Issue N11, 2008
March 13, 2008
GetMinted Goes on Advertising Spree
If the British public has not heard about GetMinted.com until now, they will very soon. This online poker, bingo and casino operator has announced that it will be inundating the United Kingdom with a massive advertising campaign over the next few months, and promoting its products offline at various key spots throughout the country. It is expected that GetMinted.com will spend more than two million dollars on the promotion of its products.
Realizing the potential of the bingo industry in the UK, GetMinted.com will place one third of its posters that advertise its online bingo games outside land-based bingo halls in the country. Advertisements promoting its slots, bingo and poker games will also be placed at train stations, inside telephone booths and other strategic spots.
A clever example of advertising will be the company’s promotion of its WagerWorks-powered Monopoly Reel Estate slot game, which, as a tribute to some of the railroad features of the game, will be placed around London’s railway stations. Gloria Gonzalez, speaking for GetMinted.com, said: “We estimate that 454,000 people come into London by rail every day during peak hours and 72 percent of those traveling into Central London use rail as their main mode of transport. Each of these commuters will see the posters around ten times during the two-week campaign. Rail stations were a pertinent location to promote Monopoly given that you can buy train stations on the Monopoly board. There is a clever subtext to the location of these posters.”
New Tomb Raider Game Introduced
One of the most successful slots series ever introduced is the Lara Croft – Tomb Raider games, brought to the industry by Intertops.com. This is the reason why so many players wait with baited breath for the next release of the game that is based on the movie that stars Hollywood darling, Angelina Jolie. This week, Intertops.com announced the release of a new game, ‘Tomb Raider-the Secret of the Sword’ that will definitely not disappoint.
The five reel, 30 pay line game comes with exciting features, including wild and scatter awards, free spins and games and many bonuses. With excellent graphics and sound, ‘Tomb Raider – the Secret of the Sword’ is sure to provide hours of entertainment for slots lovers.
And if the release of the game is not news enough in itself, in order to celebrate the game’s launch, Intertops.com is giving away 10 brand new Sony PSP’s (the latest portable models of their Playstations) to anybody who tries ‘Tomb Raider – the Secret of the Sword’ until March 21st. Every ten spins at the game will qualify the player for the draw.
FullTilt Gives Jonathan Little Fiery Justice
FullTilt.com, the online poker room, announced on its public message board this week that it had terminated its contract with professional player, Jonathan “Fiery Justice” Little, after it was found that the ace had violated the contracts terms and conditions. FullTilt.com, which sponsored the former World Poker champion, discovered that Little had allowed others to use his account at the poker room to generate more in rake-back.
In the message launched by the Alderney-based site, it was stated: “While we encourage our pros to play as much as they can, we do not allow them to share their account with any other players. When a player on FullTiltPoker.com plays against and chats with a red pro on the site, it is imperative that they be able to trust that it is really the advertised pro playing the account. Given that Mr. Little violated that trust, we have decided to sever his ties to the site and close his account.”
European Union Set to Probe US Internet Gambling Laws
Following complaints by European gambling firms that they are being discriminated against by US authorities, the European Union has decided to launch an enquiry into the matter, it was announced this week. In December, the Remote Gambling Association lodged a formal complaint with the EU that the US was trying to prosecute foreign gambling operators, all the while turning a blind eye to local operators.
Peter Mandelsson, the European Union Trade Commissioner said in a statement: “Despite statements by the DoJ that internet gambling was not allowed, many local companies were actively supplying this type of service. The US has the right to address legitimate public policy concerns relating to internet gambling, but discrimination against EU firms cannot be part of the policy mix.
The European Union said that it may take up to eight months to probe the complaints brought against the US policy and the findings may result in the EU lodging a complaint with the World Trade Organization against the country. However, EU officials were quick to state that they were keen to debate the issue with their American counterparts in order to arrive at a “mutually acceptable solution”.