Microgaming Launches New Games For November

You can always count on Microgaming to release new and innovative titles every month. Just in case you’re getting bored with the online slots available out there at the moment, Microgaming always comes along with something new at just the right time. This month, the popular online slot machine developer has launched a selection of three new games available at Spin Palace online casino.

The first game you’ll find is Throne of Egypt. Although the Ancient Egyptian theme seems to have been done to death in the online gambling world, Microgaming’s new title puts a twist on the motif. Using innovative new technology and employing impressive graphics, Throne of Egypt is expected to be a huge hit at Microgaming casinos.

Next up is Dr. Love, a comical slots game that takes place in a hospital. The theme is very cartoon-y, adding a new layer the online gaming experience. Players are also eligible for jackpot prizes every spin. Even if a winning combination isn’t triggered, the Game’s Rapid Fire system has the potential to award an impressive jackpot.

Crocodopolis is the final online slots game from Microgaming this month. Taking place in Ancient Egypt, the game follows a common theme in the online casino world. However, players are up for additional perks that they would not find on other similar slots games. Crocodopolis’ Sliding Wild symbols provide players increased chances to make winning combinations by inserting themselves into advantageous spots on the feels.

Check out Spin Palace to play these incredible new slots!

Auckland Casino Launches High Roller Rooms

Normally, land-based casinos appeal to a general clientele, offering games that are ideal for a wide range of budgets. High rollers are normally confined to small areas of land-based casinos, but Star City changed things up recently. Over the course of the Rugby World Cup, the Auckland casino took great measures to appeal to high roller guests.

All VIP gambling was moved to the fifth floor, which was isolated from the rest of the casino. The only way into the area was via a controlled elevator that would only work for those with the appropriate access cards.

Players were able to wager up to $150 000 a hand and spend up to $4 million over the course of the weekend. These marked the highest limits that any land-based casino in Australia and New Zealand had ever seen.

Those in attendance were local millionaires and billionaires as well as international VIPs. Because of the immense social and financial status of guests, the local gambling commission was worried that patrons would be too intimated to approach patrons if they noticed suspicious or dangerous gambling behaviour. The casino’s operator, however, assured them that staff in the VIP rooms were trained at a higher level and able to deal with such issues.

New Zealand Lottery Sells Tickets Online

The New Zealand Lotteries Commission now allows for players to purchase their tickets online. It may not seem like it, but this is a huge step forward for the country, in terms of progress towards legalizing and regulation online gambling in New Zealand.

Players can sign up to the NZLotteries website, where they will now be able to purchase their daily lottery tickets. On the website, they will also find a wide range of other gambling games like keno, scratch cards and other instant win games. It is almost like a mini-online casino, as players can win cash prizes by playing games of chance.

This marks the first time that the New Zealand government has gotten involved in online gambling. Previously, the activity was frowned upon, but now the government-run Lotteries Commission is supporting a site that promotes playing games of chance for real money online.

Now, it might not be long before the government considers legalizing other forms of online gambling, like poker and roulette. Other countries like theUnited Kingdom andCanada have already taken advantage of online casinos by regulating it via their local governments. It seems like it is about time thatNew Zealand, a country with a huge population of individuals interested in recreational gambling, takes note of this trend.

Harawira would ban pokies in poor areas

The MP of Te Tai Tokerau has spoken of a radical plan to reduce gambling problems in New Zealand’s poorer communities… He believes that banning pokies altogether would be a simple way to eradicate the problem. Mr Hone Harawira thinks that the NZ$3.7m lost by gamblers in the Whangarei area, from April to June alone could have been kept in the poorer elements of the community and helped feed school children who are going hungry.

However, this was not a problem restricted to the Whangarei area, figures from the department of Internal Affairs show that in the three months from April to June lost nearly NZ$90k a day on pokies in the Northern region of the country.

The figures also show that gambling problems are becoming a big issue for women – nearly 50% of those seeking help for gambling issues are now female. One of the problems that Mr Harawira has with pokies in the region is that the money is often taken by the government and spent elsewhere in big cities like Auckland.

The full story can be found in the Northern Advocate.

Online gambling industry awards

London is seen as the capital of the online gambling industry, even though many of the big names in the business have moved their operations overseas to so-called tax havens.

However, in spite of this London will host a series of award ceremonies over the next few months.

The first of these is the EGR (EGaming Review) Awards which will be held towards the end of next month.  Following on from that will be the 2012 International Gaming Awards, which is likened to the film industry’s Oscars, and is one of the  largest events of its type.

The event supports charities, and the two to benefit this time are CARE International and Children with Leukemia.  It is good to see such a thriving industry backing good causes.

This year sees a category for mobile gambling, which has seen the biggest growth of all areas of online gambling, due to ever more people using smart phone technology.

