IGT in conjunction with WagerWorks has released a new slot game that it claims will offer online casino players 243 ways to win. The name of the game is Triple Fortune Dragon with 243 winning combinations over five reels.
For a wager of 25 Wagerworks credits, the internet casino gambling provider says its”MultiWay” betting platform provides for these impressive odds, according to a spokesperson for Wagerworks. Multiway has caught on in the land casino industry where it was initially introduced by IGT, and its popularity is growing quickly. Using this feature, gamers may wager on reel combinations instead of paylines. This is a rather novel concept to the market, and greatly increases a gamers odds in the game, as well as the skill level involved.
Following the Fortune Dragon theme, the slot game implements an Asian look and sound in order to add to the gaming experience. There is a 3×5 reel format which puts the maximum bet at 125 credits. Players stand to win a final prize pool of 250,000 GBP.
A Free Spin bonus is awarded to any player who scores at least three Golden Coins. The more Golden Coins that a player accumulates, the most the scatter pay award, and the greater the number of free spins. Any player lucky enough to achieve Five Golden Coins after investing the maximum bet of 125 credits will receive 6,000 credits and 25 free spins instantly.
Finally, if a player gets the Golden Dragon wild symbol in a free spin, a 3x multiplier will be added to the pot. If a player gets two Golden Dragon wild symbols, a 9x multiplier will be added. Using the free spins, players can accumulate more free spins and scatter pays. The maximum amount of free spins is 360.
Nigel Payne, an old hand in the online casino gambling business, was recently appointed non-executive chairman of the board in skilled games development at GameAccount. Payne, who worked at one time as Chief Executive at Sportingbet.com, now joins the ranks of shareholders like Betfair founder Andrew Black, Dermot Desmond and the Smurfit family.
Within a year of his joining Sportingbet.com, Payne accepted the position of Group Chief Executive. He maintained his position with the company for five years before stepping down in 2006 to Andrew McIver. Payne was the driving force behind Sportbet, having led the company through a listing on the London Stock Exchange.
GameAccount, based out of London is licensed by the UK Gaming Commission and was established in 2001. Since then the company has toiled away to provide online casino gaming to over 130 countries worldwide. Among the many services provided by GameAccount affiliates like William Hill, Sportingbet Europe, Stan James, Victor Chandler Internation, BlueSquare, Boylessports, Paddy Power and Gala Coral are a regulated online sportsbook, casino and poker room with a single-wallet skill gaming portfolio.
“We’re extremely excited to have Nigel on board. His experience and knowledge of the industry is second to none and we’re looking forward to working closely with him over the coming months,” said Kevin Dale, GameAccount Chief Executive Officer.
Payne accepted his new position saying, “I’m thrilled to now be working with one of the largest gaming communities in the world. Multiplayer Blackjack, Dominoes and Backgammon are becoming more and more popular by the day – these are exciting times.”
Playtech, a favored gaming software in the online casino industry, has signed with its fourth Italian internet gambling operator. Cogetech S.p.A., a company which offers both land based and internet casino games is the most recent addition to Playtech’s Italian iPoker network, following Snai, Sisal and Gala Coral’s Eurobet Italia.
Cogetech.it, which offers several online slots games and a white label sports betting solution, has an entire line-up of tournament style poker games provided by Playtech. The software currently hosts only a downloadable “play for fun” format, but real money tournaments are expected by the end of the year. The idea behind this is to allow current Cogetech users to hone their skills before entering into high stakes tournaments.
The Playtech software is entirely cohesive to Cogetech’s preexisting betting system and complies fully with Italian regulatory policy. Designed specifically for the Italian demographic, although it is offered in English, it will include a shared wallet between the sportsbook and casino with the same language and currency.
“This latest addition of Cogetech to Playtech’s iPoker networks demonstrates that the company is capturing an ever more prominent position in the country, and is committed to expanding its presence in regulated European markets,” said Mor Wiezer, Playtech CEO. “We look forward to a long and productive partnership that will be mutually beneficial for both parties, and to providing new and exciting gaming opportunities for Italian players.”
Cogetech CEO Fabio Schiavolin added, “We chose Playtech over other providers because they are one of the leading players in global management platforms with a very strong and liquid poker netowkr, We look forward to working with them to provide all our customers with an exciting, reliable and continually evolving service which will provide the best possible play experience.”
Alea Network NV, a parent company to several online casinos, has enlisted the help of Mobiclear Inc. as a preemptive strike on internet fraudsters. Based out of the Philippines, Mobiclear is a company dedicated to the prevention of fraud with its personal identity verification software.
