Online Casino Games

February 28 - Go Casino is the biggest news in the online casino industry for some time and players are abuzz with excitement. Not only does this casino offer the sensational game variety provided by the Vegas Technology platform, but the $20,000 bonus is the biggest ever.

The new GoCasino.com has the backing of one of the most experienced online casino operators who have been in this business for almost ten years.

The bonus redefines the concept of a "sign up" bonus, as the casino makes a commitment to rewards your first twenty deposits. While some online casino may have a good sigh up bonus, you have no guarantee what deals they will offer you subsequently, and these are often not the best.

Go Casino is licensed by the Curacao Internet Gaming Association and offers 100 games from including many table games, casino poker games, all the major varieties of video poker, and incredible range of slots as well as progressive jackpots.

Now if you thought the bonus is something special, wait. Go Casino and their partner casinos, Golden Casino and Online Vegas Casino are jointly running the biggest free roll slots tournament ever. Read here about the $200,000 Slots Free Roll Tournament. It kicks off on March 3, so sign up today.

Read our Go Casino Review now.

The players competing include Adam Junglen, Brandon Cantu, Shaun Deeb, Chris Moorman and Kevin Saul. Josh “JJProdigy” Fields was meant to play also, but was barred after it was discovered he was involved in yet another cheating scandal.

“We’ve got the best players in the world raring to go,” said Eric Morris, publisher of BLUFF Magazine. “Over the next 31 days we’ll see who’s got the skill and the discipline required to come out on top.”

The dispute between online gambling software provider Cryptologic and its erstwhile CEO Javaid Aziz made it into the pages of the venerable UK business newspaper The Financial Times this week.

The newspaper reported on the events leading up to the latest rejection by Cryptologic of Aziz’s demands for an extraordinary general meeting and a presence on the board, and commented that Aziz has been trying to re-establish a foothold to control the company after his departure last year from the CEO position.

The report claims that Aziz has been trying to have the Cryptologic group’s chairman removed, and that he is campaigning for a change in company strategy.

The Financial Times notes that in a sign of the intensifying hostilities between the two parties, CryptoLogic has accused Aziz of “inappropriate conduct” during his brief tenure at the company. Stephen Taylor, chief financial officer, said Aziz made repeated demands for money and threats to sue while he was at the helm.

Aziz has dismissed the attack as an attempt to distract shareholders from what he alleges is a problem of corporate governance at the company.

The former CEO said he never asked for money and that his grievance was over the strike price of the share options that he was granted. He said they were artificially high and were based on what he believed was a misrepresentation of the company’s financial situation at the time when he was hired – allegations that CryptoLogic denied.

CryptoLogic also questioned whether Aziz was fit to join the board and released copies of e-mails he had sent threatening to go public with allegations that the company had been “blatantly lying” about the impact of the Dutch government’s decision not to allow Holland Casino to launch an online gaming site.

Earlier this week Cryptologic revealed that it was seeking legal advice with a view to a possible action against Aziz.

US legislators considering Congressman Barney Frank’s renewed assault on the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act may be given pause for thought by a new analysis of the potential taxability of online gambling in the United States just published by top international accounting group PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The study estimates that the US could raise nearly $52 billion in revenue over the next decade by lifting a three-year-old ban on Internet gambling and taxing the activity instead, reports the Reuters news agency.

“There is a dramatic need to have a regulated system that protects American consumers. Right now, it’s the Wild West,” Jeffrey Sandman, a spokesman for the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative, told Reuters on Wednesday.

The latest PricewaterhouseCoopers’ estimate is about 22% higher than it was in 2007 because U.S. online gambling has grown despite the ban, Sandman said.

The accounting firm’s study was specifically done at the behest of UC Group, an online payment service company that would benefit from U.S. action to legalise Internet gambling.

Online gambling advocates hope the U.S. government’s need for new revenue in the aftermath of huge bailout and stimulus packages will boost chances for Congress to replace the UIGEA with new measures to regulate and tax online gambling.

