By vince.baker | 20th March 2012 | Online Casino News
Online gaming is known to do a lot – waste time, provide entertainment, help people double their monthly income, but it is also known to reduce levels of stress as well. A study done at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada stated that online gaming may actually be good for people’s overall health. This study demonstrated that after playing some online games, which included online casino games, individuals were a lot less stressed. In fact, cortisol levels, the hormone responsible for inducing stress, fell by 17 percent on average. For a number of behavioral scientists, this is strong proof that there is a correlation between online gaming and reducing stress levels.
There have been other studies to prove the same thing as well. A study done at Eastern Carolina University that lasted for six month and had 134 subjects found that online gaming can reduce stress and elevate one’s mood. A study at Oxford University also revealed that online gaming may be beneficial for those suffering from PTSD – post traumatic stress syndrome.
An online casino also recently conducted their own informal research study using Blackjack players. In this informal study, it was noted that 74 percent of all the players in the study felt that online casino games were a great way to have an enjoyable time as well as reduce stress. Those players that said that online casinos did not help reduce stress levels played online casino games with much higher stakes involved. Another survey, this time using Roulette players demonstrated the same thing – approximately 77 percent said that online casinos were a great way to reduce stress.
So, if someone is having a bad day at work or at home, take a minute to play a few online casino games and watch as the stress melts right off!
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By vince.baker | 26th February 2012 | Online Casino News
Calvin Ayres, the founder of Bodog online entertainment and gaming brand, has made a number of predictions for 2012 regarding the online gambling industry (after finding that his 2011 predictions pretty much held true). Here is a look at some of those predictions made in regards to different parts of the online gambling market.
Mobile
As widely noticed, mobile online gambling is on a rise and 2012 should see an even larger growth curve as more online gambling companies jump onto the mobile bandwagon.
Converging Online with Offline
In 2011, the primary focus was on how brick-and-mortar casinos could go and get their “digital feet wet,” as put by Ayers. In 2012, it will be the reverse – major online casino brands will be looking to start laying down physical roots. However, there is still no all-encompassing business model that aids in overcoming all the various challenges associated with combing online and brick-and-mortar casinos.
The Age of Live Dealers on Online Casinos
Asia has already popularized having live dealers at online casinos and in 2012; it looks like this concept will start spreading into other markets and forms, including Bingo. The technology is continuing to mature and those who have experienced the live dealer say it a lot more fun. However, there is still a bit of lack of innovation and everyone is waiting for the one company that will make major inroads in getting live dealers more readily accessible.
Horse Racing is not Dead…Yet
Horse racing has been long thought of as the “sport of kings,” and while it is not yet dead, it needs a major transfusion in the form of appeal to the younger demographic or it will eventually start to wither away. This part of the gambling industry could do with some pop culture infusion and celebrity jockeys. It needs to be changed from something that is considered stuffy to something that is considered hip.
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By vince.baker | 30th January 2012 | Casino News
In 2011, Macau casino gambling revenue increased by 42 percent, bringing it to a high of $33.47 billion. This is in large part due to the increasing traffic of very wealthy Chinese from the mainland who come to Macau, a Chinese territory, to play in the casinos. Unlike the rest of China, where casinos are banned, they are quite in fashion in Macau, which is what brings many Chinese in
This total revenue is said to be approximately five or six times more than what the gamblers in Las Vegas or Singapore casinos were believed to have spent throughout the 2011 calendar year. PricewaterhouseCoopers did the estimates and also made note that the Macau casino industry will most likely double its total revenue by 2016. According to Aaron Fischer the head of Asian consumer and gaming research at CLSA, a brokerage firm based in Hong Kong, no one expected the market in Macau to grow as quickly or as much as it did. Everyone was expecting possibly a 20 percent growth, and that was seen as very bullish at the time.
The Macau boom in their gaming industry sharply contrasts that of venues in the United States, like Las Vegas, where there has been some slight suffering due to declining revenues, the result of the current global downturn. While the Chinese are not immune to the current economic downturn, the average gambler in Chine tends to place bets up to ten times more than an American counterpart
Approximately 16 million Chinese men and women from the mainland visited the Macau casinos during the 2011 calendar year, which is a 20 percent increase over 2010. Currently, Macau is now looking into ways to expand their transport links as well as accommodation facilities to take in the rise of all the mainland visitors. There is presently a new railway to decrease travel time, a bridge, and ferry services. Macau International Airport receives a number of flights from Shanghai and Beijing. As for accommodation, in 2012, the Sands Cotai Central is listed to open their doors, boasting an additional 5,800 rooms.
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By vince.baker | 17th January 2012 | Casino Game Updates
On Saturday, the 17 of December, 2011 in Madison, Wisconsin, Phil Hellmuth held his Second Annual Phil Hellmuth’s Hold’em with Agrace HospiceCare. It is a poker tournament themed charity event, as well as a silent auction and raffle, designed to increase awareness and raise money for Agrace HospiceCare.
