Thursday, April 29, 2010

New Zealand And Australian Casinos Expect Changes, by Greg Tingle - 30th April 2010

Australian and New Zealand casino bosses, top brass and insiders expect significant changes to the Asia pacific casino, club and gaming sector.

The gaming sector down under in the land of Kiwi's, New Zealand, points out the substantial financial and other contributions they make in the community, while anti gaming campaigners say casinos, clubs and the like overstate their contribution. We cross over to the Tasman as Media Man and Gambling911 continue their probe for truth, justice and the American, Kiwi and Australian way...

It's time the true contribution of gaming machines to the New Zealand economy was recognised and acknowledged...that's part of the key message from conference participants at the 2010 New Zealand Gaming Expo.

The venue...the beautiful SKYCITY in Auckland, New Zealand.

Chief Executive Officer Gaming Technologies Association (GTA), Ross Ferrar, advised revenue from gaming machines benefited many...charities, schools, community bodies and sporting groups, to name but a few. The machines also returned a large proportion of their earnings back to the government in the form of compliance costs and taxes.

"Gaming machines are designed to entertain and the casino, and gaming rooms in pubs and clubs exist so people can do this in a safe, controlled and regulated environment. There are just under 20,000 gaming machines throughout New Zealand which contribute over $300 million to deserving groups around the country. The government earns around $242 million annually from the machines," points out Mr Ferrar.

SKYCITY CEO, Nigel Morrison, echoed the message in his opening address to the conference that the 2003 Gambling Act focused on harm minimisation and ignored the economic contribution gaming made to the economy.

Mr Morrison advised the gaming industry was struggling to grow within a tightly regulated framework and there continued to be uncertainty about the operating environment.

"We still don't know what the New Zealand reaction is going to be to the Australian Productivity Commission's report into gambling. There seems to be a focus on pre-commitment and we are concerned about the recommendations to limit player expenditure on gaming machines.

"We anticipate change within the industry and it's unlikely that the three main casino players in Australasia, SKYCITY, Crown and Tabcorp will remain as they are in the next two years."

Change was also the message from Chief Executive Pub Charity Mr Martin Cheer who told delegates the anti-gaming lobby had switched from its position of highlighting harm to challenging the integrity of the Trusts.

"Accusations of harm from gaming machines have run their course, largely because the claims can't be substantiated. The move now is to attack the gaming machine Trusts. This makes it important that everything they do is above board. The debate needs to come back to the centre because it's been one-side for too long. The gaming industry needs to participate and become more involved in taking charge of its own future."

The CEO of Hospitality Association Of NZ, Mr Bruce Robertson who told conference delegates gaming machines were a significant fundraising business which was slowly being strangled.

"The Department of Internal Affairs unfortunately has a single minded focus on optimising returns through cost minimisation. If the Trusts don't present a cohesive face to the industry the Department of Internal Affairs will be able to pick them off one by one. This will continue to weaken the industry."

Mr Robertson added that the current rules being applied to the sector were not sustainable. "The result will be a reduction in the money that goes to the community.

Minister of Revenue and Associate Minister of Health, Hon Peter Dunne told delegates that gaming machine operators needed to continue to find new and better ways to work with communities.

"The whole premise of charity gaming in New Zealand is that the proceeds are returned to the local community. The implicit partnership has always been that gaming machine proceeds were available for distribution for the betterment of local communities.

The call from the CEO of the Community Gaming Association, Mr Francis Wevers was the need for the industry to work together to protect its interests.

"The benefits of gaming to the local community are often overlooked in the welter of criticism but steps are being taken to bridge the gap between the anti-gambling sector and the Class 4 venues. We work in a market that has a unique set of parameters and we need to stop apologising for it."

Mr Ferrar reiterated that the gaming industry sector should be proud of the economic contribution it made.

"Gaming is good for the community because it can make a positive difference."

Should the Aussies follow the Kiwi ways and follow like sheep, or should the sheep follow the Aussie Kangaroos, or should both animals look further afield to the American eagles?

We think sustainable solutions and answers are likely to be found by looking globally, not just in our own backyards. Certainly there's many success stories in America with the Native American Indians being able to nurture and support communities thanks to gaming and casino tourism. Many tribes also have plans to suitable incorporate online poker and online casino ventures, rather than see it as a threat to their enterprise. If Las Vegas and Atlantic City was able to better embrace the online world perhaps they wouldn't be in the mess they are in, but that's another story. The late Charles Darwin famously pointed out that adapting to change was vital for the species who are to survive.

Media Man is currently in liaison with Australian based GenerationOne and other government bodies as to how best go about employing a couple more Australians (qualified and trained up Indigenous Aussies), whilst minimizing red tape. Australian mining magnate, Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest and Aussie casino king, James Packer (Crown Limited) are driving forces behind the GenerationOne initiative.

Media Man and many of their business partners, associates and friends in the media, new media and interactive entertainment space are concerned that some of the online (internet filter) and offline censorship initiatives from Australia's Rudd government are going to cost Australian's jobs and international trade opportunities. In addition newspapers and magazines are forecast to become further censored. Companies set to be adversely effected in their trade with Australia and New Zealand include Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, Sony, Sega, Playboy, AussieBum, Marvel Entertainment, Paramount Pictures, Virgin Enterprises Limited, UFC, Hasbro, EA, MTV and News Corporation. Media Man recently documented some of their concerns to the United Nations, Virgin Unite, Reporters Without Borders and MP Tony Abbott's office, as was thanked for their contribution... no, not a 'Casino Jack' monetary contribution! No, we didn't have to play golf with any of the top brass concerned either.

Tell us what you think in the forum, and as our friends at New Corp - Fox say, keep it fair and balanced... can we trust you with that. Know the odds, and keep it fun.

*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911

*Media Man is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. Gaming is just one of a bakers dozen of industry sectors they cover.

*The writer is a shareholder in Crown Limited, Virgin and a pro active member of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance, and Richard Branson's Virgin Unite

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Monday, April 26, 2010

Australian Casino Employees May Get Probed Says Campaigner, by Greg Tingle - 27th April 2010

Probing of Aussie casino employees hey... sounds a bit sinister...the sort of thing you might except on TV smash hits 'Underbelly', 'Sea Patrol', 'V' and 'Border Patrol'.

Media Man and Gambling911 take their probe to the latest to borrow our expressions. No imitators will be tolerated, Gambling911... often imitated, never duplicated... recent example being our massive story on Australian Internet Devices... we know who you are, and you're next to be probed...

Probing aka questioning prospective casino workers about their gambling habits and the like would be "discriminatory", an informer leaks.

The revelations come of the back on an inquest involving Adelaide's Skycity Casino.

Job applicants were quizzed if they were members of Skycity's awards program.

At the inquest Ms Bastian was being probed by Senator Nick Xenophon, who successfully campaigned to reopen an inquest into the death of Katherine Natt, a 24-year-old Skycity worker and pokies addict who unfortunately committed suicide in 2006.

Senator Xenophon desired the inquest to hear evidence on what possible assistance the casino could have offered the late Natt.

Coroner Mark Johns agreed to reopen the inquest but reminded Senator Xenophon yesterday he was on watch. "I don't want to get into a general analysis of the problem of gambling," Mr Johns told the senator, who is acting pro bono for Natt's family.

Ms Bastian, who has acted as HR manager at Skycity, said asking applicants about their gambling habits "would be considered discriminatory under industrial relations laws". "We don't say `do you have a gambling problem?' as such," she advised Senator Xenophon.

"If they have a gambling addiction but they come to work and are still able to fulfil their work, I don't see an issue."

Natt left a note apologising for being unable to stop her poker machine habit along with a bank statement showing $6000 had been withdrawn from her credit card account in less than two months.

