Online Casino Gambling

Omni Casino was scheduled to launch the Omni Olympics Slot Tournament during the week of August 8^th, 2011. Unfortunately the tournament has been pushed back a week. The official announcement reads, “Due to major announcements coming to Omni Casino next week, we have decided that the Omni Olympics Slot Tournament needs to be even bigger than we had planned!” All details will be revealed in the net issue of the Omni Times.

Sunday Rain Promotion

However, there are regular bonuses and promotions currently available at the casino. On Sunday, August 14^th, the Sunday Rain promotion is available. Omni Casino is offering its players a 50 percent matching bonus with a maximum of $100 for the first deposit made on Sunday.

5x Monday Promotion

The next promotion is 5x Monday which will occur on Monday, August 15^th. This is a popular campaign and has been reintroduced due to player demand. All players who wager at online slot and table games on Monday will receive five times the Comp Points. For every $10 wagered, players will receive 5 Comp Points instead of 1.

Mid-week Bonuses

On Tuesday, August 16^th, the casino is offering the Super Value Tuesday Bonus in which all players will receive a 166 percent matching bonus on their first deposit of at least $10 with a maximum of $75. The next day, the Double Payout Blackjacks promotion will be in effect. On the first 15 hands dealt during single hand blackjack, all natural blackjacks will pay 2-to-1 as opposed to the regular 3-to-2.

Late Week bonuses

Thursday, August 18^th will award players a 133 percent matching bonus up to $133. Friday, August 19^th and Saturday, August 20^th are reserved for video poker players. Those who hit a Royal Flush of hearts will have the payout doubled up to a maximum of $1,000. For players looking for bonuses without having to wager, the Omni Casino offers the Omni Trivia Question. The most recent question is, “Which hotel did Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel first own in Las Vegas?

Omni Casino Company Information

Powered by industry-leading software development firm Playtech, Omni Casino is licensed and regulated in the online gambling jurisdiction of Curacao. The Omni Times is one of the most popular and successful online newsletters in the industry with news, promotions and bonus updates on a weekly basis.

The week of August 15^th looks like an excellent time for players to take advantage of the many bonuses offered by Omni Casino to make up for a delay in the upcoming Olympics Slot Tournament. Stop by the casino to participate in the action!

Leading online payment solutions provider, Neteller, revamped its website around June 2011. The extensiveness of the makeover is now being realized by Neteller users. The company has been explaining the many changes made to the site and how to utilize the features. The most recent emails have discussed customer support and account information.

Customer Support Tab

The Neteller website now features a tab attached to the eWallet function that provides online players with access to all customer support departments. For online gamblers, the first click should be to Online Help. This will immediately transport users to a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) which is the quickest way to find the answer. Also within the section is a link to a YouTube video that entails how to use FAQ.

Contacting Customer Support

If the information required cannot be found, users are directed to contact customer support via email. This can be sent through the web form. The provider also lists a telephone number but long distance charges will apply and identification is required. There is another phone number for lost Neteller cards. Furthermore, there are links to social networking platforms which allow direct interaction with Neteller personnel and users.

Account Summary Tab

Additionally, the new site conveniently places the most important account information in a single area known as the Account Summary tab. Located on the left side of the menu, the tab displays the account balance, status (verified or unverified), number, level, current, type (business or personal) and the most recent sign-in.

Features Progress Bar

Additionally, the area displays a progress bar with the variety of features on the site the user has utilized which include deposits, verification, Net+ Prepaid MasterCard and referring a friend. Therefore, users that are not aware of the many features will be able to see them each time they log in. Also, it is excellent motivation to try all the functions offered by the company which are immediately available at the new website.

Most of these changes come as suggestions by the account holders. Neteller always take the time to acquire feedback from its customers. This extra care is the reason Neteller is the leading online payment processor in the industry. As users continue to generate ideas and requirements for the site, Neteller will only improve its service keeping it at the top. Many other payment processors should mimic this idea to improve their functionality and grow their customer base.

