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

December 13, 2011

Online Casino Operators Look To Strengthen Their Software Capabilities

Filed under: Casino — Tags: , — OCE News @ 12:00 am

With continuous and quick growth in the online gambling industry, online casinos are no longer satisfied with licensing all their gaming software from software developing companies or third parties. The key to success in the online gaming industry is to have excellently developed gaming software. The casino operators want to control and strengthen their software capabilities so that they can exploit them as and when they want to maximize their output.

The online gambling casino operators are taking significant steps in this direction. Paddy Power, the Irish casino operator, has acquired Cayetano, a Bulgarian games developer. The games developing company operates from the Isle of Man and specializes in developing games for online casinos and mobile markets. Its software developing team is situated in Bulgaria. The consideration for acquiring Cayetano has not been disclosed by Paddy Power, but its Chief Executive, Patrick Kennedy, explained that this acquisition could bring a compelling range of gaming products and help them develop a new internal source of gaming expertise.

The Chief Executive Officer of Cayetano, Nick Maughan, said, “This is a great step for Cayetano and its team. We’re all excited at the prospect of being part of Paddy Power, a business whose success in this market has been built on an exceptional understanding of online customers and product trends.” Both the organizations are looking forward to strengthen their business association.

Bet 365 however, is taking a different approach in gaining a control over its gaming software and strengthening its capabilities. Unlike Paddy Power acquiring a ready business, it is instead recruiting a team of software experts and network architects. The main objective behind this large-scale recruitment is to create a next-generation platform for the company using the fresh talent and a new wave of network technologies for acquiring greater efficiency and scalability.

Martin Davies, the Chief Technical Officer of Bet 365 said, “As a system scales, the software becomes more complicated. We want to shield our core product development team from this complexity. The R and D team will focus exclusively on refreshing the network and solving the big issues that come with upgrading an infrastructure of our intricacy.”

Davis further explained that the online gambling casino has a culture of innovation, and in order to maintain this momentum, the casino is looking for the people having great potential, the right attitude, immense talent, creative thinking, and the latest knowledge and enthusiasm to take up the challenge. The team will be responsible for testing the existing software and platforms, developing new and innovative games software and architectures and fitting them all together to bring something unique. The long-term aim is to make the technology more efficient and quicker while reducing the resources required.

Bet 365 has a target of recruiting and assembling twenty software experts and networking architects by the end of the year. Although the gaming operator has full plans to recruit people from outside, the opportunity is open to those existing employees of the company who have shown interest in research and development and have come up with out-of-the-box and workable ideas.

December 1, 2011

U.S. Gambling Hearings

Filed under: Casino — Tags: , — OCE News @ 12:00 am

Two online gambling hearings took place in quick succession recently. One was organized in the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, while the other was presented before the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Manufacturing. The second pertained to the bill forwarded by Representative Barton in an effort to make online poker legal. The first was in connection with legalizing online gaming and suggested the keenness amongst American Indian tribes to have a say in regulatory policies regarding online gambling. Here, representatives of the Committee of Indian Affairs hailing from two distinct tribes offered divergent viewpoints on this issue. The chairman of the Mohegan Tribe Bozsum wanted to regulate online gambling. At the same time, he expressed his wish that the laws must protect the rights of all tribes and should allow them the chance to compete on fair grounds as he believed that the American Indian tribes had the capability to perform as well as others. He did not favor state regulatory laws because that would benefit smaller groups. Tribal casinos must also be granted the right to accept wagers given by nontribal land players. He felt that those online casinos that were not subject to regulations should be banned completely. The Vice Chairman of the Washington state-based Tulalip Tribes protested against gambling online because it threatened the existence of land-based casinos run by the Indians. The huge profits likely to be generated by these casinos are expected to be many more times than the profits likely to be churned out by online casinos. Hence, the ultimate gains through online gaming were not worth taking because they would adversely affect North American gambling profits.

Chairman Ernie Stevens of the National Indian Gaming Association, or NIGA, favored Bozsum’s stand. He believed that online laws must acknowledge the fact that tribes should be given a hand in regulating online gaming. Moreover, he suggested that tribal revenue should not be subject to federal taxation.

