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Poker is one of those games that's quite easy to learn but takes a long time to master. Newbies often find it hard to gain the confidence to participate in the online poker action and those that do can feel intimated and flustered. Online Poker Schools Help, however, is close at hand. The net is full of online poker lessons that are an excellent method of honing your skills and growing your confidence. Learn the rules, strengthen your strategies and refine your play in a relaxed, friendly environment. Many poker schools offer teaching resources, such as poker dictionaries, as well as free tables and a pro free zone to practice in. Playing online poker at your own pace will give you valuable playing experience and help you to fully consider each move without the pressure of a fast game and impatient opponents. You can also make use of online support, player forums and chat. Practice Makes Perfect Whatever your level - complete beginner or keen novice, online poker schools are an excellent way to improve your game. Some sites have video tutorials covering the basic rules, tournament strategies and playing tips. You can raise your game by taking part in free online poker tables and tournaments, where you can familiarize yourself with the fundamentals amongst a friendly, non judgmental crowd. There are a load of great sites out there but one of our favorites is Cool Hand Poker. At the moment Cool Hand are offering more than just tuition; with up to $350 available as a sign up bonus. So stop worrying about your naive strategies and slow playing speed; get down to Cool Hand Poker and improve your game beyond recognition.
Event manager for the iGB Affiliates series of events, Kiera Goymour, tells us in this video interview about the huge success of the London Affiliate Conference 2010. Over 2400 registrations, all of whom showed up, have made LAC the biggest show ever. LAC is the first event of the year for many in the affiliate marketing business, and more are planned for 2010, most notably the iGaming Super Show. The Super Show, to be held in Prague on May 25-28, 2010, is set to attract over 2,000 delegates, only this time with an additional element of B2B. The concept is to have everything and everybody under one roof - and it will be free of charge for all attendees, honest to iGaming's slogan: "Put Affiliates First." Also planned for 2010 are the Down Under show in Sydney, Budapest in September and Espana in Madrid.
We met with the marketing manager at WinADay, who attended the London Affiliate Conference, and bring you this video interview in which she describes the long list of new features and promotions to be found on the casino and its affiliate program. Some of WinADay Casino's new features, as told to us by Hilary Stovall, include faster download of the casino software and games, following upgrade performed to their servers; HTML that will make WinADay compatible with the popular iPhone platform; continued development of new games; a daily winner randomly picked from all casino players, giving a new meaning to "Win A Day"; Monday Madness, cheering players on Mondays with extra 10% on all deposits; and more. WinADay, is a brand that belongs to Slotland Affiliates, known for their quality casino as well as for non-gaming activities. Such is the school sponsored and funded by Slotland in Malawi, which Larry Colcy of Lyceum tells us at the end of the video. Find out how you too can support the African community.
If J Todd from the APCW was impressed by the London Affiliate Conference, as he tells us in this video interview, then it must have been an impressive industry event. As in events past, Todd was at the conference, representing the Association of Players, Casino and Webmasters, this time in association with sister-site GPWA, both under the Casino City umbrella. In the interview, Todd tells Online Casino Reports about shifting, in 2006, along with the industry, to serve as an industry advocate. As such, he has opinions about ethical behavior in the online gambling business, business transparency and rebranding, use of new technology and whether the industry is missing the US market in more sense than one, and more.
Gaming software company Playtech has announced the launch of its new mobile gambling platform, Mobile Web Apps. The new platform mans customers of Playtechs online casinos will now be able to play without having to download software. This latest move makes online gaming easier than ever. With Mobile Web Apps, players can use the same account to enjoy gaming on both their computers and mobiles. The platform will be supported by both the iPhone and Android mobile platforms. Playtech has also launched three games together with its new Mobile Web Apps - the ever popular Blackjack, video poker game Jack or Better, and slot Gold Rally. And three new Java apps are expected to follow soon after - Pop Bingo, a lottery-style game, and another old classic popular all over the world - Rock, Paper, Scissors.
Microgaming - one of the biggest names in online slots - has announced the upcoming creation of The Lord of the Rings-themed slot games after inking a multi-year deal to the rights with Warner Bros. Under the agreement, Microgaming will develop several online slot games based on themes and characters from all three films in the trilogy - The Fellowship of The Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of The King. If the slots are as successful as the movies then we'll be hearing about them for a while yet - the New Zealand-filmed trilogy, which made it to cinemas between 2001 and 2003, made almost $3 billion at the box office and won 17 Academy Awards from 30 nominations in total. This latest development further entrenches Microgaming at the top of its field. At present it already provides more than 450 online games in multiple languages, and has paid out several online slots jackpots of over $1 million dollars. All 450 games, and The Lord of The Rings, are available at JackpotCity Casino. In January, Microgaming introduced a slot based on comic book Hellboy, in a notice to its competition, after fellow developers Cryptologic and Playtech had begun creating slots based on comics, in partnership with DC Comics and Marvel Movies respectively. As yet no date has been announced for the release of the first The Lord of the Rings slot, but there will no doubt be millions of fans the world over keeping watch on developments.