Reuters reports that the added threat of a possible European Union trade challenge in the World Trade Organisation could improve the Frank bill’s prospects this year; the Remote Gaming Association in the UK has complained to the European Commission, accusing the U.S. Justice Department of singling out European online gambling companies like PartyGaming and 888.com for prosecution while allowing U.S. companies to operate freely. The complaint triggered an investigation, the results of which are imminent.

SAN JOSE, California — Blandino Gines’ first job in the United States was picking grapes in the vineyards of Modesto, California; thirty-four years later, he will play poker on national television
  for a chance at $500,000 thanks to PokerStars.net. Gines, a 52-year-old welder from San Jose, California, won a free satellite on PokerStars for a chance to compete head-to-head with the world’s top celebrities, athletes and poker pros at the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship in Las Vegas from March 6-8. The championship will be televised nationally on NBC and CNBC.

"I didn’t think it was real when they first called me," Gines said. "I thought I just won $1,000. I didn’t know that they were going to send me to Vegas to play in NBC Heads-Up. This is unbelievable. I am still in shock."

In 1975, Gines emigrated from The Phillipines when his father petitioned for him to come to the U.S. For three years, the 19-year-old Gines made a living picking grapes in the vineyards of Modesto and Stockton, CA. He then moved to Alaska where got a job canning salmon with Trident Seafood Corp. After 11 years in Alaska, Gines taught himself how to weld, and took a fabrication job at Trident’s factory in Seattle, WA.

The current economic downturn forced Trident to make cutbacks and Gines was let go from the company. For the past three months, Gines has lived in his sister’s apartment with his wife and 7-year-old daughter. To earn extra money he works part-time on construction jobs with his brother-in-law and plays poker on PokerStars.

"PokerStars builds champions and make dreams come true," said 2004 World Series of Poker Main Event champion and Team PokerStars Pro Greg Raymer. "PokerStars offers the most tournaments and unique promotions out of any poker site in the world. I wish Gines the best of luck and hope to see him in the finals."

In early February, Gines entered PokerStars’ National Heads-Up Poker Championship promotion and survived 590,000 players through three rounds to win his seat. Gines first started playing poker two and a half years ago after watching poker on TV. He immediately created an account on PokerStars, and has been playing online ever since.

PokerStars.net, the world’s largest online poker site, will cover Gines’ $20,000 entry fee into the tournament along with four nights of hotel accommodations in Las Vegas and $1,000 cash for travel and expenses.

"I can’t believe I might have the chance to play against Daniel Negreanu and Greg Raymer. I am going to start practicing on PokerStars right away. I’m very excited and so grateful to PokerStars for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

In the past, the tournament was primarily reserved for world-class players and celebrities, on an invitation-only basis. This is the second time in the history of the National Heads-Up Poker Championship that an online qualifier from a poker site was allowed entry to compete for a share of $1.5 million on TV’s highest-rated poker broadcast.

Last February, PokerStars qualifier Alisha Kunze won a chance to compete in the event for free. The 23-year-old from Indiana played a solid game and held her own against the pro players. Kunze eventually busted out when her pocket Kings ran into pocket Aces.

The event is bracketed much like the college basketball championship: play head-to-head, win and move on to the next bracket. The "national champion" takes home $500,000.

For more information about PokerStars free satellites, visit www.pokerstars.net

PANAMA CITY, Panama — March is here which means springtime is just around the corner. March also brings St. Patrick’s Day and BingoHouse is ready to celebrate with some great St. Paddy’s games. In
  addition to the great selection of games found on BingoHouse the March promotional games are sure to please online bingo players worldwide.

Every Saturday evening the popular Jeeve’s Pleasure Pots games with a jackpot of $10,000 takes place. On March 28th and 29th the Jeeve’s Jackpot games offer online bingo players the chance to win another $10,000 jackpot. Both of these games have paid out thousands to lucky players and the next one could be you!

