Casino Billionaire Gambling news !
Here is our News section where you can keep updated with all offers from gambling industry. Stay tune in this section that I will place exclusive deals.
Fresh casinos news
Here is our News section where you can keep updated with all offers from gambling industry. Stay tune in this section that I will place exclusive deals.
Fresh casinos news
Archives: Jan/06 | Dez/05
2/15/2006 gambling news:
Christchurch Online Casino Group Continue Expansion
Christchurch Casino has expanded its online gambling operation by launching a second online casino and new services offering online poker, British Bingo and skills-based betting.
The group’s latest ventures include fastwincasino.com, which provides 80 virtual casino games such as slot machines and blackjack and is designed to emulate the 'look and feel' of a real casino.
The casino’s business focuses mainly on overseas players but under New Zealand’s Gambling Act, only the TAB and NZ Lotteries are able to offer gaming products over the internet or by phone because of the heightened risk of problem gambling. To avoid falling foul of the legislation, Christchurch Casino provides its online services through a subsidiary, Kiwi Gaming.
Christchurch Casino acting Chief Executive, Stephen Lyttleton said that the company screens for New Zealand-based punters 'to the best of our ability' by not accepting registrations from people with a New Zealand Internet or mailing address or from people with a credit card issued in New Zealand.
Poker Night Live Comes to Canada
Online casino, River Belle is set to bring a new venture to poker enthusiasts in Canada through Poker Night Live Canada. The program will be broadcast daily by CGTV and during Thursday and Saturday broadcasts, players will compete on the River Belle branded playing felt.
Riding on the success of the UK version, Poker Night Live will televise a virtual poker table and feature expert commentary.
Tim Johnson, Chairman of Carmen Media Group, the owners of Belle Rock Entertainment, said of this new opportunity for Canadian players, “Poker Night Live will give online players the rare opportunity to showcase their poker skills on live television.”
Play With Big Al at Capone Online Casino
The Superscape Group have announced that the latest one of its games to be selected by Cingular for download is the 3D version of Capone Casino.
The Capone Casino 3D is set exactly how one would imagine – in a seedy casino owned by Big Al and his sidekick Peanuts. Those players brave enough to enter the gangster-style casino will have the choice of playing roulette, blackjack, video poker or slot machines and will get to meet some frighteningly real 3D characters along the way.
Kevin Roberts, CEO of Superscape Group plc said, 'This game which we conceived and developed in-house is proving to be a real winner. It combines some of the world's best known casino games with a great gambling atmosphere to produce a really compelling mobile experience.'
West Ham FC Launch Online Casino
One of England’s top Premiership football clubs, West Ham United, has introduced its new, fully branded online casino.
West Ham fans, football lovers and online gamblers alike can now enjoy the most popular casino games – blackjack, roulette, poker, slots – in a unique environment tailored towards football fans.
The Hammers Casino (www.hammers.com), named after the club’s nickname, is offering a huge £500 Free Welcome Bonus, which is one of the most generous on the net at present. There are plenty of West Ham prizes on offer too: training days with the players, West Ham goodies and much more. The casino also offers a ‘comp’ points program where you earn points every time you play and you can transfer these points to cash.
The software for the casino has been provided by Playtech, a major supplier to the iGaming industry. The new service also features customer support, loads of bonuses and players can relax and enjoy the casino games in a completely secure and unique gaming environment.
Empire Wins $250m Payout from PartyGaming
Empire Online has emerged with a significant financial settlement after a long running court battle with PartyGaming finally ended today. PartyGaming announced it will pay Empire $250 million in cash following a legal dispute over ownership of marketing and online assets.
Empire Online sued PartyGaming after their partnership dissolved and PartyGaming purportedly attempted to take Empire’s Internet poker clientele through various suspect marketing campaigns.
“This was a tough-but-necessary period in our development; we did not give up and we emerged stronger,” said Noam Lanir, founder and CEO of Empire Online. “We anticipate $37 million in profit this year from our existing business. The PartyGaming settlement will help support our efforts to enter into the European and Far Eastern Markets.”
In other promising fiscal news for Empire, they reported positive results in the fourth quarter of 2005, due in part to the success of their other online properties, Club Dice Casino and Noble Poker.
Survey: Online Casino Games More Popular than Pub
A new survey has revealed that UK gamblers would rather gamble online than go to the pub to have a pint. The survey revealed that thirty eight per cent of online gamblers would give up TV to play online while 19 per cent of them said that they would give up a drink in the pub.
Nine per cent of casino and online poker players said that they would like to quit their jobs to play online professionally.
The InterCasino survey also showed that 15 per cent of respondents said that they play online wearing underwear or naked, which is something to consider in the heat of battle.
Approximately 375,000 UK gamblers play for over ten hours a week, with just 3 per cent playing online during office hours with the most popular game is Texas Hold 'Em Poker, followed by Blackjack, Roulette and other Poker, the survey found.
Online Casino Gets a Facelift
Online casino, Bluebook, has been given a facelift to enhance the site’s usability.
The new site design will enable players to have a more enjoyable overall experience. The updated format makes it easier to research online casinos and learn casino game strategy. Other new features include bonus reviews, top casino list, gambling news articles, RSS feeds and casino strategy game guides.
As well as the new enhanced layout and clearer site design, Bluebook has added some new casino information, such as 10 more complete casino reviews, a guide to flash casinos and free casino games to play.
2/13/2006 gambling news:
New Podcast for Online Poker Players
OnlinePokerPodcast.com has this week launched its first podcast featuring information on all areas of online poker. Podcasts are all the rage in mobile technology of late and it wasn’t to be long until the online casino industry caught hold of the trend.
The subscription-based, weekly podcast will be available for downloading to all digital players and offers online poker players access to online tournament information, poker site reviews, poker room promos and tips.
Creator and host Chip McGee said, ‘A podcast it the perfect way for us to reach out to online poker players. The Online Poker Podcast will keep players updated on everything happening in the online poker world.’
Online Poker Podcast plans to promote the show with contest, giveaways, and online freerolls for its listeners.