The Italian online gambling market is one of the hottest in the business, and is expected to grow even more. It is in this context that one should consider the Austrian sportsbook bwin sponsorship of AC Milan, which gave it center stage publicity into the sports betting market particularly since 2006. However, bwin will not sponsor the Milan shirts from next year and for at least 4 years, as the Italian football club signed a deal with Dubai's Emirates airline, reportedly worth €60 million. The deal's termination will not only hurt its sportsbook, but also the expected launch of an online casino and a bingo hall in the Italian market later this year. bwin's sponsorship of Real Madrid of the Spanish football league will continue through 2012/13 season. It is also interesting to consider Victor Chandler's comment on football taking center stage of sports betting activity, unlike years or generations past when horse racing was tops.
The European Sports Security Association has announced the results of a review of all bets placed during 2009 with its 13 sports book members, and the news is good - only one sporting event proved to be suspicious. ESSA investigated 45 sporting events in total in which there were found to be unusual betting patterns. The one incident that failed its review was related to a domestic football match and is now under criminal investigation in the relevant country. The association said the finds showed that its members followed proper security regulations. "These figures highlight the importance of sophisticated, transparent and well-regulated security procedures in sports betting," said ESSA chief Khalid Ali. "ESSA members are rightly proud of the lead they are taking in addressing the issue of integrity in sports, and look forward to continuing to work with sports governing bodies to keep fraud out of sports." The ESSA is a non-profit organization that counts some of the leading sports book operators in Europe as its members. It was set up in 2005 following a German soccer scandal involving a referee named Robert Hoyzer, which led to the German state monopoly losing millions of euros because it was unable to detect irregular betting patterns. The association has signed memoranda of understanding with some of Europe and the world's biggest sporting bodies, including world soccer governing body FIFA and European soccer governing body UEFA.
The events are well and truly underway at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, but the best is yet to come in terms of both sport and betting options. It's a tight race in the Men's Downhill, one of the Games' flagship events. Switzerland's Didier Cuche remains a 7/2 William Hill (and 3/1 at Ladbrokes) favorite to win the event, which has been delayed due to the fog. Hot on his heels though is Vancouver's own Manuel Osborne Paradis - Ladbroke's are offering a tempting 13/2, just behind Austria's Michael Walchhofer, 11/2. In the women's event, American Lindsey Vonn is 6/4 at William Hill in a tight three-way race with German Maria Riesch, 4/1, and Swede Anja Paerson, 23/4. In the ice hockey tournament, host Canada is unsurprisingly a firm favorite, 10/11 at Ladbrokes. Five other teams appear to be in contention: Russia, 5/2, Sweden, 11/2, USA 15/2, Finland, 14/1, and the Czech Republic, 16/1. Norway is a huge outsider at 1000/1. Britain's best chance for a medal appears to be in the not so well known sport of Curling. The British are - believe it or not - the current world champions, and they have been placed accordingly as second favorites to win the event, 7/2 at William Hill. Again, host Canada is the most favored, at 8/11. Some 2,269 athletes from 82 participating nations are set to compete in 86 events in 15 different disciplines at this year's Games, which end on February 28.
Following government approval, from September 2010 Loto-Quebec will offer legal online gambling. The decision has received criticism from anti-gambling groups who are fearful of an increase in gambling addiction. Punters Benefit Supporters, however, state that regulated gambling is the safest option and that the internet does not create addiction and can, indeed, offer many routes to curtail and support it. Pro gambling groups also highlight that the level of addiction among gamblers has been static despite the rapid growth of the online market. Loto-Quebec already has plans for weekly gambling limits, an option for self-exclusion and strict age limits. "This is a way for us to channel the gaming offering in a controlled circuit and environment whose integrity will be beyond reproach," said Loto-Quebec CEO, Alain Cousineau. The Government Benefits This decision is expected to prompt discussion about the wider regulation of online gambling in Canada. States that currently impose an online gambling ban will likely keep a close eye on the Quebec model and consider the future of online gambling within their localities. Aside from providing regulation and responding to a growth market, the legalization of online gambling has another positive angle; the government is expected to receive around $50 million in revenue over the next few years. According to Cousineua, Quebec is hoping that the arrival of local regulation will follow the experience of the Swedes. The day the publicly owned Swedish lottery corporation's poker site went online it attracted 25% of the market share within four hours of its launch. The online gaming market in Sweden generated sales of $600 million in 2008. With the double-pronged argument of consumer protection and government income generation, the pressure is now on for legal gambling across Canada.
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