The even brought in a fun mix that included over 250 players, as well as supporters and observers. Some of the people playing included Annette Obrestad, the 2007 World Series of Poker Europe Champion, Dewey Weum, fourth place finisher at the 1998 World Series of Poker event, and a few online pros, including Mark “P0ker H0” Kroon (who was the defending champion) and Anthony “D1rtyR1v3r” Nardi. There was also a number of local celebrities, including Mark Johnson, Leigh Mills, Charlie Shortino, Carleen Wild, and Jerry Kelly.
The event was held at the Wisconsin Institute of Discovery, located in the downtown area of Madison.
Those who were there stated it was a fun affair with a laid back atmosphere and lots of laughing.
The winner of the charity poker tournament event was Laura Schultz. At the final table, it was Schultz, Kroon, Nardi, John Green, and Morgan Machina. While Kroon came very close to defending his current title, he finished fourth place. In the end, it was head-to-head between Schultz and Green, and Shultz took him over with a winning hand.
However, Shultz’ trophy as the winner were not the only prizes to be had. Many were waiting around for the raffle to see who would win the seat at the 2012 World Series of Poker event and who would win the two year lease for a 2012 Honda Civic LX. The winner of the seat was Jerry Mistele, and the winner of the car was Tiffany Schreiber.
In the end, $110,000 was raised at the charity event and the wheels are currently in motion for planning next year’s charity poker tournament event. There have even been some big celebrity names tossed around for next year, so who knows!
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By vince.baker | 4th December 2011 | Online Casino News
A big question many online gambling websites are asking is if Flash is dead. The question is starting to pop up everywhere as Microsoft made a recent announcement that the company is no longer going to be supporting any kind of Flash Technology. The questions arose as almost 100 percent of all desktop content within the online gambling industry is driven by the use of Flash.
While there are a number of warning bells going on in the online gambling industry regarding the death of Flash, the boost in use of mobile phones and tablets for online gambling activities have paved the way for a new technology to take over. However, the online casino industry is still sweating with the impending news that Adobe is no longer going to be developing Flash programs. The major concern being brought to the forefront is that all current software programs that are Flash-driven will become obsolete sooner rather than later.
However, there is some good news for the online casino industry. While Adobe is withdrawing Flash technology and will no longer be making no releases or features, they will still be releasing bug and security updates. The new plan for many online casinos is to start using HTML5, which is another universal platform. HTML5 is already being used in a number of mobile devices and is providing much better software solutions for not only the development, but also the delivery of online gambling content that is browser-enabled.
As well, HTML5 is shows to offer much better security than Flash. This is very good news for online casino players who do their financial transactions through the internet. Online gambling operators should definitely not be panicking but instead see this as a great advancement that allows for the old to go out and the new to come in.
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By vince.baker | 17th November 2011 | Online Casino News
After the introduction of the online casino industry a few years ago, it is still growing quite strong. In fact, a number of CEOs are working even harder to get even more results. In a recent article published by SBWire, numerous businessmen are turning online for all their business requirements. Because the online gambling industry is still considered to be new to the market, many people still retain dreams of becoming an online gambling tycoon. Really, this is not a very unrealistic dream as the online gambling industry is now worth billions of dollars with people all over the world gambling.
Another thing that has worked for the online casino industry is that it is still very controversial, allowing it to generate news all the time. While online gambling is allowed in a number of countries, in others, like the United States of America, there is still a blanket ban on online casinos. Numerous European countries are starting to open up their “cyberspace borders” to online gambling, creating new regulations. The countries include Denmark, France, Spain, Italy, and Germany. While the rest of Europe is falling in line with online gambling, proponents of online gambling in the United States hopes their country will soon follow suit.
There is still much room for growth when it comes to the online gambling industry. This means that this market is not yet saturated as new websites are making room for themselves online. The online casino industry has also reached a phase in its growth where it is not a niche market but a mainstream market. Today, online casinos are involved with a number of IPOs as well as merger agreements with bigger companies.
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By vince.baker | 31st October 2011 | Casino Game Updates
At the end of September, European Union online gaming regulators approved the new online gambling taxes in Denmark. This approval paves the way for Denmark to further along the liberalization of its burgeoning online gaming industry.
In a previous statement given by the European Commission, it said that after a full in-depth investigation was completed and found a law removing a number of restrictions associated with online gambling in the country of Denmark, which meant lower taxes based by online casinos than any land-based casinos, complied with the rules set forth by the European Union.
The European Union stated that the current gambling laws in Denmark are compatible with their laws because the advantageous effects caused by the liberalization of the gambling market outweighed any of the distortions of competition that were brought about.