Buy One, Get One Free at Online Casino
A new promotion from Fortune Lounge is giving players a double dose of Vegas action and excitement.
Likened to a 'Buy One Get One Free' retail offer, Double Vegas allows players to purchase in one Vegas-style online casino and get the exact amount in complimentary credits in another.
The incentive is to register with two of the group’s online casinos at the same time i.e. a player would make a deposit at Vegas Towers and get their 100% purchase match at Vegas Villa.
An innovative 'Dual Download' allows both casinos’ software to install in a single download.
$500K Guaranteed Online Poker Tournament Announced
Saturday February 11 will see Eurobet’s largest ever tournament with a guaranteed prize pool of at least $500,000. The tournament, called 'Grand Tournament VI', will begin at 15.00 ET on Saturday.
Qualifiers have begun and winners of the stage two qualifiers will automatically be entered to the final. For those not able to qualify but still wanting to pay, a direct buy-in is available for $1000.
Mark O'Donnell, Marketing Manager at Eurobet Poker said, ‘The size of our community means that we can offer huge guarantees, and with qualifying satellites, literally anyone has a chance of making the money.”
Marriage Made in Online Casino Heaven
After meeting online at Partypoker.com, Gary Suffir and Jackie Johnson are now planning a March trip to Las Vegas where they will tie the knot.
PartyPoker are billing the big day as online poker’s first ever marriage and are said to be delighted to have introduced the pair who met whilst both playing poker online in 2004.
After the wedding, the couple will head straight off for their honeymoon onboard the PartyPoker.com Million V Cruise around the Cayman Islands and Jamaica, joined by 450 other poker fans.
PartyPoker’s Warren Lush said, “We were delighted when Gary and Jackie called to tell us that they were going all-in for life. It took us a while to believe that they were not bluffing! They’re having a full-on poker wedding in Vegas and are even having an online tournament for wedding guests a couple of weeks before the big day.”
Settlement Looming in Online Casino Dispute
PartyGaming are reportedly on the brink of an out of court settlement with Empire Online.
The rift between the two online giants began last year when PartyGaming cut out Empire’s flagship site, Empire Poker from their player pool. Last November, Empire accused Party Gaming of breach of contract and announced it’s attention to sue for ‘substantial damages’.
After the rumours of an out of court settlement surfaced, Empire were quick to substantiate them, declaring that they are very close to a settlement. They would enter into any details about that settlement although the $200 million figure which has been suggested is $300 million short of the figure Empire allegedly demanded at the lawsuit’s outset.
Empire Online did report very positive results for the fourth quarter of 2005 but they have been hit badly by not having their poker room in the PartyGaming pool and the strong figures are believed to me more a marker of the success of their Club Dice Casino and Noble Poker.
2/08/2006 gambling news:
Online Casino Winner Collects $5,000 on the Toilet
They say it’s always best to be sitting down when you get a shock, but Michelle M. from Dallas, Texas took that saying to new lengths when she scooped a $5,000 jackpot whilst sitting on her toilet.
Michelle was playing online at Bingohall.com when nature called and she took her laptop to the toilet with her so as not to miss out on any play.
And it was lucky she did, because within moments of sitting down Michelle hit the daily $5,000 jackpot.
“I had 4 numbers to go, and I really had to go to the bathroom. I had three numbers left, then two, then one, and then all of a sudden I hit the $5,000 coverall while in the bathroom.'
'This is a first for us,' said Jon Daley, President of Bingohall.com. 'We have huge winners every day, but none can say they ever won $5,000 on their toilet. It would have been funnier if Michelle was playing poker and hit a Royal Flush!'
Lyceum Party Rocks Online Casino Industry
Over 600 iGaming VIPs and Executives attended the Lyceum ‘Fire & Ice’ party at Firehouse in South Kensington on January 25th. The online gaming industry soiree held during ICEi was the biggest, brashest and boldest so far in the party’s five-year history. Guests were treated to a stunning audiovisual experience across three levels of the club, in which each room had an individual theme and was independently sponsored.
Lyceum Media, the organisers of Fire & Ice, were overwhelmed with the support from their sponsors: Bodog Marketing Conference 2006, CryptoLogic and Next Gen Gaming and photos from the event are now available.
Fire & Ice also marked the launch of two new publications: European Poker magazine, Bluff Europe and Gambling.com, a VIP magazine for platinum members of the world’s leading gambling search engine. The night was also memorable for the party’s major sponsors, Bodog Marketing Conference 2006 Middle-Eastern themed floor featured belly dancers and created the perfect relaxed environment for networking. Whilst on the top floor, CryptoLogic and Next Gen Gaming partied the night away surrounded by cutting-edge visuals of their latest games.
Jodie Thind, partner at Lyceum Media said, “This has been the biggest Lyceum party yet, and thanks to our sponsors, we ensured that everyone passing through the doors enjoyed themselves.”
Planning for Fire & Ice 2007 has already begun, with Lyceum estimating that next year’s party will need to cater for up to 1000 guests – nearly double – to accommodate for the rapidly growing iGaming industry and its penchant for partying!
New ‘Vegas-centric’ Online Casino Opens
New online casino, www.VegasSportsbookandCasino.com, enters the Internet gambling arena with a vision.
Entrepreneur Paul Sidelinger has teamed with Access Corporation to make his vision of this Vegas themed website to become a reality, “Las Vegas casinos focus on having everything within the walls of their establishment. I’m planning on taking that ideology to the website.”
The casino is offering promotions to new players including:
• 110% Deposit Bonus
• 10 Daily Free Rolls
• 4 Player Shoot-Outs (Ideal for the player pressed for time)
Vegas Sportsbook and Casino offers a no download, ‘Las Vegas Style’ casino with games and a full sportsbook.
Get to the World Poker Tour For Less
While players at many online poker rooms are spending upwards of US$30 for a chance to compete in a WPT event, CelebPoker.com has developed a system where players can pitch in a small fee of US$9 dollars and compete in a smaller player pool of approximately 150 people and move quickly on to the chance of a lifetime.
