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Football is an obsession for millions of fans the world over. Last summer, fans were able to keep their obsession rolling because the World Cup was on. This summer, however, things were a little tougher, as the Copa America and Gold Cup just don’t quite measure up in terms of scale. As a result, many fans have turned to virtual football and fantasy football as a means of finding viable betting markets. Underlining the growing popularity in virtual sports betting is the news that 1X2gaming has struck a deal to make its software available via Microgaming’s Quickfire casino software platform. This could result in Microgaming casinos like All Slots Casino, Platinum Play, and Slotty Vegas soon having virtual football betting plus markets from others virtual sports. Four Virtual Sports to Launch Virtual sports are simulated based on data-driven outcomes processed by extremely powerful servers. Including football, there will be a total of four virtual sports games launching at participating Microgaming casinos. Kevin Reid of 1X2gaming confirmed that his company’s virtual sports games would be distributed via Microgaming’s Quickfire platform, stating that they would “now be accessible.” 1X2gaming has one of the strongest development teams in the virtual sports realm, having first created these games back in 2002. In taking its igaming offering to the next level, 1X2gaming is also working to further the development of its HTML5 software so that virtual sports can also be played on smartphones and tablets. New Premier League Season Coming Microgaming appears to have made a timely decision to integrate 1X2gaming’s software, considering that the new Premier League season will begin this Saturday. Manchester United will take on Tottenham Hotspur in the pick of Saturday’s games. Football fans registered with Microgaming casinos can kill time before their games begin by warming up with a little virtual football first.
The best and the worst teams in the Premier League prepare for a new season and regardless of objectives, they are fully aware of the difficulty of the task at hand. Chelsea, Manchester United and its city rival as well as Arsenal compete for the trophy and the reigning champions are credited with the first chance by Bet365 at 6/4. At the bottom of the standings, even more teams prepare for a long and exhausting fight and the outcome here is even more difficult to predict. Three Teams Challenge Chelsea for the Lead The Blues didn’t trade Diego Costa which continues to be regarded as the second favorite for the top goalscorer with average odds of 11/2. He is a formidable striker and if he can stay healthy he will be a permanent danger, next to Hazard and Fabregas. Mourinho is widely regarded as the best manager in the Premier League and perhaps in the world, so Chelsea has one intangible advantage over the pack. Winner Sports regards Manchester City as the strongest challenger for the leaders at 11/4, ahead of both Arsenal and Manchester United. The Gunners are priced at 5/1, while those who bet on the Red Devils can expect a return on investment of six times the stakes. Aguero will spearhead the offensive for City and the fact that bookmakers have him as the ante-post favorite for the Golden Boot in the Premier League says a great deal about his quality. Strikers alone won’t win a championship and that’s why Manchester United is not overly concerned about losing Falcao to Chelsea. The Londoners used Monaco as a proxy to acquire the Colombian, but given his fitness concerns this transfer could backfire in the second half. Meanwhile, United consolidated its backline and acquired Schweinsteiger and Darmian to assist the midfielders. Arsenal finished the last season on a positive note and also acquired Petr Cech from Chelsea, so they shouldn’t be ruled out either Plenty of Drama in the Relegation Zone The teams expected to struggle at the bottom of the standings are Watford, Norwich, Bournemouth, Sunderland and Leicester. William Hill regards the newly promoted Watford as the most likely team to be relegated and offers odds of 3/4. Norwich and Bournemouth are virtually tied at 6/5, while bookmakers show more respect to Sunderland to avoid this dreadful fate. They managed to stave off relegation several times over the last decade, once in dramatic fashion, two years ago.
