As we all know, Congressman Barney Frank of the House Financial Services Committee introduced a bill to overturn the anti-gambling law, the UIGEA, unfortunately the economic crisis has thrown a monkey in the works, because the voting for the law is delayed.
The Bill, HR2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation & Consumer Protection Enforcement Act (IGRCPEA), will license and regulate online casino gambling in the US. Since the bill was introduced in May, the legislation has gathered support from various politicians, Barney Frank now has 35 co-sponsors for his proposal to regulate online gambling. The online casino industry had high hopes for the bill, but now disappointment kicks in, as voting for the bill was postponed until September 2009. A spokesperson for Barney Frank said the hearing for the bill is delayed until the autumn because of excessive workload on legislation urgently needed to address the economic crisis and the administration’s measures to correct it. It seems unlikely the bill will be voted on before September. That does not mean however, that the fight to overturn the unfair anti-gambling UIGEA is over, another fighter against the law is the iMEGA, on July the 7th they have a court case against the UIGEA with the Court of Appeals. iMEGA’s point of view in the case, is mainly concerned around the unconstitutionality of the UIGEA and the vagueness of the rules of UIGEA for the people to understand. If this case will not hold up in court, the wait for the battle to continue will be until September.
Several top US officials have urged China to refrain from the proposal to mandate internet filtering software on every PC, they warn that the action violates World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.
Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Trade Representative Ron Kirk have sent joint letters to their Chinese colleagues, in which they tell China they may be violating WTO rules if they require that every computer sold has the Green Dam software installed. Locke said: “China is putting companies in an untenable position by requiring them, with virtually no public notice, to pre-install software that appears to have broad-based censorship implications and network security issues.” The Chinese authorities say that the Green Dam internet filter software filters pornographic and violent websites, to protect children of the largest internet community in the world. But trade and rights groups fear this is a new attempt by China to censor the internet. Kirk said: “Protecting children from inappropriate content is a legitimate objective, but this is an inappropriate means and is likely to have a broader scope. Mandating technically flawed Green Dam software and denying manufacturers and consumers freedom to select filtering software is an unnecessary and unjustified means to achieve that objective, and poses a serious barrier to trade”
Online casino operators were stunned by the statements of the US, because they seem to accuse China of all the action which the US internet gambling ban does as well. For example, according to the US China is violating WTO rules, deny personal freedom en force censorship, but the European Commission has sent an official complaint to the WTO because the US does not allow foreign casino sites and block access to sites (censorship and denying personal freedom). Several tests of the Green Dam software show that the software can also be used to block other sites, such as online casino gambling sites. The test also show serious security risks, such as the risk of the computer being hacked. From the 1st of July the Green Dam software is mandatory on every newly sold computer.
Tennis authorities have launched an investigation into the first match for men at Wimbledon yesterday, after bookmakers reported suspicious betting patterns and suspended betting on the match.
This is the second time in two weeks that the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU), an organization that investigates allegations of corruption, was informed by bookmakers on the suspicious match. A game at the Ordina Open last week in the Netherlands has also been under investigation by the TIU, this is the 5th match of this year which is being probed for suspicious gambling patters, and a number of 12 tennis players is being officially monitored by the tennis authorities after they were involved in suspicious betting on matches. All of the 5 matches are ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) matches. The match in question which online casinos suspended betting on and reported to the TIU is that of Jürgen Melzer, the number 26 of the world versus Wayne Odesnik the number 109 of the world. Online gambling company Betfair reported that with the exeption £ 1000, all of the £ 225,000 wagered on Betfair was wagered on an outcome of 3-0 for Melzer. Gamblers clearly knew that Meltzer was going to win that match. When asked about the suspicious betting Odesnik said that he knew nothing of it and would never jeopardise his future like that, in order to win some quick bucks with gambling. Odesnik confirmed the rumours circulating on betting forums prior to the match that he had been carrying an injury into the match. Odesnik also insists he has never been approached by anyone seeking to make a corrupt profit from a match.
One of the larger online casino software developers is CryptoLogic. They have a contract with Marvel, for the exclusive development and distribution of internet casino games based on characters from the Marvel comics. CryptoLogic has announced extension of this contract.
