6 in the evening. The restaurant and whiskey bar is something to experience as well.
Tuesday morning, I made it bright and early to the conference, picked up my badge and scanned the networking coffee area for any familiar faces. There were a few, but nothing like the old days. One can’t help but being a little melancholy over this. It’s always great catching up with old friends and business acquaintances, but this is a rare event for me at the GIGSE. Finally, the first session began.
It was standing room only, and from what I gathered from the Clarion Events people that there were nearly 800 delegates. That’s a huge improvement over the past couple of years as the GIGSE has tried to recover from the collapse of the North American market. Looks like a success story.
As noted, this is the last GIGSE where the US market is theoretical. Next year will be full of talks about what is working and what is not. But this year began with a group of execs who have had the online experience: Norbert Teufelberger (CEO bwin.party), David Baazov (CEO Amaya Gaming), Robert Melendres (VP IGT Interactive Group), and Gigi Levy (former CEO, 888 Holdings). They were able to give sage advice on operating in an online environment.
One observance – players don’t want a lot of bells and whistles – they want to gamble. Going further with this, the industry needs to foresee that there is a new wave of customers. This is going to call for new products, most of which have not been envisioned yet. The key to success will be the ability to bridge social and traditional games – that is a distinctive opportunity for an entrepreneur, or a company that has the resources to develop something like this.
So in a nutshell, Gambling Experience + Entertainment Experience = Big Money. Stand alone casinos aren’t going to cut it; they will need to be attached to something else…perhaps.
There were additional panels that morning – most certainly had something provocative to chew over (metaphorically speaking) in one’s mind. During the sessions “Examining legal and commercial challenges of state-by-state legislation.” Richard Schuetz, California Gambling Control Board commissioner, gave a great pitch why everyone should drop what they are doing and move to California – it has most creative and successful industries, it is the birthplace of advanced technology and innovation, it’s a great place to live, the weather is fantastic, great beaches and delicious sushi (well, a little bit of conjecture there). The rep from Denmark gave some solid advice – the US needs to find a way to harmonize between its differing jurisdictions. Don’t focus on differences – focus on what one can do together (taxing, licensing, etc.,). This stuck in my mind as I reflected on my well-worn notion that there are a lot of hands reaching for the big US apple pie.
Voice from the past – GiGSE 2006 – Montreal
Day Two kicked off for me in the exhibition hall. I was due to give a presentation “Online Casino Management 101: Letters from the Trenches. It was well attended – and yes, I had a lot to say. Most of the material I used was actually from this newsletter (aren’t you glad you subscribed?). Issues #263, 264, and 265. I covered “gaining player trust”, “maintaining player trust”, and wait to do (or what not to do) when you screw up. Using real live issues and correspondences from casinos and players, it went over rather well. Ted Loh was there, and he was wearing a suit. He’s finally been assimilated.
Ted was slotted for a panel discussion about on self regulation moderated by eCOGRA’s Michael Hirst, and included Card Player Magazine’s Roy Cooke, and Andrew Beveridge. One thing that I found interesting is the amount of distrust poker players have towards online poker rooms. Roy Cooke mentioned that only around 5-10% of the poker players he knows from the card rooms in Vegas ever venture online. They fear other cheating players and obviously, this is a major hurdle poker rooms need to eliminate. Obviously there is a lot of room to work in this arena – player trust and following through on that trust is what it’s all about. Why this industry lets us down in this realm almost on a daily basis is beyond me. Ted brought up the issue that licensing agencies are failing players because they (in most cases) are non-responsive to player issues. If a licensing agency chooses not to police their licensees, why should players be concerned whether a casino is licensed or not?
One thing that was a bit shocking yet expected, was the seemingly absence of anything to do with what players need and what they want. Many of the discussions went on and on about the importance of social gaming (which was also repeated at the Power 50 conference I had attended the week prior), and how this is the future of online gambling. I used to be a proponent of this, but lately I’ve become a bit skeptical.
Many hardcore gamblers don’t want to be bothered with the “social” aspects of interaction; they want to gamble. So it’s going to take an innovative game design and platform to accomplish this. They want their slots; they don’t want to chat. These are your traditional gamblers who seem to be the majority of the online market – at least in Europe it seems that way.
And of course there is the obligatory talk about the importance of mobile and tablet access. I can see this working for sportsbetting – but again, I’m not fully convinced about this applying to your typical traditional gambler. We recently conducted a poll in our forum where nearly 25% of our members state that they don’t even have a smart phone or tablet. Many of these members are very active players, and they are being left out of the equation. It could be that the forward-vision of casinos is willing to put those 25% aside while targeting the “new” gambler: the younger folk who can’t recollect life before Facebook and Google. The Internet has always been an element of their generation as TV has been to ours, and as radio has been to our elders. Personally I think it’s a bit narrow sighted – tunnel vision of a gaming industry.
