Issue N36, 2008
September 4, 2008
Swedish Ice Hockey Association Fuming Over Nordic Bet Ad
NordicBet, the Northern European sports betting operator has caused anger amongst the Swedish Ice Hockey Association after it managed to advertise the company during an ice hockey game in Umea, Sweden. The incident occurred recently when the ad appeared on the ice during an event that involved Swedish as well as Finnish teams. The hosting team, Bjorkloven, was strongly rebuked by the Ice Hockey Association for allowing NordicBet to promote its services, citing an agreement that the association holds with the state run operation, Svenska Spel. Under the terms of the agreement, no company that directly competes against Svenksa Spel in the gambling market can promote its services at member games.
While Bjorkloven apologized and promised to take full responsibility for what the team clearly saw as a misunderstanding, the Swedish Ice Hockey Association may not be so forgiving and has already threatened to slap a fine on the team. This has prompted NordicBet to lash out against the Association, with the company promising to support the ice hockey team if it is indeed required to pay punitive damages.
Spin3 Launches Another Mobile Casinos
Spin3, the powerful mobile service platform provider, has announced that it will be helping Spin Palace online casino expand its games offering to its mobile players. From now on, Spin Palace players will be able to enjoy a wide range of their favorite games from their mobile phones anytime and anywhere.
Spin Palace, which has won many awards since it first launched in 2001, has over 260 games that players can choose from, many of which will be available on the new Spin3 mobile platform.
A spokesperson for Spin Palace online casino said about the deal: "While we had some exposure to the mobile casino market, it was clear we needed a first rate partner to deliver a mobile casino to match our online offering. With the turnkey GameWire solution providing high quality, graphics-rich and easy to use games, Spin3 was the perfect match. Our customers can now experience the best gambling experience on their mobiles anywhere and anytime, as well as at our online casino."
The head of Spin3, Matti Zinder said in response: "A player's gaming needn't end when they step away from their PC. Spin Palace can now provide the high quality entertainment and gambling services its users demand, whenever and wherever they want. Extending the reach of an online casino to the mobile platform is a natural choice for any online brand, and we are pleased to work with such an established and respected brand and Spin Palace to make that move a success."
New Mini Games Section for Bingo Site
Slot players who enjoy their online casino games but can’t stay away from their favorite bingo site for too long can now enjoy the best of both worlds, thanks to a new ‘mini games’ section launched at the new All Club Bingo. This bingo site has added five of Microgaming’s most successful slot games and incorporated them right into the bingo room so that players don’t even have to miss out on one second of their bingo fun while they are spinning the reels.
The five three reel games available are: Couch Potato, Spectacular Wheel of Wealth, Triple Magic and Cool Buck.
The manager of All Bingo Club, Mikki G., was keen to share the great new mini games section with his loyal players. "This is a top addition for All Bingo Club players," he enthused. "We provide great bingo, great competitions, great weekly promotions, great chat and now great mini casino games. This really will spark some conversation in the chat rooms - and hopefully we'll be announcing some big jackpot wins too!"
Timoshenko Wins Asian Poker Tour in Macau
Twenty year old Yevgeney Timoshenko, a player from the United States, took home first prize in the much coveted final leg of the inaugural Asian Poker Tour that took place in Macau. Timoshenko won half a million shekels for his efforts, after beating top professionals in the field such as Thailand’s Robert Karlian and Australia’s Michael Pedley.
Since the Asian Poker Tour was launched several months ago, it has generated huge publicity in Asia and around the rest of the world. The popularity of poker has increased tenfold and AsianLogic announced that eight new poker tables have been inaugurated in the APT-sponsored Galaxy StarWorld poker room. "Adding eight new tables to the APT poker room may not sound like a big move to the well established western poker community," said the Chief Executive Officer of of AsianLogic, Tom Hall, "but you have to remember that this is Macau where baccarat is king. Poker is in its infancy - this is a significant step forward and further evidence of the growth and potential in this market."