The European Commission (EC) recently rejected Germany’s first draft online gambling law detailing that it violates the laws created by the European Union (EU). The Commission has extended the period for submitting such bills by another month to give German states the opportunity to amend those objectionable terms. If they are not accepted, Germany could be referred to the European Court of Justice and face fines.

Reasons for Rejecting the Draft

The primary trade body of all European online operators is the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) which has detailed the main reasons for the rejection of the draft. The proposals offered by Germany claim to allow Internet sports betting companies from other European Union states while protecting the interests of the monopolies in the country.

Favoring Monopolies

The problem the EGBA has with this is the Germany states will only issue seven sports betting licenses to external parties while the state monopolies would be exempt from the entire licensing process. This is a major conflict of interest to internal online sports betting operators.

Favoring Land-based Casinos

Another rejected proposal is the exorbitant tax of 16.67 percent which will make online wagering not-feasible for online operators and protect offline gambling companies. An additional proposal calls for specific online games to be offered by operators with land-based properties. Furthermore, the proposed license fee favors applicants with land-based operations and does not relate to the costs of processing those applications.

Statement from the Secretary General of the EGBA

The secretary general of the EGBA noted in a recent statement that the German government is clearly slamming the door in the face of other EU online gambling operators and is attempting to extend the state monopoly for offline games as well. He further called on the EC to take swift action against the German proposal to ensure it is not approved.

Quickly Pushing Through a New Law

At the end of 2011, the current German law agrees to by all sixteen states will expire. Therefore, the German government is attempting to create a new commonality between the states to be in place January 2012. However, with this recent draft, it is unlikely. The German state of Schleswig Holstein has already created an alternative gambling law that features a viable regime. The EC and EGBA support this proposal.

If the German government agrees to the proposal made by the individual state, the country may have their new law in place by 2012. Luckily one state was prepared with an alternative to move along the process.

With modern technology, casinos are better than ever at stopping theft. Effective casino security begins with detection. Every visitor is being watched prior to even entering the door of a casino. Regulatory agencies have no pity for thefts in casinos. There are five modern types of casino security currently utilized by gaming properties across the globe including:

• License plate readers
• Biometric face recognition
• Angel Eye
• RFID chips
• TableEye21

License Plate Readers

Any suspicious car can be removed from casino property before security even sees the faces of those inside. This is due to Plate Recognition technology in which a camera snaps a picture of the license plate of every car entering the casino. Optical character recognition software then converts the characters on the license plate into text which is compared to the plates of undesirable individuals.

Biometric Face Recognition

The second you walk in the door of a casino, your face is scanned by the cameras. In the past, manned security cameras would identify unwanted guests. However, biometric face recognition technology has changed this method. Dumb biometric systems detect human faces and grab a snapshot of every guest. Smart biometric systems take a snapshot and analyze the face of each guest and compare them to a database of undesirables.

Angel Eye

Even if the undesirable character makes it past the biometric face recognition technology, the Angel Eye at baccarat tables will pick him up. This equipment was designed to eliminate card-switching problems in Asian countries due to bar codes on each card. As the dealer distributes the cards, a sensor in the shoe tracks the cards being dealt and communicates them to a computer. Once all cards a dealt, the dealer presses a button which analyzes each hand.

RFID Chips

Many casinos are now implementing small Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chips into their playing chips. These mechanisms broadcast serial identifiers via radio frequency so counterfeit chips will not churn out the correct waves. Other users include tracking chips leant to players for credit as well as tracking playing information for specific tables.

TableEye21

TableEye21 is the combination of many technologies. An overhead video camera tracks all moves and is analyzed by software and information sent from RFID chips. The output is real-time information of the cards being distributed and chips being wagered. Meanwhile, the software tracks a variety of statistics for the table such as rounds per hour; trend reports and the player win percentage. If a player is counting cards, this software will identify an odd trend.

