Issue N37, 2007
September 27, 2007
European Gambling Companies to EU: Reject US Offer
The United States officially made a compensation offer to the European Union, in response to a World Trade Organization Union ruling that it had not honored international trade agreements by refusing other countries the right to participate in its local online gambling markets. However, European gambling groups who examined the offer briefly when it made slightly before the deadline given to the US to respond elapsed, are reportedly pressuring the European Union to reject the offer, describing it as inadequate and clearly not worthy of further consideration. Nevertheless, the EU was granted an extension to give it sufficient time to examine the offer, which includes warehouse services, storage and technical testing, among other perks.
Other countries that were offered less-than-satisfactory compensation offers included the initial complainant, the twin-state island of Antigua and Barbuda. While financial experts believe that compensation to this country should not be less than the $3-billion demanded, the United States’ offer allegedly comprised of just $500,000. The lawyer hired by the country to fight its case said that if the United States did not get serious with its compensation proposals, they would need to consider extreme steps relating to trade and other agreements between the two.
New WagerWorks Games Released
London-based WagerWorks, the gambling game developing arm of online software company International Gaming Technology (IGT), has announced the release of several exciting new games, much to the delight of slot fans around the globe. The company focused its new designs on two popular board games, Cluedo and the all-time-favorite, Monopoly – both of them in Megajackpots format. The Cluedo game comes as a five reel, twenty payline slot with a delightful murder mystery theme. Players will enjoy the Free Spin Mystery Bonus that awards them with up to fifteen free spins.
The new Monopoly-themed game comes as a five reel, nine pay line slot game and incorporates an exciting ‘Pass-and-Go’ bonus allowing players to advance on a Monopoly board and win great prizes on the way. It is important to note that both these Cluedo and Monopoly versions come with jackpot prizes that reach into the millions of dollars, thus putting them in the same range of games as other popular megajackpots in the online gambling market. Players are thus guaranteed great fun through popular games, and still put themselves in line to win a small fortune in the process!
All Hearts for Coral Gaming Group
Gala Coral, a leading games group in the United Kingdom, has announced that it has signed a lucrative sponsorship deal with one of Scotland’s most popular football clubs, Scotland’s Hearts of Midlothian – lovingly known by fans simply as ‘Hearts’. The commercial director of the football club said that the team was happy to be working with Coral, a respected gaming company in the UK. “We have already begun working proactively with Coral on a range of different projects, which are innovative and exciting,” he said.
The two-year contract comprises of an exclusive online gaming partnership, with Gala Coral providing the team with a wide variety of online gaming games such as the ever-popular bingo, poker, sportsbetting and others. As part of its social awareness policy, Gala Coral has added a clause in the sponsorship agreement that it would be donating some of the revenue from this new partnership – up to $2-million - to an education and community trust. The gambling group is also said to be excited about the new deal and aims to provide Hearts fans with additional football action through exciting sportsbetting and casino games.
New CyberArts Games to be Presented at EiG
Yet another good reason to attend the European iGaming Expo and Congress event in October: the online gaming group, CyberArts has announced that it will make available for viewing its exciting new 13 card software games, Blackjack and Chinese Poker. Interested gaming operators from around the world will be able to apply for licenses to run these games on their sites and thus bring players a new dimension of gaming.
The new Blackjack should be of particular interest to fans of this game. With the ability to play up to three simultaneous hands, multiplayer features and advanced chat features, this version of Blackjack is sure to thrill. In addition, players can join multi-round tournaments for added excitement. The 13 Card Chinese Poker version offers players an excellent balance between chance and strategy, and is especially popular in the Asian gambling markets. CyberArts is proud of the flexibility offered with these new releases and has commented that gaming operators could customize the games by changing the stakes and rules on their sites to suit their particular customer preferences. The games will be on display between 2 – 4 October in Barcelona, Spain at the EiG event.