Back to what players want: one of the few times that players’ needs were addressed was during a panel discussion on ” Licensing suitability – discussing legal and commercial rationale of excluding off-shore operators”. John Pappas, Poker Players Alliance mentioned that Poker Stars should not be kept out of the US market as a “bad actor” since poker players really want them to remain. (“Bad Actors” are any casino that has been taking US bets after 31 December 2006). This was rallied against by Jan Jones-Blackhurst, VP of Communications and Government Relations at Caesars (and former mayor of Las Vegas), who is adamant that no offshore entity ought to be allowed in. The compliance and licensing standards that Vegas has upheld over the years has eradicated organized crime which permeated the casino industry in the beginning. Allowing companies that skirted (or possibly broke) the law to take bets in the US is not fair to the companies that abided by their licensing regulations. Well, she has a point, but the downside to this is that partnerships will be limited, and that those companies that may have placed their customers as top priority will not be a part of this new industry. So again, here is another instance of placing corporate interest ahead of player needs.
Now one can agree that proper licensing and compliance is in the players’ best interest, the problem with this perception is that “proper licensing and compliance” does not necessarily guarantee that an outfit doesn’t go rogue. Take Betfair for example: they’ve been in the rogue pit for several years, and for good reason. Fully licensed and publicly traded Purple Lounge closed its doors and refused to pay its players. Or look at the LGA – they have repeatedly received numerous awards for not so stellar moments here, here, and here. So what I am sensing from the US side of the coin is that they are sure of themselves – they have the know-how and resources to pull off anything. And whatever is cooked up – the US players will like it. They really have no choice.
Sushi Break: Ryoko’s is a really cool sushi bar. The ambience is (in German) gemüetlich – and the food is memorable. If you are in town, it’s a must do.
Voice from the past – GiGSE 2005 – Montreal
On the flipside, Frank Fahrenkopf spoke of the problems facing the US market stating that the biggest obstacle for legislation against online gaming is the 10th amendment which guarantees sovereign rights of the states. States are to be able to make their own choices without the US government stepping in. This is why the US has all but 2 states with some sort of regulated gaming (Utah and Hawaii have none). Even though there seems to be a strong push to ban online gaming, 80-85% of the American public don’t see a problem with it. 15% are opposed. Well who are these 15%? Well the lawmakers who are banding together are an odd sorts – it’s the far right who feel that gambling is morally wrong (yet their mothers probably play bingo online), and the far left who feel that people are too stupid to make decisions on their own. They need the government to protect them from themselves.
So there is a new bill on the horizon – it’s an “enforcement bill” that will make it illegal to participate in illegal activities and is geared towards the credit card companies (again). He doubts that it will pass, but you never know… What is obvious is the two differing philosophies of European and US lawmakers. US citizens need to keep their representatives in check by popping them an email or writing them a letter every so often. US citizens take note: don’t let your representatives in Washington forget that political extremists (far left and right) should not be allowed to infringe on your rights to make decisions for yourself.
One thing I really noticed about this SF trip was the “fragrance” of Amsterdam; there were dope smokers everywhere. And yes, you can by weed in shops (with a doctor’s prescription of course) like the Apothecarium on Market Street. Don’t believe me? Here’s their menu. Things sure have changed since the 1970s.
Back to the conference. Gone are the days of the glamorous “exhibition” hall. Back in the day, the exhibition hall was a way that some of the bigger firms would woo delegates with open bars, free massages, take home goodies, and other necessities. That’s all fine and dandy when you can see though that cloud – it fostered networking and galvanized some business relationships. Now we have a handful of firms with very modest booths (they don’t have modest means by far). The most you’re going to take home are some free pens and squeezy stress balls.
Lunch time: Each year, these conferences bring out the best for lunch, well at least they try to bring out the best. I had memories of some fantastic Chinese food from last year, but this year I didn’t see it. Lots of fresh veggies, but I could have used a crispy Spring roll. But who is to complain – there was enough Sushi outside to feed, well – a city.
Affiliates: It was obvious via a panel discussion with Jason “Wolf” Rosenberg CEO American iGaming Solutions, Vin Narayan, Editor-in-Chief Casino City, and Jon Friedberg CEO PokerTrip Enterprises, that the audience is still a bit bewildered about affiliate marketing. The crowd had also thinned at this point – maybe 200 delegates tops. This is another frustrating point for me – most landbased casinos are clueless about the Internet as if they just stepped into the market right out of 1999. The panelists covered the aspect of affiliates, pros and cons, and yet some members of the audience just didn’t seem to grasp the concept. For those affiliates who are considering catching the big US wave, you might be a little disappointed. Either you will be required to go through the same licensing requirements of the casino marketing firms, or advertise via some sort of partnership. So true start-up entrepreneurs are going to be swept out of the way. So much for small business.