BingoHouse has a fantastic selection of promotional games for March. On the weekend of March 13th through the 15th, the $7500 Leprechaun Power Hour Weekend is sure to provide many lucky players with some excitement and cash. Throughout the month the Lucky Leprechaun Kiss Kash Guaranteed Give-a-Way gives players a chance to win $2,000. Also taking place throughout the month, the March Madness Dream Teams offers players a $1,500 jackpot.

In addition to the games already mentioned BingoHouse has added several games with great cash prizes. From March 1st to the 31st the Bingo Speedway game not only has a cash prize of $1,000 but also a chance to win a trip for two to a NASCAR race. The $1,500 Pot O’ Gold game is sure to entertain and takes place all month long.

In addition to the great promotional games, BingoHouse continues to provide players with the best online bingo experience possible. BingoHouse also offers an extensive selection of slots including video poker. Be sure to check out the chat rooms for special chat games. BingoHouse offers everything an online bingo player could possible want.

Seven operators at the Korean unit of Mansion.com, an international online casino and sports betting site, have been detained for operating an illegal gambling Web site for Koreans, local police revealed last week.

Mansion.com is the kit sponsor of Tottenham Hotspur, an English professional football club in the Premier League.

The Korea Times reports that the detentions represent a new phase in police action against online gambling in Korea, the first time that an international online game company has been legally implicated for opening Korean operations to handle marketing, exchanges of cyber money and other facilities for online gambling. So far, Koreans have gained access to gambling sites whose servers are based in foreign countries, the newspaper reports.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said that more than 2700 Koreans have gambled on the site, with the total cash taken in estimated at about 30 billion won. Police are investigating some 70 of the players who deposited more than 50 million won ($33,000) each at the site.

The newspaper reports that Mansion established a unit Mansion88 in Singapore, and the Singaporean unit oversaw the Korean operations. The Korean venture was established after Mansion signed a contract to lease 13 gambling sites from the international online casino. Police claim the operators have reaped 4 billion won in illegal gains. The largest amount of money deposited by a member for gambling stood at 500 million won.

Police told the Korea Times that workplaces were established in southern Seoul to provide cyber money to gamblers and send promotional messages to potential members starting in December 2007. Cell phones and bank accounts under “borrowed” names were used. Police said they intend to trace the flow of the illegal money and profits. Unregistered online gambling sites are illegal in Korea.

February 27 -  Before they withdrew from US market, the Microgaming progressive jackpots were by far the most popular. Their exit left a void, but software providers such as Real Time Gaming have stepped in and built up jackpots that have grown to over the million dollar mark and bigger.

Real Time Gaming powered online casinos like Rushmore Casino now offers six games with top cash prizes over $100,000, and three that are either close to or over one million dollars, placing this and other RTG powered casinos right in front when it comes to big jackpots.

The two largest jackpots open to US players are at Real Time Gaming casinos. with Jackpot Piñatas is currently valued at just under s $1,2million and Aztec’s Millions has just broken the $1 million mark.  A third RTG slots jackpot, Shopping Spree, is getting closer to the $1 million mark and at the time of writing was just under $950,000.

In addition RTG casinos also have the I.R.I.S. 3000 jackpot which is at over $250,000; Cleopatra’s Gold at just over $100,000 and the Shark, at just over $90,000.

In addition to the jackpot, the RTG casinos offer the Real Series of video slots, with wonderful themes, awesome jackpots, and great features. They cover a variety of themes which will appeal to just about any slots fan.

Here is a list of top Real Time Gaming Casinoss. We recommend Cherry Red Casino and Aladdin’s Gold Casino, two top Real Time Gaming casinos with big bonuses. Most Real Time Gaming casinos accept players from the United States of America.

Sigrid Ligné, the Secretary General of the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has launched a newsletter for members and interested parties in the belief that open communication will provide all stakeholders with a better understanding of the realities of the market.

“It will help not only law makers and regulators making reasoned and informed decisions but it will also help individuals in choosing how to play in a safe and responsible way,” Ligne says in her introduction.

