Monday, May 30, 2011

Introducing Online Slots Tournaments

Although online slots tournaments are becoming increasingly popular, I know several online casino players who have not yet tried this form of the game, although they like to play online slot machines. Since I love to play these tournaments, I thought giving a short introduction here, how to play online slots tournaments may be a good idea, especially because the whole procedure of choosing the right tournament and playing it well to reach the top positions at the end is not quite simple.You must be familiar with the basic strategy for winning slots tournaments.

While in regular online slot games you play alone, in a slots tournament you have to compete against others. The number of competitors may be as little as 2 or as many as 3000. There are two types of online slots tournaments, the Sit & Go tournaments which begin as soon as the minimum number of required players have registered, and the Scheduled tournaments which start at a specified date and time.

In order to join either type of the tournament, you require a Real Money Account with the casino of your choice. Since Microgaming casinos offer the biggest choice of slots tournaments, in number and varieties, I will use here as an example the Sun Vegas Casino powered by Microgaming. If necessary, download the casino and open a Real Money Account. Then go to the lobby and click on Games View -> Tournaments -> Slots. Under Slots you will find the sub-menus Sit and Go and Scheduled. Each of them contains a list of tournaments, each row of the list showing the name of the tournament, the entry fee and the status, either in Play or Open. If you click on a line in the list, another window will open on the right of the list showing some details of the game to be played, the exact schedule and also the number of players already registered.

Before selecting a tournament, you must know that in order to win the tournament, you must play fast because a round in the tournament lasts only 5 or 10 minutes. In this short time you will have to win as many coins as possible to climb to the top of the leaderboard. This means that you must know the game in and out, wager as much as you can, always betting the max, not looking right or left, just spinning and spinning. Therefore, if you are unfamiliar with a game of the tournament you want to play, you must practise the game thoroughly before playing in the tournament.

TO BE CONTINUED ...

Thursday, May 26, 2011

What's the future of online gamblers in the US?

I do not live in the USA, but I can't help wondering what's going to happen to US online gamblers, especially after the latest Black Friday confiscation of 13 online poker sites and their bank accounts by the DoJ? How can they gamble online if they can't find a payment processor for depositing or withdrawing any cash? Even Quicktender has stopped processing US accounts. The poker sites were using the trick of disguising  the money received from U.S. gamblers as payments to non-existent online merchants purporting to sell various kinds of merchandise. But this has been declared by the DoJ as a 'fraudulent method'.

It seems the only solution to this problem is regulating gambling in the US. Will it happen soon?

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Aftershock of DoJ's Black Friday actions against Pokerstars, Full Tilt, and Absolute Poker

We had blogged earlier about the seizure of the bank accounts and the domains of Pokerstars, Full Tilt, and Absolute Poker. According to a report published today, Bradley Franzen, a resident of Illinois and Costa Rica, pled guilty in a New York District Court to the charges of assisting the poker sites in  tricking banks and financial institutions into illegally processing US$3bn in payments originating from online gambling.

It is understood that Franzen is ready to testify at any prosecution against  Pokerstars, Full Tilt or Absolute Poker. In return he expects leniency at his sentencing, which in the worst case can go up to 30 years jail.

In the meantime, the DoJ is reported to have seized 11 bank accounts and domain names associated with 10 more internet gambling sites.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Playing Live Dealer Blackjack Early Payout

Since Live Dealer Blackjack is available online, one variation of online blackjack has become quite popular - The Blackjack Early Payout. In this game, every time your hand changes, you are offered an Early Payout whose amount depends on the cards served to you. If you don't want to risk losing the entire bet, you'd better take this money to end the game before any more cards are dealt. If you have, for example, a 20 and the dealer has a 10, you can cash in 50% profit immediately. Of course, you can refuse the offer and decide to go up to the bitter or sweet end.

You can try this game at the Royal Kahuna Casino.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

The boom of mobile casinos in a mobile society

It is no wonder that in a mobile society like ours where carrying our mobile phones 24x7 wherever we are on this earth, in whatever situation we are - in bed, in bathtub, in a bar, on the beach or on a shopping spree -the annual wagers on mobile gambling is expected to exceed $48bn by 2015. The major reasons for this kind of upsurge in mobile gambling are
  • the current growth of mobile phones in leaps and bound, especially in the emerging markets like China
  • the growing popularity of the multi-functional fast smart phones with super graphics and sound features
  • the availability of compatibilty devices for the communication between a phone and the mobile gaming site for downloading the casino, depositing funds and other required functions from practically all mobile phone manufacturers and their various phone models
  • the possibilty of depositing funds from the casino lobby on the phone in a secure environment
  • the availability of a dozen or more of the mobile versions of popular online casino games  
For information on available mobile casino games, read Best Mobile Casinos

Friday, May 20, 2011

Online gambling is now legal in Spain

The Congress in Spain has now approved a new gambling law that  regulates for the first time the Internet and mobile gambling, however with a series of measures to protect the consumers, especially the under-aged and those who are problem gamblers. It is reported that the operators will not be allowed to offer any loan or other kinds of  financial assistance to people wanting to gambler. It is not clear to me if that implies that online casinos will not be allowed to offer any kind of promotion.