There is an assumption that the big US companies will do well when the market opens up. And that’s just going to be a “see it to believe it” moment. There is a huge pie at stake, and with this pie and all of the hands that are wrist deep, there is no room for error. All it will take is one scandal to sink a company and tarnish the US industry – especially when it comes to compliance. This is one reason why we won’t see widespread online casino games for a few more years.
And much of this still has to do with politics. Politics in the States can be complex at times, and are always personal. For some reason, house conservatives don’t want to be seen as “pro-gambling”. Moralistic fearmongers and lobbyist still sway these lawmakers. There may be a “by the people, for the people” rhetoric blown out of some orifice, but not when it comes to online gaming in the States. Online gaming in the US is about big governments and big business making big money.
This idea rounded the bases at light speed when one of the panelist on the last day stated: “We’re here to make a lot of money – and that is what people should be focused on.”
Some final thoughts…
As the GiGSE came to an end, it was really apparent the US market is still rather polarized – there are ambitious land-based casinos, and ginormous entertainment companies: Facebook, Warner Bros, et al, but they are separated by their local, State, and Federal governments, and then there seems to be many executives who haven’t been able to wrap their heads around everything yet. Sometimes I don’t blame them.
Next year’s GIGSE should prove interesting. I’m curious on how 2013 will pan out
Thanks to Clarion Events. I feel that it was a very successful conference – the quality of the speakers and subject matter was top notch and spot on. It was an excellent event – it was well worth the trip.
31 May 2013
WORD FROM THE MEISTER
Well, after my whirlwind tour of England this past week, I’m finally settling down and getting caught up. Why England you ask my dearest reader? Well it was to visit some friends and enjoy some sites with my family in tow. Checked out the Beatles Museum in Liverpool – that was fascinating, and great for my kids since they’re really interested in the early days of the Fab Four.
We also headed out to the small village of Almondbury in Yorkshire where my 10th Great Grandfather was born, married, and came to the New World in 1612 (Massachusetts). His father, his father’s father, and his father were all born and raised in Almondbury. As we strolled around the cemetary at All Hallows Church, it was intriguing to think that some of my DNA was probably buried under the old stones lining the old church grounds. There were no stones indicating 16th graves, but they were there…somewhere.
We headed south from there to visit Stratford upon Avon – Shakespeare’s home town where he was born, raised, lived and died. Anyone who has taken any interest in “the bard” needs to make this pilgrimage at least once. What was especially notable was that in the gardens of the Birthplace Museum, there are actors who will enact any Shakespeare scene of your choice. Mine was the meeting between Hamlet and his father’s ghost – unfortunately the man who would have played the Father’s ghost was on break. So we settled for “to be or not to be” and then the “nunnery scene”. Absolutely marvelous. The garden was nearly empty (I guess it was off-season), so it was a very intimate performance.
I also had the chance to visit the Club World offices, which was quite impressive. I met the whole gang there, Tom, Martyn, and quite a number of others. It’s always a good thing to get a glimpse of how customer service operates, the techno side of things, and how the place operates as a whole. It was a very good trip.
BACK TO WORK
In case you missed it, the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority finally made a statement concerning the Finsoft/Spielo Hilo and Reel Deal fiasco. You can read about this here. The bottom line is that players will not be compensated for their losses while they played these deceptive games. In the words of the commissioner:
…The customer loss/operator gain is not significant and we see no case for reimbursements; the supply parties have been disturbed by the case and have felt the discomfort of regulatory interventions. You might want to dissect my points and continue to debate the issue, but the case is now closed, everyone needs to learn from it and move on.
What have we learned? This resolution took nearly five months to make – and the statement was rather defensive and not as objective as I had expected. Needless to say, most of our forum members were very disappointed, some truly alarmed, and quite a few incensed. I agree that a licensing agency is there to protect its clients, but protection of players supercede that. Without the trust from players, you have nothing.
ThePogg set up a petition at Change.org hoping that the gaming commission would revisit this issue, but the commissioner responded with “…I look forward to seeing who actually signs the petition and comes out from behind their shield(s) of anonymity…” which many members (including myself) found intimidating. Well so far quite a few people have signed this – and you can do so as well at www.change.org.
From these statements being made by the commissioner, I concluded that players’ interest is not a priority, and the Gibraltar’s status was dropped from high to medium in our ranking of gaming jurisdictions which is an absolute shame since I always held this jurisdiction in high regard – it was one of the best. This has affected the scoring of all Gibraltar based casinos in our Accredited section.