Marvel movies are at an all-time high. The X-Men, the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Iron Man, Captain America, the Incredible Hulk, Spiderman and so many more have already brought in hundreds of millions of dollars, but the jury is out with regards to the new Fantastic Four movie. According to critics, the new Fantastic Four is on track for a $46 million opening weekend. That is down from previous estimates of $50 million. The Fantastic Four's first two movies were not the box office hits that other Marvel-themed movies have enjoyed. Prior to the release of the new movie today, there has been much talk about the reshoots, problems with Director Josh Trank, and fans that are angry with the actor selection and pre-movie interviews that have fueled rumors about changes, which could badly damage the classic comic book storyline. That being said, nothing can be known for sure until after the opening weekend. Even though big names like Forbes are projecting the movie to flop, millions of fans worldwide are eager to pay the ticket and popcorn costs to go see the Thing, the Human Torch, Mr. Fantastic, Susan Storm, and favorite villain Dr. Doom light up the big screen. New Marvel Slot on the Way? Marvel Slots have become some of the most popular themed-games of all time with online casino players. There are dozens of variations and different titles and rest-assured there will most-likely be a new Fantastic Four 3D video slot on the way. Leading online gambling game developers Playtech released a Fantastic Four slot a few years ago, which was received well, and with such buzz (good or bad) about the new movie, it should only be a matter of time until the next edition is released. Marvel Slots are of the biggest revenue makers for leading online casinos around the world like 7Regal Casino, Omni Casino and 888 Casino. Fans have fallen in love with the characters and challenging gaming that these titles offer.
PSG won the domestic championship last season without breaking a sweat and they won the French Cup just as easily. A new season is about to start and the reigning champions are already in for a serious challenge as they travel to northern France for a match against Lille. The hosts suffered a humiliating defeat in Paris just three months ago and they will surely try to avenge that setback now that they have the support of their fans. Outstanding Friendly Games Campaign for PSG Even the best football teams in Europe spend a lot of time preparing for the next season and PSG went beyond the call of duty. The French side travelled to the United States for the International Champions Cup, where they played against Italian, Portuguese and English teams. The fixtures against Chelsea and Manchester United were by far the most difficult ones and manager Blanc used the opportunity to put his newly acquired players to the test. The offensive trident made of Cavani, Ibrahimovic and Lavezzi is intact and the fact that PSG managed to retain all these players is hardly a surprise. With three strikers, the Parisians are expected to win another trophy, although Marseille and Monaco are not going to give up without a fight. Lille Turns Stade Pierre-Mauroy into a Fortress French teams always dread traveling to Stade Pierre-Mauroy, as the stadium is notorious for crushing underdogs while stopping favorites in their tracks. PSG got away with a narrow margin victory in the most recent match here, but the last time they took on Lille in the domestic championship they barely scrapped one point. With the home side glad to settle for one point, odds of 12/5 for a draw are truly tempting, although 4/5 on PSG to kickstart its season with a victory is nothing to frown upon.
Dutch Gambling Authority Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has tripled the fine for unauthorized gambling activity. Fines Tripled The fine for offering online gambling to the Netherlands citizens without a license was originally €50k. The penalty is now €150k, as of August 1, 2015. The fine for repeat offenders can increase to a maximum of €810k for repeat and/or severe offenders, as determined by the KSA. Severity Factors The determining criteria for KSA penalties varies according to whether offending unlicensed operators would use a dot-com domain, offer a Dutch-language option and whether they advertise through Dutch-focused radio, TV or print media to lure Dutch players. Another mitigating factor for the KSA is the number of websites and types of gaming offered by a particular operator, the maximum prizes offered, the maximum initial deposits and deposit bonus size. Violators Wait for Regulation Fines have been issued to six operators in the last two years, with the individual high at €200k. Nonetheless, only three fines have been collected as penalized operators wait out the approval of the long-delayed remote Gaming Bill. With regulated online casinos like All Slots Casino and EUCasino popular among Dutch players, the KSA measures should be seen more as preventative. Dutch Content on Unlicensed Sites By the same token, the KSA is looking to define limits. Recent penalties levied against UK operators Total E Soft Limited and XKL Limited totaled €180k for operating 14 Dutch-facing casino, poker and sports betting sites. The specific violations cited by the KSA were being written in the Dutch language and inclusions of the Dutch flag image on-site. Total E Soft defended itself by claiming players in the Netherlands were blocked, and the use of the Dutch content was intended to attract Dutch ex-pats playing in other countries. An appeal is expected to shed light on the reach of national jurisdiction in regards to content offered on sites outside a given regulatory authority. Stay tuned...
