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The 2010 Olympic Games are due to kick off this Friday. However, having had years to prepare for the honor of hosting the Winter Games, all is not running smoothly in Vancouver. Best Laid Plans... The Vancouver 2010 organizers have pulled together impressive sports stadia, a comfortable Olympic Village and arranged complex schedules, logistics and media. However, despite their meticulous planning there is a last minute hitch that no-one anticipated; global warming. Yes, the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics are struggling to provide snow! Getting Creative The unseasonably high temperatures has caused havoc with the ski slopes and the organizers have had to shift snow from higher peaks to the slopes being used in the Winter Games, as well as use straw to bulk out courses usually packed deeply with snow alone. There are reports of all sorts of creative methods being used to spare Vancouver's blushes, including wood and ice packing. With the crisis hopefully averted by the quick response of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics organizers, our attention can now turn to the wonderful sporting extravaganza about to commence. Winter Game Highlights With the world's best winter sports athletes gathering in Vancouver, all keen to prove their worth, audiences around the globe are warming up for a bumper competition. The rivalry is fierce for each event, with prestigious medals coveted for by every contender. Winter Game highlights include spectacular alpine skiing events such as the slalom and ever-dramatic ski jumping. Other fiercely fought athletic battles will take place in the curling, ice hockey and snow boarding. For those looking to put some heat into the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games, why not spice things up with a flutter? Place Your Bets William Hill has got an exciting range of Olympic bets on offer. You can bet on the Men's Downhill skiing, which currently has Didier Cuche as favorite, with odds of 4/1, over Michael Walchhofer at 11/2. The hotly contended Ice Hockey has Canada as with odds of 3/10 and the USA at 1/2. Some enjoy betting on which team will win the most medals; currently William Hill have Germany first with odds of 8/5, followed by the host team at 5/2 and USA at 4/1. Those who need added incentive to part with their money can benefit from William Hill's current welcome offer of up to a £25.00 match bet for any single or cumulative odds greater than 1/5. There are also weekend Bet One Get One Free (BOGOF) promotions.
The Isle of Man-based gaming software provider,Microgaming, has just launched three new video slots that boast creative flare. The themes of the games include the Winter Olympics, sky high entertainment and (just in time for Valentine's Day next week) romance. If you can't make it to the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, perhaps the video slot Winter Gold is your answer. This is a 5 reel, 15 pay line video slot that features wild, scatter, free spins and multiplier rewards. The bonus feature lets you partake in speed skating, biathlon, bob-sleighing and ski jumping includes free spins and automatic payouts. The other video slot, Hot Air is a colorful 5reel, 30 pay line video slot that is all about hot air ballooning. The pilot and balloon symbols trigger free spin bonuses and you stand to win 10 free spins when three or more balloons appear together. Multipliers at the end of the free spin cycle maximize your chances even more. Finally, the video slot, Love Potion, obviously has a romantic theme and offers players rich graphics like cupids, roses and moonlight carriage ride. There are free spins and multiplies that might even win you 100 times your bet. There is also a gamble feature where you can potentially double of quadruple your winnings. These new games and hundreds more can be played right now at Jackpot City Casino.
High profile names from the online gambling industry have attended the recent London Affiliate Conference, among them Victor Chandler - the person and the name behind the "Gentleman Bookmaker". VC Chairman met with Online Casino Reports and told us in this video interview about attracting new affiliates at such affiliate marketing events, his company's heritage, which dates back to his great grandfather, the move to tax haven Gibraltar and the latest in sports betting - soccer. In the interview, Mr. Chandler shares his thoughts on the shift from horse racing a few years ago to betting on soccer - VCBet sponsors Nottingham Forest and other soccer teams - and explains this as a generational shift. Same with poker as the game of choice among the younger gambling crowd.