EGBA, which is supported by most major European online gambling groups, is an industry body working to create a level competitive playing field within the EU online gaming and betting sector - and to give the millions of Europeans who enjoy this popular form of entertainment a safe, equitable and responsible environment in which to do so.

The launch coincides with EGBA’s second Responsible Gaming Day, held at the European Parliament on 17 February. This year the Association’s focus is on Integrity and Sport. EGBA members, all licensed and regulated within the EU, voluntarily adhere to 170 additional EGBA-developed responsible standards built on a set of principles, such as prevention of underage gaming, ethical marketing and zero tolerance to fraud, which are all designed to protect consumers and the industry alike.

Building on last year’s successful event, decision makers, academia, opinion formers, experts and regulated online gaming and betting operators will have the opportunity to debate topics such as ethics, integrity, and tackling the risks of sport betting.

“All too often, our industry is judged on myths rather than facts,” writes Ligne. “Combining betting and technology offers a tremendous opportunity to increase transparency and traceability and therefore to reduce risks. EU regulated online operators can identify and offer assistance to consumers who may need help on a 24/7 basis, offering them the option to cool off, self-exclude or set limits when needed, for example. Also, the registration process for any play involving real money requires players to provide data which allows operators to detect at an early stage suspicious bets and behaviours, and prevent fraud and the risk of match-fixing.

“In a few jurisdictions, we are beginning to see moves away from national market protectionism and a fair appreciation of the benefits of a standards and technology driven regulated online gaming industry. But there is still a long way to go before freedom of choice for millions of European consumers becomes a reality throughout Europe.”

The inaugural issue includes articles on free movement of goods and services in the EU and on integrity in sportsbetting.

Professor Dr Ehlermann, Senior Counsel at WilmerHale and a former Director-General of the Legal Service of the European Commission answers the question: “Does the gaming and betting sector benefit from the EC Treaty’s provision for free movement of services?” and Khalid Ali, Secretary General of the European Sports Security Association (ESSA) explains why sports integrity’s best kept secret is coming out into the open to bring even greater protection to sporting events and those who enjoy online gaming.

This edition also includes detailed information on verifying customer identity in the 21st century using electronic tools, in an interesting and comprehensive article by Karyn Bright from GB Group plc.

“ID verification solutions, in ensuring players are who they say they are, are helping online gaming operators to create a responsible gaming environment,” writes Bright, referencing GB’s white paper “Remote Gambling and KYC – from Compliance to Cash.”

Thursday, the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative published a PricewaterhouseCoopers study saying the U.S. government could generate $52 billion in tax revenue by overturning the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006.

The study, prepared for online payment processor UC Group, says that the number of Americans participating in illegal online gambling has risen 22 percent since 2007. Because the UIGEA makes these activities illegal, the SSIGI said, the U.S. federal government is missing out on collecting tax revenue from them.

The news comes as President Barack Obama’s administration releases its proposal for the 2010 federal budget. Republicans, who hold a minority of seats in both the Senate and House of Representatives, are already deriding the president for proposing increased spending during the current recession.

However, as Reuters noted when reporting on the PricewaterhouseCooper study, Republicans controlled Congress when the UIGEA was passed. The law, the SSIGI says, denies the U.S. federal government revenue it could use to avoid raising income taxes.

The SSIGI press release also notes efforts to overturn the UIGEA, including those of congressmen Barney Frank, D-Mass. and Jim McDermott, D-Wash. Both legislators have introduced bills that would legalize, regulate and tax online gambling.

“We are optimistic that the Obama administration and Congress will pay closer attention to this issue as they seek to find new revenues that can be generated without raising taxes for critical federal, state and local government programs,” SSIGI spokesman Jeffrey Sandman said. “Regulation is also needed to ensure there are safeguards to protect against compulsive and underage gambling, money laundering, fraud and identity theft.”

phill.provance@gamblingplanet.org

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