Manchester United was very active in July and over the last two weeks played four difficult games in the United States. Their performance at the International Champions Cup greatly exceeded expectations, as the Red Devils won three out of four games including a victory over Barcelona. While they failed to wrap it up with a triumph against PSG, they got the chance to test the starting formation as well as the newly acquired players. They will put that practice to good use in the opening round of the Premier League. Manchester United Expected to Set the League Alight Van Gaal got the chance to consolidate his starting formation with the additions of Schweinsteiger and Darmian, but some players are rumored to prepare for departure. With goalkeeper David de Gea still doubtful and Van Persie rumored to leave as well, it is essential for Manchester United to win the opening match. They need to stick to the same offensive strategy against a team that is mostly dangerous when its opponents allow it to take the initiative. Tottenham played a couple of friendly games but their opponents were far less impressive and even so the Londoners managed to win a single match. The head to head record is also against them as the team has struggled at Old Trafford, so it’s very likely that the visitors will use a 4-3-1 starting formation. Bookmakers Heavily Favor the Hosts In 78 games played at Old Trafford, Manchester United won 55 times and the visitors prevailed on 11 occasions. This explains why bookmakers are so reluctant to give the home side high odds and even Bet365 who offers the biggest value, won’t exceed 8/13. There are plenty of reasons against backing Tottenham to cause a major upset on the road, but those who expect such a surprise will enjoy odds of 9/2
Genesis Gaming, a leading online slot provider, has just released its latest slot game, Dinosaur Adventure. The new release is currently available exclusively at Unibet Casino, but will probably find a home at other Genesis Gaming casinos such as BETAT. If you love dinosaurs, or love winning large jackpots, this game is sure to pique your interest. About the GameEven non-dinosaur lovers will be won over by Genesis Gaming’s dino-themed slot. The game has a 5x4 reel layout, and 1024 ways to win. The theoretical RTP (Return to player) is stated as being 97.248% - quite high! Special Features The most fun, and most potentially lucrative, special feature in this game is the Dinosaur Free Spins Feature, which is triggered when three or more Scatter symbols land on the reals. In the Free Spins Feature, players can win up to 20 free spins with Wild Multipliers, and land a staggering x64 Multiplier (x4 x4 x4) when Wilds appear on the reels. Additionally, two or more Scatter symbols can yield unlimited re-triggers. Scott Sims, Head of Global Design at Genesis Gaming, commented on the game, “Dinosaur Adventure was designed to be an exciting game for the true gambler. The wild multipliers in the free spins bonus bring in the high volatility and big wins that make for a thrilling game.” Dinosaur Adventure is available in HTML5, Flash version and native iOS or Android formats, which means that it can run on both mobile devices and PCs. About Genesis Gaming Genesis Gaming has been supplying video slot content since 2008, and has since then become a leader in the online slot industry. Genesis Gaming creates video slots for general release as well as customized slots based on their clients’ requests. Their games are usually optimized for mobile, either in HTML5 or in native iOS or Android formats.