Exclusive to Celebpoker.com is the chance to play with future WPT competitor and movie star Lou Diamond Phillips. The poker room regularly hosts celebrity games and events online as well as poker tournaments and appearances by top entertainers and sports professionals around the globe.
Steve Lipscomb, CEO and Founder of WPT Enterprises, Inc said, ‘The World Poker Tour is all about letting people live their dreams and celebrities are no different. They all want to be the one counting the money at the Final Table.’
CelebPoker is making the deal more appealing by allowing new members to collect a 100% deposit bonus on their initial deposit in order to enhance their chances of being side by side to top players and large prize pools this year.
Online Casino Giant Looks to Acquire Sportsbook
John Anderson, CEO of online casino and poker group 888, yesterday said he was hoping to buy an internet betting business this year.
Anderson said he wanted to offer sportsbetting to the company's casino and poker players to boost 'customer retention'' and 'organic growth'.
Mr Anderson commented, “In terms of sports books, the one thing I will not be doing is taking bets from American citizens in America because that's illegal under the Wire Act in the States.”
Finance director Avian Kobrine said, “We have a shortlist. We would like to buy something that's an established business. We are not going to start from scratch. That would be suicidal with competitors like Ladbrokes and William Hill.”
2/06/2006 gambling news:
Pokerzone Finds New Home in ‘Gaming & Dating’
From February 28, pokerzone will relocate to channel 843 from channel 226 in the new ‘Gaming and Dating’ section of the Sky Electronic Programming Guide.
To celebrate the move, pokerzone are offering one lucky viewer the chance to be a pokerzone exclusive reporter in Las Vegas during the World Series of Poker 2006. In order to win, entrants must come up with a quirky poker related ‘lonely hearts’ column advert. The funniest and most unique will be short-listed and the winner picked on a dedicated Episode of ‘Poker Night Live’ at 10pm on Friday the February 28.
Managing Director of pokerzone, Jim Sibcy said of Sky’s new programming decision, ‘Perhaps Sky thought it was about time all those lonely poker players had a little more love in their lives. On a serious note, it will be a great advantage for Pokerzone to be near its competitors.’
Pokerzone recently won ‘TV Programme of the Year’ at the UK Gambling Awards for Poker Night Live.
Spill Group Launches New Online Casino Portal
Spill Group officially launched its most comprehensive gaming portal to date this week. The new service at www.SkillGame.com is already generating large volumes of traffic.
The new gaming portal features Person-to-Person Skill Games and Knockout Tournaments such as Sit 'n' Go games like multiplayer Gin Rummy, Backgammon and 8-Ball Pool, as well as evergreen classics Blackjack, Hi-Lo Solitaire, Pyramid Solitaire, Riverboat Rummy, Blocs, Mah Jong, Mah Jong Airplane, Klondike Solitaire, Gem Trader, and Singleplayer Golf and Pool.
SkillGame.com is powered by UK-based remote gaming supplier GameAccount.
Reinout te Brake, Marketing & Business Development Director for Spill Group said, ‘Spill Group was seeking a party with whom we could build a long-term business relationship. GameAccount has a proven track record and a stable gaming platform that can handle our high-load traffic.’
Spill Group also plans to introduce branded gaming for advertisers as well as a new mobile gaming platform in the second quarter of 2006.
Celebrity Charity Poker Tournament Unites Legends
The worlds of poker, baseball and American football came together this weekend for a unique and exhilirating event in the name of charity.
Poker's finest players squared off against Roger Clemens, Dan Marino and John Elway on turf less familiar to the sporting legends than the card players – the green felt. The 2006 Legends Celebrity Invitational Poker Tournament hosted by the sports trio took place at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.
No less than 16 tables were filled by the likes of Marino, Elway, and Clemens, along with poker's biggest names including Doyle and Todd Brunson, Phil Ivey, Eric Lindgren, Jennifer Harman, Barry Greenstein, Johnny Chan and Chris Moneymaker.
The exclusive No-Limit Texas Hold'em tournament featured a $2,500 buy-in which featured a star-studded red carpet arrival for palyers and guests, complete with throngs of fans and media.
After the first three levels of play, the chip leader at each of the sixteen tables advanced to the final two tables with everyone starting with an equal amount of chips. The only noted pro poker player to make the cut was WPT Host and Commentator, Mike Sexton.
By tournament’s end, Lerem Rustem was crowned the champion after at a tense final table battle.
Online Casino Buys Hotdog for $1800
GoldenPalace.com – well known for their many eccentric eBay purchases – has added another weird and wonderful item to its treasure trove. The online casino has won a recent auction on eBay for a hot dog with a bid of $1800 US.
The hot dog purchased by GoldenPalace.com was originally purchased at Qwest Field during the 3rd quarter of the NFL Championship Game, in which the Seattle Seahawks reached their first-ever Super Bowl.
GoldenPalace.com CEO Richard Rowe, ‘The eBay webpage received over 350,000 visitors so it''s obvious that people are interested in the Super Dog. This will be a welcome addition to our collection of odd items.’
The Super Dog, now vacuum-sealed and frozen for freshness, will soon be in the company of equally strange items including a Virgin Mary Grilled Cheese Sandwich, Britney Spears’s Pregnancy Test and William Shatner''s Kidney Stone.
2/03/2006 gambling news:
SMS Online Casino Gambling Under Threat
The Federal Government of Australia has been urged to clamp down on the use of mobile phones to place bets via SMS. Australian company, Txt2bet, offers the opportunity to bet 24-hours a day, seven days a week via text messaging from a mobile phone.
Members of the Australian Government have expressed their growing concern that the Txt2bet service might encourage a growth in the number of problem gamblers.
MP Nick Xenophon has written to the Commonwealth demanding amendments to the Interactive Gambling Act, which would enable his government to put an end to the scheme.
However, director of Txt2bet, Keith Boerholm says the scheme is safer for users than other betting methods because punters receive an audit trail of their transactions. “The service is debit based, in other words there's no credit. The user has to put money on the card in order to use it. From our experience from the people using it now, it hasn't increased their punting habit one bit,' he said.