Ms Bastian said while staff were encouraged to report colleagues with a gambling problem, no mandatory reporting system was in place. "There's only a moral obligation. "We can't monitor what 1000 employees do in their spare time. If a manager was aware of a staff member having a problem, the expectation was that they would action something."

The inquest heard that both a blackjack dealer and the manager of the casino's table games area knew of Natt's gambling problem but failed to report this.

Ms Bastian told the court HR had not had any issues with Natt in her five years at the casino.

"She looked like a model employee," Ms Bastian told the inquest.

Australian casinos (and pubs and hotels) are known to carry extensive signage warning patrons of the potential dangers of gambling, as well as the probability of winning. These public warnings are cited as to part of the reason for the explosive growth of the online casino and online gambling sector as a whole. PartyGaming, PartyCasino, Virgin Games, Captain Cooks, PokerStars, BetUs and Betfair are some of the most trusted and ethical brands. Australia's James Packer is hopeful to see his 50% owned Betfair soon offer Aussies a poker and casino product, but PartyGaming's casino and poker brands currently have a bit of a hold on the Australian online gambling sector. Cleopatra, Sinatra, Tomb Raider, Hitman, Top Gun, Mission: Impossible, The Incredible Hulk, Thor and Goanna Gold are some of Australia's most popular online slot. Well informed insiders are leaking to Betfair and Crown Casino to offer a Kerry Packer, Ned Kelly and Underbelly online and offline slot game.

Media Man and Gambling911 remind the readership to know the odds, bet with your head, not over it. For god's sake, just keep it fun. We don't want to have to further probe on this, and would prefer to keep the probe tucked away in the cupboard and only use it in extreme cases. Have fun, good hunting and happy punting.

*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911

*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company.

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Saturday, April 24, 2010

World Casino Directory: PartyCasino Jackpots: The Big One, Gold Mega Jackpot and Marvel Hero Jackpot - 25th April 2010

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Thursday, April 22, 2010

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Media Man Casino - Virgin Casino And Virgin Games Profile And Review

Virgin Games - Virgin Casino is one of the greatest online casinos on the planet. The only real drawback is at present they don't accept Australian or U.S players, and those from a number of other countries. Richard Branson and his team got this right, and they are currently looking at further international expansion with initiatives such as AWOMO (A World Of My Own), their virtual worlds project in association with GDI (Game Domain International). Cleopatra, Marvel Slots, King Kong, Elvis, Wheel Of Fortune, Monopoly, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and over 100 different games available, most of which can be played for free or played for money. Virgin also offer exclusive V*Points, which can be exchanged for a wide variety of goods and services. Because its Virgin you know it value for money and fun. Virgin Games are a Media Man Online Casino Of The Month finalist. Media Man rates Virgin Games 4.5 stars. Media Man has done b2b with a number of arms of Virgin Enterprises Limited, including Virgin Games, as they have with dozens of companies in the gaming, igaming, media and entertainment business sector.

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Monday, April 19, 2010

PartyGaming News: AB Groupe to join PartyGaming’s French Poker Network

19th April 2010

Websites

PartyCasino.com PartyPoker.com PartyBingo.com WPTPoker.com WPTCasino.com

PartyGaming, the world’s leading listed online gaming company, today announces its second B2B deal in France with an exclusive multi-year agreement to provide a white label online poker service for AB Groupe, one of the country’s leading TV broadcasters.

The new service will be branded ‘LuckyJeux’ and will join PartyGaming’s French poker network which will also include www.partypoker.fr. Once PartyGaming obtains the required licence and is operational, players on the network will benefit from a shared pool of player liquidity operating on a single platform.

AB Groupe has approximately 52 million paid subscribers and offers 15 subscription channels in France and other French speaking countries, including RTL9, AB1 and AB MOTEURS. The new LuckyJeux poker service will be extensively promoted across the AB Groupe network both on air and online.

Commenting on today’s announcement, Jim Ryan, Chief Executive Officer of PartyGaming, said:

"AB Groupe is a first rate addition to our French poker network and is consistent with our stated strategy of combining B2C and B2B offerings in newly regulated markets. Together with our recently announced alliance with PMU, we are in great shape ahead of the market opening and are excited about our prospects."

Editor’s Notes

About PartyGaming:
PartyGaming Plc is the world’s leading listed online gaming company. The Group is a constituent of the FTSE 250 share index with its shares listed on The London Stock Exchange under the ticker: PRTY. In the year to 31 December 2009, PartyGaming’s Continuing operations generated revenue of $446.2m and Clean EBITDA of $135.0m. PartyGaming’s principal brands are www.PartyPoker.com, one of the world’s largest online poker rooms, www.PartyCasino.com, the world’s largest online casino, www.PartyBingo.com, www.PartyGammon.com, www.PartyBets.com, www.InterTrader.com, www.FoxyBingo.com, www.GetMinted.com, www.Gamebookers.com and www.WorldPokerTour.com. None of the Group’s sites accept real money customers located in the US.

PartyGaming is regulated and licensed by the Government of Gibraltar and by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission and it is also certified as a responsible gaming operator by GamCare, the leading UK authority on the provision of advice, practical help, support and counselling in addressing the social impact of gambling. PartyGaming’s shares are also a constituent member of the FTSE4Good Index Series, which enables investors to identify companies that meet globally recognised corporate responsibility standards.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Australia Likely To Get Online Gambling Legalisation Soon, by Greg Tingle - 16th April 2010

Australia is heading towards getting new laws, legislation... the works, to cover the online gaming - gambling sector, following the global trend.

Media Man and Gambling911 continue to probe, as the global war for online gambling domination heats up.

It appears that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages for most, certainly in the Asia Pacific - Australian sector at this stage, is the general feeling from the vast majority of people we speak to. Legal eagles, company CEOs, webmasters, media entrepreneurs, financial analysts, even most politicians, say that legalisation is the the way forward.

As Media Man and Gambling911 have previously covered, when things become illegal or go into "grey area", they go often go "underground". Often the industry will thrive, but will be at least somewhat hidden by public view. When this happens some consumer protection can be lost. Gambling and other "vices" still exist, and word is that Sydney's Kings Cross could be on the verge of become a bit of a gambling mecca, albeit attracting a somewhat different patronage to those who frequent our friends at Star City Casino and Crown Casino in Melbourne. Network Nine's TV smash hit show 'Underbelly' has of course brought some underground industries back into the public spotlight, but that's another story.

New laws to officially permit gaming companies to offer online gambling products and services in Australia are "inevitable," as the federal government stands to benefit from the tax brought into government coffers, corporate bean counting outfit KPMG says.

The firm has released a report into the global growth of online gaming suggesting the global market will grow by approximately 42% to $32 billion by 2012 from 2008 levels.

The Australian Productivity Commission states Aussies spent $790 million on online gambling through overseas websites in 2008! Media Man recalls that 2008 was a big growth year for business, building up the website portfolio into double digits to keep up with consumer and b2b demand.

"While illegal and invisible in official records, online gaming appears to have grown very rapidly, and could amount to 4 per cent of gambling expenditure," the commission writes in its recent draft report on Australian gambling.

The commission recommended the Aussie government liberalise online gambling by allowing Aussie companies to provide internet poker and casino games to local customers. Online wagering as well as sports betting is already permitted by law.

Of course, all of the current excitement about Australia's online gaming and gambling industry has attracted the ire of bible bashers and anti gaming campaigners.

Senator Nick Xenophon says the Australian government should resist the lure of extra tax revenue.

"If you open the floodgates to online gambling you will see a new tidal wave of problem gamblers, particularly younger people. Governments shouldn't cave into the temptation of regulating this on the basis that they can get taxes".

