Microgaming, one of the biggest online casino games software companies around, has released a new online slots game with a World Cup theme.  So what does the game look like?  Seeing that the every-four-years football tournament takes place in South Africa, there’s a nice looking theme of sports combined with African safari.  That makes perfect sense to me…whenever I think of online slots, the first thing that comes to my mind is elephants and lions.  The game is called Soccer Safari and has pretty good bonuses.  If you get three trophy symbols, the “go for goal” bonus is activated so that you can pick your favorite team and try to score for big bucks.  The symbol for the referee gives you free spins which can win you even more money.

Aside from the nice images, you can even hear the crowd cheering which is always a good motivator.  So there you have it, what’s surely only the first World Cup-related online casino game.  Let’s hope for more, online gambling fans.  Let the fun begin!

There probably isn’t a living thing on this planet which hasn’t heard of Google (at least among those of us who use computers).  First they got into search engines, then advertising, then communication via email, and now the world.  Books, maps, auctions….what isn’t Google doing?

Some of you still may be thinking, what in the world does Google have to do with online casino sites?  Ah, that’s just the thing.  “Everything” is the answer.  We’ve known for years now that everything’s connected online.  Email, phones, cameras…it’s all about communication and instant access.

Seems that the next thing this mega-company is getting into is television and Google TV is sure to affect everything on the internet which of course includes online casino games.  Though we may not know much about it yet, we know it will of course be searchable just like all of Google’s products.  And because online gambling is so reliant on internet searches, it’s clear that this will open the door to an even bigger potential audience of users and online casino operators to meet.  If you haven’t been paying attention, there are an endless number of online ads from online casino sites and that’s sure to only continue and increase with Google TV.

Stay tuned, people-and whatever you do, don’t doubt Google.  If you do, you might miss out on some amazing online gambling opportunities.

Seems that Ireland has made the decision to begin taxing online gambling transactions to raise money for the country.  How will it work?  They will tax all foreign online casino operators who provide their services to residents of the country.  Which means what exactly?  If an online casino desires to make money from local citizens, they’ll have to pay an advertising tax.  Any international online casino sites will have to get a license to advertise to the Irish.

This is a new development, as offshore companies have not had to pay any kind of tax or get a license until now.  So will it work?  Not clear.  One online casino operator claims that residents will just use alternative sites that don’t have a license.  While it’s a step in the right direction to begin taxing and regulating the online gambling industry, there doesn’t seem to be any way to keep people from just going around it and using offshore casino games providers.

Still, I tip my hat to Ireland who seems to be one step ahead of certain countries like the US who still haven’t figured out that online gambling isn’t going anywhere.

So anyway, when we last spoke, I was sharing with you the new “Rocky”-themed online slots game, a new product of the Playtech software company.  That’s not their only new casino game.  Turns out that they’ve also developed a Pink Panther game.  So how does this one work?  It has five reels, forty pay lines, and five great bonus rounds which can be triggered at any time.  Inspector Clouseau and the Pink Panther himself are displayed on the reel, among other pictures, and the Jackpot Adventure game can win you a progressive jackpot.  Even if you don’t walk away with the big prize, you can win a consolation prize as well.

Rocky and Pink Panther online slots games are nice but can we step into the twenty-first century, Playtech?  How about some newer movies get turned into casino games?  Maybe a comedy like “Superbad” where if you line up pictures of McLovin, Seth, and Evan, you win the big prize (free beer).  Or to coincide with the series conclusion of “Lost”, if you get Jack, Kate, and Locke, you win a million dollars (which of course does you no good without getting off the island.)

Whatever-I’m not complaining.  This is just another small step into mainstream pop culture for online gambling, and I think it’s a great thing.  Keep the movie-themed casino games coming.  I for one will keep playing them.

Anyway, if you missed it, here’s a nice development in the online casino world.  Playtech, one of the two biggest developers of casino games software (along with Micrograming), has put out a couple of new online slots games and they take it back to the old days.  Retro is chic with old movies being remade all the time.  This summer brings us “The A-Team” and “The Karate Kid” remakes so why should we be surprised that old movies now being turned into online casino games?

One of the two is based on the classic film “Rocky” which you may not have realized one the Oscar for “Best Picture.”  This online slots game includes most of the characters you remember from the film and has a knockout bonus round where the Italian Stallion takes on an opponent for ten rounds.  If you can manage to spell the word “rocky” with the reels, you get paid five times the amount of your wager.  That’s enough to make me say “ADRIAAAAAAAAAAN!”  My only question is are they going to make sequels?  Online slots games all the way through part 6?  I’d love to see “Rocky 4” turned into a game although I’m not sure if I’d have to learn Russian for that.

Ok, another online slots game coming up next time….