The European Remote Gambling Association (RGA), while welcoming the passage of the gambling bill, has criticized that online gambling operators who are already licensed in another European country will also require an additional Spanish license. A further point of criticism is the high taxation, 25% of Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR).

Clive Hawkswood, Chief Executive of the RGA, said: "We appreciate the fact that, unlike some other European countries, Spain has not adopted legislation in blatant breach of EU law. We believe that this legislation is a step in the right direction but it’s still too early to make an assessment. We hope that, through the implementing decrees, the Spanish Government won’t miss the opportunity to create a valid model in Europe".

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Quicktender holds back payments of US based players and affiliates

Various players and affiliates based in US are reporting that they cannot withdraw from their account with the ePayment system Quicktender because US banking partners of this payment system, highly favoured by US customers, have been targeted by the US DoJ.

Read the reports: Quicktender - Cause for Concern for US Players and affiliates? 
and Concerns growing over E-Payment processor

Interesting gag - $€£100 worth of scratch cards free on registration

The Quatro Casino has come out with an interesting variant of No Deposit Bonus offers. This offer is supposed to be valid for a limited period only. After downloading the casino software and registering as a REAL player, you can claim $€£100 in free scratch cards. To claim your winnings from the scratch cards, you must deposit at least $€£1. Later you can also claim  a 100% bonus up to $€£100 on your second deposit.

 I am sure scratch card fans and those who want to get some good practice in scratching cards will like this kind of no deposit bonus.
Quatro Casino is a member of the Casino Rewards Group and offers 430 Microgaming casino games.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

US DoJ actions against Pokerstars, Full Tilt, and Absolute Poker

On April 15th, 2011, the US Department of Justice seized the domains and bank accounts of Pokerstars, Full Tilt, and Absolute Poker. As a result, the accounts of the players were also frozen. In the meantime the poker sites have come to an agreement with the US Department of Justice, so that it is expected the players will be getting their money back. However, it is not yet clear whether the Fed will come after the players for fraud and illegal gambling.

For more information see the YouTube video Pokerstars, Full Tilt, and Absolute Poker: An Online Gambling Call to Action!

Monday, May 16, 2011

Can video slots become more innovative?

There are multiple reasons for the popularity of online video slot games. It may be due to payouts being bigger by factors compared to other games. A look at a winners list of any online casino will prove this. It obviously does not matter that the percentage payout of the slot games is the lowest of all casino games. It is generally very tempting to play slots when you read every now and then that someone wagered $0.50 and won $5 million. It's a pity that the winners list of a casino says that a person X won $5000 on game Y, but nothing about how much he wagered to win that amount. Anyway, since the charm of gambling does not lie in counting the certified payout percentages, but in risking a few bucks hoping to win big, video slots are and will remain irresistible to many gamblers.


Another reason for the popularity of this genre of casino games is also the combination of the dazzling graphics and sounds together with the huge variety of number of paylines, free spins, wilds, scatters and bonus rounds. There is always a huge temptation to try all that by wagering till one wins free spins and bonus rounds, and maybe also to risk whatever one has won by activating the gambling feature, if it is there.


Undoubtedly, the slot game has gone through an impressive process of innovation since Charles Fey invented the first slot machine in 1887. This is an ongoing process with the invention of various new features. Microgaming has brought out two interesting innovations, one of them being the replacement of paylines by Ways which always remain active, thus increasing significantly the pay outs because the winning combinations require to be left-to-right, but not along any special line. The 5 reel Dolphin Coast has, for instantace, 3125 Ways. Another new feature introduced by Microgaming is the Respin Feature. After the reels come to a stop and the payouts, if any, are credited to the player's account, he can choose to Respin individual reels by placing an additional bet for a particular reel according to the value displayed under the reel. Since each reel has a different wagering amount, the player has to decide which reel to spin if he wants to use the feature. Reel Gems is such a game. The interesting characteristic of this game is that it is no more absolutely deterministic, as far as the actions of the player are concerned. In other slot games, a player has no possibility of influencing the course of action of the game after starting a spin. When the spin has ended, he can use in some cases the gamble feature to prolong the game. If not, because either he did not win anything or because the feature is not offered, he has to start a new game. This is different in case of the Respin feature. Here the player can prolong the game and produce different outcomes depending on the reel he chooses to respin (provided he uses this option). Each reel has a different wagering amount with different winning chances. Hence the further progress of the spin will depend on what action was taken by the player. This can be called a mini decision making process by the player influencing the final outcome of a spin.

