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The winner is 21-year-old Chris from Olso, Norway, who had been playing at the online casino on his mobile while his girlfriend was grocery shopping. He had placed a small wager of just $1.25, and was shocked to find out that he had triggered the grand prize worth $4.2 million.

“We are delighted that this jackpot was won by one of our customers who was playing LeoVegas on his mobile phone as a means to keep himself entertained,” says LeoVegas Head of Casino, Karolina Pelc. “This truly shows what LeoVegas stands for – number one in mobile entertainment”.

Chris is thrilled with his winnings and is already planning how to spending the money. While he is still only young, he has some sensible plans for the windfall, as he hopes to invest in property. His main splurge will be a trip to the Maldives with his girlfriend.

This is the third time that the Joker Millions progressive slot from Yggdrasil Gaming has paid out its top prize since the game was released in 2015. The two previous jackpots were worth $1 million (September 2015) and $670 000 (December 2015).

As it turns out Joker Millions is a very generous game that pays out its grand prizes quite frequently. So, you can expect to see the next big win from this lucrative online pokie within the next few months!

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“We’re delighted to have extended our existing relationship with PokerStars, one of the most established and well-known brands in the industry, and providing them with the industry’s best-performing content,” says Shimon Akad, COO of PlayTech.

Over the course of the next few months, PlayTech will be rolling out dozens of new games on PokerStars Vegas. These will include progressive jackpots, and mobile slots. As such, players will have access to some of the most sought-after casino games in the online gambling market.

“We are very excited to partner with Playtech, and to provide our customers some of the best slots in the industry. In particular, their suite of Jackpot games will fill one of the final gaps in our product offering,” says Sam Hobcraft, Director of Casino at PokerStars.

This is a great opportunity for both companies to reach out to a wider range of players around the world. PokerStars players will be able to see how innovative PlayTech slots, which is a mutually beneficial for both parties.

We look forward to seeing the wide range of PlayTech pokies that will be made available on PokerStars’ online casino client. They will be launched alongside some fantastic online slots from Net Entertainment and Next Gen Gaming.

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“Our players just loved the game we did for Euro 2016 so we are now giving them more of what they want with Rio Fever,” says Mathias Larsson, CEO of XIN Gaming. “We are one of the few developers with the resources and expertise to be able to release games that link to special events on the calendar.

Rio Fever is a 50-payline online slot that offers up fantastic winning potential. The game features high-quality graphics that depict various athletes, boxing, running, doing gymnastics and participating in a whole range of other Olympic sports.

There is a generous re-spins feature in Rio Fever from XIN Gaming. When the Torchbearer symbol lands on reel 1, then the player receives 3 re-spins. The first reel is held while the remaining symbols spin; if any more Torchbearer or Wilds land on the reels, then the will also be held in place for the remaining spins.

Players can also earn up to 12 free spins when three scatter symbols land on the reels. During this bonus round, the re-spins feature can be activated, offering players even more generous winning potential.

Play the new Rio Fever online slot at your favourite XIN Gaming-powered online casino today! It is available on both desktop and mobile platforms, so you can play from virtually anywhere!

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An affiliate site called Casino Listings has taken a stand against the games developer by publically exposing the developer. The site published several blogs, explaining the ways in which BetSoft games have been fixing their jackpots so that players are unable to cash in one the most generous prizes that are supposed to be on offer.

Towards the end of 2015, a user named BlackjackAA posted on the CasinoListings forum about the suspicious jackpots that he had come across on a BetSoft title called Greedy Goblins. He noticed that he was unable to trigger any prizes despite having played thousands of rounds – so, he decided to investigate.

What he found was a number of inconsistencies in which certain bet levels never paid out jackpots. Immediately, Casino Listings took over the investigation and started monitoring the games. Within months, the site’s owners noticed the same pattern: several bet level were unable to trigger jackpot prizes. Additionally, a number of Betsoft jackpots saw their payout frequencies change at exactly the same time. They noticed this suspicious activity right away, and published a warning for players.

While there is no official investigation of the issue, players are being warned about being careful while playing BetSoft slots. We wouldn’t go so far as to say stop playing them altogether, but it is important to be aware that there has been some very suspicious activity surrounding the developer’s jackpots.

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It has been a week since the games have been pulled from online casinos – and, we still know very little about the issue. The only information that we were provided with was an affiliate email which read:

“THE DARK KNIGHT has decided to pack his bags and renounce his old life. Sources tell us that he’s trading in his superhero lifestyle for a quieter, more serene one, where there are no bad guys to defeat and no damsels in distress to save. For the indefinite future, he has vowed to live in the countryside with the birds”.

Industry insiders have spectated that the games have been pulled due to licensing issues. When the first Dark Knight slots game was launched, it was in 2014. So, it is likely that the agreement has come up for renewal and Microgaming was unable to renegotiate. This would actually be the second time that Microgaming has experienced licensing issues, as the company had to pull its Lord of the Rings slots series due to a dispute with the estate of JRR Tolkien.