I know people are all eager to place bets on the Oscars, the World Cup, or who wins gold in the Winter Olympics but there are more important things at stake people.  Or haven’t you heard?  A new online sports book/online casino I just came across has actually named odds for who is going to buy Newsweek, the magazine turned website which has had some difficulty jumping online, just as most newspapers/print publications have.

So what are they saying?  The most likely buyer will be Rupert Murdoch, owner of News Corporation, followed by Bloomberg, financial company named for the mayor of New York, followed by Thompson Reuters, then Time Inc., and a few others.

How did they come up with these odds exactly?  Like any online sports book, really.  Looking at past performance (financially, that is) and choosing numbers which will entice people to jump into the action.

If that doesn’t exact you, they also make odds for who is going to buy Playboy.  Ahem, I’m not going to comment on that.  This is a family blog, after all!  In the end, it’s just another step into the mainstream for online gambling.

Huh?  Yes, yes, it’s true.  I don’t make the online gambling news, I just report it.  The story goes that some guy with a username Viper007 was playing casino games at his favorite online casino and had his pet gerbil Timmy on his shoulder (I swear I’m not making this up).  At some point, Timmy the gerbil decides to jump onto the keyboard, presses some key, and accidentally helps his owner win a grand total of $24,660.  Whatever level of gerbil food that little guy is eating, it’s definitely not high enough.  Is there gerbil caviar?

This guy Viper007 says that he’s had Timmy on his shoulder ever since he began playing online casino games (every time I write “Timmy”, I feel like a moron.)  So what made this particular online gambling session special?  Here’s a direct quote:  “Timmy loves to sit on my shoulder and watch me play, but he’s never jumped onto the keyboard before. He must’ve sensed something big was going to happen.”

So apparently the gerbil has ESP for casino games.  I’ve been playing online blackjack for five years and I haven’t won that much.  A rodent plays for 5 minutes and wins twenty-five grand.   What am I doing wrong?

TopGame Software is behind the production of online slots game, Reel Gangsters.  (Get it?  Like “real gangsters” but with “reel”?  Never mind…)   With over forty online slots games already in their “arsenal” (Get it?  Arsenal?), this one is sure to appeal to the same crowd who made Grand Theft Auto one of the hottest video games around.

So how does it work?  Al Capone would love it.  The game has the old cops and robbers thing going with armed robbers holding up banks while pursued by policemen (who may or may not be corrupt themselves.)  The game takes you right back to the heyday of the gangsters with great graphics.

As far as betting goes, this online slots game can be played with a minimum bet of one penny or up to five bucks per credit, all the way up to one hundred bucks per spin if you’re playing twenty lines.  There’s lots of money to be made.  Of course some say that it takes money to make money.  And if you don’t have a few bucks to get started?  Why, go rob a bank! Not online, sillies-a real one.  What’s that about life imitating art?

From a country who infamously has banned Google (who by the way gave an online middle finger to China, pulling its Chinese site), this isn’t a major surprise to hear that they’re now targeting online casinos.  The US has of course done so as well; however, China has zero regulation and gives its government all the power to do as they please to shut down online gambling.

As for this recent news, the government announced their intention to block a variety of sites from its citizens including pornography, the aforementioned Google, several political sites, and of course, online casinos.  Here’s a quote from one government official: “We will strengthen the blocking of harmful information from outside China to prevent harmful information from being disseminated in China and withstand online penetration by overseas hostile forces.”

How do you say “eff that” in Chinese?  Some online casino owners have already gone to jail which just ain’t cool.  For a country who’s just dying to become the world’s superpower, they’re not doing a good job of it.  We all know there are billions (BILLIONS!) of dollars to be made, and with a population of over a billion, they’re missing the boat here.  And I don’t need a fortune cookie to tell me so.

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!?!  Holy overreaction, Batman!  A company which provides bars with computers with internet access has been charged with, get this, operating an illegal gambling device.  Seriously?  Let’s investigate.

Tabucorp is a company which pays for licenses in Australia.  VenueNet is a company who provides the computers.  Tabucorp claims that VenueNet is violating gaming licenses because their computers can be turned into online casinos.  They’re not pleased that online gambling fans can access their accounts through the internet bypassing their services.  So what happened?  Tabucorp complained to the casino games authorities who responded by impounding a computer at a hotel in Melbourne.

VenueNet is obviously pissed, claiming that their computers are no different from those found anywhere such as in malls or at airports.  I gotta say, I agree with them.  The computer is just the device, people.  Not to get graphic but if some wackjob kills someone by stabbing a cell phone into his head, are institutions going to start banning the use of those as well?  This seems like the online gambling authorities are missing the point.

Online casino games are still new enough where governments aren’t sure what to do with them.  As the years pass and governments see the writing on the wall (namely, how successful they are), surely these incidents will decrease.  In the meantime, I’m going to make sure my cell phone is locked up safely.