New Games at Vegas Partner Online Casinos
Vegas Partner Casinos are set to roll out eight brand new slot games, which they claim demonstrates the best quality graphics, sound and thrills offered by Microgaming’s Viper Software.
The new games will be available at Crazy Vegas Casino, Sun Vegas, Cinema Casino, 777 Dragon and the group’s entire casino range.
The games include:
Bulls Eye - A straightforward 3-reel, 1-payline, 3-coin game that pays out 5,000 coins.
Dino Mite - 25 pay-line five reeled video slot with a pre-historic theme loaded with fossils and dinosaurs.
Gift Rap - Video slot that packs a real punch with plenty of entertainment, action in a hip-hop style.
Multi-hands Bonus Blackjack - Multi-hand variant of the single-hand game and will appeal to many players who like to play multi-hands of blackjack simultaneously. A player can bet on up to five hands at one time.
Inside Gaming Announces First Clients
Inside Gaming (IG) Limited has announced the first four clients to sign up to its new management services. During the first period of 2006, IG is launching fully managed gaming sites for: financial portal ADVFN will launch with “ADVFN Poker” (www.advfnpoker.com), marketing specialist company, Home is launching casino and poker room “Heaven”, New UK high street bookmaker Better will be launching “Better” branded casino and poker and promotional company Bonnevista Limited are launching their flagship European brand “Lukto”.
The launches, timed over a four-week period, are an exciting development for IG. Chief Executive Officer, Chris North said, “We are delighted that our first launches are with such a solid client base. We appear to have found a niche in the market for fully managed gaming sites where our clients are able to concentrate on their core business whilst we work in partnership to ensure that they are able to maximize the returns from the gaming products.”
IG provides for its clients, a total managed service which allows a fully customized site and secures clients against financial risk with fully licensed gaming products.
Online Casino Celebrates in Style
Online casino, CasinoEuro, is to celebrate the joining of its 100,000th member by awarding that lucky player with a brand new Peugeot 206 Cabriolet.
Since its inception in 2002, CasinoEuro has grown quickly through its offering of casino gambling in the Euro currency and the major European languages. To celebrate their recent successes and growing popularity, the online casino will give away a brand new car to the lucky, 100,000th CasinoEuro member.
The promotion is open to residents of the European Union (EU), Norway and Turkey. CasinoEuro.com is licensed in Malta and is a fully owned subsidiary of Cherry.
Lightning Strikes Twice at Online Casino
Bingohall.com has paid out a regular customer a prize of over $20,000 for the second time in as many months.
Marie from Massachusetts, first hit the jackpot in December while playing slots and bingo at the same time, winning $23,000. Then, in January 2006, Marie hit the maximum jackpot payout on the 'Three Times the Riches' slot machine, which amounted to $20,000 from a $10 wager.
Marie said, ‘I feel wonderful, great, super. I'm ecstatic! I like Bingohall, I like it a lot. I love to play bingo every morning with my coffee and I'm back again most afternoons.’
Scott Logan, Bingohall.com Marketing Manager, said ‘We pride ourselves on the number of big winners that we have… it is quite rare to have a player have two massive wins within such a short space of time.’
When asked what she would do with her second big win, Marie said the money would be put to good use, ‘I will pay some bills and help out my 3 children and 6 grandchildren.’
Sportsbook to Open New Online Casino
BetonSports.com has announced that it is set to open a new online casino which will give its users the chance to get involved in over 80 games, including blackjack, slots, video poker, craps and roulette.
BetonSports have teamed up with software providers RealTime Gaming and promise that the new casino will not only offer some of the biggest and best progressive jackpots around but will also be one of the best-looking and top functioning casino services on the net.
BetonSports CEO, David Carruthers said, 'By adding the casino we can now offer our customers a wider range of games with improved playability and the chance to win huge progressive jackpots. RTG has the best online casino software in the market today and BETonSPORTS is excited to have formed a partnership with a company that clearly leads the online casino software industry.'
2/02/2006 gambling news:
New Slot Games Launch from Online Casino
Casino Online International has injected two new slots into their games suite, which they claim are their best yet.
The two new games called ‘Martian Landing’ and ‘Jackpot Quarterback’ continue in Casino Online International’s trend of offering fun games with big prize money. Their most recent jackpot paid out $27,000.00.
In addition to the two new games and the prize money, Casino Online International also features regular weekly promotions that reward its customers simply for playing with them. Current prizes include Super Bowl Tickets, Carnivals in Venice, a trip to Mexico and a Caribbean Cruise.
Blackpool Online Bingo Launches Today
As of February 1, Blackpoolbingo.co.uk is bringing the action from the seaside town directly to your door. For decades, Blackpool has been synonymous with bingo and British gambling. Now, Internet bingo service, Blackpool Bingo, allows people from all over the world to play authentic Bingo online and tap into the ‘Blackpool buzz’ from the comfort and convenience of their own home.
A spokesman for the Blackpool Bingo said, “90-Ball Bingo has been a part of British culture for decades. In the last few years it’s made the transition to the Internet but until recently has always played second fiddle to the American 75-ball version. Blackpool Bingo will change all that. It’s a British 90-ball game, in pounds and pence, using 90-ball bingo cards and is first and foremost for all us Brits online.”
WagerLogic Wins at UK Online Casino Awards
CryptoLogic's wholly-owned subsidiary, WagerLogic Limited, was recognised as the iGaming Software Provider of the Year at the 2006 UK Gambling Awards – the premier awards for the iGaming industry in Britain.
WagerLogic was recognised for its consistent development of groundbreaking products through its Internet casino and poker games suites. WagerLogic introduced more than 20 new casino games in 2005 alone, including ‘Bejewelled’, the popular gem-matching game, and six new multi-jackpot games featuring Marvel Super Heroes such as The Hulk, Daredevil, X-Men, Blade and The Punisher.
CryptoLogic's President and CEO, Lewis Rose, was delighted to scoop the honour. “This prestigious award makes it clear that CryptoLogic is developing games of choice that players love to play,” he said. “As both industry pioneer and an industry leader, CryptoLogic works hard to stay close to the heart of the online player - in both casino and poker – and this type of industry acclaim shows we're on the right track in producing innovative, industry-leading games and software.'
