Online Casino Edition – Casino News News about online casinos and gambling

The Spanish authorities have made up their minds to go tough on awarding licenses to online gambling platforms. But, they are choosing to do it by introducing last minute nasty surprises for gambling platform owners. Recently, the Spanish authorities suddenly asked the applicants to pay up back taxes for a period of four years if they wished to avail licenses! As a result, applicants had to cough up a huge sum of money without flinching if they wished to carry out their gaming operations in Spain. Whereas Bwin paid up almost €33 million, the amount designated for PokerStars was much higher. Earlier, applicants were inclined to believe that the back taxes would only be applicable from the June of 2011.

But, this was not all! There were more such unpleasant surprises in store for applicants on the 1^st of June, which were just a few days before the licenses were slated to be issued. The Spanish Regulator went on to state that one of the primary prerequisites for obtaining a Spanish license would be that the operator would have to purge its player list bearing Spanish players and would have to begin afresh from a base of 0. This condition has been levied to ensure that all legally licensed online gambling operators are compelled to begin on an equal footing so that the advantages accrued during the course of the illegal gambling period aren’t carried forward.

Until now, the operators were operating in the Spanish domains with their .com addresses. Players having accounts on these sites would now have to be terminated before online gambling operators can restart their fresh sites with .es addresses. The players would be required to cash out the old addresses, open fresh accounts with the newly built sites, and make renewed deposits in order to play. In the process, players would also have to do away with their VIP tags as operators would not be allowed information transfer from the old sites to the fresh ones. Affiliates would also be affected because the existent links would have to be severed.

The Spanish regulatory authorities have specifically pointed out the operators would not be allowed to transition affiliates or players to the newly established portals they would be operating from. Tagging the accounts of the original affiliates would also not be allowed. These moves would be of huge benefit to the new operators who had not yet entered the online gambling market. Still, it could well prove to be irritating and inconvenient for Spanish players to register all over again. But, the opportunity can be utilized for reevaluating options and switching to fresh operators if necessary.

The Spanish gambling markets go live on the 5^th of June. The operators with new licenses weren’t keen to go online on a weekend where technical support could be low and playing volume would he high because it might be difficult to attend to problems. Therefore, even though the licenses have been issued, there would be a delay of few days.

To dispel all doubts about whether the national gambling regulator of Spain, Alejo, would indeed enforce the licenses to the deserving applicants, the home affairs ministry reconfirmed this decision. The doubts had arisen about the likelihood of the regulations not coming into force because there had been changes in the staff and the previous deadline had been extended as well. Moreover, the number of applications had been colossal – nearly 59 applications had been obtained. But, with this announcement, two things became clear: the online services could begin at once and in-play betting would be discouraged. Incidentally, this speculation about the Spanish gambling regulator not being able to deliver his promise rose from the fact that the CEO of 888 Holdings had earlier made a statement to that effect after he had returned from Madrid. He had visited Madrid to assess the progress and he came to the conclusion that the Spanish regulator may need some more time to execute this move. The CEO, Mattingley, nevertheless had been visibly impressed by the regulatory body’s reaction and promptness to incorporate all the changes and ideas suggested to them.

Most European operators running online casinos have also applied for these licenses and hope to achieve them soon enough. In fact, as the deadline keeps getting stretched, they are losing out. At the same time, they have to bear substantial expenses to keep their operations in a state of readiness so that as soon as they obtain the license, they can begin to operate. So, this statement by Mattingley has further added to their frustration. They are now monitoring the prevailing situation to understand in which direction the regulations are likely to move. They are not sure about how much credibility they can attach to the Spanish government’s assurance. Side by side, another cause of concern for these operators has been the growing number of court cases involving these online gambling operators. They fear that local operators might be able to get some kind of injunction to delay the process. For instance, the local Spanish group called Codere has obtained injunctions against foreign gambling operators. In one case, the Madrid Commercial Court decided against Sportingbet. This company is still fighting this case and has applied for a legal permit under the gambling laws of the country. On the basis of meetings with regulators, it hopes to get its license shortly.

Launch of new Microgaming Flash Games

Microgaming, a leading software provider for the online casinos, has recently launched four new games using Flash technology. This will give players a super opportunity to win bigger payouts and enjoy top-class entertainment. These four games are Tiger v Bear Siberian Standoff, Karate Pig, Arctic Fortune, and Mystique Grove. All these are video slots. The Arctic Fortune is based on a Nordic fantasy theme and comes with many bonus features like free spins, multipliers, and wilds. The graphics are stunning and the animations exquisite. Another fantasy-themed game with five reels is the Mystique Grove. The Tiger v Siberian Standoff has 25 pay lines and five reels. Players can experience great slot actions when they choose either of the two characters and prepare them for battle against each other. The Karate Pig has a kung-fu theme and great graphics.