Both Australian and (quality) global gaming giants are also expected to benefit, through greater consolidation of the industry. Gibraltar based PartyGaming, the world's leading gaming and igaming company looks to be in a strong position, just coming of a deal with France based PMU, and Richard Branson's Virgin Games also has an outstanding record of ethics, customer service, b2b and giving back to society. At present Branson's Virgin Games does not accept Australian players, while PartyGaming casino, poker, betting, bingo and sports brands can. Playtech, Sega, William Hill and others are expected to make a play, but Media Man's top international picks are Virgin and PartyGaming. Betfair is also poised to soon add casino and poker to their impressive sports betting portfolio. Betfair is half owned by Australia's casino king, James Packer, which won't go astray. Packer also enjoys a long time relationship with many Hollywood A-listers and money men, with Tom Cruise being featured in PartyGaming's Top Gun and Mission: Impossible online games, Stallone in 'Rambo', Travolta in 'Saturday Night Fever' and Arnie in 'The Terminator'. Marvel Entertainment has also strategically embedded themselves in the online gambling sector. Marvel's 'Thor', 'Captain America' and 'Wolverine' - 'X-Men' are rumored for game remakes, and PartyGaming and Playtech have "branded" slot games at high priority. Australia's Hugh Jackman, featuring in a couple of Marvel slot games, has not spoken on the igaming - online gambling industry to date. Jackman also enjoys a friendship with News Corp king of the world, Rupert Murdoch. PKR enjoy a b2b relationship with Nuts and FHM, however it is unclear if Nuts and FHM magazines containing PKR Poker advertising have appeared in Australian news agencies.

Australians currently rate in the world's top ten Forbes, Hitwise and Google lists for online gambling, offline gambling, movie attendance and comic books.

Some inside the Australian gambling industry believe it is unlikely the government will move to liberalise online gambling during an election year, as the government has so many fires to attend to in the meantime like health reform, illegal boat people, not to mention the so called "blacklist" and proposed Australian internet filter, all said to quite likely increase the odds of the Australian Government loosing the next election. One punter bet $10,000 that Labor will loose.

Some Australian anti-gambling entities advise that regulation of the igaming sector could have some benefits. Legalising the service would enable authorities to better control it and protect "problem gamblers", who are already gambling online via offshore websites.

Senator Xenophon interestingly opposes the Australian internet filter, but states policing offshore gaming websites is possible with "political will".

Readers... gamblers, entrepreneurs and media owners... what do you think? Are you with the "coalition of the willing" to use George Bush's expression, or are you for outlaws? Tell us what you think in the forum.

*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911

*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company, gaming being just one of over a dozen sectors they cover.

*The writer owns shares in Crown Limited and Virgin, and has conducted b2b with PartyGaming, Virgin and Betfair.

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Australian Sports Entertainment

Australian And American Newspaper And Magazines Get Gambling Deals, by Greg Tingle - 15th April 2010

Mainstream newspapers in Australia and the United States are starting to plug into the streets paved with gold - online gambling, following the lead from our United Kingdom based media mates.

Media Man and Gambling911 probe the situation in an Aussie - Yankee double investigation, with earlier indicators showing that newspapers are seeing the "green", following the money trail to gambling, be it in AUD, USD, GBP or monetary other denominations.

New York based media baron Mort Zuckerman, top brass at The New York Daily News, US News and World Report, last year publicly advised that online b2b and advertising deals in the gambling - gaming sector could be a way for mainstream newspapers to loose their sinking feeling - diminished revues, and in extreme cases, some newspapers going out of business, unable to compete with their online counterparts. Zuckerman was largely referring to sports betting (which can also include a sub group in what's commonly known as "Fantasy Betting").

Let's face it, Media Man and Gambling911 don't have the overheads of The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media), The Daily Telegraph (News Limited), The Sun or The New York Times for that matter.

Let's take a look at the landscape of the land...

Google - a few years ago headlines like "Google follows the money trail to gambling' were the order of the day, however the business model is getting more complex, as Google deals with both technical and legal considerations.

Though Google CEO Eric Schmidt and seemingly everyone else is telling publishers they should place some bets on potential new business models, The Philadelphia Inquirer venture may not be exactly what they had in mind. Google is also working on some gaming and igaming models for its YouTube platform and top ten website, so maybe Google is working a deal with The Philly behind the scenes. Stranger things have happened.

Philly.com, the online arm of the Inquirer and "sister" newspaper the Philadelphia Daily News, has recently launched an apparently legal online betting service called Instant Fantasy Games. The firm advised last week that they are the first in their industry to make a foray into online betting, according to a report in Editor & Publisher, a newspaper trade journal. Gambling911 and Media Man think this may be correct for the U.S sector, but certainly not taking into account the U.K newspaper industry, who appear to be light years ahead, with bingo, poker, sports, fantasy and more.

"We're trying to serve two goals," said Yoni Greenbaum, VP of Product Development at Philly.com. "Those are content differentiation and revenue. If you're looking at the sports sites out there, a lot of them have the same stuff...The challenge that this creates is we need to offer more. In this day and age, sports fans have insatiable appetites."

FanDuel, a British wagering company helped Philly.com launch Instant Fantasy. Part fantasy league and part sports book, the service enables bettors to pick groups of players from professional baseball, hockey, or basketball leagues. It operates much like the fantasy leagues from Yahoo.com, CBSSports.com (parent company of CNET), and ESPN--except those games are just for fun.

With Instant Fantasy, players pay $5 to $50 a game with the chance to win as much as $90, Greenbaum said. It's one-on-one, and players can compete with a friend or family member. If they don't have anyone they want to play against, the game's system will match them up with someone five minutes before competition begins. Games are held daily.

Internet gambling is current illegal in the United States (depending who you want to believe as opinions vary, even from legal eagles) but in 2006, the government made some exceptions involving fantasy sports leagues, Editor & Publisher reported.

Last Sunday evening, Google's Schmidt addressed a group of newspaper execs in Washington D.C. at the American Society of News Editors. "We have a business model problem," Schmidt told the crowd. "We don't have a news problem."

Schmidt said newspapers are "fundamental" to democracy and predicted they would find a new business model based on advertising and subscription revenue. Maybe he should have included creating a sports book.

Our friend Mort seems to share a few similar thoughts on the newspaper - gambling model as Schmidt.

Zuckerman goes on record with "There is something that can be done, and the federal government ought to do it: allow sports betting on newspaper Websites. That would save every newspaper in America. The New York Times.com could do it. Plenty of British papers do this; for them it's a crucial part of their net revenue stream. I know a major newspaper in London that makes $15 million a year from sports betting alone".

Australia Update

New Limited newspapers (hard copy and online) continue to ramp up with both advertising a range of sports betting brands, in the past 2 months pushing their own in-house brands which look to be white label and things are strongly featured next to online sports news and on the world famous Fox Sports (Australian version) website. 'Fantasy NRL' looks to be their prime white label brand and they are also accepting a number of online sports betting adds, with Packer 50% share Betfair featuring prominently. Packer is also a huge fan of Premier Media Group, which has also has an investment in as we understand.

Fairfax Media (inc The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age) newspapers websites, along with their online only sites including Brisbane Times and WA Today. 'Pro Tipping' by all accounts is the Fairfax Media white label sports betting branding.

Media Man remains independent, despite having grown to over 20 website portals. The group has previously declined offers to by all or part of the company, still riding a wave of growth. The company is considering "white label" deals, but has enjoyed excellent results "teaming up" with a handful of the world's leading igaming brands, mixed in with some traditional and new media publicity campaigns, so has stuck to the a global based business model that is working well on a marketing, branding, legal, financial and overall basis. Media Man sees Google, PartyGaming, Betfair, Crown Limited, Virgin (and maybe Tabcorp and NextGen Gaming) being a big part of its further development in the gaming and igaming sector, with Crown and Tabcorp moving forward casino travel and tourism ventures. Media Man remains in close liaison with GenerationOne, the Indigenous Australian employment initiative championed by Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest and James Packer, as to how to best collaborate, grow the business, and employ a few more hard working Australians in the progress.