New Games Launch at Omni Casino

The Omni Casino has recently come up with three new games, and this was announced at the Omni Times. The 14th Anniversary Slots began here recently and attracted thousands of players. The first of this trio game launch was the Top Trump Celebs Scratch, which is a scratch card feature based on the popular online slots called Top Trump Celebs. Players have to choose their stakes and activate a card—when the prize symbol gets scratched, the star and payout can be seen. When the same star comes on the card, the payout can be won. The players here can meet celebrities like Madonna, Nicolas Cage, and Britney Spears. The second of the three new games is Mr. Cash Back, which is a unique slots game that gives back 100% of the line when a player fails to win even after 50 times. Players can also enjoy the freezing wilds here, wherein wild symbols do not move from one position for a certain number of spins. This game can offer players five times the points they can gain on all games up to November 23rd. The third is the Iron Man 2 slots game, which has been revamped and now arrives with fifty paylines.

November 4, 2011

Casinos Come Up With Special Offers For Halloween

Filed under: Casino — Tags: , — OCE News @ 12:00 am

The witchy season has a positive effect on casinos and online gaming sites and this year is no different. Most of the major casinos and online gaming sites have come up with various special offers and Halloween-themed games for the festival.

Rushmore Casino’s Special Halloween FrightFest Bonus

Rushmore casino is offering a special FrightFest bonus for their customers in the days running up to Halloween. This Curacao-based online casino site is one of the few internet gambling sites still accepting US players. It has become a great destination for online gamers looking for some Halloween cheer after the dismal events of Black Friday and the major ripples it created (and continues to create) in the online gaming community in the United States.

As per the offer, lucky players can win up to a 300 percent bonus (with a limit of a thousand dollars) on their deposits. In order to avail of this bonus, players will have to make a minimum deposit of 25 dollars though one of the following payment options: Moneyline Wallet, credit cards, or gift cards. Furthermore, players will also have to fulfill certain wagering requirements before they can avail of the money. The first and foremost condition is that as the Frightfest bonus is only for wagering purposes, only winnings from the bonus may be cashed out. Additionally, players will have to wager both the bonus and deposit amounts a minimum of 25 times on the following games: Blackjack, Texas Hold’em Bonus Poker, or Video Poker.

Interested players can contact the Rushmore Casino representatives either through phone or through live chat, whereupon they will be asked to choose a number between one and ten. Depending upon the number they choose, the players receive a random bonus between 50 percent and 300 percent worth up to a thousand dollars. What’s more, each number can be used up to five times a week, leading to multiple chances for players to get lucky.

Bodog Casino Treasure Hunt and Halloween Blackjack Offer

Bodog Casino is also offering a special “Casino Treasure Hunt” up to the 27th of this month. Players can win up to ten thousand dollars in this interesting variation of a regular treasure hunt, which is divided between two streams: one for the online slot players and the other for blackjack fans. Interested gamers will need to select their stream (as no player is allowed to play both); at which point, they will be assigned specific tasks or goals that need to be completed. Players who successfully complete their tasks are awarded special bonuses as well as a ticket to a lucky draw.

The special promotion has been on offer since the 14th of this month, so several of the challenges have been completed. But, interested players still have the opportunity to enter two challenges in each stream. Every player who completes a challenge is qualified to enter a lucky draw for 500 pounds and there are separate draws for each event. Moreover, gamers who complete more than one challenge are eligible for special bonuses, depending on the number of challenges completed.

Of course, these are just two of the many, many Halloween treats on offer, so be sure to check out your favorite website or casino for offers.

May 6, 2011

Tablets Users Prefer Gaming On Tablets

Filed under: Casino — Tags: , — OCE News @ 12:00 am

Although tablets have only recently stepped into the world of gadgets, computer users are seen to be making a beeline for them, particularly if they happen to be gaming enthusiasts. The convenient size of tablets and their features which allow the screen to switch from portrait to landscape modes makes them all the more popular among online gaming addicts.

Reports suggest that a greater number of tablet users play online games than watch news or surf the net. Although most of the players playing online casino games hardly ever do so to earn money, the high numbers indicate that many are interested in gaming. Had the United States government made efforts to make gambling online legal, many tablet users would actually take part in online casino games instead playing at free gaming websites.