Many online gambling interest groups and operators have been praising the initiative taken by Denmark. They believe that this will set an example that the rest of the European nations should follow. Now many online casino and sportsbook companies are looking to start the application process to obtain a Danish license. Many believe that this is what gambling legislation should look like across the entire European continent. The structure offered by the Danish legislation offers Danish customers as well as international operators with a number of clear benefits, including a transparent, competitive, and above all else, safe online gaming market for all.
On the downside, however, European Lotteries, a national lotteries body, does not see the advantages of the new Danish legislation. European Lotteries slammed the European Commission for showing favor toward liberalization of the growing online gambling industry over the possibility of an increased risk of gambling addiction by the masses. European Lotteries believes that both online gambling operations as well as all land-based need to be taxed equally.
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By vince.baker | 25th October 2011 | Slots Updates
A 20 year old Norwegian student was playing at an online casino as he normally would. Little did he know that soon he was going to win the biggest progressive jackpot prize every awarded at an online casino across the globe.
On September 24, 2011, a very fortunate online slots player stumbled upon the jackpot of a lifetime while playing Mega Fortune online slots game. In the end, the player won a hefty sum of €11.736 million! In August, this jackpot hit €7.5 million and started to increase rapidly as more players were attracted to the chances of winning the progressive jackpot price.
After the winner of the record high progressive jackpot had been announced, there was an expected lull in online casino traffic as the progressive jackpot prize reverted back to its original starting amount at €1 million. However, over the last week it has started to increase rapidly once more, so who knows, the next winner may be closer than everyone thinks.
Mega Fortune online slots game was launched by online casino game distribution company Net Entertainment. Net Entertainment is a Scandinavian company that was established in 1996 and is considered one of the pioneers of online casino gambling. Mega Fortune is a five reel, 25-payline video slot machine that harks back to “champagne wishes and caviar dreams” with such symbols including champagne, watches, yachts, limousines, and cigars. Which, evidently enough, is exactly some of the things the progressive jackpot player can now buy with his millions of Euros. The game was originally launched in January of 2009 and its first progressive jackpot win took place later on in November with a €.99 million jackpot prize to a Swedish player. Between then and this latest jackpot, Mega Fortune has dished out a few more progressive jackpots between the amounts of €2.2 and €5.3 million.
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By vince.baker | 25th September 2011 | Online Casino News
While numerous online gambling operators are waiting for the online gambling market in Europe to fully deregulate, it is going extremely slowly. Many countries are taking their time with online gambling. The countries are looking to make sure that everything is in place correctly so there are no issues in the online gambling industry in the country. Currently Italy and France have opened up to online gambling and are fully regulated. Because of this, online gambling operators are anticipating for other European countries to follow these examples in a reasonable and timely manner.
In Sweden, the winds of change are blowing by extremely slowly. For the last four years online gambling regulation has been almost at a full halt, much to the dismay of online gambling comapnies . While the country itself is known for producing some of the best in software pioneers and entrepreneurs, it is currently leaving them out of the cost. While all prospects of change have not been very optimistic in the last few years, in the last week the government monopoly, Svenska Spel, hosted a new seminar about licensing the market, something a number of political parties agree with.
The European Union has been notified by the country of Estonia that some remote gambling operators have the opportunity to house their servers outside the country because of changes in their Gambling Act. This can prove to be good news in the long run for the country.
Lastly time to take a look at France. The system of online gambling taxation in France looks to be finally changing due to a number of continual complaints from individuals. Operators are now looking to switch from tax on turnover to then be charges to a new system that is based only on gross gaming revenues.
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By vince.baker | 21st September 2011 | Online Casino News
The 2012 International Gaming Awards is quickly approaching on the 23 of January, 2012. This is possibly one of the most prestigious and largest event s held by the international gaming industry. Winners, akin to the Emmys, Golden Globes, and other popular events, are nominated and then receive an award for their contribution to the gaming industry. This year, the event will be held in London, England at the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel.
All the nominations for the 2012 awards need to be in by October 18 where they will then be reviewed by number of expert judges to determine the winner. This is the fifth year that this award has been in existence. Every year, the International Gaming Awards become much more important to the global online gambling industry. The list of nominees includes best bingo site, best poker room, best online casino, creativity awards, and software supplier awards.
A new category to enter this year’s International Gaming Awards is a nomination for best ‘mobile operator’ of the year award. Obviously, with the advancement in mobile technology, many in the gaming industry are providing a mobile platform for all their members. This award demonstrates the importance of innovation in the online gaming industry and its acceptance toward change.
Quite possibly the biggest award given out in the evening is the best online casino operator of the year award. When presenting this award, there are a number of important traits that the judges will be looking at, including creative branding, growth, the number and types of games offered, payment processing capabilities, and marketing scheme.
Aside from handing out awards, the night is also devoted to charitable efforts. Every year a new charity is selected to increase awareness. This year, the selected charities are Care International and Children with Leukemia.
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