BETFAIR PLAYERS
I’ve been keeping Max pretty busy this week – one thing concerns Betfair. He’s done a bit of research and found that there may be a solution for those players who were victim to Betfair’s “Happy Hour” screw up. Here it follows:
In the course of pursuing the many Betfair PABs we received as part of the 2010 “Happy Hour” Bonus fiasco we have learned that Betfair will pay out to UK players if they are willing to apply legal pressure. For example this would apply to UK-based players who had their balances in a UK-licensed division of Betfair, such as Betfair Sports Book which at the time held a UK license. Here is the procedure we now understand will produce results for players in this position:
To begin there are a few good online guides on how to proceed with a legal claim in the UK via Small Claims Court (SCC):
– for general orientation on the complaints process see http://mse.me/complain
– Which.co.uk has invaluable advice on SCC, see http://bit.ly/15gtLxK
– MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE) also has an excellent SCC guide: http://mse.me/claims
Step 1
——
The process that we’ve seen produce results begins with a “letter before claim”, a requirement under UK law and a formal way of giving the company a last chance to settle before you commence legal action. Which.co.uk has a template for this letter: http://bit.ly/15gtXNB
We would suggest that in your “letter before claim” you include the following:
– statement that it was a broadly advertised promotion sent out to individuals well in advance.
– show that the Terms & Conditions were very specific that there was no limit on the number of deposits that could be made.
– briefly describe what you deposited, played and state specifically how much you won (and expect to receive).
– state that while the casino was under Maltese jurisdiction you actually had your money in a UK-licensed division of Betfair (i.e. the Sports Book) when it was confiscated.
– detail any previous attempts to resolve your issue, for example through direct contact with Betfair, through the LGA and any third parties you may have tried (such as Casinomeister).
– specifically request that Betfair fully disclose the documentation they hold regarding your account and the promotion played. Give a time in which they must reply, recall that Which.co.uk says 28 days is typical.
Send your letter via registered mail — aka “recorded delivery”, the point being that they need to sign for it and you get confirmaton that they did — to Betfair at:
Betfair
Waterfront
Hammersmith Embankment
Chancellors Road
London
W6 9HP
You will probably get a standard reply from Betfair stating their intention to defend any court action, etc. They may also send supporting materials all of which you should save as it may be useful later.
Step 2
——
Once you have their response, or lack thereof, go to the Courts & Tribunals civil claim site Money Claim Online (MCOL): https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome
Follow the “Register as an Individual” process at MCOL. You will be required to pay an upfront fee which will vary according to the size of your claim: something like 4% of your claim seems typical but YMMV.
The MCOL process asks you to summarize your claim and provide some simple personal details. Please note that your are allowed to claim interest on the money owed. We understand that the interest claim is a generous 8%.
Now your case is fully in the hands of Courts & Tribunals. They will probably be an exchange of letters regarding the case which could continue for several weeks after which your case will (hopefully) be allocated a court for a hearing.
Betfair will likely send a legal response saying they would defend in full, quoting Terms & Conditions, etc. Fear not, press on.
Step 3
——
Courts & Tribunals will ask you to pay a court “allocation fee” — £200 — and fill in a detailed questionnaire about the case. Do so, it’s a simple process, and proceed.
Courts & Tribunals will allocate a court for your case: if it is inconvenient, too far to travel or whatever, you can ask for it to be moved.
A court date will be set and this will likely require a third payment, £395 seems typical but again YMMV.
Conclusion (A): Payday!
———————–
Our understanding is that at this point Betfair is contacting people directly, typically offering full settlements including all costs plus interest (that 8%) on the confiscated balance. The amounts have been paid direct to player’s Betfair accounts. The upshot is that you may well not have to pay that final court fee.
Conclusion (B): Court day
————————-
If Betfair hasn’t offered settlement then you will need to pay that final fee and you’re due in court on the date specified. No case has gone to this point that we’re aware of so you’re on your own if yours does: best wishes to you on a happy settlement.As a reminder, this is not legal advise but merely a roadmap for those you may have been a player who was affected by this promotion.
I’ve started a thread about this here in our forum.
BAPTISM BY FIRE
Let’s welcome Guts Casino into the Baptism by Fire section. Powered by NetEnt, MGS, IGT, and Betsoft – they seem to have it together. CasinoBen (who was the iGaming rep for NordicBet a while back) is the man with the plan.
If you have any questions or issues, please don’t hesitate to contact their casino rep or post in their dedicated thread here
And now for the humor…
A minister was seated next to a cowboy on a flight to Texas.