Alea was founded by a team of international entrepreneurs three years ago to provide internet gamers with online casino games, poker rooms and a betting exchange. The network’s founders have banking under their belts, leading to a great deal of their success. However, safety plays a large role in the advancements of online gambling establishments. With the market growing substantially every day, internet gamers run into more instances of fraudulent activity than ever. For Alea, the threat of internet fraud has brought on serious concern.
“We have become more concerned regarding the safety of personal information on site accounts and preventing credit card fraud and money laundering, as well as the need to prevent people from gaming in jurisdictions where it is not allowed,” Alea President Anders Adersson commented. “We need a real time ID verification system and the Mobiclear system allows us to be assured that we are accepting transactions only from legitimate account holders.”
Mobiclear Chief Executive Officer Stephen P. Cutler said, “This transaction shows that Mobiclear can ensure that both the customers and the client are protected and that fraud can be stopped in the multi-billion dollar gaming industry. We are delighted to assist Alea and are confident that this is the first of many announcements of new contracts for Mobiclear.”
Despite the rumors circulating about the downfall of Bodog, it’s safe to say that this online casino isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. In addition to the major promotions that Bodog is currently running, the gaming provider is seeking to expand its market outside of the U.S.
Calvin Ayre, Bodog’s high profile founder who recently announced his retirement from the company just months ago (following issues with processing and branding) landed himself back into mainstream media this week; this time, in Europe.
UK newspaper The Guardian has reported that the company has applied for an operating license in the UK. The coverage on this story also included an interview with Ayre, where he gave his rebuttal to accusations that the online gaming company is guilty of illegally soliciting the business of U.S. customers.
“We have licences from sovereign governments to do what we do – that’s how it works on every other industry on the planet,” said Ayre, denying the allegations. Mr. Ayre did however admit that the company accepts wagers from the United States. He counter argued that the company does not operate in the states.
Ayre explained to The Guardian that while the site is applying for the license in the UK, it would not necessarily be used to take wagers based out of England. Bodog currently has an operating license from Antigua which is already used to accept bets from Europe.
The application makes Bodog one of the few online casinos that is seeking a license from the UK. It has been said that many internet gambling facilities bypass the UK regulatory scheme because of the 15% remote gaming tax that was implemented last year.
IvoBank has received a great deal of attention since its launch in August of this year. The company provides a very valuable resource to the internet casino gambling community, allowing gamers to bank online. There is no question as to why then Unibet has decided to utilize Ivobank for its customers, offering them a secure online payment option.
The online casino’s 2.5 million players that span over 150 countries will now be able to pay for their online casino, sportsbook, poker room and scratch card gambling with Ivobank’s specifically designed products and services tailored to lower costs.
“Our partnership with Unibet presents a fantastic opportunity for us,” said Martin Peterlechner, Director of Commerical Development at Ivobank. “Unibet is a great brand and business to be working with in gaming, and we’re looking forward to giving unrivalled service to Unibet and its customers.”
“It’s Ivobank’s ability to indemnify and settle funds immediately at any time that is a big plus for us, as well as offering our customers competitive interest rates,” added Daniel Alsen, CIO and Head of Business Development at Unibet. “By using Ivobank, Unibet’s customers will benefit from secure and fast online parments, competitive rates of interest on deposits held with Ivobank, fast and free online payments to friends and family, and the Ivobank Virtual Card that can be used securely online wherever MasterCard is accepted.”
This new payment service is available to Unibet customers at no cost. Users may apply for an Ivobank account through the company’s website which is licensed and operated under the UK Financial Services Authority.
Because online casino gambling has gained an enormous amount of popularity in Spain and Latin America, Slotland.com has provided the Spanish community with another venue. Its new internet casino, open to the Spanish speaking community can be found at Es.Slotland.com. The slot machines, video poker and progressive jackpots now made available are tied to prize pool of the English site.
Es.Slotland.com mirrors Slotland’s most popular games, and has introduced a Spanish speaking support team trained specifically to assist users of the new casino. The launch of the website was very much due to a recent survey that was conducted that showed that 130,000 internet casino gamblers hailed from Spain last year. This represents a 47 percent increase from 2006. Additionally the 650 Euro spent by Spanish gambling showed a 57 percent increase from the year before.
MECN, a Munich based research team says that the Spanish market may grow to as much as 4.2 billion Euro in two years (and 39 billion in three years), noting that Spain is a huge contributor to the market and revenue of the industry.
