Online Casino Gambling

Leading software developer for mobile gaming, Spin3, recently launched Mega Moolah for Android in conjunction with Microgaming. In February 2011 the company released the Tomb Raider slot game, also for the Android. At that time, the CEO of the company announced that in 2011, Android will dominate the mobile marketplace.

He also divulged that Mega Moolah and Mermaids Millions will be the next Microgaming slot games to be converted to the Android platform. Mega Moolah is currently the world’s largest progressive slots game. The new Android version presents fun gaming with rich graphics, detailed animations and vivid sound effects. The game features a variety of bonus games such as the Free Spins bonus game which triples all payouts.

The most important game is the Jackpot Bonus game which gives players access to one of four different progressive jackpots available through the Android market. Spin3 has optimized the mobile version of the game to run on all Android devices including smart phones and tablets. Furthermore, the mobile software is optimized for the following screen resolutions:

• Low resolution – 240 x 3220
• Normal resolution – 320 x 480
• Medium resolution – 480 x 800
• High resolution – 600 x 1024

Mobile devices and tablets are currently the fastest growing technologies. As a result, Spin3 considers high-quality Android hardware and software to be critical to the success of its mobile gaming business strategy. Additionally, with so many Android users, the market can easily support itself and allow mobile gaming technology to rapidly grow.

Mega Moolah will give Android users a chance to compete for one the biggest jackpots in the industry – 2.3 million credits and growing. Over the past several years Mega Moolah progressive jackpot has turned eight players into millionaires with the largest winning 6.37 million Euros.

A division of Spiral Solutions, LTD, Spin3 has teamed up with Microgaming to offer players mobile gaming solutions. This includes real money and fun casino systems, sports betting mobile apps, lottery products, marketing services and many other innovative marketing technologies at the forefront of mobile gaming.

As handheld devices become more powerful and telecommunications networks improve performance and capacity, more activities will be conducted. Mobile gaming is on the cusp of experiencing a huge explosion of growth in the coming years. Spin3 is already on the ground level preparing for that growth. In the future, the mobile gambling industry will be one of largest money-makers in the world.

History is repeating itself in the United States legislature from Congressmen John Campbell and Barney Frank’s introduction of the online gambling regulation bill in March 2011. Congressman Jim McDermott recently introduced HR 2230, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act to the House Financial Services Committee.

The First Bill

The process is the same as the first bill, however, at that time, the Internet gambling regulation moved quickly through the legislature due to other more important economic matters. Campbell and Frank are in support of the new bill as expected.

Companion Bill

The goal of HR 2230 is the same as the previous bill. However, the new bill does not seek to legalize and regulate online gambling. Instead, it is a supporting tax bill that will assist Campbell and Frank’s original legislation. Known as a companion bill, it will require online gambling operators to withhold a specific amount of taxes from the winnings of players.

Withholding Tax on Players

The proposed withholding tax is 28 percent which is consistent with current withholding taxes from land-based gambling winnings. Therefore, operators will be required to declare the amount of tax withheld and the exact amount that has been deposited and withdrawn for each player across an entire calendar year.

Information Collected by the Government

HR 2230 is requesting that online gambling operators provide detailed information about its players to the government to confirm the collection of associated taxes. This data includes names, tax identification numbers and addresses. Further information on gross wagers, losses and winnings would also be required every calendar year.

Individual and Operator Taxation

Furthermore, the bill is seeking a 2 percent federal tax of operators. Also, individual states would have the option of taxing the online gambling providers at a rate of 6 percent. Additionally, operators would be required to pay a tax equal to 2 percent of deposits received each month. The bill further clarifies that this amount must be paid by the operator and cannot be taken from the amounts players deposit into their accounts.

Acquisition of a License

The bill also requires online operators to acquire a license. Within the tax proposals, McDermott specifies exactly how the federal taxes are to be collected and gaming deployed. 25 percent of all taxes collected will be utilized to fund programs for foster and disadvantaged children. The remaining taxes will be sent to the general treasury.