After the plane was airborne, drink orders were taken.
The cowboy asked for a whiskey and soda, which was brought and placed before him.
The flight attendant then asked the minister if he would like a drink.
He replied in disgust, “I’d rather be savagely raped by brazen whores than let liquor touch my lips.”
The cowboy then handed his drink back to the attendant and said, “Me too. I didn’t know we had a choice.”
Ha ha ha!
Thanks Weesie!
More jokes here!
7 June 2013
WORD FROM THE MEISTER
Getting back into the swing of things – and it’s all good. I’m in the process of revamping the Webcasts section and the Casinomeister Channel at YouTube. I’ve asked for input and advice from our forum members – and now also from you – suggestions on what you’d like to see presented on our bitchin’ webcasts. I’ll be setting up several playlists – some will be “how to’s” and tutorials for newbie players, suggestions, and perhaps advice for casino and affiliate managers. If you have anything you’d like to see – or any suggestions, please post them here in our forum.
Bierfest!! Yes, we are celebrating our 15th year online – and as with every year, it’s the Bierfest that marks these anniversaries. Congrats to Daywalker – he’s the first one to solve the first contest – it’s all detailed here. 10 liters of Bavarian Bier will soon be his.
CASINOMEISTER’S WEBCAST!!!
Webcast Updates and more!
- Meister Clubs
- Baptism by Fire
- Vortran’s Casino Warning – Betport
All this and more here!!
https://www.youtube.com/embed/sc9aD1NPQb0?enablejsapi=1 NEVER BE LEFT OUT IN THE COLD!! Subscribe to our videos here!! You’ll be automatically emailed whenever a video is uploaded!! I guarantee that these videos will make you a smarter, better person.
BAPTISM BY FIRE
FlyCasino is our newest contender, and I am positive it’s going to be a green light at the end of the BBF period. Sister casino of Omni Casino – accredited since 1999, powered by Playtech and managed by OC Elliott who has a number of years under his belt managing both players and affiliates.
If you have any questions or issues, please don’t hesitate to give him a shout in their dedicated thread here
Let’s welcome Guts Casino into the Baptism by Fire section. Powered by NetEnt, MGS, IGT, and Betsoft – they seem to have it together. CasinoBen (who was the iGaming rep for NordicBet a while back) is the man with the plan.
If you have any questions or issues, please don’t hesitate to contact their casino rep or post in their dedicated thread here
And now for the humor…
From the archives:
A young lady stops by her grandmother’s house on the way to a dance. She wants to introduce her boy friend to her grandmother. As they are chatting, her boy friend spies some peanuts on the coffee table. He begins munching on them as they converse.
After about an hour, they are getting ready to leave and he thanks the grandmother for her hospitality and especially for the peanuts.
“Oh, your welcome young man,” she says. “I appreciate you finishing them up. Ever since I lost my dentures I can only suck the chocolate off of them.”
Ha ha ha!
12 July 2013
WORD FROM THE MEISTER
Welcome to another illustrious Friday. No Bierfest this week (sorry) – but I promise that we’ll have a mega fest next week, so stay tuned for that.
We’ve been busy – as usual – working on amongst things the new C2o – Casinomeister’s Second Opinion.
This is an excellent tool for your browser that will let you know what the Casinomeister status is of any casino. Visit a casino, click the C2o link in your browser, and a pop-up window will appear letting you know if the casino is listed in our Rogue section, Accredited, Probation, No-can-do, Not Recommended, Baptism by Fire, or whatever status it’s in – and why.
Developed by Simmo!, and maintained by moi, it’s available for free for our Full Members and above. Are you not a Full Member yet? All you need to become one is to be a member of our forum for a minimum of 90 days and make 50 posts or have a least 50 rep points. So what are you waiting for? Get busy in the forum! And if you are a Full Member or above, please check your PMs since an announcement was made earlier this week.
BAPTISM BY FIRE
Count ’em! We have seven casinos in the Baptism By Fire section! That’s a record! We have new Microgaming, Playtech, Novomatic, IGT and Aristocrat powered casinos – and you can check them out here!
And now for the humor…
A guy is driving around the back woods of Montana and he sees a sign in front of a broken down shanty-style house: “Talking Dog For Sale “He rings the bell and the owner appears and tells him the dog is in the backyard.
The guy goes into the backyard and sees a nice looking Labrador retriever sitting there.
‘You talk?’ he asks.
‘Yep,’ the Lab replies.
After the guy recovers from the shock of hearing a dog talk, he says ‘So,what’s your story?’
The Lab looks up and says, ‘Well, I discovered that I could talk when I was pretty young. I wanted to help the government, so I told the CIA.