The iGB Affiliate Awards is the affiliate marketing's glitziest event of the year. Hitting off the London Affiliate Conference (LAC), on January 28, 2010, the iGB Awards featured over 500 guests in good moods, an entertainment program and 23 winners in a host of categories. Winners were voted by the gambling community for weeks prior to the event, and then chosen by an awards committee on behalf of iGaming Business. "It's the best way we know how to reward the amount of effort and dedication every affiliate and affiliate manager put into their campaigns and work throughout the year," Alex Pratt, Head of iGaming Business said. "And best of all this is voted and judged by industry peers - the best validation you can get." Following are the categories and names of the fortunate winners: Best Bingo Affiliate Program - Ladbrokes Best Casino Affiliate Program - Club World Casinos Best Poker Affiliate Program - PokerStars Best Sportsbook Affiliate Program - Bet365 Best Non-Traditional Gaming Affiliate Program - Income Access Best Overall Affiliate Program - Bet365 Best iGaming Affiliate Network - Income Access Best Bingo iGaming Software - JackpotJoy (Gamesys Group) Best Casino iGaming Software - Microgaming Best Poker iGaming Software - PokerStars Best Payment System - Neteller Best Bingo Affiliate Manager - Roni Nahum, Ladbrokes Best Casino Affiliate Manager - Renee Mate, Rewards Affiliates Best Poker Affililiate Manager - Danielle Burrows, Chipleader Best Sportsbook Affiliate Manager - Phil Hudson, Betfair Best Non-Traditional Gaming Affiliate Manager - Louis Deering, Income Access Best Overall Affiliate Manager - Carly Sawyer, PokerStars Best Bingo Affiliate - Bingobase.com Best Casino Affiliate - askgamblers.com Best Poker Affiliate - PokerStrategy.com Best Sportsbook Affiliate - Betbrain.com Best Non-Traditional Gaming Affiliate - AffiliateGuardDog.com Best Overall Affiliate - Pokerisivut.com Donating to Oxfam The event raised £65,000, which will be doubled to £130,000 by the CalvinAyre, for the Haiti relief efforts and Oxfam. "This could not have been done without the generosity the whole iGaming industry, said Marit von Stedingk, Event Manager of the iGB Awards. "No business beats this market for being able to mix fun, work and true professionalism so simultaneously."
The ongoing drama surrounding the enforcement of US online gambling laws continued this past week, with credit card giant MasterCard reportedly blocking transactions on bets, leaving customers stranded. The move took many by surprise given that implementation of the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which effectively banned Internet gambling in the United States, had been delayed until June 1, 2010. Implementation of the ban was originally supposed to be completed in December 2009. It is rumored that rival credit card company Visa has also begun to crackdown on betting-related transactions. If so, the moves would suggest that credit card and payment companies are gearing up for implementation of the UIGEA, which bans companies from facilitating Internet gambling. Mastercard's reported move came as the US Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a contempt order for refusal to comply with a grand jury subpoena against two companies owned by Canadian Douglas Rennick, who stands accused of processing more than $350 million for online gambling companies, and also faces charges in connection with bank fraud and money laundering. These latest developments will no doubt prove good news for online payment methods such as NETeller, Neovia and Moneybookers, who will be sure benefit if customers turn their back on the credit card companies as expected.
The "ultimate quality stamp of approval" has been signed, sealed and delivered as PartyGaming has partnered with Virtue Fusion Alderney to front their newly launched Swedish online bingo site, Foxy Bingo. Seems like the Party is moving into Scandinavia on a fast track towards bingo players and their havens on the online world. When asked why they chose Virtue Fusion Alderney, PartyGaming responding by saying that with their extensive bingo content, "speed to market" abilities and a large liquid European prize pool, it was the most logical choice. This is true as Virtue Fusion Alderney has long been the leading developer and licensor of internet bingo products. Virtue brings in over 30,000 players per day and a monthly pool of money that totals more than €100m ($137m, £88m) in stakes each month. This is no small change for PartyGaming, who has suffered some previous setbacks before in their history. However, with the recent acquisition of UK-based CashCade (who also owns the Foxy brand), PartyGaming hopes to dig their talons in deep in the European online bingo scene. For die-hard PartyGamers this is just another place to lay their head down and take up residence. What will it mean for future profits and players? Only time will tell, but we sure like what we're seeing so far; strong alliances, strong content and strong prize pools. Sounds like a foxy deal to me.
Microgaming is among the crème de la crème of online casino software providers. This stellar gaming platform provider has two such games that warrant particular attention - Supe It Up and Thunderstruck video slots. The new casino games can be found and played at Lucky Nugget Casino. It's time to kick the tires and light the fires Supe It Up is a thrilling video slot game packed with roaring action in 5-reels and 25-paylines of pure gaming pleasure. There are monster-sized trucks with road-eating tires spinning on 5 reels of adrenaline-loaded excitement. It's pulse-pounding entertainment at its very best with gas guzzling jeeps, hotrods and super cars waiting to erupt in a jackpot frenzy. The Microgaming platform provides rich graphics, super realistic audio and the best online casino entertainment in 5-reel, 25-payline slot adventure. Players can win up to 30 Free Spins with 6 times multiplier and with a 600,000 coin jackpot this is the boss of the road in video slots gaming. Thunderstruck blazes a trail in video slots gaming Amidst the dark billowing clouds the sound of thunder cracks and a whole new chapter in superb gaming entertainment is revealed. Thunderstruck is the big daddy of video slots gaming. This stellar online game is revered the world over for its huge jackpots and powerful gaming platform. Thor - the Nordic God of Thunder will take you on journey like none other into jackpot heaven. There you can enjoy free spins, multipliers and scatter rams. Plus there are gamble features which can potentially double or quadruple your winnings. The game features 5 spinning reels and 9 paylines.