The passage of this bill could be the first step toward the development of a legalized, regulated online gambling system in the United States. Many support groups have their fingers crossed that this bill will become a law.

It has been several months since Rival Gaming has launched a new 3D online slot game. However, the company recently released 3D Funky Chicken, a nightclub-themed slot game. The Funky Chicken is a swanky nightclub and the favorite place for Mr. Fox. His limousine is long, equipped with a bar and has a hood ornament of him. Mr. Fox frequents the Funky Chicken carrying a case full of money and likes to dance.

Funky Chick Symbols

The briefcase full of cash is the jackpot symbol which awards the highest line payout of 3,500. An additional line payout is granted when five Funky Chicks appear on the reels. The additional Funky Chick bestows scattered payouts. Each of the six Funky Chick symbols becomes well-animated when they are part of winning combinations. The animations all involve attempting to catch the attention of Mr. Fox through winking, blowing kisses and flashing eyelashes.

Additional Special Symbols

The reels are set at night with a cocky rooster bouncer and Mr. Fox atop his limousine in the background. There are many special symbols in the game. The mosquito is the wild symbol which expands across the reel when contributing to a winning combination. The hood ornament icon triggers the free spins round. When three of these characters appear on the reels four free spins are awarded. When four symbols appear, eight free spins are given and five icons grant 12 spins.

If three Mr. Fox symbols are hit, the bonus game is activated. The player is required to assist Mr. Fox with selecting his favorite chicks. The majority of selections will award the player bonus prizes. The player continues to pick chicks until they are all selected or a chick that does not award a bonus says “Collect.”

Funky Chicken Gaming Information

Funky Chicken features 20 paylines with players being permitted to wager up to five coins per line. The coin denomination ranges from $0.01 to $5.00. Therefore, the payouts can be quite large. Funky Chicken is currently available at all Rival Gaming-powered online casinos such as Sloto Cash and Ruby Royal.

Funky Chicken is a fun experience with decent payouts and excellent graphics. The idea of a nightclub with farm animals is much more appealing than a simple nightclub-themed slot game. The developers definitely did an excellent job creating this slot game and it has become quite popular during its short time in the industry.

During the week of June 20^th, 2011 to June 26^th, 2011, Virgin Casino focused on Midas Touch week. In honor of the casino launching a new online slot game entitled, “Midas Millions,” Virgin Casino offered a new bonus each day during the promotional period. Players were able to claim up to GBP 60 for seven days when wagering on Midas Millions and other predetermined online slot games.

The Midas touch bonus was equal to 15 percent matching of a deposit with a minimum of GBP 10 and maximum of GBP 400. The offer could only be activated once per day. Also, prior to making the deposit, players were required to enter the bonus code MIDASTOUCH. After entering the code and depositing the required amount, players were required to play 4.5 times the deposit amount on selected slot games.

Once the wagering requirements were met, the casino credited player’s casino accounts with the promotional money. However, to receive the bonus, players were required to meet the wagering requirements within one full day of the deposit. The following day, players had to make a fresh deposit to receive the new bonus.

The list of qualifying slot games was posted on the Virgin Casino “Promotions” page. Some of the most popular games on the list included:

• Midas Millions
• Rhyming Reels – Queen of Hearts
• Hot Ink
• Top Trumps Euro Stars
• Star Trek
• Batman
• The Lord of the Rings

Rhyming Reels – Queen of Hearts is an online slot game based on the popular children’s rhyme featuring the king, queen, knave and many other characters from the tale. Hot Ink is an interesting game featuring a tattoo parlor theme with beautiful tattoo artists and incredible tattoos. Top Trumps Euro Stars is a soccer-based game with some of the most popular athlete’s in the game.

Star Trek takes players aboard the Starship Enterprise and features four bonus games, each of which is based on a Star Trek character. Batman is a branded online slot game based on the popular hero from DC Comics. Finally, The Lord of the Rings was based on the award-winning movie.