European creditors concluded that the Greeks have been spending too much money for too long and decided to take drastic measures. With the initial austerity plan failing miserably, things were taken to the next level and Greece had to make more concessions for another massive bailout. There are few good news coming from the domestic front, but the possibility of a regulated online gambling market is one of them. Cash-Strapped Greece Can't Ignore Online Gambling Revenue Cyprus has embraced online gambling a longtime ago and Malta went a step further, gradually turning into a hotspot for casinos seeking a license. Until recently, Greece held its ground and the state-owned gambling operators reigned supreme, while outsides were denied the chance to enter this market. Things are about to change as the country is struggling with poverty and the economy is sinking despite all the austerity measures. The left-wing party ruling the country made a promising announcement and international gambling operators are expected to apply for a license. When things look too good to be true they usually are and in this case, the price of the license fees is exorbitant. The cash-strapped state is trying to attract foreign investors, but the online casino business is unlikely to respond favorably to these figures. Gambling Industry Exceeded Expectations in 2014 In 2014, almost €6 billion was generated by the industry and if more casinos enter this market, the numbers are expected to go even higher. Impressive as they might look, these figures are a far cry from the 2009 revenue and Greeks have different priorities these days. History on the other hand suggests that the appetite for gambling increases precisely on those occasions when people struggle financially. Online casinos like Platinum Play Casino and Jackpot City Casino are already popular with Greek players and the market is big enough to accommodate more online casinos.
Ahead of the first weekend of the new Premier League season on 8 August 2015, Coingaming has launched bitcoin currency that is intended for fans of the cryptocurrency. Coingaming is a specialist in developing white-label software and has created its new sportsbook especially for bitcoin. Coingaming is attempting to capitalise on the rising demand for bitcoin in the online gambling world by ensuring that its sportsbook can be integrated alongside other digital betting channels maintained by gambling operators. A recent development saw Coin Palace Casino set up its platform to accept bitcoin on its casino games. An Instant Service for Sports Betting Bitcoin is appealing for gamblers because they can make and receive payments almost instantly, while also avoiding the high transaction fees that are often applied to e-wallets. Coingaming communications director Mark McGuinness confirmed that sports fans would be able to expect the same benefits. At present, though, there appears to be a higher level of bitcoin activity among the smaller gambling operators, with their larger counterparts yet to make a significant investment in the cryptocurrency. However, it could be the case that operators such as 888, bet365, and Winner Sports are waiting to see a whether a significant market emerges first, at which point they can make the necessary upgrades. Some Are Reluctant to Use Bitcoin Investment banking group Goldman Sachs revealed recently that 51% of respondents from a US survey were yet to use bitcoin, which suggests that the cryptocurrency is still in its infancy compared to established payment methods. From now until the end of 2015, there could likely be further announcements made in relation to bitcoin and online gambling. For now, though, it would appear that smaller level operators are more willing to take the risk, with larger operators content to wait and see how the market develops over the coming months.
Arsenal has already won an important trophy this season, by defeating Chelsea and claiming the Community Shield. They proved to be more than a match for their city rivals and they hope that on Sunday they can extend their dominance over West Ham. Arsenal Tries to Keep the Dual Streaks Alive This Sunday fixture is of critical importance for the Gunners who are regarded as underdogs in the race to win the Premier League. They need to stay within striking distance of the favorites and can only do it if they kick-start their campaign with a victory over their city rivals. Arsenal is well-positioned to win the opening match, as they have a crushing record in head to head games. West Ham lost the last 10 games and allowed an average of two goals per match, but they managed to score plenty of their own. They travel to Emirates Stadium fully aware of their underdog status and will play accordingly, using a 4-5-1 starting formation. Arsenal has another winning streak to keep alive, as they managed to win the last seven consecutive games, including some high profile fixtures. Prepare for a Goal Scoring Festival West Ham had a hard time keeping clean sheets recently and allowed plenty of goals even against mediocre opponents. They will play defensive football against Arsenal, but they face a team of an entirely different caliber and their backline will come under tremendous pressure. Bet365 regards the home side as overwhelming favorite to prevail and offers odds of 2/7 for Arsenal to win, while pricing West Ham at 11/1. There is simply no value in these odds and punters will have to trust Arsenal to cover the spread at 8/11, to enjoy a decent return on investment. The alternative would be to bet on more than 2.5 goals to be scored, a likely outcome that is valued by the same bookie at 4/7
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