New Zealand  continues to enjoy online gambling and will no doubt be watching with interest to see which online casinos are voted best in various categories.

Imigrants to NZ can have gambling problems

Simon Tam, a councillor for the Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand (PGFNZ) has said that immigrants from Asia who find it hard to adjust to life in New Zealand, can be susceptible to loneliness and can turn to life in casinos by way of forging a life in the country.

Tam states that life in East Asia and the Indian sub-continent is very different to a life in NZ – with the big cities in Asia being busy and bustling, whereas life in NZ can be much quieter – this fact coupled with not having friends, family and also not always speaking the language can lead to finding refuge in the casinos.

Gambling venues are seen as places where Asians meet other Asians or places where they will go and invite their friends along. Frequent casino attendance can obviously lead to an addiction to gambling, however, Tam says that because of the shame and stigma attached to problem gambling many Asians decide not to seek help – which he added – was the worst attitude to have…

Organisations like the PGFNZ can offer help to problem gamblers, however, they cannot pay off debts created by gambling, which is sometimes what people go to the organisation expecting…

Wairarapa area to have a poker machine review

The Wairarapa Times-Age reports that as many as 500 people in the Wairarapa area could be problem gamblers – it based on the stat that 1.8% of Kiwis are reported to be problem gamblers.

It’s an interesting figure, given that spending on lotteries, pokies and casinos have dropped in New Zealand over the past 12 months… In fact it’s only sports betting (helped by the rugby world cup) and TAB Racing that have risen in the past year.

The number of Pokies in Wairarapa has been reduced since 2003 from 260 to 242 this summer. However despite this reduction there was still over $7million spent on pokies in the last 12 months.

As a result of these heavy losses concillors Lynn Pattrson and Chris Peterson have promised a full review of the area’s gambling policy – changes are expected to be made in the areas of number of gambling machines (no more to be allowed) and consideration is to be taken of the social and economic affects of gambling on the area.

Online gambling companies pay commission to third parties for new players

Originally Posted on Tuesday Aug 16 9:19:00 BST 2011

There is an interactive and online gambling inquiry in Australia at the moment, and no doubt interested parties in New Zealand are keeping a watchful eye on proceedings.

The Chief Executive of Sportsbet, which is based in the Northern Territory in Australia, has revealed that it is standard practice in the gambling industry for companies to pay commission to third parties for referrals to their sites.  Sportsbet has admitted that it pays up to £4 million a year in commissions.

The issue is that the people being referred do not know that others were getting remuneration for the introductions, and this may breach legislation.

This news has prompted an independent Senator to amend an online gambling bill which he is working on, so that it would outlaw such commissions being paid in the future.

Whilst online gambling around the world continues to become more popular, some countries, including New Zealand, have remained adamant that internet casinos should not operate within their shores, but this only prompts people who want to use interactive

World Cup inspires online gambling

Originally Posted on Saturday Sep 17 16:19:00 BST 2011

TAB has reported that the World Cup has seen record numbers of punters placing a bet.

Gambling, particularly online, is easier than ever before. The number of people with access to smartphones and computers has never been higher, and a touch of a button will give live updates on odds, enabling punters to make a bet at any stage of a game.

Young people seem to have been inspired  by the World Cup, and some gambling help groups worry that this may leave youngsters with a taste for online gambling once the event is over.

TAB is encouraging new punters by offering $20 credit for those betting on an All Blacks game, and have seen a massive rise in the number of people placing bets through their phones, with major sporting events such as this often attracting many people who have never placed a bet before.  There is some concern that there will be more emphasis placed on the gambling than on the event itself.

It is unlikely that TAB have been targeting young people in particular, and certainly no-one will know any time soon if first time gamblers will continue to gamble after the World Cup is over.

Smoking in pokie machine areas

Originally Posted on Thursday Sep 1 15:55:00 BST 2011

The New Zealand Gambling Commission surprised many people recently by allowing the Auckland and Dunedin casinos to have pokie machines in smoking areas.

Critics of this move say that allowing people to smoke while playing the machines will increase gambling problems.

On top of this Auckland’s SkyCity casino is set to build a covered area with protection from the weather.  The area will allow smoking and it is hoped to move around 70 pokie machines into the area.

When smoking was generally banned in pubs and clubs, gambling revenue was seen to drop quite dramatically, so this ruling may be seen as a way of redressing this problem.

However, with an estimated 58% of problem gamblers also being smokers, having to go to another area away from the pokies to smoke, may have deterred some from returning to the machines.

The precedent that was set last year when the gambling commission allowed pokies to be located in a smoking area in a Wellington pub, has been quickly followed by these moves by casinos.

Online pokies can be accessed from a home computer and are very realistic, so any hopes of keeping smoking and gambling apart is a hopeless cause, when punters gambling at home can do exactly as they wish with regards to smoking.