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Pro-gambling Congressman Barney Frank (D - MA) announced Sunday that he is determined to lift the federal ban on gambling. He was speaking at a press conference in which he presented his agenda for financial reform. "I'm going to be pushing it," Franks said. "The existing legislation is an inappropriate interference on the personal freedom of Americans and this interference should be undone." Frank, who is the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, has been the most vocal campaigner against the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which effectively banned Internet gambling by outlawing the transfer of funds from a financial institution to Internet gambling sites. Frank's announcement came just a week after a study prepared by international accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers showed that the United States could raise nearly $52 billion in revenue in the next decade if it lifts its ban on online gambling and taxed it instead. PWC's figures were based on the effects of the hypothetical passing into law of HR 2046, the "Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act of 2007," which provides for the licensing and regulation of lawful Internet gambling by the Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the US Department of the Treasury, and HR 2607, a companion bill to HR 2046 that would impose a fee on companies licensed to provide online gambling services in the US.
As of today, you can play at a 3D casino, where the feel is absolutely real, online. Based on a real-world casino located in the French coastal city of Deauville - the Lucien Barrière - LeCroupier.com invites you to walk across the lobby after creating your own avatar at the Dressing Room area. Besides playing casino games, you, as an avatar, can look around the casino and chat with other players. As for the games, action is available in Fun or Real Money modes. Casino games include blackjack, roulette and slots. Poker, betting and a mobile version are among future releases to come this year. Third dimension optional Playing the 3D casino requires downloading the 3D software; not a hard task at all. However, a 2D version of LeCroupier.com will be made available in coming weeks as well.
Have you ever wanted to sound off about online poker websites? How's about a little bit of poker people power? Let's hear it from the players! How many times have you sat in exasperation as you played online poker, asking yourself why the games designers haven't considered a new way of displaying poker hands? Or perhaps you've thought of an improved method of showing your winnings throughout the game? Chances are that most of us have an idea or two up our sleeves that could potentially enhance any current online poker game. Communication channels But ideas kept under a hat could be considered worse than no ideas at all. How on earth do you get your ideas through to the people who count? For a start, the online casino companies could provide a feature feedback forum where players could vote for the various features of a current online poker game. They could give a vote for graphics, or cash out system. They could praise or criticize the bonus schemes or even the online help. Yes, people power could only help to enhance the online gaming experience! Why not start a revolution Many online gambling websites do offer a channel for site feedback, but a simple online click-per-vote system would be far easier to monitor, and customer responses would be more easily recorded and measured. So, next time you pop into your favourite online poker room, drop them a line and see what they think of this little idea. You never know...
Did Stan Lee and Steve Ditko ever imagine their creation, Spiderman, will become a popular video slots game? Well, true to life - or rather comic fiction - Peter Parker is now web-shooting on your screen. Spider-Man Revelations is a 5 reel, 25 payline video slot game. It was launched in December 2008, the second Spiderman slots in the Marvel Slots Series. Jackpots Bets are of only a single coin, though its value can be of anywhere between $0.01 and $5.00. The max Marvel jackpot (a progressive, no less) is 5,000 coins. Your wager determines the chance to win the Marvel jackpot and its size. Another jackpot that runs concurrently is the Super Hero Jackpot. The higher you bet, the better are your chances of winning. Same goes for the Hero Jackpot. Wilds and Scatters The Spiderman symbol is the Wild Symbol. Hit it and it will come in the place of any other symbol except the scattered logo symbol. See your prize doubled when the Wild substitutes in a winning combination. The Amazing Spiderman Revelation Logo - the Scatter Symbol - multiplies your winnings. Hit 3 or more Scatters and meet Doctor Octopus. The Doctor will show you to free games and multipliers. Where to play Spider-Man Revelations can be found at William Hill Casino and Intercasino, which carry the Marvel slots by CryptoLogic.
The quarter finalists have been decided in the 2008/09 Euroleague and the betting odds are out over who will be the eventual winner. Austrian based online bookmaker Bwin is tipping six-time winner CSKA Moscow to go back-to-back, installing them as 3.20 favorites. The Russian side has undergone a few changes since defeating Maccabi Tel Aviv last year to win its second championship in three years, but still looked stronger in the early rounds this year than of its opponents. Another traditional powerhouse, Greek side Panathinaikos, the winner of the 2001 trophy, is second in the betting, at 4.20, followed by 2003 winner Barcelona, at 5.75. Fourth through to eighth in the betting, in order, are: Greece's Olympiakos, 6.00, Spain's Tau Ceramica, 6.50, eight-time winner Real Madrid, at 13.00, Italy's Montepaschi Sienna, 13.00 and the outsider from Serbia, Partizan Belgrade, at 51.00. Then we take Berlin The tournament will be decided at the final four series, being played this year at the new 02 World arena in the German capital Berlin. The final four begins on May 1, finishing with the final and the crowning of a new European champion on May 3. 2009 Eurobasket Meanwhile, Spain is dominating early betting for the 2009 Eurobasket tournament for national teams as well, being held in Poland from September 7 through to September 20. The Spanish national team is a 2.25 Bwin favorite to edge out Greece, 4.00, and Lithuania, 5.50. Host Poland is 101.00, just ahead of traditional non-powerhouse Britain at 126.00.
