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Online casinos strive to give players an experience similar to that they would have experienced if they went to an actual brick and mortar casino. In order to achieve that, they have to offer realistic casino games which convey the feeling of sitting in a real roulette or blackjack table, for example. This is done with the help of online casino software providers.Online casino software providers are essentially the backbone of each and every online casino. They supply the casino's gaming collection, the Random Number Generator (RNG) to ensure 100% fairness and in general the whole base on which the casino presents itself is almost exclusively built on the online casino software provider's platform. Leading Software Providers With the growing demand for innovation and adaption to the shifting markets, online casino software providers are always releasing new games, platforms and solutions for gaming operators. A rather small market, the sportive competition between companies lets players enjoy the best of all worlds. Some notable names in the online casino software provider industry include Playtech, Net Entertainment, Cryptologic, IGT, Real Time Gaming and Microgaming. These companies are known to produce a steady supply of high quality games, some even becoming a series: Games like Microgaming's Thunderstruck or licensed titles such as Batman. Like online casinos, online casino software providers are regulated too. They are audited and their games' fairness comes under strict inspection. This is a very important factor to consider when choosing an online casino. Online Casinos Employing Multiple Software Providers Some online casinos are powered by multiple software providers to further extend their gaming collections. BETAT Casino is a good example: Microgaming is its main powering platform but the casino also employs games from Leander Games, NextGen Gaming and Genesis, all known, respected and regulated online casino software providers.
The Czech Ministry of Finance is drafting a bill set to allow the operation of online gaming throughout the country. The Czech Republic is a leader in the number of bars in its jurisdiction which operate with gaming licenses. Right as of the end of March 2014, there were 58,841 gaming machines in operation in the Czech Republic. The Czech Finance Ministry collects around 8 billion Czech Koruna in taxes from this gaming industry on a yearly basis; this is equal to around $402 million. Bill Will Allow Online Gaming with a Tax Hike In an interview to the financial magazine Bloomberg, the Czech Deputy Finance Minister Ondrej Zavodsky revealed the work on a bill which will allow all gambling operators in the country to offer online gaming. According to Zavodsky, costs related to the gaming industry are about four times higher than the tax revenue collected by the Czech government yearly, a reason why the bill on which his office is working will include an increase for all gambling operators should they choose to offer online gaming. The bill would set separate tax rates for different types of gaming. "We need to create an environment that will allow us to tackle hard-core gaming like slots or table games" said the Deputy Finance Minister. Possible Implementation Only in 2016 Provided the bill will pass, it is expected to be implemented in 2016, giving enough time for all gambling operators in the Czech Republic to review and develop their stance on the matter. Currently, slot operators in the country are required to pay a daily fee per machines. While casino and slot operators will face a spike in taxes with the new bill, lottery companies will get the benefit by being taxed less, presumably lower than the 20% operators pay nowadays.
It has become common for online casinos to publish newsletters on daily, weekly or monthly basis. These keep the players in the loop with news about the latest promotions, tournaments, raffles, new games, additions to the casino and so on. In conjunction with newsletters, many online casinos run separate Facebook and Twitter accounts where they keep players updated on a daily basis. Blogs ran by online casinos are also becoming widespread, delivering players with interesting articles, tips, strategies, reviews and the likes. Player Communities Some online casinos take it one step further, offering full player communities. 888 poker is a good example. The poker room gives players access to a thriving community. 888 poker players get access to blogs (also written by Team888), forums of varying subjects, chat, photos, videos, groups, articles and a live twitter feed. It is, as it claims, an online community for players to socialize and hone their skills aside to the actual poker action. Some of the latest news on the 888poker newsletter tell of a recent expansion in its elite poker team. Team 888poker Expands Two new members have joined Team 888poker, Xuan Liu from Canada and Sofia Losvgren of Sweden. A regular at the poker tournament circuit, Xuan Liu has over $1.4 million in live event cash to her name. She has some impressive results to display, including a 4th place finish at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure 2012 (PCA) which earned her $600,000 and a 3rd place at European Poker Tour San Remo (EPT) with a $524,074 reward. She took the first place in last year's Italian Poker Tour. Sofia Losvgren is based in Malta and Gothenburg, she's a writer and a professional poker player with four World Series of Poker (WSOP) cashes and successes in other tournaments like the EPT San Remo.