Ondrej Tuma commented, “We have players all over the world – in the UK and Europe, in North America, in Australia. One thing they all have in common is they all like innovative new games like ours, they all like to have their winnings paid quickly, and they all need to trust any online company they deal with.
Our Spanish players enjoy Es.Slotland.com because we’re always adding unique new games, we have an excellent Spanish speaking customer support, and our progressive jackpots are very frequently hit for over one hundred thousand dollars.”
Live Gaming Systems, an online casino gambling developed based out of Limerick, Ireland, will launched the world’s first multiple casino live dealer feature at this month’s EiG exposition in Barcelona.
Live Gaming Systems has announced that this new feature is the first of its kind in the online casino gambling industry. The company will not just offer that players be dealt cards from a real licensed land casino, but the offer will encompass several websites. In doing so, online casino players will provided with a higher feeling of security in gaming odds, game selection and casino choice, according to the company.
“We are very excited to showcase our new live game services at the EiG conference,” says Michael Ryan, LGS CEO. “This is an opportunity for the top players in the land-based and online gaming industries to see how we effectively marry to the business models in a way that is mutually benefitial, and of course profitable.”
The new feature Live Gaming Systems offers will also benefit land casino owners. Land casino operators will take a share of the growing revenue that the live dealer feature will generate, and display their offerings to those playing from home. Additionally, land casino users may access the casino from home where they may have not done so otherwise.
LGS will begin the transition broadcasting live baccarat and roulette games from Fitzpatrick’s Casino in Limerick and the Malpas Casino in Cyprus. More games will be added when the system gets up and running.
“We are delighted to be the first land based casino on the LGS Casino Boradcast Network and we look forward to extending the Fitzpatrick Casino live gaming experience to a massive global audience,” stated Ian O’Halloran, Fitzpatrick Casino Director. “I am confident that our relationship with LGS is the optimal and most profitable live gaming strategy available to Fitzpatrick’s Casino. The integration with our facility has been seamless and we look forward to a long and productive relationship with LGS.”
Microgaming has released another movie themed flash slot game this week. Eager online casino gamblers will now be able to enjoy the highly anticipated “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” flash slots, as well as revamped Cashapillar and Avalon. With flash games, internet casino players can play immediately using their web browser instead of downloading the casino software, making them very popular on the market.
The big hit, “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” is another sure sign of Microgaming’s success over the past years both in the industry and among other companies. It is based on an American cult classic and is a pub slot game full of recognized themes from the film.
Microgaming CEO, Roger Raatgever reports, “We are delighted to have cool dudes, Bill and Ted on Board with us and feel this license deal is another great testament to Microgaming’s outstanding position within the market and of our commitment to providing our operators and players with the best gaming experiences on the web.”
With the booming success of the downloadable Cashapillar game this year, Microgaming has also released a flash version including, Wild, Scatter, Freespins, Multiplier and Gamble features, and an additional five symbols for every real and 100 lines.
Finally, Microgaming celebrates the release of a flash version of video slot Avalon, an “epic-themed” games whose illustrations and big prizes make it a favorite in the online casino industry.
Fredrik Sidfalk and Henrik Bergquist of the Betsson group have spent the last few months establishing an online casino, dubbed Mr. Green.com. Mr. Green will be powered by Swedish based gaming provider, NYX Interactive, and managed by Mikael Pawlo and his 10 man team.
For now, this online casino is available in Swedish only but has bigger plans for the future of Mr. Green. Because NYXBingo is gaining more popularity among online gambling merchants, the software developer is hoping that Mr. Green will provide NYX Interactive with a different consumer base. One of the more attractive features about NYX software is the ability for its users to set their own playing limits. For online casino gamblers wishing to play more responsibly, they may set a daily, weekly or monthly limit on how much they are willing to spend; or lose.
“Strategically, Mr. Green is an important partner for us and we are extremely pleased that they have chosen NYX as their partner in this casino venture,” Staffan Lingren, NYX Interactive CEO stated. “In our opinion, and we have been around a while, we see casino [gambling] entering a new phase in its product lifecycle. Our casino will take market share fast.
“Mr. Green has chosen a casino product with a completely new look and feel and we have been inspired, among other things, by the iPhone’s navigation and have also added clear information on responsible gaming.”
Mikael Pawlo added, “Through this agreement with NYX, Mr. Green has a strategic partner with whom to develop a casino experience above and beyond the usual.”
Mr. Green was officially launched last month and offers a wide variety of table games, such as French Roulette and Blackjack, slots games like Hill Billy Haven and Tiki Treasure, as well as a multitude of video poker and lottery games.
