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Players bracing for the UIGEA

karen — Sat, 22 May 2010 08:14:29 +0000

Placing a wager at online casinos for US based players is set to get a whole lot tougher in just a few days time. Unfortunately, the stage is set for that federal law signed in 2006 and known as the UIGEA to come into force on 1 June. This law prohibits the use of credit cards, checks and other financial instruments for online gambling transactions. The flow on effect of this law is intend to undermine on the online gambling industry. In other words, the law doesn’t actually make playing online illegal but just makes it more difficult. So it might not necessarily mean the end of online gambling in the States. There has, however, been a group of Democrats (lead by Barney Frank) advocating for certain online games to be legalized. Amongst them are online poker. The central pillar of his argument against the UIGEA is that the government is missing out on potentially millions of dollars of revenue that could be generated by the industry. So what do you think? Should the existing law take effect? Or should certain games like online poker be legal to create millions of extra dollars for the benefit of American citizens?
If you’re confused about what the UIGEA will actually do, here’s a good and straightforward explanation from the perspective of an online poker player.

$42 Million jackpot was false alarm

karen — Sun, 09 May 2010 03:01:55 +0000

One slot player, Louise Chavez, at the Fortune Valley Hotel and Casino in Colorado was bitterly disappointed recently when she learnt that she didn’t in fact win the $42 million jackpot as she had thought. This was a nationwide jackpot and one of the biggest in the history of Colorado. The player saw her machine display the message that she had won the progressive jackpot. However, she was then informed by the casino officials that the machine displayed a faulty message and that the highest jackpot they could award was just $250,000. Apparently Ms Chavez for was compensated for the money that she put into the slot machine which was a total of $23 and given a free hotel room and breakfast. The Colorado state gaming board is investigating the matter to see if either the casino or Ms Chavez is at fault. Ms Chavez has gone public about her ordeal and has given several interviews on TV and radio talk shows. She is convinced that the casino is attempting to cheat her out of her winnings although it is not yet known whether she will sue the casino.

Missing Out on Millions

karen — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 03:52:33 +0000

In Australia, there is currently an all-out prohibition against local gaming operators. A recently released report in Australia (called ‘Online Gaming: A Gamble or a Sure Bet?) claims unsurprisingly that the government is potentially missing out on millions and millions of dollars it if does not relax its position against the online gambling market. In 2008, it is reported that as a result of the Aussie players spent about $790 million in an underground economy to play at online poker rooms and online casinos at offshore sites. The report also predicts that the global online gambling market will simply explode and double by 2012 thanks to the technological advances in mobile phones, internet connectivity and other handheld devices. This is all food for thought for the Australian government and KPMG, who produced the report, calls on the government to have a serious rethink. Australia is apparently one of the biggest markets that currently prohibits online gambling. If Australia was to be involved in the market, it could benefit from the huge revenue that its currently missing out on.

Poker Playing Priest

karen — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:40:47 +0000

In one of the more bizarre gambling related news stories that I’ve come across, I just read that a South Carolinian priest took a gamble – literally speaking – on a poker tournament to raise the remainder of his church’s 5.5 million goal to build a new facility. I should add that he did seek (and was granted) approval beforehand from his pastor. Reverend Andrew Trapp took part in the PokerStars.net. The priest apparently holds the position that whilst he was playing in a poker tournament, he wasn’t actually gambling since the tourney was free to enter, and to gain access to the final round, a player had to finish in the top ten in the free tournament, and also submit an audition video. In the end missed out on the top prize of $1 million but he did win a respectable $100,000 which he donated back to his church (although this wasn’t quite enough to reach their target goal). Check out the video here and I’m sure he won’t match the image you had in mind for a priest. It was certainly a good PR exercise for the priesthood!

Australia in Top Ten Gambling Countries

karen — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 04:57:31 +0000

There is apparently now one poker machine per every 110 people in Australia which means that the country now ranks amongst the top 10 international gambling centres in the world. Yep. That’s right … Australia is up there next to the likes of Macau and Monaco even. Actually, Monaco took out the top spot (with 1 machine for every 16 people!) but other surprising appearances in the top 10 (well, to me at least) were Japan and the Netherlands.
Unsurprisingly there is a reform movement pushing the Australian government to develop and adopt safer gambling regulations. For example, making the pokie machine automatically cut off after a certain period of time to reduce the potential for harm and loss.