Summary

The business model of newspapers (and other media companies) has changed... it had to, just to see its survival, with owners and editors even advising their journalists that they are to adapt their style for the internet, and some who failed to change have indeed lost their jobs. Some high up in the Murdoch and Fairfax Media empires even refer to their journalists and "content writers" or "content producers"... so much for the good old days when Clark Kent "Superman" types paved the pavements in search of a good story!

The bottom line is what counts to owners, bean counters and investors, and while media purists have a case to be "Not Happy Jan", it is part of the evolution of media, for better of worse.

One of the main dangers to the credibility of print newspapers is when too much focus is given to the bottom line and advertisers, and not enough on hard nosed journalism.

For these reasons and more Gambling911 readers can be assured that more hard nosed articles are on the way, sourced from the worldwide "freelance" contacts and relationships formed over many years. Freelance and independent generally means less PR spin jobs (as often found in some mainstream press) and a more gutsy, in your face style... the sort of stuff that sometimes sees legal eagles writing in trying to save face for their clients! (when the truth gets out). Media Man recently dealt with a couple of these sorts of scenarios, hard news being the catalyst, so we knew were were doing a great job.

We foresee a continuation of mainstream media companies plugging into the gaming and igaming sector, just at PartyGaming top brass Jim Ryan has rightly predicted would happen almost 2 years ago... that's why Ryan takes home (and secures for Party) the big bucks... the man is a visionary. Ryan has also smartly got in place a number of strategic alliances and purchased solid businesses such as the World Poker Tour. The combination of these things has made PartyGaming very appealing to Government departments, be it in France (hello our friends at PMU), Canada (poker tour on the radar) and Australia. The Party deals with Marvel Entertainment and Paramount Pictures also continue to serve the company, partners and affiliates well. Strong branding and even stronger financials, see PartyGaming stand head and shoulders about the rest in the igaming sector on a global scale. Virgin (Games) has the potential to be a real challenge to PartyGaming, in our opinion, as Richard Branson and his group have developed such a strong a loyal Virgin following over the years. When Virgin expand into new markets they automatically pick up new customers who were waiting for them. Virgin thinks this may be the case with their AWOMO (A World Of My Own) platform, a deal they have with Game Domain International, however Virgin is seeking more investors before taking the project ballistic and entering new markets. Rupert Murdoch's Sky (Vegas and family) is strong in the UK but is hardly on the radar in Australia (or anywhere else) from what we can make out. Sega and Sony have the potential to be major top ten players in the igaming space, but as of this writing, PartyGaming is our top pick, on a global scale, with Betfair sitting pretty for strong growth down under in Australia.

Readers may recall that earlier in the week that Australia media entrepreneur and and racing horse owner, Alan Jones, spoke at the Asian Racing Conference in Sydney. Jones called for united, as his certainly smart enough to see the potential threat from overseas based companies "invading" Australia, and doing it better. Australia's TAB isn't exactly known for having world class efficiencies, however they had previously enjoyed an almost monopoly and stranglehold in the Australian sector, however its no longer the case. TAB legal eagles are going to remain busy in the months ahead and Betfair is well prepared for a lengthy and expensive war, Betfair pink pigeon birdies have told us.

For dynamic media - new media enterprises such as Gambling911 and Media Man, the future continues to look bright. Low staff overheads, quick turnaround on articles, and business relationships in place with some of the world's top gaming, igaming, poker and sports betting brands. Just as important, the websites are Google and Google News friendly, and they don't discriminate against Yahoo! or Bing either, as well as being referenced in "bible" and top ten sites like Wikipedia. Social media brands such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter continue to be a benefit to the agile business models, and mobile / WAP looks to be a logic area to develop in the months ahead... can't wait for that Google mobile phone, that looks likely to take a huge bite out of Apple. Google is clearly the internet giant in the prime position to best capitalise on the growth of the gaming and gambling sector, at least by Media Man estimations (sorry Richard Branson, Yahoo and Wikipedia).

If good business is about adapting to the times and spreading risk, we think a number of American newspapers like The Philly and Aussie titles such as The Tele and The Herald, are doing a mighty fine job... we're pretty happy with our own efforts also.

Wild cards that may potentially develop a significant gaming business down under include Network Nine Australia (perhaps with a Hey Hey It's Saturday 'Pluka Duck' tie in along with the possibility of a rumored 'Underbelly' online and offline slot machine offering which punters are crying out for). The late Big Tim Bristow and George Freeman would have loved to see what's come of the igaming and gambling business now, we're certain.

Loyal readers, until next time, keep it legal, stay safe, bet with your head, not over it, know the odds, and above all, have fun.

* Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911

* Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company

* The writer owns shares in Crown Limited and Virgin

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Monday, April 12, 2010

Virgin Casino Superhero Slots Knockout 12th - 18th April 2010

This week Virgin Casino will be rewarding you for winning.

Richard Branson's Virgin Casino is offering a chance to pick your favourite superhero slot and spin your way to the Winner’s Club where you’ll walk away with a £500 bonus and entry into a prize draw to win a pair of flight tickets to Orlando, Florida.

How it works:

Bet a minimum of £500 on any of the selected slot games below between Monday 12th and Thursday 15 April 2010, and if you achieve a profit over the four days of play you will qualify for the next round of the promotion. The more rounds you prevail in, the greater your cash prize will be!

Spider-Man
Hulk - Ultimate Revenge
Fantastic Four
Bejeweled
Call of Duty 4
Cubis
Emerald Isle
King Kong
Thor

Round - Cash Prize
Round 1: Monday - Thursday - Get knocked out pocket £0
Round 2: Friday - Get knocked out pocket £50
Round 3: Saturday - Get knocked out pocket 100
Round 4: Sunday - Get knocked out pocket £250
Winner's - Club £500

Plus, if you're fortune enough to make it into the Winner’s Club, you’ll get an entry into a prize draw to win two pairs of flight tickets to Orlando, Florida.

If you continue playing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, wagering the minimum amount of £500 on each of those days, and continue to make a daily profit, you’ll make it into the Winner’s Club where you’ll walk away with a cash prize of £500.

However, if you don’t finish in profit after round 2, don’t worry because Virgin Casino will reward you with a compensation bonus for making it through part of the week.

Start playing right away to win £500 bonus or flight tickets to Orlando, courtesy Virgin Casino.

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Saturday, April 10, 2010

Casino, Poker, Bingo, Table Games, Hollywood Slot Games, Casino Classics: PartyGaming Does It All, by Greg Tingle

PartyCasino, PartyPoker, World Poker Tour - London Stock Exchange powerhouse - meet the Ace of the igaming world

The world's leading igaming company, PartyGaming is on a roll.

Having come to terms with the United States Department of Justice earlier this year, PartyGaming have become quite the darling of the igaming, gaming and news media world.

PartyGaming has been on a purchasing and acquisitions mission recently picking up Cashcade and World Poker Tour, and is poised to come to more major business deals in the European, Asia Pacific and South American regions. It's global strategy also sees Party eyeing off India and France, whose government's appear open, even positive, to see a deal inked. PartyGaming has also been able to talk shop with Australia's Crown Casino resulting in sending online poker players in the direction of Crown's Aussie Millions Poker Tournament via its celebrated PartyPoker.com brand.

As PartyGaming CEO, Jim Ryan, has pointed out a number of times this financial year, PartyCasino is a key driver in the business and the Hollywood themed online slot games have been a huge success, as has their "Live Dealer" product, enabled by Evolution Gaming. While PartyCasino secured the rights to WagerWorks classic titles last year, Cleopatra, Monopoly and Cluedo, Party was able to build the portfolio with its own in-house team know as 'The Games Studio'.