In no time at all they had me jetting from country to country, sitting in rooms with spies and world leaders, because no one figured a dog would be eavesdropping.’
‘I was one of their most valuable spies for eight years running…
But the jetting around really tired me out, and I knew I wasn’t getting any younger so I decided to settle down. I signed up for a job at the airport to do some undercover security, wandering near suspicious characters and listening in. I uncovered some incredible dealings and was awarded a batch of medals.
‘I got married, had a mess of puppies, and now I’m just retired.’
The guy is amazed. He goes back in and asks the owner what he wants for the dog.
‘Ten dollars,’ the guy says.
‘Ten dollars? This dog is amazing! Why on earth are you selling him so cheap?’
‘Because he’s a Bullshitter . He’s never been out of the yard’
Ha ha ha!
30 October 2013
TALES FROM THE ROAD
…and what a road. I’ve been pretty much strung out over the past few months with a number of projects – both professional and personal – which have sucked up a lot of my time. A number of you have noted my absence, which is cool – it’s all good. Just enjoying life – and a bit of traveling.
Usually I fly in to Vegas for the G2E – the largest North American casino exhibition and conference. I’ve been attending this annual event nearly every year since 2001, and this is the first time I drove in. Cruising through the desert heat with a couple bottles of water and some Cheetos at my side – it’s a great ride to contemplate one’s existance. I love the desert – it’s massive, unforgiving; the silence in the desert is captivating. But streaking though it via Interstate 15 leaves one to only catch peripheral glimpses of it. My bag of Cheetos would have to do as a contemplative prompt. Oh, and a bag of salted-in-the-shell sunflower seeds as a chaser.
I was staying at the Encore – like each year going back to days of yore. Many good memories there mostly with Ted Loh (RIP buddy), Greedygirl (couldn’t make it), and Simmo! – who was there with one his mates from back home.
That first night we went out to the Penn and Teller show at the Rio. What a fascinating experience of being fooled with all sorts of visual trickery. I love “magic” shows – of course there is no magic but “sleight of hand” and I spend weeks if not years wondering how they did it. I’m a seasoned skeptic and cannot be bamboozled too easily. These guys blow my mind. If you are ever in Vegas – you need to check them out.
But I was not only in Vegas for merely the fun and games, but for the G2E. Each year I’ve been trekking across the globe to check out what’s in store for online players. Back in the day, I used to come to Vegas to see what new slots were appearing for the land based entities – knowing that the online software companies would mimic some of the features of their land-based brethren such as free spins, multi-hand video poker, and level-up pokers. Things have changed in a big way since then.
What is changing is the face of online gaming. A few companies are setting the bar a bit high for their competitors to leap over – WMS for one. I was blown away by some of their new online slots that are being launched soon. It used to be that companies were limited on how much band-width they could be sucking up – no one likes slow games and players will bail as soon as the game play goes into suck mode. Those days are finally over.
Well at least for those who are fortunate enough to be able to access games provided by Netent, WMS, IGT et al. Unfortunately a majority of online players won’t experience these games for the next couple of years (if they’re lucky). US players are still being treated as the red-headed step-child of this industry. Anyone having any clued up experience with the online gaming industry is well aware that it’s the puppet masters who are pulling the strings in the US market. Last year at the GIGSE it was an explicit understanding that the companies involved in the US are mainly there for the money. Not that I’m knocking the importance of compliance and proper licensing – on the contrary, that is of the utmost importance as long as it is focused on the individual player. What is disheartening is that compliance and proper licensing is here to protect the companies involved, not necessarily the player. And most of these companies are putting their own interests first – not the player. That is the impression that I’ve gotten over the past several years traveling to the States.
Another impression which seems to be lingering around – never to vacate itself – is the cluelessness of potential US operators towards affiliates and their role in the marketing aspect of online gaming. Again I was witness to another panel discussion concerning what affiliates, sole proprietorships, and small businesses offer casino operators. I might as well have been transported to the early days of the industry circa 2002 where affiliates and affiliate managers described how they could access large player communities and niches that huge entities covet. It’s sad and a bit stupefying that US focused operators have not been taking notice of an industry that is thriving in Europe – and taking proper notes too. But there are a handful of very active consultancy services that are making a big attempt to get these companies’ ducks in order. Thanks to Nicky Senyard who did an excellent job moderating her panel discussion – and to the participants, Ian Sims from Slotjunkies.com, Warren Jolly from CAP, and Andrew Karonis from Gtech, and Jake Saroka from Mojo Affiliates.
As for the exhibition hall, the i-Gaming section was pretty much like last year: an empty hole. It took about three minutes to circle around the entire section and to accept the hard facts – the US market is limited to the big boys (who aren’t located in the i-Gaming section). It’s the polar opposite in Europe, and it has been that way for a very long time.