2/15/2006 gambling news:
Christchurch Online Casino Group Continue Expansion
Christchurch Casino has expanded its online gambling operation by launching a second online casino and new services offering online poker, British Bingo and skills-based betting.
The group’s latest ventures include fastwincasino.com, which provides 80 virtual casino games such as slot machines and blackjack and is designed to emulate the 'look and feel' of a real casino.
The casino’s business focuses mainly on overseas players but under New Zealand’s Gambling Act, only the TAB and NZ Lotteries are able to offer gaming products over the internet or by phone because of the heightened risk of problem gambling. To avoid falling foul of the legislation, Christchurch Casino provides its online services through a subsidiary, Kiwi Gaming.
Christchurch Casino acting Chief Executive, Stephen Lyttleton said that the company screens for New Zealand-based punters 'to the best of our ability' by not accepting registrations from people with a New Zealand Internet or mailing address or from people with a credit card issued in New Zealand.
Poker Night Live Comes to Canada
Online casino, River Belle is set to bring a new venture to poker enthusiasts in Canada through Poker Night Live Canada. The program will be broadcast daily by CGTV and during Thursday and Saturday broadcasts, players will compete on the River Belle branded playing felt.
Riding on the success of the UK version, Poker Night Live will televise a virtual poker table and feature expert commentary.
Tim Johnson, Chairman of Carmen Media Group, the owners of Belle Rock Entertainment, said of this new opportunity for Canadian players, “Poker Night Live will give online players the rare opportunity to showcase their poker skills on live television.”
Play With Big Al at Capone Online Casino
The Superscape Group have announced that the latest one of its games to be selected by Cingular for download is the 3D version of Capone Casino.
The Capone Casino 3D is set exactly how one would imagine – in a seedy casino owned by Big Al and his sidekick Peanuts. Those players brave enough to enter the gangster-style casino will have the choice of playing roulette, blackjack, video poker or slot machines and will get to meet some frighteningly real 3D characters along the way.
Kevin Roberts, CEO of Superscape Group plc said, 'This game which we conceived and developed in-house is proving to be a real winner. It combines some of the world's best known casino games with a great gambling atmosphere to produce a really compelling mobile experience.'
West Ham FC Launch Online Casino
One of England’s top Premiership football clubs, West Ham United, has introduced its new, fully branded online casino.
West Ham fans, football lovers and online gamblers alike can now enjoy the most popular casino games – blackjack, roulette, poker, slots – in a unique environment tailored towards football fans.
The Hammers Casino (www.hammers.com), named after the club’s nickname, is offering a huge £500 Free Welcome Bonus, which is one of the most generous on the net at present. There are plenty of West Ham prizes on offer too: training days with the players, West Ham goodies and much more. The casino also offers a ‘comp’ points program where you earn points every time you play and you can transfer these points to cash.
The software for the casino has been provided by Playtech, a major supplier to the iGaming industry. The new service also features customer support, loads of bonuses and players can relax and enjoy the casino games in a completely secure and unique gaming environment.
Empire Wins $250m Payout from PartyGaming
Empire Online has emerged with a significant financial settlement after a long running court battle with PartyGaming finally ended today. PartyGaming announced it will pay Empire $250 million in cash following a legal dispute over ownership of marketing and online assets.
Empire Online sued PartyGaming after their partnership dissolved and PartyGaming purportedly attempted to take Empire’s Internet poker clientele through various suspect marketing campaigns.
“This was a tough-but-necessary period in our development; we did not give up and we emerged stronger,” said Noam Lanir, founder and CEO of Empire Online. “We anticipate $37 million in profit this year from our existing business. The PartyGaming settlement will help support our efforts to enter into the European and Far Eastern Markets.”
In other promising fiscal news for Empire, they reported positive results in the fourth quarter of 2005, due in part to the success of their other online properties, Club Dice Casino and Noble Poker.
Survey: Online Casino Games More Popular than Pub
A new survey has revealed that UK gamblers would rather gamble online than go to the pub to have a pint. The survey revealed that thirty eight per cent of online gamblers would give up TV to play online while 19 per cent of them said that they would give up a drink in the pub.
Nine per cent of casino and online poker players said that they would like to quit their jobs to play online professionally.
The InterCasino survey also showed that 15 per cent of respondents said that they play online wearing underwear or naked, which is something to consider in the heat of battle.
Approximately 375,000 UK gamblers play for over ten hours a week, with just 3 per cent playing online during office hours with the most popular game is Texas Hold 'Em Poker, followed by Blackjack, Roulette and other Poker, the survey found.
Online Casino Gets a Facelift
Online casino, Bluebook, has been given a facelift to enhance the site’s usability.
The new site design will enable players to have a more enjoyable overall experience. The updated format makes it easier to research online casinos and learn casino game strategy. Other new features include bonus reviews, top casino list, gambling news articles, RSS feeds and casino strategy game guides.
As well as the new enhanced layout and clearer site design, Bluebook has added some new casino information, such as 10 more complete casino reviews, a guide to flash casinos and free casino games to play.
2/13/2006 gambling news:
New Podcast for Online Poker Players
OnlinePokerPodcast.com has this week launched its first podcast featuring information on all areas of online poker. Podcasts are all the rage in mobile technology of late and it wasn’t to be long until the online casino industry caught hold of the trend.
The subscription-based, weekly podcast will be available for downloading to all digital players and offers online poker players access to online tournament information, poker site reviews, poker room promos and tips.
Creator and host Chip McGee said, ‘A podcast it the perfect way for us to reach out to online poker players. The Online Poker Podcast will keep players updated on everything happening in the online poker world.’
Online Poker Podcast plans to promote the show with contest, giveaways, and online freerolls for its listeners.
Buy One, Get One Free at Online Casino
A new promotion from Fortune Lounge is giving players a double dose of Vegas action and excitement.
