It is only recently that we have been online gambling games, and getting them in three D. Now, because technology changes so quickly in the well… technology business, a new generation of games is already being released by probability. When we talk about game, we mean in the sense of online gambling games that can be played to win real money.

It is all over the press that Probability is "Supercharging the player experience with HD graphics, responsive interfaces, smooth animation and crystal clear sound", and all of this is for mobile gambling which is the largest growth sector that the online gambling industry is taking advantage of right now. These are the best in their class products for mobile gambling, and are compatible with many Android tablets and smartphones, as well as the iOS platform.

Now that mobile gambling is HD (High Definition), other software developers are going to have to come up with similar products, and come up with these aggressively. There are six HD slots for iOS, Android and Blackberry users that have already been released in the next generation format.

These games are developed and based upon new HTML5 and server frameworks which have been developed in-house by Probability during the last twelve months. The technology is as good, if not better than native apps, and can be used on the most sophisticated smartphones and tablets available today, over all major operating systems.

We immediately took note of scale accurate, much sharper graphics, with synchronised sounds to screen action. These high resolution displays offer much smoother animation, as well as a highly responsive interface, in much faster download times than we have ever experienced before. Customers are going to love this, and won’t want to play any other games, of this we can be reasonably sure.

Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Probability – Charles Cohen – commented that customer expectations have become that high, while HTML5 has not necessarily been able to deliver. Not in comparison to native apps. However, upgrades to the iOS and Android systems in the new breed of smartphone, have allowed for this company to deliver a product that is arguably even better than native apps.

They call this new technology the Slot-O-Matic development platform, which allows them the ability to offer the highest quality of games in even more markets than any other developer/provider. New releases include; Poseidon’s Kingdom HD, Long John’s Silver HD, War Zone HD, Way of the Slot HD Pots of Plenty HD, and Samurai vs Zombies HD – under license from Glu. All that is left for you is to simply give them a try.

When online slots developers started to incorporate elements of skill into these games, we started to call them “Sklots”, basically a marriage of the two. But it was only a matter of time until MMORPG developers realised that monetizing their games could create a new stream of revenue for them. Whether or not all Virtual World developers will create gambling games stills remains a moot point, but one MMO has done this, and has done it with the title of Dragon Tales.

Role playing gaming is über-popular online, and this classic MMORPG has been created at great cost by lead designer of eGenesis – Andrew Tepper. His comments on the release of Dragon Tales basically that he was struck by the idea that gambling online can be lonely, and this could be the truth, as so many community slots games and such are actually being developed today.
The typical online slots player simply seats themselves in front of a 2 or 3D slot and whiles away the time. Despite the fact that online casinos also offer a chat feature, we don’t know the number of players that take advantage of this form of social interaction. We do know that online bingo players are a chatty lot.

So, Tepper has taken the experience he has garnered building MMORPG’s over the last 15 years, and has given this game a gambling application. He believes he has created an “intensely social world” where players can get together online, and not take the journey alone. Exploring this game world together means sharing skills or techniques, as well as being able to rely on each-other with each completing gambling quest in order to level up.

Credit cards and Bitcoins are the in-game monetary systems, and Tepper has said that every game inside Dragon’s Tale is “novel.” It has been designed for a 3D environment, and includes running monkeys through mazes, dragon egg hunts, cow tipping, fishing, and feeding the ducks. So far sixty games have been created, and new games are being continually added. They are apparently all a new take on gambling, with half being based on sheer random good luck, and the other half being skills-based.

eGenesis has featured a tournament system, in Dragons Tale, as well as student/teacher system, with player-controlled governance similar to that of their other claim to fame – A Tale in the Desert. If you fancy taking Dragon Tale for a test run, they start Beta testing this week on Friday the 12th of July.

The very first time we saw Net Entertainment (NetEnt)games and websites, it was hard not to believe that this online gambling, gaming developer was not going to do big things. They have since divested themselves of operations in this field, to concentrate on development as well as turnkey solution for the industry from a back office perspective. Dropping the gambling website business meant ridding themselves of “conflict of interest” issues, and they have gone from strength to strength since then. Every operator who is anybody should want NetEnt games on their websites.

Already an award winner, this prominent Swedish software provider for online casinos has landed a hat-trick at the recent EGR B2B Awards. Any player in this industry wants these prestigious awards in their trophy cabinet, and NetEnt took three! These awards are:

• Innovation in Slot Provision
• Innovation in Mobile
• Mobile Supplier of the Year

This company’s commitment in the development of a top-notch mobile platform has paid off, for sure. “Touch” (the mobile platform) is thought to be the best in the business, and the awards it has won contests to that. The online gambling audience is now more sophisticated than ever before, and amore players move to the convenience of mobile to play on the go, NetEnt products adapt to this growing demand. Players want quality mobile casino games, and quality is what they get.

The Award for innovation in slots provision is highly commendable too – if you have not seen their great games – do yourself a favour and check out: Jack and the Beanstalk, Gonzos Quest, BloodSuckers, Egg-o-matic, Zombies, Starburst, Evolution, Jack Hammer…there are just so many to choose from.