Fitch Report

The credit ratings company Fitch Ratings recently released a report about the possibility of online gambling becoming lawful in the U.S. The company reported that many states had been debating on such a proposal and attempts have been made to make online gambling lawful. Although such attempts to regulate online gambling have not really succeeded, the objective is more than apparent.

The Fitch report states that as much as five to six billion dollars are going overseas from revenues generated through online gambling in the United States. With regulations, this figure is bound to increase significantly. Land based casino gambling accounts for about $60 billion currently. However, there are many questions that remain unanswered so far as regulating online gambling goes. Interestingly, lottery companies feel threatened about the losses they are likely to face if online gambling gets legalized. Internet gambling is slowly growing into a major threat and whether it needs to be stopped to protect land-based revenues obtained from casinos is a debate that is still inconclusive. The best alternative is for the land based casinos to try to place their products online instead of trying to stop the government from legalizing online gaming. Fortunately, some Nevada casinos are open to doing so and other casinos should actually start thinking of following their examples.

European Commission Release

The European Commission released a paper on online gambling and debates have been going on since contemplation of the effects of the Green Paper. This debate will be thrown open to the public to get their opinions. The Green Paper is no doubt a controversial document and different online gambling trade groups with much hold over the online gambling world are concerned about the issues discussed here. One of such associations called the Remote Gaming Association appears to have reservations about the lack of commitment on part of the European Commission to implement the EU’s basic principles. It appears that the EC, acting on behalf of the EU, wants a more fragmented approach to internet gambling on a national level.

The EC has particularly called upon those involved in the online gambling world to answer the questions in this questionnaire. The greater the numbers of responses from interested parties, the greater are the chances of the EC knowing what the people really feel regarding this issue.

April 8, 2011

Caesars Entertainment Partnership Allowed

Filed under: Casino — Tags: , — OCE News @ 12:00 am

A major step has been taken in the world of Internet gambling: Nevada has allowed the Internet gaming company Caesars Entertainment to team up with the Israeli subsidiaries of another Internet gaming company based in Gibraltar.

The Approval

Apart from Commissioner Joe Brown, who couldn’t vote due to a potential conflict of interest, the vote was unanimous. It was approved because no violations concerning any state regulations or policies could be seen. This has been recognized as a major move as it’s the first time that a government has regulated Internet casino gaming in this manner. Basically, the main point is that the US government has shown that it holds no issues over Caesars Entertainment joining forces with a large Internet organization. However, this doesn’t actually affect US citizens who play online.

The Partnership

The partnership is between Caesar’s Entertainment and Cassava Enterprises (Gibraltar) Limited and Fordart Limited, both of which are subsidiaries of 888 Holdings PLC. The latter company is a massive presence within online gaming and provides casino games, bingo, poker, social gaming opportunities, and sports wagering for players living in the UK, Italy, and France.

No clear plan has been offered up as to what this new relationship will bring. Looking at the past, however, with Caesar’s takeover of World Series Poker, it is planning to branch out into Europe. Caesars’s did explain that a major reason as to why they wanted the partnership was to gain access to the other organization’s online gaming hardware and software.

Concerns

A main concern of the commissioners was over social issues, including underage gaming, gambling problems, and money laundering. 888 officials explained that there were precautions put in place to counteract such problems. In the case of preventing individuals under 18 years old playing, there were numerous safeguards in place. And, in terms of illegal activities, any accounts found in which it appeared that suspicious activity was taking place would be immediately closed.

Future Implications

It’s thought by some that this is a move towards finally legalizing gambling online. Caesars has been a massive supporter of this step and the feeling is that they’ll use this partnership to really push online gaming. Despite the fact that many other countries worldwide have embraced this form of gambling, the US is still not willing to jump aboard this bandwagon.

A day after the meeting in which the relationship was approved a Las Vegas Democrat, William Horne, put forward legislation which would give the state control over Internet poker. The argument was that by licensing such sites in Nevada, the state would be able to benefit financially and they would gain more control which would help prevent any illegal activity or corruption. Currently, the Nevada Gaming Commission doesn’t look as though they’re willing to set off down this route just yet. Nevertheless, this doesn’t take away from the fact that Internet gaming is definitely more at the forefront now and that federal regulation is more of a possibility.

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