The scope of decision making is bigger in Rival Gaming's I-Slots (Interactive Slots). They are also termed skill-based because the outcome of these games depend to a large extent on the physical skill of the player, on the quickness of his reaction or on his dexterity. For example, in Cosmic Quest the Asteroid Blasteroid Bonus is skill-based and includes 5 stages. Each stage has a unique rocket ship and background. The player is awarded coins based on the number of asteroids blasted away. In As the Reels Turn, the player must hit STOP at correct time to pick the best costume.

 
All these innovations are quite remarkable, but I feel time has come for the game providers to go a step further where the outcome of a game will depend on the mental skill of the player.

Why not bring out a game where a player will have to play in the bonus game a round of TEXAS HOLD' EM or LET THEM RIDE or VEGAS STRIP BLACKJACK or any other game where besides pure luck some strategical thinking will also matter?

That will be a real innovation!



Monday, May 9, 2011

PLAY WITH $500 FREE FOR 60 MIN & KEEP THE WINNINGS. Really??

A promotion slogan like "Play with $500 Free for 60 min & keep the winnings" is rather common when a casino offers free play for a limited time with the casino's virtual money. But can you really keep the winnings? I have checked at least 50 casinos and couldn't find even one where you can keep more than $200 of your winnings from the free play - and that too only after satisfying some playthrough requirements. But this information is generally very well hidden in the promotion terms. Why don't they write with bold letters on the casino's homepage: "Play with $500 Free for 60 min & keep your winnings up to $xy?"

Every casino has a section on 'Responsible Gambling'. It is time to add a section on 'Responsible Promoting'.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Casinos would profit from legalized Internet gambling

A panel composed of top casino officials believes that if Internet gambling were legalized, America's casinos would be on the winning side, because the "upcoming generation of gambler -- the X and Y generation -- makes all of their decisions on the Internet," said Jan Jones, senior vice president of communications and government relations for Caesars Entertainment, and one of the panelists. Read more in the Yogonet article.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

The Grand Slam of Slots II Tournament - $2.43 MILLION in gold to be won!

 Slots Casino

The Grand Slam of Slots II tournament will be the biggest of its kind, attracting thousands of slots enthusiasts from various online casinos powered by Microgaming. The starting prize pool of the tournament will be $290,000 - which will grow the more people play - with a guaranteed grand prize of $100,000. And there is also a gigantic bonus worth whopping $2.43 million in gold which will go to one lucky player who manages to complete the entire Pay Table Achievements within their tournament score!

The final of the Grand Slam of Slots will start on Friday 27 May 2011 and last 10 days and 12 hours. To get tickets to the final, one can take part in the daily freeroll feeder tournaments, the top three players qualifying for a seat in the fiinal. Alternatively, one can also join the extended 7 day long qualifying tournaments with the top 15 players in each tournament qualifying for the final.

The game of the final will be the Thunderstruck II with 243 ways to win. 
To take part in the qualifying tournaments just download the Golden Riviera Casino and register.

Friday, May 6, 2011

The sad fate of a gambler

"Without any fault of hers I have driven my devoted wife away because of a die exceeding by one [an unsuccessful bet]. My mother-in-law hates me; my wife pushes me away. In his defeat the gambler finds none to pity him. No one has use for a gambler, like an aged horse put up for sale."
- The Gambler's Hymn in The Rig Veda, a collection of Hindu religious hymns more than 3,000 years old

Found in The Economist's special report on gambling, Shuffle up and deal.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Some facts about slot machines in land-based casinos

Do you know
  • the year in which Charles Fey invented Liberty Bell, the first slot machine?
    • 1899
  • the largest slot machine jackpot ever won?
    • 138.7 Million
  • approximately the number of slot machines operating in the U.S.?
    • 833,000
  • the average number of individual parts in a slot machine?
    • 1,200
  • the percentage of American who consider slot machines their favorite casino game?
    • 50
If you want to know more about slot machines read Taking the Mystery Out of the Machine from AGA (American Gaming Association)

To Blog or Not To Blog - That's no more the question

This is the first blog of my life! I used to manage a casino portal affiliated to over 100 casinos, poker rooms, bingo rooms and sportbooks. Last year, I wanted to add a blog to it to communicate with the visitors of the site. But, before I could do it, the site had two hacker attacks within 6 months injecting viral code on each url of the site. Of course the google robot detected the contamination and their search engine posted a serious warning to all search results related to the site. The traffic went down to almost zero and I decided to give up the site and not risk a third, fourth or fifth attack from some crooks who had obviously chosen our site to carry out DoS attacks or something of the sort. For a while I was thinking of starting a new casino portal, but then I thought, why do that, why not start a gambling blog instead? So, voilĂ !

I want to make this a blog about everything related to gambling. Just dump anything and everything about gambling here! Nice or sad stories about gambling and gamblers, reviews on gambling sites, games, tournaments and software, gambling laws around the world, gambling conferences, problem gambling - in short - anything interesting happening in the gambling industry will be welcome here!

But most important of all! I hope many people will read this blog, give their feedback and share their views about gambling, their favourite gambling places and sites, the games they like, and whatever else.