There are many different types of security mechanisms in place at casinos. Technology has advanced so far that the bottom line is, don’t cheat you will get caught. However, many thefts continue to occur daily and many individuals go to jail as a result.

Recent studies prove that the online gambling market in New Zealand is following the same path as other unregulated marketplaces. Although online gambling is illegal in the country and there have been no steps taken to legalize the activity, the national lottery has released plans to leverage the Internet to promote one of its most popular products.

Statement of Intent from the National Lottery Commission

Recently the National Lottery Commission released a statement of intent regarding the next two fiscal years. These plans include selling lottery tickets at supermarkets and developing a system of instant scratch tickets online. Scratch tickets are currently available at brick-and-mortar retailers and have been available for over 20 years. Each week New Zealanders purchase 900,000 instant scratch tickets with $1 million paid out.

Opposition from the Problem Gambling Foundation

On the other hand, the Problem Gambling Foundation is against this new idea. In a recent statement, the spokesman for the Foundation detailed, “You get online and start buying these things and start losing your rationality and start losing quite big money.” He further confirmed that five years ago there were only 40 problem gambling reports issued. Since then this number has significantly increased to 200.

He further stated that instant scratch tickets are typically harmless to the majority of citizens. However, the greatest issue is the uncertainty of online gambling and whether it will spiral out of control, nobody knows.

Study from the Department of Internal Affairs and Health Sponsorship Council

In a recent study by the Department of Internal Affairs and Health Sponsorship Council, 71 percent of lottery players live in poor areas with 13 percent spending more money on the activity than they want too.

Statement from the Chief Executive of the Lottery

The Chief Executive of the New Zealand lottery downplayed the recent news stating that no initiative has been enacted to introduce scratch tickets online. He further stated that permission from the government is required to make such a move. Additionally, he said that the company does plan to add products online in the future but they would also enforce responsible gaming best practices.

The greater problem of regulating online gaming sites has still not been discussed. However, it is well-known that New Zealand gamblers do wager at offshore casinos with many of them accepting deposits from New Zealand banks.

Although the government is against online gambling, this could be the first step toward legalization. The process is typically long and slow but once governments witness the extra revenue generated by the activity, they decide to slowly add new types of games to the legalized list.

For nine weeks between August and September 2011, All Slots online casino will be running a promotion titled, “Fight Club”. Each week during the promotional period, two predetermined slot games will compete head-to-head. The top ten players from each game will be awarded cash prizes. However, those that win on the game that was played more will be given double the amounts. Also, 100 players will win free spins throughout the promotion.

Weekly Cash Prize Payout

The weekly cash prize payout schedule is as follows. The champion slot game will award a top prize of $400, second place will receive $350 and third place will be given $300. The tenth and final place will win $40. However, the top ten runners-up will receive half the amount of the champion slot winners. The total weekly prize pool is valued at $3,000. The next 50 players from each game that are using the Viper Download software will be given 20 free spins each.

Terms and Conditions

Those interested in participating in the promotion should consider the terms and conditions.  To be eligible, players must deposit and wager at least $100 on one of the two games for that period. Winners will be notified then credited at the end of the week (Sunday). Also, the free spins will expire after seven days. All payouts won from the free spins are subject to All Slots online casino bonus terms and conditions.

The First Week of Battle

The first round began on August 1^st and will end on August 6^th. The two games for the week are Avalon and Tomb Raider Secret of the Sword. Avalon takes place in the medieval times and entails the legend of King Arthur. Tomb Raider Secret of the Sword is the second edition of the Lara Croft-branded online slot games.

Preliminary Results

The first week of the promotion has seen lopsided wagers in favor of Avalon. Although players will not know until the first promotional week has ended, it appears as if Avalon will be the victor. The online scoreboard is updated every 30 minutes with the top ten participants from each category and the latest fight position.

Many online gaming sites are moving toward wagering competitions. This is one of the most innovative available to date. It really motivates players to balance the number of wagers of a single game while enticing them to bet as much as possible; genius!