While players will certainly miss The Dark Knight series from Microgaming, there’s no need to fret. The developer releases plenty of exciting new games on a regular basis. For example, some of Microgaming’s hottest new releases include: Win Sum Dim Sum, Pretty Kitty, Bar Bar Black Sheep and Shoot! There are always plenty of new games available from this developer; so you’re sure find a great replacement for The Dark Knight series soon.

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The acquisition of Funtactix is yet another strategic move by Playtech to get further involved in the casual games market. The company first started making moves in 2014 when Playtech acquired YoyoGames. Since casual gaming is becoming a hugely lucrative industry, it is wise that Playtech has aimed to strengthen its position in this sector.

“The Playtech casual games division has a clear strategy and direction and we’re very confident it will continue to go from strength-to-strength,” says Shimon Akad, COO of PlayTech. “The acquisition of Funtactix, in addition to Plamee and YoYo Games, enables us to offer a complete suite of content and software to players, designers and third parties including some of the largest studios and brands in the world.”

Funtactix will work together with Playtech in a unique partnership. Even though the company is being acquired, it will still publish and develop games under the FTX Games division. Funtactix will also continue to form partnerships with entertainment brands and property owners. So, it is likely that we will see more online slots and pokies from Playtech that are based on pop culture brands like movies, television shows, cartoons, video games and comic book characters.

This is a very exciting time for Playtech. All of these new acquisitions will really boost the company’s ability to offer up fresh and innovative new online casino games. As such, the online gaming industry is eagerly watching Playtech’s next moves to see what the company has in store.

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The Jackpot Poker by PokerStars app was originally launched in December 2015, and it has become a hugely popular game among Android and iOS users. However, the company felt that it could be doing more to satisfy its players, so PokerStars has made the decision to launch social slots the application.

“Players have told us they want the ability to play slots while enjoying our jackpot tournaments and cash games,” says Lloyd Melnick, PokerStars’ Director of Social. “We will continue to add the features and capabilities our players want.”

Teaming up with Imperus Technologies, PokerStars will provide a range of Akamon slots games to the Jackpot Poker app. They will be available as separate games and side games for social poker players. This is a great opportunity for poker players to give a new kind of game a spin, especially well-known slots like those developed by Akamon. In the first rollout of social slots, three games will be released: Fire Wheel 7s, Monte Carlo and Salsa Nights.

“The agreement not only illustrates the popularity of our slot game titles but also shows our enormous potential to the rest of the industry as a way to increase social gaming market share,” says Vicenç Marti, President of Imperus Technologies.

Players can expect to see the new selection of Akamon slots on Jackpot Poker from Pokerstars within the month. We’re sure that they will be pleased to have option of taking part in free-to-play

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Broke is about fictional rugby player named Ben Kelly. Because of his gambling addiction, he lost his home and career, and the film takes a look at his journey to recovery. The film stars Steve Le Marquand and has been directed by Heath Davis.

Luke explains why he choose to produce the film:

“This was a story that people around me had been going through as well as many people in the media. I think, in the time we were developing the concept, there were multiple NRL players going through this issue.”

Today, problem gambling is still a big issue in the Kiwi sports industry. Recently, Kieran Foran has been accused to losing $75 000 betting on sports, highlighting the fact that more action needs to be taken in order to prevent both members of the general public and sports superstars from falling victim to gambling addiction.

“It is one of the few movies that actually tells the truth about gambling,” says Rhonda Woodford, problem gambling counsellor. “A lot of movies focus on the gambler being the hero, and the girls, and being very popular — but this really tells the other side, the people who are struggling with a gambling addiction.”

So far, the film has been well-received by moviegoers with an 8.9/10 rating on IMDB.

“Writer/director Heath Davis offers a cynical but convincing portrait of a desecrated athlete against a moody, lower-class suburban backdrop,” writes Tegan Lyon for The Reel Word. “Broke is a simple story, but one that resonates”.

You can take a look at the trailer below:

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Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne says that the ‘public discussion document gives the public a chance to have their say’. It is the next step in the New Zealand government’s review of existing gambling laws, which ultimately aims to improve the way in which pokie funding is distributed in order to better benefit the local community.

Members of the community can read the discussion document here. Submissions can be made, which will be considered by government officials and discussed by key stakeholders, such as commercial venues, problem gambling service provides, grant recipients and societies.

“We will be looking at proposals to future-proof that funding,” Mr Dunne says. “This discussion document is an opportunity for the community to let the Government know what they think are the challenges faced by the sector, and how to ensure that we get the maximum benefit from class 4 gambling, without growing gambling and minimising harm”.

Submissions to the Department of Internal Affairs is due by Friday, August 12, 2016. You can email your submission to [email protected], or you can send it by post to:

Safer Communities Team
Policy Group
Department of Internal Affairs
PO Box 805
Wellington 6140

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