Likened to a 'Buy One Get One Free' retail offer, Double Vegas allows players to purchase in one Vegas-style online casino and get the exact amount in complimentary credits in another.
The incentive is to register with two of the group’s online casinos at the same time i.e. a player would make a deposit at Vegas Towers and get their 100% purchase match at Vegas Villa.
An innovative 'Dual Download' allows both casinos’ software to install in a single download.
$500K Guaranteed Online Poker Tournament Announced
Saturday February 11 will see Eurobet’s largest ever tournament with a guaranteed prize pool of at least $500,000. The tournament, called 'Grand Tournament VI', will begin at 15.00 ET on Saturday.
Qualifiers have begun and winners of the stage two qualifiers will automatically be entered to the final. For those not able to qualify but still wanting to pay, a direct buy-in is available for $1000.
Mark O'Donnell, Marketing Manager at Eurobet Poker said, ‘The size of our community means that we can offer huge guarantees, and with qualifying satellites, literally anyone has a chance of making the money.”
Marriage Made in Online Casino Heaven
After meeting online at Partypoker.com, Gary Suffir and Jackie Johnson are now planning a March trip to Las Vegas where they will tie the knot.
PartyPoker are billing the big day as online poker’s first ever marriage and are said to be delighted to have introduced the pair who met whilst both playing poker online in 2004.
After the wedding, the couple will head straight off for their honeymoon onboard the PartyPoker.com Million V Cruise around the Cayman Islands and Jamaica, joined by 450 other poker fans.
PartyPoker’s Warren Lush said, “We were delighted when Gary and Jackie called to tell us that they were going all-in for life. It took us a while to believe that they were not bluffing! They’re having a full-on poker wedding in Vegas and are even having an online tournament for wedding guests a couple of weeks before the big day.”
Settlement Looming in Online Casino Dispute
PartyGaming are reportedly on the brink of an out of court settlement with Empire Online.
The rift between the two online giants began last year when PartyGaming cut out Empire’s flagship site, Empire Poker from their player pool. Last November, Empire accused Party Gaming of breach of contract and announced it’s attention to sue for ‘substantial damages’.
After the rumours of an out of court settlement surfaced, Empire were quick to substantiate them, declaring that they are very close to a settlement. They would enter into any details about that settlement although the $200 million figure which has been suggested is $300 million short of the figure Empire allegedly demanded at the lawsuit’s outset.
Empire Online did report very positive results for the fourth quarter of 2005 but they have been hit badly by not having their poker room in the PartyGaming pool and the strong figures are believed to me more a marker of the success of their Club Dice Casino and Noble Poker.
2/08/2006 gambling news:
Online Casino Winner Collects $5,000 on the Toilet
They say it’s always best to be sitting down when you get a shock, but Michelle M. from Dallas, Texas took that saying to new lengths when she scooped a $5,000 jackpot whilst sitting on her toilet.
Michelle was playing online at Bingohall.com when nature called and she took her laptop to the toilet with her so as not to miss out on any play.
And it was lucky she did, because within moments of sitting down Michelle hit the daily $5,000 jackpot.
“I had 4 numbers to go, and I really had to go to the bathroom. I had three numbers left, then two, then one, and then all of a sudden I hit the $5,000 coverall while in the bathroom.'
'This is a first for us,' said Jon Daley, President of Bingohall.com. 'We have huge winners every day, but none can say they ever won $5,000 on their toilet. It would have been funnier if Michelle was playing poker and hit a Royal Flush!'
Lyceum Party Rocks Online Casino Industry
Over 600 iGaming VIPs and Executives attended the Lyceum ‘Fire & Ice’ party at Firehouse in South Kensington on January 25th. The online gaming industry soiree held during ICEi was the biggest, brashest and boldest so far in the party’s five-year history. Guests were treated to a stunning audiovisual experience across three levels of the club, in which each room had an individual theme and was independently sponsored.
Lyceum Media, the organisers of Fire & Ice, were overwhelmed with the support from their sponsors: Bodog Marketing Conference 2006, CryptoLogic and Next Gen Gaming and photos from the event are now available.
Fire & Ice also marked the launch of two new publications: European Poker magazine, Bluff Europe and Gambling.com, a VIP magazine for platinum members of the world’s leading gambling search engine. The night was also memorable for the party’s major sponsors, Bodog Marketing Conference 2006 Middle-Eastern themed floor featured belly dancers and created the perfect relaxed environment for networking. Whilst on the top floor, CryptoLogic and Next Gen Gaming partied the night away surrounded by cutting-edge visuals of their latest games.
Jodie Thind, partner at Lyceum Media said, “This has been the biggest Lyceum party yet, and thanks to our sponsors, we ensured that everyone passing through the doors enjoyed themselves.”
Planning for Fire & Ice 2007 has already begun, with Lyceum estimating that next year’s party will need to cater for up to 1000 guests – nearly double – to accommodate for the rapidly growing iGaming industry and its penchant for partying!
New ‘Vegas-centric’ Online Casino Opens
New online casino, www.VegasSportsbookandCasino.com, enters the Internet gambling arena with a vision.
Entrepreneur Paul Sidelinger has teamed with Access Corporation to make his vision of this Vegas themed website to become a reality, “Las Vegas casinos focus on having everything within the walls of their establishment. I’m planning on taking that ideology to the website.”
The casino is offering promotions to new players including:
• 110% Deposit Bonus
• 10 Daily Free Rolls
• 4 Player Shoot-Outs (Ideal for the player pressed for time)
Vegas Sportsbook and Casino offers a no download, ‘Las Vegas Style’ casino with games and a full sportsbook.
Get to the World Poker Tour For Less
While players at many online poker rooms are spending upwards of US$30 for a chance to compete in a WPT event, CelebPoker.com has developed a system where players can pitch in a small fee of US$9 dollars and compete in a smaller player pool of approximately 150 people and move quickly on to the chance of a lifetime.
Exclusive to Celebpoker.com is the chance to play with future WPT competitor and movie star Lou Diamond Phillips. The poker room regularly hosts celebrity games and events online as well as poker tournaments and appearances by top entertainers and sports professionals around the globe.