Under the terms of the extension, CryptoLogic keeps its exclusive rights to develop and distribute online casino games based on famous characters like Spiderman, the Hulk, X-men, Blade, Daredevil and many other Marvel super heroes. The contract extension will be in effect until 2013, and is the third time the two companies extend their contract. The two companies have seen much success in bringing the heroes to the internet casinos. Brian Hadfield, CryptoLogic’s CEO said: “CryptoLogic’s exclusive partnership with Marvel has been daringly different for our industry, as together we have brought some of the world’s favourite characters to the world’s top Internet casinos. It’s exciting to extend a deal that has been mutually successful and profitable, and to strengthen CryptoLogic’s competitive advantage in the branded gaming space. We look forward to working with Marvel to deliver an even more compelling experience for every player.” Since the contract with Marvel began in 2005, Cryptologic has launched more than 17 online casino slotmachines based on the famous Marvel heroes, an impressive addition to their more than 280 games.
Russia plans to ban all gambling in Russia from the 1st of Juli, which may work out great for Bulgaria. They want to generate as much casino revenue as possible from the Russian gamblers who are fleeing the gambling ban, to come and gamble in Bulgaria.
Eastern European casinos expect a real explosion in sales and customers at the time that the Russian casino ban will be implemented on Juli 1st. Especially Bulgarian casinos around the Black Sea area expect to create extra new revenue as gamblers from Russia travel to nearby casinos to enjoy their entertainment. The new Russian legislation will cause the closure of all casinos in Russia within just ten days. Eventually, the casinos will reopen in four specially designated gambling zones, which will be located outside the cities like Moscow and more towards tourist places. Because of this action, protests are on the order of the day, casino gambling operators say that this action will cost hundreds of thousands of jobs. Experts in the field of gambling and casinos say that the Russian action to ban casinos is in response to the extreme growth in gambling, but Russian leaders will be even less happy when they see so much gambling revenue move abroad. The Russian gambling zones have yet to be designated, and if they are not quickly operational, Russian money quickly moves across the border, something the Russian authorities are not waiting for. The Bulgarian casino gambling operators hope to attract many Russian gamblers, but know other countries also like a peace of the pie. Cyprus is also considered to be a gambling destination for many Russians, because it’s easy to obtain a visa there. From the 1st of July more then 550 gambling companies, including 30 casinos will be closed under the new legislation.
Microgaming is on of the best online casino software developers currently on the online gambling marketplace, every month they release a hand full of new casino games, in order to garantee variation and the high quality of games that our customers are getting used to, here is a preview for the games planned for next month.
Microgaming will release 4 new slotmachines on the online casinos of Roxy Palace and Spin Palace, in July. The first is Pedal Power, a 5 reel 15 pay-line video slotmachine, on which you have extra gambling options on the free-spins. The slotmachine has a tour de France theme, with colorful symbols like cycling attributes, the ever wanted yellow jersey, the cyclists them self, trophy’s and stop-watches. The stop-watch is the scatter, when you hit the watch 3, 4 or 5 times anywhere on a reel the free-spin screen will start. The free-spins have an extra feature in this slotmachine, you get to choose between 3 options: 25 free-spins with a 2x multiplier, 10 free-spins with a 5x multiplier or 5 free-spins with a 10x multiplier, the question is which option wins you the most. The trophy is the wild and replaces every other symbol, except for the scatter. You can finish the game with the gamble feature where the player has the opportunity to double or quadruple winnings by correctly predicting the color and suit of a mystery card.
On the second machine its not all gold that glistens, but silver is a good alternative. Sterling Silver is a 5 reel 25 pay-line online slotmachine where silver will be dripping from you screen. All symbols are silver, the wild is the Sterling Silver symbol and replaces every other symbol, except for the scatter, helping to create winning lines when it appears on the centre reel and can reward the player with a random multiplier ranging from 2x up to 10x, even during Free Spin cycles. And the Sterling Silver Scatter is perhaps the best of all, 3 of these anywhere on reels 2, 3 and 4 and the player gets 15 re-triggering Free Spins. Wagers may vary between 1 and 25 cent, and a maximum bet can win up to 80.000. Rounding off an action-packed betting package is a Sterling Silver Gamble feature, where the player can lose, double or quadruple winnings by guessing the correct suit and color of a mystery card.