Online poker remains the company's bread and butter, despite PartyPoker.com not currently accepting U.S customers. However, Party's purchase and running of World Poker Tour (including World Poker Tour website, World Poker Tour casino website) and Club WPT) means that United States citizens can now enjoy a PartyGaming product without any question of legals. The World Poker Tour brand will also almost certainly enable PartyGaming to facilitate some major news media and television deals, which will further grow the company's bottom line and brand.

Numerous sports and entertainment celebrities have been lining up to represent the brand including cricket and TV star Phil 'Tuffers' Tufnell, Italian football legend Francesco Totti, Germany poker pro Dragan Galic, Australian poker sensations, Tony G and Stewart Scott, and poker babe and TV presenter, Canadian-Brit Kara Scott.

Casino fans... now the information you've been waiting for... more world class online slot games are on the cards for PartyCasino following the recent releases, Call of Action 4: Modern Warfare, Melon Madness, Tarzan, Sinatra, High Noon, Resident Evil and The Naked Gun. Names being speculated include Andre The Giant, Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, The Expendables, The Sopranos, Sonic, Underbelly, Hilton, UFC, TNA and Marvel. Again, those brands are speculation, but some of these have made print, and as they say, where there's smoke, there's fire!

PartyGaming already offers four Marvel themed online slot games and the Marvel Hero Jackpot, and modern classic, The Godfather, remains one of the most popular slots networked into the world famous Gold Mega Jackpot, currently exceeding $1 million dollars! If you got excited by Cleo, Rambo and Tarzan, just wait till you see what lurks around the corner. Australia's NextGen Gaming has been teasing some journalists and insiders on some massive brands going live on PartyCasino, and that's no spin. The online casino brand also offers 24/7/365 support and comes in a wide range of multi currency and multi language options. Not convinced yet? Players and potential players can also play for free or play for money, so you know your in safe hands. New casino players can currently get up to $500 bonus for signing up.

PartyGaming is listed on the London Stock Exchange and has been operating for over a decade, which is like a lifetime in the gaming world. PartyGaming has also made last year's eGaming Review shortlist for a number of awards and commendations. In addition, PartyGaming and its PartyCasino, PartyPoker and World Poker Tour brands have made the Media Man and Casino News Media shortlist for monthly and yearly awards.

While some of PartyGaming's competitors are putting out some impressive products from time to time, those in the know state that there is only one PartyGaming and that their track record of stability, service, security, innovation and fun speaks for itself.

*the writer has a b2b agreement in place with a number of PartyGaming brands, as they do with dozens of brands in the gaming, igaming media and entertainment sector, the details of which are commercially sensitive in nature. The writer is the founder and director of Media Man, Media Man International and Global Gaming Directory.

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Friday, April 09, 2010

Casino Affiliate Marketing Dirty Little Secrets, by Greg Tingle - 10th April 2010

Readers - punters, entrepreneurs, affiliate marketers, news media and the public and large, in life, as in business, there's what's known in cliche terms as "dirty little secrets".

Now, it shouldn't surprise any of you that both the casino affiliate industry, and the affiliate industry as a whole, has more than a few black marks on its name.

Reporting on the good, the bad and the ugly of the affiliate industry keeps Gambling911 and Media Man pretty busy, but in the tradition of telling it like it is - what you need to know, not necessarily of you want to hear, we report on it, usually in quite a no holds barred, uncensored fashion.

The collapse of the world's financial markets and the subsequent negative domino flow on effects, have left many of the affiliate programs in pretty bad shape.

As in any business vertical, there's only so much room at the top, and only so many can stand head and shoulders above the status quo.

Ok, we know you want know some strong and ethical brand so here goes... PartyGaming - PartyPartners, Virgin Games, Rewards Affiliates, Commission Junction, DGM, LinkShare, Playboy and Penthouse. We understand Bodog is making a nice comeback also. We actually hear a wide variety of reports of CJ, but that's another article in its own for a future date.

Now, let's swing into the real hard news stuff...

Enormous changes are happening in the industry. Companies are announcing mergers, putting themselves out there to be sold, and many are closing up. There is a little dirty secret that is only being talked about behind closed doors in the industry and folks need to pay attention.

Over the past few years a number of companies came from nowhere to enjoy prominent and million dollar profits, some only to collapse and disappear without trace. As you may suspect, often affiliate markets get caught out and left short changed, and of course the industry continues on, albeit it with a further tarnished name. Backend "flogs" were just one of the dodgy tactics some the affiliate programs employed. Black Hat techniques are still riff, and as you would expect, crims do their best to keep cloak and dagger tactics out of the public view.

Eventually the FTC and the credit card merchant companies caught up withe bad apples, affiliates walked, negative buzz kicked in and many went MIA. E-mails were not returned, phones rang out or were disconnected, and you get the idea.

PR spin jobs - press releases built on B.S keep coming out of various firms, but readers, be skeptical. How valuable is your time and reputation, and if your already satisfied with some solid brands you enjoy strong track record with, why would you change and upset the applecart?

No one knows for sure what doing to happen in the coming weeks and months, but true to the law of the jungle, only the strong will survive.

Be aware of questionable press releases like "Deal Worth $100 million dollars", unless its from a giant like a Virgin, PartyGaming, Playtech or Betfair... we know you get the gist of it.

Make no mistake, many affiliate groups and networks are loaded up with debt and are looking to escape the chaos.

This isn't a FUD (Fear, Uncertainly and Doubt) article for the hell of it, its here because its real, and if your note sure, do a retake on the industry body count over the past few years.

We predict more regulation of the industry, both in affiliate programs across the board, and most certainly in the casino and igaming affiliate sector, as the U.S, European and Australian governments will be looking for their slice of the action.

Media Man and Gambling911 urge you to consider who you do business with, where their money comes from, what's credentials they have, and if they can pay for a job well done!

This also brings us to another point - check out (real) clients and partner testimonials and if need be, do reference checks, and be watching out for "smoke and mirrors".

Punters, we suggest you stick with the companies - brands which have served your well over time and earned your trust and respect. We're not trying to make things harder for new entrants to the market, but we're calling a spade a spade. Risk management is an important part of both the business and gambling sector, so make you you do your own before jumping off the deep end.

Bet with your head, not over, and keep it fun.

*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911

*Media Man is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. Gambling is just one of a dozen sectors they cover.

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Australian Casino News: Crown Casino PR Style With `Disarray', by Greg Tingle - 9th April 2010

In the land "down under" sometimes hard news is kept quite for a while, but invariably the cat gets out of the bag. You want evident, well look no further than the Australian Government internet "blacklist" and proposed internet filter. The more they tried to keep it quite, the bigger the story got, pushed along nicely by Media Man and Gambling911 we might add.

Today the blacklist may be the Australian governments biggest headache, on both a national and international scale. Even the U.S President and his Administrative army are none too pleased to hear that Australia is becoming one of the world's biggest 'Enemys Of The Internet' according to Reporters Without Boarders.

Now Conroy and Rudd are trying their luck of rolling out a multi million (or billion) dollar broadband network, something that may take up to a decade to complete, and yes, its supposed to come with censorship measures included (which the majority of technology experts say will slow the bloody thing down), but that's another story and scandal building for the dynamic duo of Kevin "Bloody" Rudd and Stephen "Mr Censorship" Conroy. We think Tony "The Bruiser" Abbott will have defeated Rudd via knockout punch soon enough.

Recently our friends at James Packer's Crown Casino had a problem to iron out in relation to the annual Logie awards, which Packer and Billionaire Inc have managed to keep under the hat of Crown City Casino in Melbourne.

Media Man and Gambling911 go undercover with this report...

Crown Casino has been the hosting venture of the TV Week Logie Awards for years now, despite competitors such as Tabcorp's Jupiters on the Gold Coast trying to steal it away.