Steve Lipscomb, CEO and Founder of WPT Enterprises, Inc said, ‘The World Poker Tour is all about letting people live their dreams and celebrities are no different. They all want to be the one counting the money at the Final Table.’
CelebPoker is making the deal more appealing by allowing new members to collect a 100% deposit bonus on their initial deposit in order to enhance their chances of being side by side to top players and large prize pools this year.
Online Casino Giant Looks to Acquire Sportsbook
John Anderson, CEO of online casino and poker group 888, yesterday said he was hoping to buy an internet betting business this year.
Anderson said he wanted to offer sportsbetting to the company's casino and poker players to boost 'customer retention'' and 'organic growth'.
Mr Anderson commented, “In terms of sports books, the one thing I will not be doing is taking bets from American citizens in America because that's illegal under the Wire Act in the States.”
Finance director Avian Kobrine said, “We have a shortlist. We would like to buy something that's an established business. We are not going to start from scratch. That would be suicidal with competitors like Ladbrokes and William Hill.”
2/06/2006 gambling news:
Pokerzone Finds New Home in ‘Gaming & Dating’
From February 28, pokerzone will relocate to channel 843 from channel 226 in the new ‘Gaming and Dating’ section of the Sky Electronic Programming Guide.
To celebrate the move, pokerzone are offering one lucky viewer the chance to be a pokerzone exclusive reporter in Las Vegas during the World Series of Poker 2006. In order to win, entrants must come up with a quirky poker related ‘lonely hearts’ column advert. The funniest and most unique will be short-listed and the winner picked on a dedicated Episode of ‘Poker Night Live’ at 10pm on Friday the February 28.
Managing Director of pokerzone, Jim Sibcy said of Sky’s new programming decision, ‘Perhaps Sky thought it was about time all those lonely poker players had a little more love in their lives. On a serious note, it will be a great advantage for Pokerzone to be near its competitors.’
Pokerzone recently won ‘TV Programme of the Year’ at the UK Gambling Awards for Poker Night Live.
Spill Group Launches New Online Casino Portal
Spill Group officially launched its most comprehensive gaming portal to date this week. The new service at www.SkillGame.com is already generating large volumes of traffic.
The new gaming portal features Person-to-Person Skill Games and Knockout Tournaments such as Sit 'n' Go games like multiplayer Gin Rummy, Backgammon and 8-Ball Pool, as well as evergreen classics Blackjack, Hi-Lo Solitaire, Pyramid Solitaire, Riverboat Rummy, Blocs, Mah Jong, Mah Jong Airplane, Klondike Solitaire, Gem Trader, and Singleplayer Golf and Pool.
SkillGame.com is powered by UK-based remote gaming supplier GameAccount.
Reinout te Brake, Marketing & Business Development Director for Spill Group said, ‘Spill Group was seeking a party with whom we could build a long-term business relationship. GameAccount has a proven track record and a stable gaming platform that can handle our high-load traffic.’
Spill Group also plans to introduce branded gaming for advertisers as well as a new mobile gaming platform in the second quarter of 2006.
Celebrity Charity Poker Tournament Unites Legends
The worlds of poker, baseball and American football came together this weekend for a unique and exhilirating event in the name of charity.
Poker's finest players squared off against Roger Clemens, Dan Marino and John Elway on turf less familiar to the sporting legends than the card players – the green felt. The 2006 Legends Celebrity Invitational Poker Tournament hosted by the sports trio took place at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.
No less than 16 tables were filled by the likes of Marino, Elway, and Clemens, along with poker's biggest names including Doyle and Todd Brunson, Phil Ivey, Eric Lindgren, Jennifer Harman, Barry Greenstein, Johnny Chan and Chris Moneymaker.
The exclusive No-Limit Texas Hold'em tournament featured a $2,500 buy-in which featured a star-studded red carpet arrival for palyers and guests, complete with throngs of fans and media.
After the first three levels of play, the chip leader at each of the sixteen tables advanced to the final two tables with everyone starting with an equal amount of chips. The only noted pro poker player to make the cut was WPT Host and Commentator, Mike Sexton.
By tournament’s end, Lerem Rustem was crowned the champion after at a tense final table battle.
Online Casino Buys Hotdog for $1800
GoldenPalace.com – well known for their many eccentric eBay purchases – has added another weird and wonderful item to its treasure trove. The online casino has won a recent auction on eBay for a hot dog with a bid of $1800 US.
The hot dog purchased by GoldenPalace.com was originally purchased at Qwest Field during the 3rd quarter of the NFL Championship Game, in which the Seattle Seahawks reached their first-ever Super Bowl.
GoldenPalace.com CEO Richard Rowe, ‘The eBay webpage received over 350,000 visitors so it''s obvious that people are interested in the Super Dog. This will be a welcome addition to our collection of odd items.’
The Super Dog, now vacuum-sealed and frozen for freshness, will soon be in the company of equally strange items including a Virgin Mary Grilled Cheese Sandwich, Britney Spears’s Pregnancy Test and William Shatner''s Kidney Stone.
2/03/2006 gambling news:
SMS Online Casino Gambling Under Threat
The Federal Government of Australia has been urged to clamp down on the use of mobile phones to place bets via SMS. Australian company, Txt2bet, offers the opportunity to bet 24-hours a day, seven days a week via text messaging from a mobile phone.
Members of the Australian Government have expressed their growing concern that the Txt2bet service might encourage a growth in the number of problem gamblers.
MP Nick Xenophon has written to the Commonwealth demanding amendments to the Interactive Gambling Act, which would enable his government to put an end to the scheme.
However, director of Txt2bet, Keith Boerholm says the scheme is safer for users than other betting methods because punters receive an audit trail of their transactions. “The service is debit based, in other words there's no credit. The user has to put money on the card in order to use it. From our experience from the people using it now, it hasn't increased their punting habit one bit,' he said.
New Games at Vegas Partner Online Casinos
Vegas Partner Casinos are set to roll out eight brand new slot games, which they claim demonstrates the best quality graphics, sound and thrills offered by Microgaming’s Viper Software.