It is once again time for the summer and a lot of people go on a holiday to enjoy the weather and time off work, have a nice meal, fishing, swimming, cycling and enjoying nature are the things a Summer holiday is about. These things are what this new slotmachine, Summer Holiday is all about. This 5 reel 100 pay-line slotmachine is full of Stacked Wilds, Scatters and re-triggering Free Spins with generous multipliers, together with an innovative casino bonus feature that enables the player to Pick-A-Prize on the completion of a free Spin cycle. The duck icon is the scatter, 3, 4 of 5 scatters triggers 15, 20 and 25 free-spins, after the free-spin rounds the player can choose its prize. You can choose to replay the free-spins, receive a mystery multiplier prize which could be 10x total bet right up to 100x or be a chicken and keep your winnings.
The last of the new casino online slotmachines is Fortune Finder, this 5 reel 30 payline video slotmachine has a gold mining theme, with symbols like diamonds, gold nuggets, TNT, gold panning dish and an old gold miner. The key feature in the game is a new way to build the best combinations to maximize rewards. This is done by giving the player control of the three Wilds in the game: diamond, Ruby and Gold nugget – on reels 2, 3 and 4. The player selects the Wild he or she thinks will best deliver the right lines for the best prizes as the game moves forward, when the wild is not delivering the goods, the player can change the selection. The wild replaces every other symbol except for the scatter. The scatter is the gold miner, when you hit him on reel 3, 4 or 5 you receive 15, 20 or 25 free-spins. Ending a great game is the Gamble feature, where the player can double or quadruple wins by guessing the correct suit or color of a mystery card.
These new slotmachines are playable on the online casinos of Roxy and Spin Palace from the 1st of July, click the banner to visit one of the casinos.
Two scientist at the University of British Columbia did a research into the biology of addiction, for this research they let rats gamble, but not for money, but for food. Rats cannot only gamble, they are really good at it. In the journal Neuropsychopharmacology the two scientists describe how the rodents developed a strategy in a timed task, in which the rats has to earn as much treats as possible.
The rats where placed in special made boxes with four ‘reaction holes’, every hole was connected to the possibility of winning a treat (sugar pellets), from 1 to 4 treats, or the possibility to get a time-out penalty, depending on which hole was chosen. When a rat puts his head through a hole, an infra-red light is switched, signalling a computer with a probability calculator for treats or punishment, which determine whether a sugar pellet (win) or a time-out (loss) is dispensed. The goal for the rats is to accumulate as much treats as possible. This test is based on a similar test for humans, called the Iowa Gambling test.
The rats quickly learned that the hole for the most treats, also has the highest risk for punishment which means more and longer time-outs, in which they could not gather treats. These time-outs were very frustrating for the rats, so they had to learn to avoid these tempting high reward options and instead choose the smaller reward option that in the long run pays out more. The rats had to develop an optimal strategy in order to get as much treats as possible. In other words you can say that the rats where calculating risk and chose for a number of smaller wins instead of risking it all to gamble for the jackpot. The researchers told that the rats chose this saver way of gambling in 60 to 70 percent of the time, which shows that rats in time learn what is the best option, to get as much treats as possible.
The scientist also tested how the results of the rats where altered by a drug that altered the levels of two neurotransmitters, dopamine and serotonin. These are signalling chemicals in the brain that are thought to play an important role in addiction. The rats were given a drug that reduces the amount of serotonin in their brains, this reduced their ability for good decision making, and to successfully play the odds, they became worse problem gamblers sort of speak. Lead author Catharine Winstanley said: “This coincides with data we’ve seen from pathological gamblers, who have been shown to have lower levels of serotonin in their brains, we also found that we could make our rats better gamblers by giving them a dopamine receptor antagonist, a drug that reduces the effects of the neurotransmitter dopamine.” Researchers hope to develop treatments for pathological gambling with help of this study, something which is very important for the casino gambling industry, because there are no approved treatments for pathological gambling or any of the other impulse control disorders. Having good animal models is vital in the development of a treatment for problem gambling.