Less than a month before Australian television's "night of nights", ACP Magazines furiously fired the PR outfit it engaged to handle this year's Logie's at Crown.

The PR in the lead-up to the Crown Casino event on the 2nd has put cold water on what is Australia's major annual red carpet and television event.

The event is usually good PR for Packer's Crown aka 'World Of Entertainment', but this year is proving more challenging that most, even though Crown bean counters and legal eagles are happy.

The firing of specialist fashion PR outfit Torstar came just four days after News Limited revealed the Logie nominations breaky held at Sydney's Ivy Bar 10 days prior had been heavily criticised and panned severely by the television networks for being "disorganised".

Insiders said one of the Torstar publicists had not known who Rebecca Gibney (last year's Gold Logie Award winner and star of Packed to the Rafters), was.

Media Man and Gambling911 advise that its possible that there was a conspiracy to get rid of the original PR firm, especially giving the often "bitchy" and "precious" nature of the Australian entertainment - showbiz landscape, and the high stakes involved. A Media Man insider whispered "The Australian media and entertainment landscape and business is extremely political. If certain folks decide they want to get rid of X, that's it, it happens".

Gibney is one of a eight contenders going for the coveted Gold Logie, including comedians Shaun Micallef, Paul McDermott, Rove McManus and Wil Anderson, and actors Ray Meagher and Esther Anderson. Australian casino king James Packer has not being nominated for any awards (but we enjoyed his guitar smashing antics anyway exhibited at City Of Dreams Macau last year). A birdie tells us a few folks from 'Underbelly' fame have been nominated, some of which played out gambling themes in the international smash hit.

Last week ACP Magazines (owner of The Logies), made an approach to The Lantern Group about taking over the event. "ACP and Torstar have mutually agreed not to continue to work together on the remainder of the TV Week Logies project 2010," ACP advised in a media statement.

Torstar's Tory Archbold told News Limited's The Australian that her contract with ACP was secure and she remained the "mouthpiece for TV Week".

"I know we did a good job" she proclaimed.

However, last night, ACP confirmed that The Lantern Group had been engaged to run the event.

Media Man - Jac Bowie burlesque queen and main squeeze, is rumored to attend the Logie's with of or two of her world class burlesque performers. MM and JB partner in crime, Grant Galea, famous for his Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra act, is also strongly rumored to appear. Buzz builds that communications and property entrepreneur, Kym Illman, may show up with his famous 'Money Girl' in toe (dressed in nothing but $50 and $100 notes we understand!). Illman, a former Media Man client (from a Shane Warne spinner campaign) is understood to be a key Media Man "secret weapon" in Australia's casino war. Bowie and Galea are extremely excited about Australia's casino was opening up more opportunities for the elite of the Australian and international entertainment industry. At the time of publication it remains unclear if Shane Warne will attend the event, as Warnie has been very busy of late (and that's not including the 888 poker brand situation). Media analysts reckon Warnie would do well to change brands, maybe jumping ship to PartyGaming's PartyPoker.com and friends, if a deal can be reached. Betfair may also be another option. Ah, its nice to be wanted isn't it Warnie. Warne enjoys a long and largely positive history with Network Nine and ACP, as does most of the Media Man family and friends.

Team Packer and Team ACP Magazines will likely be glad when their affair is history. Crown Casino has bigger fish to fry, such as their focus to lure in the world's biggest gamblers, Gulfstream Jets and all, as NSW competitor, Star City Casino gets jets of their own, as Australia's casino wars continue to heat up. No word as yet if plastic handcuffs will be used on guests, performers or burlesque queens, but we promise to keep you posted.

If its true that news is something, someone, somewhere, doesn't want someone else to know, everything else is PR, I think we proved the point once again here at your uncensored, unfiltered, friendly gaming, igaming, betting, entertainment and political window to the world. Gambling911, dedicated to providing you with the news... not always what you want to hear, but what you need to know... just ask Jesse "The Body" Ventura at 'Conspiracy Theory', if he's not too busy investigating the Australian political and casino landscape 'Casino Jack' style. A bridie tells us one of his key targets is Senator Stephen Conroy (Minster of Communications aka Minister of Censorship and Silly Lists). Good hunting and punting.

*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911

*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. Gaming is just one of a bakers dozen of industry verticals they report on. Media Man operates website portals in Australia, Asia, Canada, Europe and the United States.

*The writer owns shares in Crown Casino

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Thursday, April 08, 2010

PartyCasino News And PartyGaming News: Race to the Top of the Circus for your share of $150,000, by Greg Tingle

PartyCasino.com News: Race to the Top of the Circus for your share of $150,000

Starts: 00:00 ET, 6th April
Ends: 23:59 ET, 20th April

Ladies and gentlemen, prepare to be astounded by the Circus, our sensational new slot game that’s like nothing you’ve ever played before!

To celebrate its triumphant arrival we’re inviting you to Race to the Top, where you play for a share of $150,000 across two leader boards. Our Palladium VIPs will compete for more than $95,000 on their leader board, while our regular players will have a shot at more than $60,000.

To get yourself on board, simply collect PartyPoints by playing on Circus or any of our fabulous big-money slots and jackpot slots from 6th to 20th April. The higher you climb up a leader board, the bigger your reward.

Earn double points when you play on Circus

To make sure your Circus career starts in style we’ll give you double points when you play our brand-new slot game. Please note that these extra points awarded will not count towards the Race to the Top leader boards.

As the world’s first role-playing slot, Circus is packed full of features that will amaze all our players. Choose one of four unique characters, play 16 bonus games for big-money multipliers and unlock an adventure that will keep you coming back for more and more.

The greatest show on earth has arrived. Join the Circus today.

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Wednesday, April 07, 2010

Casino Cash Rolls In To Australia Political Parties, by Greg Tingle - 8th April 2010

Australian political parties and land based casino operators remain under the spotlight as more revelations about substantial donations from casinos to politics goes public.

Media Man and Gambling911 investigate 'Casino Jack' style, as we explore a new patch of Australia's 'Underbelly'.

From the get go, let it be said that it is not illegal (yet anyway) to make donations to Aussie political parties. Cash and cheques hit their coffers from any number of business sectors, certainly not restricted to the casino, hotel, club and resort sector et al. It's almost part of Australia business culture to cough up dollars to the majority of the political parties.

However, just because something is legal, or illegal for that matter, doesn't mean it is just.

In recent months Labor and Liberal have been inundated with buckets of cash from corporate Australia, and it doesn't get much more corporate that Tabcorp's Star City Casino and Crown Limited's Crown Casino.

Numbers obtained by the NSW Election Funding Authority show state Labor accepted $2.5 million in donations and union affiliation fees between July and December, while the Liberals and Nationals took in $1.9 million. Ah, Jack Abramoff from 'Casino Jack' fame would be proud.

The massive donations are a sign that big business aims win favour and positive history with an incoming Coalition government, the Liberals and Nationals have raised $19.5 million since the 2007 election from the hotels (inc casinos), clubs (pokie heaven), finance, pharmaceutical, lobbyist and property (more casinos) sector.

We've learned that in the same window, Labor snatched $16.5 million to its coffers, some of which is used for television commercials promoting NSW Premier, Kristina Keneally. We alert readers to the fact that Australian TV stations have been extremely quite on the internet censorship debate, while newspapers and radio, and internet forums, have been very vocal, but more on that non - coincidence later, if we're not busy playing a spot of golf with the 'Minister Of Silly Lists' and Censorship... if he's not busy being summoned to a "Please Explain" meeting with Prime Minster Kevin Rudd... (if he's not busy getting an "ear bashing" from U.S President Barack Obama about censorship). Readers, are you following this trail?

The political donations are putting intense pressure on the Australian government to implement recommendations handed down by a parliamentary committee last week, including a cap on donations at just $2000 per political party, group or independent candidate each financial year.