The UK's regulation and licensing body, the Gambling Commission, has just released figures from a 2009 study. The survey of over 7,000 highlighted that more Brits are betting than ever before and the industry is receiving increasing acceptance within UK society. Gambling on the Rise The Omnibus Survey highlights that 55.2% from a sample of 7,000 had gambled during the past month. The national lottery was the biggest draw with 45.7% buying tickets and 10.8% getting scratch cards. Betting on horse racing, gambling on fruit or slot machines and private betting with family and friends were the next most popular activities. Online and Mobile Gambling During 2009 10.5% of those surveyed had participated in at least one form of remote gambling. This figure is up from the 9.7% from the 2008 survey and demonstrates the growing increase in gambling activity. When the survey started in 2006 the figure was 7.2%. Changing Face of Gambling The survey also looked at public perceptions of gambling and found that 49.6% of those surveyed felt that gambling in the UK is conducted fairly and can be trusted. Another point of interest is that whilst those participating in traditional and online gambling are both most likely to be male, remote gambling is attracting a younger age profile. The survey illustrates how gambling is becoming more acceptable in the UK and is attracting a growing fan base. Visit our localized UK portal for more on UK gambling.
Leading UK sportsbook Ladbrokes has joined the prestigious European Sports Security Association (ESSA). This organization serves a community watchdog for irregular betting activity at European sportsbooks. ESSA monitors betting patterns, outcomes and punter activity in an attempt to root out organized crime, and maintain the integrity of sports betting. Ladbrokes pulls no punches With the help of ESSA, Ladbrokes will now regularly report all irregular betting patterns and/or potential insider betting though ESSA's Early Warning System. It's part and parcel of Ladbrokes' efforts to enhance its reputation as a responsible gaming operator with a focus on its gaming community. This hi-tech system allows ESSA to work with national sports regulators and their disciplinary and legal departments to ensure that when an alert is sounded, the regulator is made aware of this immediately. The goal therefore is to prevent manipulation of the sports games in any way. 2010 is shaping up to be a stellar year for Ladbrokes Ladbrokes was recently awarded the online casino operator of the year award at the 2010 International Gaming Awards in London. This puts Ladbrokes alongside other notable winners including the iGaming Software Supplier - Playtech, the Online Bingo Operator - Cashcade and the Online Poker Operator - PKR. Ladbrokes is officially the first online and offline sportsbook operator to join ESSA. The connection between ESSA and Ladbrokes ensures that industry standards are raised and that greater control over irregular betting activity is possible. ESSA and its members are able to share information amongst themselves and the regulating authorities that are policing untoward sportsbetting conduct. ESSA facilitates the easy transfer of information between regulators and sporting bodies. This allows for the reputation and integrity of both the sports and their participants to be maintained.
A lucky slots player from the Netherlands has won over €500,000 in a two week winning spree at JackpotCity Online Casino. The winner, who wishes to remain anonymous, had a momentous start to the year, enjoying two thrilling weeks of consecutive wins. What's even more incredible is that he's not a serious punter who dedicates a lot of time to gambling, but merely plays for fun. According to JackpotCity Casino he is a casual player who, just "plays for a couple of hours a day, and has hit one heck of a streak." Bonus Bonanza The long-term JackpotCity player stuck to bonus and feature slots and on one particularly lucky day took home a massive €90,000. His biggest single jackpot, a whopping €44,000, came from the popular Celtic Crown slots, although it was the Burning Desire bonus slot that paid out the most overall. A company representative commented, "Our players choose JackpotCity for security, variety of games, quality of entertainment and chances to win big." Try Your Luck The JackpotCity spokesman continued, "We're hitting 2010 running and our players are hitting big wins all over the place. I think this is going to be a great year for our players and our casino." For those tempted to try their luck, the casino currently has a generous €25 promotion offer but has hinted that this won't be available for much longer. So, while the promo's still there and the luck seems to be flowing, what better time to try out the fun and thrills of Jackpot City?
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