Regulation vs. Prohibition

karen — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 08:08:03 +0000

This 60 Minute clip is a bit outdated now but I’d say that the warning still rings true about the poker cheats that are still out there and that you shouldn’t ever let your guard down.
I support regulation of the industry rather than prohibition. I think that tales such as these just strengthen my argument that the US shouldn’t be taking the approach of outright prohibition against online gambling but rather should be introducing legislation to regulate the industry and issue licences (just as Switzerland is likely to do shortly). This would offer great consumer protection against shonky sites and players who cheat. Implementation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in the US has been delayed for now thankfully but who knows what the ultimate outcome will be.

At the end of the day though, don’t let stories like this scare you away from online gambling. You just need to be aware of them and take it as a precautionary story. It’s simply a reminder that you should take all the regular safety steps to make sure you’re playing with a reputable casino or online poker room.

Playtech joins the World Lottery Association

karen — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:51:03 +0000

Playtech, one of the leading gambling software providers, was just approved as an Associate Member by the World Lottery Association (WLA) … meaning that Playtech will expand its already enormous business even further around the world. WLA membership offers Playtech the chance to enter new markets that it couldn’t previously.

In case you haven’t heard of them before, the WLA is the global professional association for State lottery and gaming organization and currently has members from over 76 countries, generating more than US$180 billion in revenue. WLA is good news for us players because its members are expected to adhere to the strictest standards of accountability, responsible gaming, security and risk management.

Approval from the WLA is recognition of Playtech’s position as a provider of online platforms for private and State-owned lottery operators in regulated markets worldwide.

First Ever Slot Tournament Millionaire

karen — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:14:45 +0000

Way back in April this year Microgaming (the world’s largest provider of online gaming software) announced a new tournament, the ‘Grand Slam of Slots’, which would create the first ever online slot tournament millionaire. And now finally after months and months of qualifying games and competitions between July and October, and the highly anticipated and competitive finale that took 11 days to complete, the winner has been announced!! One lucky player from South London, Stefan (alias Pattoned), is the winner taking home the enviable 1 million euro jackpot! He was just one of thousands who entered the qualifying games and apparently qualified back in July with a tiny 2 Euro bet!

The final tournament was the cult-favourite Tomb Raider slot game with over 8,000 players competing fiercely. Apparently Stefan played for days until he finally posted the winning score on his birthday to scoop the history-breaking jackpot as his birthday present to himself! Some 481 other players pocketed some winnings from the total juicy prize pool of 1.3 million Euros. In fact, the runner up, Rick H, shouldn’t feel too hard done by with his tidy €50,000 prize.

After months of excitement and buzz amongst the online slot community, Microgaming has certainly staked its place in the history of online gaming by creating the first ever online slot tournament millionaire.

News from Playtech: The New Slots are here!

admin — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 20:27:03 +0000

Playtech gaming software provider released this month some new slots games. The games has improved design and new bonus rounds including free spins and more. I tried it and I must say that a better design is an important factor when it comes to the valuation of your gambling experience.
playtech added more animation and music as well which improved the experience even more.

Among the new games are, Sparta, Gladiator, Azteca, Arctic Treasure, Captain’s Treasure PRO and more exciting game.

I’ve been able to find some games on video capturing, credits goes to OCR Live.

Sparta, 5 Reel, 30 Line Slot:

Gladiator, 5 Reel, 25 Line Slot:

Azteca, 5 Reel, 20 Line Slot:

Captain’s Treasure PRO, 5 Reel, 20 Line Slot:

Video News: The new 21 nova casino

admin — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 15:36:59 +0000

Latest news from the online gambling world, by OCR, in this edition: introducing the new 21 nova casino from affiliates united, more gaming news from the us and special exclusive promotions.

Also in this edition news about gambling operations moving to Gibraltar, and news about Gary K. situation in the US.

for more from OCR visit the OCR Official youtube channel