CryptoLogic has been a leader in the online gambling industry in being one of the first software companies to develop Internet casinos, later in listing on NASDAQ (CRYP) and LSE (CRP), and a couple of years ago with a deal it struck with Marvel Comics, which brought Spiderman and The Incredible Hulk to the gambling world, among other Super Heroes. Now CryptoLogic has announced it struck a deal with Paramount Digital Entertainment, which will bring famous movie characters to the online gambling world too. First games to be released in 2009 The deal is spread over several years. CryptoLogic will brand casino slot games with Paramount movie characters. The first games are expected already in the fourth quarter of 2009. The deal includes the rights to base slot games on 20 of Paramount's films, including: Braveheart, Forrest Gump, Beowulf, Beverly Hills Cop, Ferris Bueller, Ghost and others. Comments The Paramount series will add to CryptoLogic's branded Internet casino games. "It's been proven that CryptoLogic's branded games drive Internet casino revenue - and we look forward to a mutually profitable relationship with this global entertainment leader," said Brian Hadfield, CryptoLogic's president and CEO. Luke Letizia, Vice President Interactive Licensing Paramount Digital Entertainment added, from his side of the deal: "We are excited to be able to work with CryptoLogic, a leader in this space, and are confident that they will develop games that are on par with the quality and caliber of Paramount Pictures properties."
Yet another Super Hero from Marvel stars in a slot game from CryptoLogic. This time around it's Blade. Blade is a 5 reel, 9 payline video slot game. With 9 coins per spin, you can play the game with anywhere between $0.05 and $45 per spin. The maximum payout is 8,000 coins, and free spins and vampires slaying abound. Blade features state of the art graphics, and a true gaming feeling with clashing swords sounds and martial arts fighting against vampires. The battles are depicted in symbols that appear on the reels, which make up for a total of 29 winning combinations. Jackpots Marvel Hero Jackpots are won at random. The higher the size of your line bet the more chances of winning one of the three jackpots. Marvel Jackpot starts at $5,000 while the Super Hero Jackpot and Hero Jackpot are valued at $500 and $50 respectively, before rising. Where to play Blade action can be found at William Hill Casino, Littlewoods Casino and InterCasino.
The gambling fraternity has embraced the idea of responsible gambling, but what effect is it really having on those whom it is designed to protect? Research A researcher by the name of Caroline Jawad has focused on the concept of responsible gambling as a means of balancing the potential damaging effects of online gambling. "The main objective of my research, Ms. Jawad told Online Casino Reports, "is to look beyond the macro issue of responsible gambling and to examine the micro level in terms of the responsible gambling features that users of sites think are good - bad - effective - ineffective - if a player feels that his or her gambling is starting to become a problem." Her work is ultimately aimed at improving the preventative and educational processes that should support those people in the community who might be at risk when involved in online gambling. Responsible Gambling Ms Jawad defines responsible gambling as an ethical accountability framework for the gambling industry which defines principles, policies, practices and codes of conduct designed to ensure: Protection of stakeholders Sustainability of online gambling industry Quality of life improvement in the communities in which it operates Ms. Jawad describes responsible gambling as important to online casino operators and those potentially at risk. As such, she sees responsible gambling as simply good business practice. Kudus! "The industry in a voluntary capacity has supported responsible gambling initiatives - providing links for problem gambling support, self-exclusion facilities as well as deposit limits," Ms. Jawad said. Hoping to examine the features themselves, Ms. Jawad is looking for online gambling websites who would be interested in cooperating with her research. She can be contacted via Online Casino Reports.
Lady Gaga's hit 2008 single Poker Face continues the trend of using poker and gambling as a major theme in the music world. The song has made it to number one on the charts in 14 countries, including Australia and Canada. It is currently sitting at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 charts. The song focuses on Lady Gaga's pursuit of a man, drawing on Texas Hold 'em themes through its entirety, beginning with the opening verse: "I wanna hold em like they do in Texas plays; Fold em, let em hit me, raise it baby, stay with me, I love it; Luck and intuition play the cards with Spades to start; And after he's been hooked I'll play the one that's on his heart." The theme continues with a chorus about her poker face: "Can't read my, can't read my poker face (she's got to love nobody)." The rest of the song goes on to other slightly-riskier gambling-related activities ("A little gambling is fun when you're with me, I love it; Russian roulette is not the same without a gun") and lyrics such as "Just like a chick in the casino; Take your bank before I pay you out". The music video features the 22-year-old American singer, originally known as Stefanie Joanne Angelina Germanotta, in a variety of settings, including a strip poker game played on a table with the Bwin logo. Poker Face has already been nominated for the MTV Australia Awards for Best Video, and will no doubt be up for many more prizes at awards ceremonies around the world later in the year.
March Madness is at its height. The Men's College Basketball Championship is about to enter its Sweet 16 stage and bettors around the world are following closely. Online gambling for March Madness has already passed the totals wagered in Las Vegas. Undoubtedly, the Internet betting industry has stepped up and the options punters face are exceptional: live betting, mobile betting and more. More than a happenstance This is not a freak event by any means. March Madness is at the heart of every sports fan's annual calendar; it is the main stage of sports betting. The loss of income by the dealers of old to the new technology is taking place in other fields as well, such as television losing viewers to online video services. Giant figures To better set the picture clear, here are a couple of figures that are floating: Las Vegas casinos expect nearly $100 million to be bet on the tournament by people visiting the city during the tournament. This figure does not include accommodation expenses. CBS pays about half a billion dollars for the rights to broadcast the tournament, part of a multi-year deal. Gambling911 expect online betting traffic to be double that of last year's tournament. What's next For one, there is much too much money to be kept by only one party, and Las Vegas is already facing competition. It's now just a matter of dealing with them. And there is plenty to go around and keep everybody satisfied. Now we can hope they target not each other in battles, but the players, bettors and punters in service.
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