The new games will be available at Crazy Vegas Casino, Sun Vegas, Cinema Casino, 777 Dragon and the group’s entire casino range.
The games include:
Bulls Eye - A straightforward 3-reel, 1-payline, 3-coin game that pays out 5,000 coins.
Dino Mite - 25 pay-line five reeled video slot with a pre-historic theme loaded with fossils and dinosaurs.
Gift Rap - Video slot that packs a real punch with plenty of entertainment, action in a hip-hop style.
Multi-hands Bonus Blackjack - Multi-hand variant of the single-hand game and will appeal to many players who like to play multi-hands of blackjack simultaneously. A player can bet on up to five hands at one time.
Inside Gaming Announces First Clients
Inside Gaming (IG) Limited has announced the first four clients to sign up to its new management services. During the first period of 2006, IG is launching fully managed gaming sites for: financial portal ADVFN will launch with “ADVFN Poker” (www.advfnpoker.com), marketing specialist company, Home is launching casino and poker room “Heaven”, New UK high street bookmaker Better will be launching “Better” branded casino and poker and promotional company Bonnevista Limited are launching their flagship European brand “Lukto”.
The launches, timed over a four-week period, are an exciting development for IG. Chief Executive Officer, Chris North said, “We are delighted that our first launches are with such a solid client base. We appear to have found a niche in the market for fully managed gaming sites where our clients are able to concentrate on their core business whilst we work in partnership to ensure that they are able to maximize the returns from the gaming products.”
IG provides for its clients, a total managed service which allows a fully customized site and secures clients against financial risk with fully licensed gaming products.
Online Casino Celebrates in Style
Online casino, CasinoEuro, is to celebrate the joining of its 100,000th member by awarding that lucky player with a brand new Peugeot 206 Cabriolet.
Since its inception in 2002, CasinoEuro has grown quickly through its offering of casino gambling in the Euro currency and the major European languages. To celebrate their recent successes and growing popularity, the online casino will give away a brand new car to the lucky, 100,000th CasinoEuro member.
The promotion is open to residents of the European Union (EU), Norway and Turkey. CasinoEuro.com is licensed in Malta and is a fully owned subsidiary of Cherry.
Lightning Strikes Twice at Online Casino
Bingohall.com has paid out a regular customer a prize of over $20,000 for the second time in as many months.
Marie from Massachusetts, first hit the jackpot in December while playing slots and bingo at the same time, winning $23,000. Then, in January 2006, Marie hit the maximum jackpot payout on the 'Three Times the Riches' slot machine, which amounted to $20,000 from a $10 wager.
Marie said, ‘I feel wonderful, great, super. I'm ecstatic! I like Bingohall, I like it a lot. I love to play bingo every morning with my coffee and I'm back again most afternoons.’
Scott Logan, Bingohall.com Marketing Manager, said ‘We pride ourselves on the number of big winners that we have… it is quite rare to have a player have two massive wins within such a short space of time.’
When asked what she would do with her second big win, Marie said the money would be put to good use, ‘I will pay some bills and help out my 3 children and 6 grandchildren.’
Sportsbook to Open New Online Casino
BetonSports.com has announced that it is set to open a new online casino which will give its users the chance to get involved in over 80 games, including blackjack, slots, video poker, craps and roulette.
BetonSports have teamed up with software providers RealTime Gaming and promise that the new casino will not only offer some of the biggest and best progressive jackpots around but will also be one of the best-looking and top functioning casino services on the net.
BetonSports CEO, David Carruthers said, 'By adding the casino we can now offer our customers a wider range of games with improved playability and the chance to win huge progressive jackpots. RTG has the best online casino software in the market today and BETonSPORTS is excited to have formed a partnership with a company that clearly leads the online casino software industry.'
2/02/2006 gambling news:
New Slot Games Launch from Online Casino
Casino Online International has injected two new slots into their games suite, which they claim are their best yet.
The two new games called ‘Martian Landing’ and ‘Jackpot Quarterback’ continue in Casino Online International’s trend of offering fun games with big prize money. Their most recent jackpot paid out $27,000.00.
In addition to the two new games and the prize money, Casino Online International also features regular weekly promotions that reward its customers simply for playing with them. Current prizes include Super Bowl Tickets, Carnivals in Venice, a trip to Mexico and a Caribbean Cruise.
Blackpool Online Bingo Launches Today
As of February 1, Blackpoolbingo.co.uk is bringing the action from the seaside town directly to your door. For decades, Blackpool has been synonymous with bingo and British gambling. Now, Internet bingo service, Blackpool Bingo, allows people from all over the world to play authentic Bingo online and tap into the ‘Blackpool buzz’ from the comfort and convenience of their own home.
A spokesman for the Blackpool Bingo said, “90-Ball Bingo has been a part of British culture for decades. In the last few years it’s made the transition to the Internet but until recently has always played second fiddle to the American 75-ball version. Blackpool Bingo will change all that. It’s a British 90-ball game, in pounds and pence, using 90-ball bingo cards and is first and foremost for all us Brits online.”
WagerLogic Wins at UK Online Casino Awards
CryptoLogic's wholly-owned subsidiary, WagerLogic Limited, was recognised as the iGaming Software Provider of the Year at the 2006 UK Gambling Awards – the premier awards for the iGaming industry in Britain.
WagerLogic was recognised for its consistent development of groundbreaking products through its Internet casino and poker games suites. WagerLogic introduced more than 20 new casino games in 2005 alone, including ‘Bejewelled’, the popular gem-matching game, and six new multi-jackpot games featuring Marvel Super Heroes such as The Hulk, Daredevil, X-Men, Blade and The Punisher.
CryptoLogic's President and CEO, Lewis Rose, was delighted to scoop the honour. “This prestigious award makes it clear that CryptoLogic is developing games of choice that players love to play,” he said. “As both industry pioneer and an industry leader, CryptoLogic works hard to stay close to the heart of the online player - in both casino and poker – and this type of industry acclaim shows we're on the right track in producing innovative, industry-leading games and software.'