It's no secret that Labor received $115,000 from Star City Casino in the second half of last year, around the same times as the laws regulating the casino were being loosened and its exclusive licence was extended in Parliament. In 2008 Star donated $110,000 just two months before it was granted approval for a $575 million redevelopment, and readers will recall that their budget has just been increased by $100 million or so, which helps build more entertainment rooms, and may even go towards learjets for high rolling VIP's, as they go to "war" with Packer's Crown.

A spokeswoman for Ms Keneally said any suggestion that political donations had influenced concessions that allowed gambling controls and surveillance to be watered down was not correct. "Donations have no impact on the timing of bills going through Parliament.".

Political donations are keenly watched as an indication of which companies and wealthy individuals may be lobbying government. The Australian and international gaming community is watching closely to see what moves PartyGaming and Betfair may make in this space.

PartyGaming famously came to financial terms with the United States Department Of Justice last year to the tune of $100 million or thereabouts. It wasn't a pure donation, however the U.S knew Party had the money, and it was an opportunity for PartyGaming to move forward. PartyGaming and its brands such as PartyCasino and PartyPoker are making strategic moves to return to the U.S market and regulation changes are afoot, just its World Poker Tour is making pro active steps to boost things along with a pending play in the North American - Canadian region, which may see much of the U.S change its stance on igaming, poker tournaments and the like. Last fortnight PartyGaming inked an impressive business deal with France horse racing operator PMU (Pari Mutuel Urbain). PartyGaming also enjoys b2b dealings with such mainstream brands as Marvel Entertainment, Paramount Pictures, Frank Sinatra Enterprises, StudioCanal, Blizard Entertainment, Infinity Ward, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Hasbro, MGM and FremantleMedia. PartyGaming are understood to be in the "good books" of internet giants Google, Yahoo! and Bing!... something that has also served Gambling911 and Media Man International well over the years. Google is currently developing its own advanced web hosting and ISP services in a move that has has generated massive interest from mainstream media, new media and gaming operators.

Back to the pure political news...Figures Gambling911 and Media Man sourced via Fairfax Media and News Limited state the following...

In the second half of last year the biggest donors included: Clubs NSW, which gave $59,000 to Labor and $101,555 to the Coalition; Manildra Group, $40,850 (Labor) and $19,050 (Coalition); property developer Memo Corporation, $36,850 (Labor) and $22,200 (Liberal); and the Independent Retailers Association, $77,820 (Labor) and $9000 (Liberal). The Liberals accepted $57,926 from the Australian Hotels Association and $49,750 from British American Tobacco.

The Opposition Leader, Barry O'Farrell, personally raised $174,650 at 10 fund-raisers held in his name and in his electorate, including raising some $108,100 at the Ku-ring-gai Business Breakfast last September.

Not to be outdone Labor collected in excess of $1 million in "affiliation fees" paid by unions between July and December.

In the coming weeks and months we will continue our probe into the relationships between Australian political parties and casinos, igaming operator, SP bookmakers and the like. Firms on our radar include but are not limited to Betfair, Centrebet, Full Tilt Poker (Easts Roosters NRL team connection), 888 (Warnie's the face of them for Australia), and a few others that will remain nameless for the moment.

Aussie's, anyone taking bets on what Australian land based casino operators are interested to enjoy a spot of golf with Senator Stephen Conroy (Minster of Communications, Censorship and "Silly Lists") Last time a casino exec played golf with our friend cash registers hit the jackpot. Ah, life is full of coincidences, just ask 'Casino Jack', coming soon to a movie theater near you if your an Aussie, Yankee or Kanok, but if your behind "The Great Internet Firewall" Of China, good luck, you will need it.

Tony "The Bruiser" Abbott, stay on Kevin "Bloody" Rudd, we sense Rudd's corner man Conroy is going down for the count as we approach the 12th round of action, broadcast from Sydney to Las Vegas, Macau, Florida and beyond via the internet channel (that no one owns, Australian government included). Special referee Jesse "The Body" Ventura and his 'Conspiracy Theory' actuality TV show remain pro actively interested in the connection between Australian casinos, political parties and proposed internet filter and blacklist initiatives.

Media Man and Gambling911 offer this public service announcement: Bet with your head, not over it, and keep it fun (and that messages is also applicable to Australian political parties).

*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911

*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. The network attracts approximately 6 million hits per month and has portals in Australia, Canada, Europe, Asia and the United States

*The writer owns shares in Crown Casino

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Tuesday, April 06, 2010

Virgin Casino News: Virgin Gets New Games - Play Your Cards Right, Hole In The Wall, Kitty Glitter, Rubik's Slot - April 2010

Virgin Casino News: Virgin Gets New Games - Play Your Cards Right, Hole In The Wall, Kitty Glitter, Rubik's Slot, Casino Dice, Amazon Wild, Doctor Love and more

Website

VirginCasino.com

*Sorry, no U.S or Australian players. See World Casino Directory

Play Your Cards Right

Play Your Cards Right slot features two unique bonus rounds which really make you part of the action. You can play for a jackpot in the "Grand Final" and see if you fancy your chances in the exciting "Double Chance Bonus". With mini jackpots that build as you play, what are you waiting for? Come on dollies, do your dealing! Now at Virgin Casino and Virgin Bingo!

Casino Dice

Casino Dice is the instant play dice game. Two dice are rolled and the player wagers on the number generated by the combined total. The player has to predict the correct total to win. If the player wins he has the option of trying to double the amount by predicting whether the last die will be higher or lower than the first from the next dice roll. This option can be exercised as many times provided each prediction is correct. The game is made interesting by different types of bets such as Single Bet, Split Bets and Number Range Bets. The payouts are shown on the screen.


Hole In The Wall

Introducing Hole in the Wall; Based on the world wide smash hit game show, this exciting multi line slot machine gives you the chance to see what you're made of. With wall-clearing success bringing rich rewards and failure resulting in a head-first plunge into the pool, will you manage to stay dry? Get ready to make cash and not a splash and BRING ON THE WALL! Live at Virgin Casino and Virgin Bingo!


Kitty Glitter

Move over dogs - cats are a man's and woman's best friend! If you like lots of wild symbols, Kitty Glitter™ is the purr-fect game for you. Kitty Glitter™ features 30 paylines, four lucky cats and a Free Spins Bonus in which all four cat symbols can become wild!

Trigger the Free Spins Bonus by getting 3 Bonus symbols anywhere on the middle three reels. Start the Bonus with 15 free spins with the opportunity to retrigger the bonus multiple times. Collect wild diamond symbols and watch as more and more cat symbols become wild! With potentially every cat symbol becoming wild, every spin can explode with wins. By bonus end, your total win could leap into a fortune. Kitty Glitter™ will have you purring with delight!


Amazon Wild

Deep in the Amazonian jungle there are the remains of an ancient civilisation, the legacy of a people who built their cities entirely of GOLD! Your mission is to find them and bring home your fortune.

As your quest unfolds, you'll be surrounded by the exotic sounds of the rainforest and treated to the sight of vibrantly coloured birds, big cats and colour-changing chameleons, not to mention the odd mischievous monkey!

Welcome to Amazon WILD - the most active slot on the net!

Amazon Wild is a 5-reel 100-line slot machine, with each reel being 4 symbols tall. In addition to a bonus round where winnings are awarded for uncovering a golden Aztec temple, the game features special Wild symbols which react together to trigger multiple wins.


Rubik's Slot

Rubik’s® is based on the popular Rubik's® Cube Puzzle. However, the player doesn’t even have to rotate the cube at all or affect anything else in the game, they simply need to press the 'Play' button and then the cube will rotate randomly and when it stops the player is awarded winnings based on how many completed sides and lines there are.