Voice from the past – G2E 2003
The following day was the beginning of the G2E (Global Gaming Expo) the largest exhibition in North America that deals with every aspect of the casino business. It was touted as being the largest and most successful, but strolling the exhibition floor I was seriously dismayed at the lack of participation of the online gaming community. I am afraid that this is a tell tale sign of the state of the industry. There were only a handful of software providers, Cryptologic, Boss Media, Net Entertainment, Playtech, and the troubled Futurebet. That was about it. No Microgaming. No RTG. No Oddson. No new kids on the block.
There was only one licensing agency, First Cagayan from the Philippines which has just recently picked up their first licensee, (which will be announced at a later date). But again, there wasn’t much representation from anyone else. No Antigua. No Kahnawake. No Panamanians. Nobody else. It was slim pickins for an information gatherer like myself.One observation that both Ian and I made, each year there are a few highly touted and publicized slot games – the big name branding like Lord of the Rings, Ghostbusters, Monty Python, et al. but on the gaming floor, these slots are nearly non-existent. It’s mostly the tried and true Cleopatras, Wolfrun, Wheel of Fortune, Monopoly, and occasional new WMS slots like the Wizard of Oz series. One would be hard pressed to find more than one kiosk of Lord of the Rings or Elvis slots. It seems like some of these big marketing pushes don’t interest the players at all. They’d rather play Cleopatra.
After several days of experiencing some really excellent “slot time” with Simmo! and friends, it was time to head on out to my annual trek into the desert. Bag of Cheetos on the passenger seat – I was westward bound towards my California Heimat.
About a week later, I was in Barcelona for the annual EIG – the European i-Gaming Expo which is a must attend event for those who are focused on the iGaming industry. Europe is well established and regulated – it’s been like that for over a decade now. But the face of the industry is a corporate one. In days of yore, it flourished with Hawaiian shirts and sandals. Those days are unfortunately dust in the wind.
Back at the Colon Hotel – an excellent stay right across from the Cathedral in the Gothic quarter. Here I met up Adnan from Affiliate Republik and was treated to beers at Moritz, an excellent local brewery, and then we wandered off to El Riloj where I indulged on one of the best hamburgers I’ve ever eaten – ever. Photographic proof here.
The following day was the opening of the event, and like last year the exhibition floor was massive yet a bit spartan. One nice touch was that there were video monitors placed sporadically around the exhibition hall that broadcasted the ongoing presentations, the only drawback to this was that many presentations were merely glorified ads for whatever company that had the floor. Hopefully in the future this will change.
One of the most amazing sites was harboured in the NetEnt booth. People who know me know that I am a big fan of the old Universal monster flicks – thus a big fan of the Universal Slots, and Netentertainment is releasing a new one: The Creature From the Black Lagoon. This was one of the very first “creatures” that entered my early childhood dreams, erm – nightmares. And the creature has had a lasting effect on me. Netent has done a magnificent job with this slot. The’ve captured the essence of a murky lagoon with a horrifying aqua-beast. Great bonus round as well. But double extra kudos for the creators of the South Park slots. This game is brilliant. There are enough bonus rounds, film clips, and audio blurbs to keep any South Park fan occupied for hours. Each main character has his own bonus round – and each one is absolutely hilarious. Fantastic job Netent.
You can play South Park at any of these Accredited Casinos.
I met up again with Adnan and we agreed to place Tropezia Palace Casino in the Baptism By Fire section (we’ve actually have been planning this since May). This is our litmus test to make sure that casinos uphold and meet the standards of accreditation, and this is done by you the player. So far, so good. You can read up on their BBF thread here.
Those who know me know I love to eat. And I always look forward to what these conferences offer in the way of chow. This year I can definitely say one thing to Clarion Events – please dump the catering service. The food this year was dreadful. Barcelona has so much to offer, and dried up sandwiches wrapped in plastic is not my idea of good Catalan cuisine. Moving on…
I also met up with Igor from BetAtCasino who had a lot of good things to say about our community at Casinomeister. Our forum has just the right mix of recreational players, fraudsters, advantage players, shills, sidewalk supervisors, whiners, philosophers, affiliates, college professors, weathermen, nut jobs, and i-Gaming reps. It’s really a fantastic place – and if you aren’t a member of our forum, why not? Membership is free of course and you can sign up here.