Powered by WagerWorks software but featuring games from many software providers, Virgin Casino is licensed and regulated by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission. Although only available to real money players, the Midas Touch promotion proved to be a successful endeavor with many participants.

In a recent announcement by German officials, the prime ministers of the 16 federal states have declared to defer any decision on creating a State Gambling Treaty until October 2011. This statement was communicated by the prime minister of the Saxony-Anhalt region as a representative for all prime ministers. However, he did express his intent by declaring the country is well on its way.

The Proposal

On April 15^th, 2011, 15 for the German states forwarded a single proposal to be considered by the European Commission. The proposal delivered the opening of online sports betting within the country on a limited basis. This would be based on a 16.66 percent tax. At this point the group received flak from the gambling industry due to the high tax rate. The European Commission is expected to publicize its ruling on July 18^th.

Deferment by the Prime Ministers

The deferment will give the German states extra time to study the various implication of the potential verdict of the European Commission. One private operator that has considerable interest in the German market is Betfair. The company has commissioned research by German law professor Bernd Grzeszick of the University of Heidelberg. The Professor gave his opinion about the current proposal stating that they would be turned down.

A Violation within the Proposal

He came to this conclusion because the draft violates Articles 49 and 56 of the European Union Treaty. Also, H2 Gambling Capital, a leading online gaming data company, indicated that if Germany continues with the proposal, it would only capture 7 percent of the market due to citizens preferring to access offshore sites.

A Statement from Betfair Representatives

Betfair representatives released a statement confirming that they are hopeful the prime ministers utilize their time to agree upon an airtight treaty allowing reputable private companies a fair chance at the market which will help protect citizens against black market operations. At the same time, the proposal was applauded by the gambling industry as it was viewed as being less restrictive toward private casino operators.

The drafted proposal aimed at issuing licenses to private operators for all online casino products. The proposal also originally called for a 20 percent gross tax profit. This draft was received by the European Commission in May 2011. The Betfair representative hopes to see this proposal adopted by all states in Germany. The decision made by the European Commission could be a major advancement of hindrance to the online gambling industry.

Everybody dreams of a fun vacation on an island resort. Now players can live that dream through Party Island, a new release from industry-leading online gaming developer Microgaming. Players will be able to party all night with symbols like dance and a record. The sunrise icon provides beautiful animations. Day time activities on Party Island include relaxing on the beach like the bikini girl icon and drinking cocktails.

Important Symbols

Also, there are high value symbols from Ace to Nine which are colorful and crafted in a royal style. Furthermore, the Party Island logo is representative of the wild symbol with the glitter ball acting as the scatter icon.

Typically the wild and scatter symbols provide the best animations when appearing in a winning combination. However, in Party Island, additional symbols offer attractive animations. For instance, the dance character conjures lights with dancers gyrating to party music. The record symbol activates a record that spins on the turntable with the DJ adjusting the music. Finally the sunrise icon prompts the ocean to crash waves against the shore.

Benefits of Party Island

There are several pros associated with Party Island. First, the party theme creates a fun and upbeat atmosphere that most players enjoy. Second, the scatter payouts associated with the glitter ball character are extremely attractive. If five scatter symbols appear anywhere on the reels, the player will receive 750 coins multiplied by the total bet. Three or more symbols equates to the free spins bonus round.

The third advantage of the game is the Microgaming-standard Gamble Game which gives players the option to double the payout by guessing the color of the next card. The final benefit is two of certain symbols combined result in a payout. This allows for more chances to win.

Limitations of Party Island

There are several limitations to the game. The first is a lack of progressive jackpot. Most online slot games feature some type of progressive jackpot that is connected to a network or is specific to that game. The second disadvantage is there are only nine paylines. Other slot games average between 20 and 25 paylines. Finally, the game only accepts a maximum of five coins per payline.

Overall Party Island is a fun game to play as it sweeps you away from daily life and places you on a party island. Although not one of Microgaming’s best online slot games, the game is still enticing and interesting.