How To Play:

• Press PLAY to start the game. The Rubik's Cube will then start to rotate randomly.
• Between 0 and 6 of the letters of the logo will then light up and play a sound as lit. If all 6 letters are lit then after the winnings are highlighted the player will get to the FreePlays bonus.
• The cube will then stop rotating and the amount won will be determined by the number of lines and sides of the same colour.
• 3 squares of the same colour in a straight line (not diagonal) on the same side will will count as one line. If all the squares on a side are the same colour then a bonus side payout is also awarded for that side as well as the line payouts.
Bonus games

• The player has to select one of the 27 squares that are on the cube and that will then peel of the sticker in that position which will show a prize to the player.
• The prize will either be additional FreePlays or additional cubes.
• The player will get to pick a random number of different squares until they peel one off that says START - and at this point the FreePlays will start.

Bonus Game

• The player has to select one of the 27 squares that are on the cube and that will then peel of the sticker in that position which will show a prize to the player. The prize will either be additional FreePlays or additional cubes.
• The player will get to pick a random number of different squares until they peel one off that says START - and at this point the FreePlays will start.

FreePlays

• FreePlays will each play out automatically and will be for the same stake that was placed for the last bet.
• FreePlays can be re-triggered during FreePlays mode, so you could be awarded with extra FreePlays - if all 6 letters of the Rubik's logo light up then an extra prize will be awarded. This time however the player does not get to choose any squares and is just shown what they won in a popup. Also only extra cubes or extra FreePlays are awarded (cant get both as only one prize is awarded).
• All winnings during FreePlays mode will be credited to your account balance after each play. Auto Play By selecting 'Auto Play' you can choose to play up to 25 plays automatically, one after the other.


Thor

Presenting Thor; legendary hero, comic book classic and instant video slot legend. This 9-line smash is a must-see! Heavy-hitting animations summon the thunder god’s mighty hammer to trigger an incredible bonus round. Win up to 4,000 times your bet on wagers as low as 5p. Triple prizes of up to 12,000 times your bet are awarded during the Free Game Feature. As an added bonus, Thor is connected to the three-level Marvel jackpots with six other Marvel-themed games. Live at Virgin Casino and Virgin Bingo right now.


King Kong

Experience the fury and excitement as King Kong takes on New York City! Play 1 to 25 lines and go bananas over the wild bonus. Live at Virgin Casino and Virgin Bingo right now.


Five a Day

A fruity five line, five reel slot, with wild cards and a bonus feature to get your juices flowing.


Doctor Love

Doctor Love has a hospital romance theme. The dashing Dr. Love is the wild symbol. It also offers the highest fixed jackpot of 5000 coins. The other high paying symbols are the nurse who is the object of the doctor’s romancing and the patient who is all bandaged up. The other symbols on the reels also connect with the hospital theme. They include ambulance, get well bouquet, temperature chart, crutches and stethoscope. The scatter symbol is the love meter. It offers scatter payouts, the maximum of which is 100 times the total bet.


Grande Roulette

Grande Roulette – Classic just got better! Packed with great new features! Customisable bets, baize colour, and different view options, it’s the finest Roulette on the web!

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*Sorry, no U.S or Australian players. See World Casino Directory

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Friday, April 02, 2010

PartyCasino News: Circus Slot New Game For PartyGaming

PartyCasino.com News: Circus Slot New Game For PartyGaming

You’ve never played anything like The Circus

Roll up, roll up! Welcome to the Circus, the spectacular slot game like nothing you’ve ever seen before.

Combining the best elements of slots and games, Circus is the world’s first role-playing slot title. Choose from four memorable characters with varying abilities and unique storylines to take you through your cash-grabbing circus adventure.

Every feature in Circus has been made bigger, better and more exciting than other slots, especially with the inclusion of 16 dazzling bonus games. Step into the shoes of the lion tamer, magician, acrobat and many other classic circus roles as you try to win all the big money up for grabs.

The more you play, the more you’ll unlock. Discover thrilling plot developments, enjoy more rewarding bonus games and increase your abilities to raise your win multiplier for huge cash prizes.

Circus saves your game progress as you go, meaning you can return any time and continue where you left off. You can even start a second, third or fourth adventure with a different character.

This revolutionary game takes slots to a whole new level. Make a deposit and play now for an experience you’ll keep coming back to again and again. Play it now by PartyCasino.com software, or play instantly in your browser

You’ll be amazed at the Circus. Try the greatest spectacular on earth today.

Game Objective:

Circus is a five-reel, twenty-payline slot game with 16 features. 3 or more scattered Big Top symbols anywhere in view trigger and award one of the sixteen features. At the start of the game (when opening the game), player needs to select one character from the 4 characters available in the character selection screen. Player can change the character from within the game. Each character is independent of others. Once a particular feature game is played for a particular character, it cannot be played again until all 16 features are played for the respective character.

Game Information:

The minimum bet amount is $0.01 USD and the maximum bet amount is $1000 USD.

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Australian Chook Lotto Goose Not Laying Golden Gambling Egg, by Greg Tingle - 2nd April 2010

Red tape can be a pain in the tail for web publishers, casino entrepreneurs and the like, and man down under Greg Tingle at Media Man invest egg ates for Gambling911 ...

real news, spin or April Fools... you be the judge..think Donald Trump, Calvin Ayre and Steve Wynn have got issues with red tape, rules and regulations... legal eagles may have a field day with what our friends 'Plucka Duck' and TV host Daryl Somers are going through this Easter.

Australian TV, gambling and lotto, don't mix, at least that's the story thus far for an Australian iconic comedy and variety show.

Hey Hey It's Saturday host Daryl Somers is going to need a special licence in every Australian state and territory to get the showcase segment back on the air cum April 14.

He said 'Chook Lotto', where Jacki MacDonald collected numbered frozen chickens from a cage to award prizes to a contestant, is subject to the same rules as any lottery operator because it is considered a game of luck rather than a game of skill.

Somers also had to apply for a permit for resident chook man 'Plucka Duck'.

"It's absurd," Somers said.

"Bureaucracy is now threatening the very nature of show business these days.

"We're talking about a bit of fun on a variety show not a new poker machine venue!

"All we're trying to do is give people a good entertaining segment that's part of Australian television history and it's being tied down by bureaucrats.

"The segment ran for years and didn't turn viewers into problem gamblers."

The 'chook lotto' matter comes just days after Aussie Formula One driver Mark Webber branded Victoria a "nanny state" for its stringent road rules.

Somers was able to get around the laws in last year's hugely successful reunion specials by not awarding prizes.

He now tells us recreating the cage that holds the frozen chooks had been a costly exercise because it now had to meet complex OH&S guidelines.

"It's 10 times more difficult to get anything done these days because of all this pointless bureaucracy," he said.

Opposition state gaming minister Michael O'Brien slammed the 'Chook Lotto' red tape.

"Gambling laws are designed to limit problem gambling and keep corruption at bay," Mr O'Brien said.

"I don't think the underworld is interested in 'Chook Lotto' and I don't think anyone ever lost their house because of 'Chook Lotto' either.

"It does seem that this is bureaucracy gone mad and I would urge the regulator to sit down and do everything it can to try and ensure this icon returns to our screens."

Spokeswoman for State Gaming Minister, Tony Robinson, advise any competition that offers prizes of more than $5000 needs a permit under state law.

"If Chook Lotto is run the way it always has been in the past, it will need a permit in Victoria if the total prize value is above $5000," she said.

"The purpose of requiring permits is to ensure that lotteries are conducted fairly. "Harmonising state regulations will make it easier to run national trade promotion lotteries - but unfortunately not in time for this year's Hey Hey It's Saturday."

Punters, does Somers, the Aussie Gambling minister or the Cook have egg on its face, you be the judge, and Happy Easter, and may you luck be Eggs Lent.

*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911

*Media Man is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company.

*No chooks, birds or animals were harmed in this special invest egg ation.

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