Southampton's St. Mary's Stadium sees the home team host guests Everton for the Premier League's gameweek 36. Everton are currently positioned fifth in the table with 69 points composed of 20 wins, 9 draws and 6 losses. Only one point away from the fourth positioned Arsenal, Everton has had a great season, and if they can take three points from the game today they could further push the Gunners into a difficult situation as they're up against Newcastle on Tuesday. Everton won 8 out of the last 9 league games it has played, with the only loss coming in the form of a 2-3 against Crystal Palace two weeks ago. Everton has kept three clean sheets in its last four games, if they win today at St. Mary's it will be the first time they've won four away league games in a row since December 1985. Southampton is also having a pretty good season, positioned eighth in the Premier League table with 49 points composed of 13 wins, 10 draws and 12 losses. They're 8 points away from the seventh positioned Manchester United and three points above Newcastle. They will want to retain their position or at least widen the gap from Newcastle. Bet Live Winner Sports is offering some interesting betting markets for today's game. In full time result Winner is offering 37/20 on Southampton, 29/20 on Everton and 12/5 for a draw. Punters can wager on over 76 betting markets including match result, goals, first/second half goals, player markets and more. Winner Sports will give live betting coverage for all other Premier League games taking place today including Manchester United vs. Norwich City and Stoke City vs. Tottenham.
Skrill, also commonly known as Moneybookers, is one of the most popular e-wallet solutions used by online casino players. Skrill is applauded for its safe online payment systems discarding the revealing of any financial details of all involved parties, allowing online casino players in particular to make instant deposits and lessen withdrawal times. To show for its high popularity, Skrill is available worldwide in 200 countries and 40 currencies, with over 36 million account holders. Due to its quick, easy and reliable service making it a player favorite, Skrill is supported by many leading online casinos the likes of Jackpot City Casino, All Slots Casino, bet365 and EUcasino. Skrill VIP Like many online services, Skrill has its own VIP programme which has seen further improvements of late. Skrill VIP members are entitled to a whole bunch of benefits like free of charge money uploads and withdrawals, dedicated account management, special promotions, lower fees and the Skrill VIP Loyalty Club which rewards members on each and every transaction with an intricate loyalty point system, similar to that of an online casino loyalty program. The VIP programme is open for all Skrill users who transact over €6,000 in any rolling period of three calendar months. Alternatively, standard Skrill users can join the VIP programme by making an accumulated transaction of €2,000 or more within a 30-day period. Skrill users who apply for these terms are admitted into the VIP Club with the addition of being greeted by a 1% cashback on all of their transactions in the frame of 30 days. This is joined by all the benefits mentioned before as well as the ability to get a free prepaid Skrill Mastercard which is linked directly to the player's e-wallet.
Organised by Bullet Business and Video Games Intelligence, a Social Casino Gaming Summit is to be held at the Bellagio, Las Vegas on 12-13th June 2014. Over 200 senior level attendees are expected, with around 20 presentations, seminars and panels on offer, with the event promoted as an ideal way to interact with the biggest names in social casinos.The Summit AgendaThe summit will cover a diverse range of topics such as how social casinos should acquire, retain and engage their players, the future of social gaming, what they can learn from land-based casinos, and how to cross-sell to users. Several speakers have been confirmed for the event, with experienced presenters such as Barak Rabinowitz, the CEO of Win Interactive, Paul Matthews, co-founder and COO of Playstudios and Andrew Hughes, CEO of Absorba Games all attending.Other topic being covered include crossing over to mobile play, maximising the lifetime value of each player, using innovation to deliver 'sticky' games that keep players coming back again and again, and the value of brands to potential users.A detailed agenda lists what topics will be covered in each presentation, with the seminar on Using Game Mechanics to drive demand for virtual goods, for example, including sections on learning what virtual items the market is looking for, strategies for rewarding players, and how to target the right players for monetisation. Sponsors and ExhibitorsA number of sponsors are behind the event, with the International Social Gaming Association, Superdata Research and Elers Research contributing to the summit, and promoting their services to the attendees. Others are expected to be confirmed between now and the start of the event itself.With a downloadable brochure available online, interested parties can contact the organisers via their website. The Social Casino Gaming Summit is being held at the same time and location as the Online Gambling Summit USA.
While games might be the ultimate attraction when choosing an online casino, too many players have realized that without the proper customer support, even the best games are worthless. After all, what good is playing your favorite game if you have problems withdrawing your winnings, and there is no customer support available to help you?That is why choosing an online casino with superb customer support is a MUST for any discerning online casino player. Here are some things you should look for in a casino's customer support offerings:Availability - When are they available? If you are playing in England, but the casino's customer service operates on Australian hours, that casino is probably not the best choice for you.Accessibility - How can you contact them? The best online casinos offer three fail-safe ways to contact customer support: phone, email and live-chat. Language - Do they speak your language? If you don't speak the same language, you literally have nothing to talk about!Efficiency - Does it take them five minutes or five hours to help you? Time is money, so you want to choose an online casino that has a trained customer support staff who can help you as quickly and efficiently as possible.Effective - Do they solve your issues? Where To PlayEU Casino is an example of an online casino that offers an excellent customer support service. Representatives are available in multiple languages, can be contacted via chat, email or phone, and the site itself also include pages with useful information so that players can troubleshoot themselves before expending effort to contact a customer support representative. EU Casino should be your standard of customer service when seeking an online casino; remember, you not only want to be able to play the games, but you also want your whole experience to be smooth, flawless and enjoyable!