Per Eriksson – the President and CEO of Net Entertainment, was understandably thrilled to share this good news with the industry. He said that "Innovation is at the core of everything we do and these three prestigious industry awards are a product of all the team’s hard work." He also commented that their team had been focussing heavily on mobile development during the past eighteen months, and this focus had paid off.

Mobile is without any shadow of a doubt a high growth area, and being regarded so highly at the EGR B2B Awards will only stand the brand in good stead for a very good future. These awards recognise achievements across all e-gaming segments, including networks, payment solutions, IT and infrastructure, mobile gaming, software, and so on.

Whilst speaking of Net Entertainmednt, you might also be interested to know that another recent BIG win took place on Mega Fortune™. It paid out a handsome prized of €5.3 Million at BetVictor Casino during the May Bank Holiday weekend. This prize was the 4th biggest in their history.

One of the reasons why gambling has in the past had a dodgy reputation, has been due to the fact that a "gambling underworld" has had, and in some instance still does play a role in this business. This type of illegal activity is not unique to gambling per se, but unscrupulous operators do have a penchant to try their luck. However, there are very many legitimate gambling businesses doing really well, offering fair games, etcetera, but even the legitimate sector of this industry seems to have been tarred (in some instances) with the same brush.

Now the online gambling industry appears to have been targeted for the same “tar and feathering” treatment, where fuel for this impression is being fired by who else – but the film industry? Justin Timberlake has taken time out of his newly re-vamped role as a successful pop star to get back into the movie making business, with a new role that has been based on the online gambling underworld.

The film dubbed – Runner Runner – is being released by Twentieth Century Fox and official video trailers are already hitting the silver screen. This gambling drama is due to be release sometime this September. Timberlake co-stars with Ben Affleck who is no stranger to gambling, and really enjoys his poker; Affleck takes on the role of an online gambling tycoon. But not just any common or garden gambling tycoon, he is tied to corruption, and of course bribery.

Playing a Princeton grad student named Richie – Timberlake – is caught up in the constant concern regarding how to pay off massive tuition fees. He also happens to be a mathematics genius, and recons he could probably come up with the $60K required, by playing online poker. The fact that playing online poker is still illegal in the USA has even been taken into consideration, as Ivan Block (played by Affleck) is situated in Costa Rica.

Nevertheless, Richie makes use of the law of statistics together with his own considerable know-how, and guess what happens next? He loses of course – and finds himself in an even worse position. But not only does he lose, he also believes that he has been cheated out of the money he lost.

After losing, Richie travels to Costa Rica to confront Block, but instead ends up being lured into this underworld. After being kidnapped by FBI agents, and informed of what Block’s shady dealings really are, he tries to switch sides. However, I guess we will have to wait for the movie to come out, before we find out what transpires in the end. Release is scheduled for 27th September 2013.

eCOGRA is an independent standards, testing and certification body for online gambling websites, who are there to protect the public too. It basically offers certification to reliable online gambling websites in regulated territories.

The internet gambling public have learned to look out for this certification before playing at any site, as they have learned how meaningful it actually is. This is particularly pertinent to the UK, because the audience for these games in the country are today highly evolved – what we like to refer to as knowledgeable and sophisticated players. This week it was revealed that eCOGRA would be expanding their operations, and is involved in the process of employing more staff.

These expansion plans are only one small indication of the type of growth that is still being experienced in the online gambling industry. It is also a further indication of how the growth of mobile gambling markets is taking off like a bat out of hell. Mobile concerns as well as online firms, require this form of accreditation.

Apparently ten specially recruited professional staff will be joining the current team, with skills sets such as certified information IT systems auditing, chartered accounting (courtesy of the Big 4) and software test engineers.

Tex Rees – the Executive Director of eCOGRA – released this breaking news during a recent management update. Substantial investments have also been made in areas such as audit software, internal control systems, programmes, and testing laboratory infrastructure. It is Rees’ opinion that these expanded capabilities will extend capacity, and better enable them to service an ever-growing online gambling operations client base, within licensed, and regulated territories.

Founded in 2003 – eCOGRA has seen this industry through its infancy and well into a new era. They are now responsible for testing many of the biggest online operations, and recently inked a software deal with Net Entertainment. A Swedish software firm – Net Ent are certainly putting some of the best games we have ever seen out into the online gambling marketplace, and more and more operations are clamouring for their products. eCogra also has an eGAP standards and monitoring agreement in place with Paf – another Scandinavian operator.

eCogra certification has become synonymous with superior operating standards, and representation in terms of the highest quality for fairness in the online gambling industry. They are recipients of ISO approval from the UK Accreditation Service (UKAS), and what this means to the online gambler, is that any site bearing this seal has been rigorously tested, and is being continuously monitored. It also offers a protection aspect for the gambler themselves, and may be requested to help in terms of mediation, should any fairness disputes arise.