Voice from the past – EIG 2009
The World Poker Congress was being held in conjunction with the EIG and I had been invited to speak – Gaining and Maintaining Player Trust. If you’d like to get a portion of what I discussed, you can check out the latest YouTube presentation here. In a nutshell, you gain people’s trust by being transparent, applying the “Golden Rule”, don’t lie, and when you make mistakes – admit it. Check out the video – you can apply these techniques to any workplace.That evening I met up with forum members ConkerRebecca Liggero, Alex Pratt and a few others and we had a really relaxing time soaking up the ambiance of the Cathedral Square: street musicians, eating Tapas, and shooing away the peddlers of roses, crappy toys, and other junk. While the night was early, we decided to check out the EIG event party being held at the Bling Bling.
Unlike last year’s event (at the same venue), it was way too loud. That was a joy-kill at that moment until a couple of us found a back room were we could chat. It’s like reinventing the wheel each year, unless of course one can find a separate room cut off from the techno thunk thunk thunk of partygoing, these events are unconducive to chit-chatting. But then, what the hell? Sometimes it’s fun watching other people drink too much – but then, it’s only really entertaining if you know them. And some of us old-timers made the observance that no one really knows us at all. We’re unrecognizable. So I was off – back in a cab headed to my cozy hotel room.
The following day was another day of interesting dialogue at the conference. I met up with one of the execs at Microgaming who addressed my concern about how players were anticipating that the RTPs of MGS slots would be displayed in the games since a number of other software companies are doing this. It is being dealt with as I type, and I should have a solid answer by the next newsletter.
As the EIG vendors began to pack up and the lights were dimmed, I had the melancholy feeling of another conference drifting into the annuls of our newsletter – soon to be archived and referenced – more anecdotally than not, much of it being forgotten except by a happy few. Overall for me it’s always a great experience – episodic at times – but always worth reflecting on. There are many amiable and engaging people to meet. Some old-timers – some newbies. Thank you Clarion Events for another great conference.
The last evening was very relaxing – hanging out at the hotel bar and chatting with one of the iNetBet operators. We discussed the possibility of them launching a live chat room, and it looks like this is going to happen. We wandered off to find some Tapas and a few glasses of red wine. Barcelona wins one over effortlessly.
Voice from the past – EIG 2007
And here I am reflecting on “what a strange trip it’s been.” There are a lot of good people in this industry, and it pleases me to see them doing a job well done. Even though there is still a lot of room for improvement, I feel that most everyone is on the right track. It also amazes me how often I meet people who are just getting into the business. I hand them my card, and give them instructions on what to read on this site, and what to look for. Hopefully, they’ll become members of Casinomeisterland.
Photographic proof here.
20 December 2013
WORD FROM THE MEISTER
It’s a relatively short one. Getting ready to take a little break and spend some time with the family. In doing so, I’m wishing you a pleasant holiday season. From Casinomeisterland to you – Happy Holidays!!
NEW BITCHIN’ WEBCAST!!
Casinomeister’s Christmas Special – 20 December 2013
Information you may not have known about being a member at Casinomeister – PLUS Who’s been Naughty or Nice? Find out on our jovial festive webcast!!
NEVER BE LEFT OUT IN THE COLD!! Subscribe to our videos here!! You’ll be automatically emailed whenever a video is uploaded!! I guarantee that these videos will make you a smarter, better person.
And now for the humor……
One Monday morning a mailman is walking the neighborhood on his usual route. As he approaches one of the homes he noticed that both cars were in the driveway. His wonder was cut short by Bob, the homeowner, coming out with a load of empty beer and liquor bottles. “Wow Bob, looks like you guys had one hell of a party last night.” the mailman comments.
Bob in obvious pain replies, “Actually we had it Saturday night. This is the first I have felt like moving since 4:00 am Sunday morning. We had about fifteen couples from around the neighborhood over for Christmas Cheer and it got a bit wild. Hell, we got so drunk around midnight that we started playing WHO AM I.”
The mailman thinks a moment and says, “How do you play that?”
Well all the guys go in the bedroom and we come out one at a time with a sheet covering us and only our “privates” showing through a hole in the sheet. Then the women try to guess who it is.”
The mailman laughs and says, “Damn, I’m sorry I missed that.”
Probably a good thing you did,” Bob responds. “Your name came up four or five times.”
ha ha ha
31 October 2013
CASINOMEISTER’S WEBCAST!!!
Casinomeister’s Three Tales of Terror
Parasites of Parasino Casino
Acelive – the Undead
Trolls from the Bowels of the Earth
https://youtube.com/watch?v=bNQEH0bIplY%3Frel%3D0%26controls%3D0%26showinfo%3D0%26enablejsapi%3D1
NEVER BE LEFT OUT IN THE COLD!! Subscribe to our videos here!! You’ll be automatically emailed whenever a video is uploaded!! I guarantee that these videos will make you a smarter, better person.