Every player has their favorite online casino game, but some games happen to be more universally popular than others. Some of the most popular online casino games are slots, video poker, blackjack and roulette. Read on to find out just why players can't get enough of these games.SlotsSlots is by far the most popular online casino game across the globe. The ease and simplicity with which it is played, coupled with the potential for huge payouts, makes players come back again and again. Many slot games also contain progressive jackpots, in which lies the appeal of winning millions in one fell swoop. At many online casinos, combined total of slots jackpots regularly reaches into the millions. Check on the casino's homepage to find out the current jackpot's amount before you start playing.Video PokerVideo Poker is a combination of poker and slots - again, the rules are relatively simple, and the potential for winning - huge. Software providers are constantly coming out with new versions of video poker, so players have a virtually unlimited variety to choose from.BlackjackAlso one of the most popular land-based casino games, the popularity of blackjack has really taken off due to the spread of internet gambling. Blackjack requires a mix of skill and luck, which is appealing to players who enjoy thinking games. Blackjack players also play against the dealer, not themselves or other players, which adds an element of excitement and calculation to the game. At Winner Casino, blackjack is one of the top games, enjoyed by thousands of players all over the world.RouletteRoulette is also one of the most popular games at Winner Casino, which is an excellent venue to play at. Roulette is the ultimate game of chance and thrills, and playing online is just as exciting as playing at a real casino. With so many choices of bets, betting strategies and outcomes, Roulette continues to be one of the most popular games for online players.
Progressive Jackpots are online casino games that offer an increasing pot (progressive) based on the number of players using the game until 1 single player wins the jackpot. The games work exactly the same as other video slots, the only difference is the big jackpots that regularly reach over $1 million. The games start from a fixed amount which changes from title to title but the speed at which they reach hundreds of thousands of dollars is usually a matter of a few days. Players will be able to see the current amount of the jackpot as the games have a jackpot-meter.Progressive Slots vs Regular SlotsThe main difference between a Progressive and a Regular Slot game is the jackpot. In a regular game the slot is set with a fixed jackpot and the progressive is constantly rising. Progressive games are usually part of network encompassing a number of online casinos so it wouldn't matter where you play as the jackpot would be the same. The fact that the games are part of a network is the reason for the fast progression of the jackpot amount. There are many strategies that winners of the games have revealed over the years but the main hint is to come prepared with a lot of money and never bet less than the maximum credits. The belief is that if you play with less that the maximum bet you will be a contributor to an increased jackpot but will never win it. Where to PlayOne of the online casinos that offers Progressive Jackpots is Grande Vegas Casino. Grande Vegas currently offers 9 progressive titles by Real Time Gaming. They have progressive slots but also feature progressive poker for players that would rather play a card game. Grande Vegas accepts players from the US and many other countries around the world and their progressive games host thousands of players everyday.
There might still be some distance to go but the ball has started rolling on the proposed legalisation of online gambling in South Africa. However, as with all the best stories, the situation is a little confusing. Online gambling was set to be legalised in South Africa in 2007 (land-based gambling having been legalised and proved to be immensely profitable from 1996). There was actually a landmark ruling which stated that "gambling takes place at the punters computer" and that it didn't matter where the casino's servers were held. Draft Remote Gambling Bill 2014 The draft Remote Gambling Bill was published in the Government Gazette on Wednesday April 23rd by DA Shadow Minister of Trade and Industry, Geordin Hill-Lewis. Having now also been tabled in parliament, the bill is open for public comment until the deadline expiration of May 23rd, 2014. Under consideration in the bill are the following; To provide for the regulation of remote gambling in the Republic of South AfricaTo provide uniform norms and standards in respect of remote gambling to be applicable throughout the RepublicTo prevent minors and vulnerable persons from being exposed to the negative effects of gambling; to ensure compliance with the Financial Intelligence Centre ActTo protect the public and licensed remote gambling operators from fraud and criminal behaviour, money laundering or financing of terrorist and related activities. Hill-Lewis argues that in spite of the fact that a draft Bill has been tabled there are no guarantees of if, or when a law might pass onto the statute books. A conservative estimate is around nine months, but it could be significantly longer than that.
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