Sheriff Gaming has long been at the forefront of developing new and ingenious online slots games. They are credited with being the leader of the pack in the development of 3D slots – that is slot machines that rely heavily on 3D animations and witty, humoristic videos to wide appeal. However, their eventual move into the mobile gaming market has long been awaited, and now it finally appears as though it will become a reality.

Sheriff Gaming this week announced that they would be unveiling two brand new mobile casino games at the ICE Total Gaming event in London at the ExCel between the fifth and seventh of February. The two new titles are also believed to have a future in the online casino market also.

Any online games developers move into the mobile casino market would always have been big news, but that it is Sheriff Gaming is remarkable, given the nature of their 3D slot games. Rumours are already rife that the games are just as good graphically and entertaining as much as the original online casino slot releases are, despite rumours that mobile phones won’t be able to handle the graphics and animations required to run Sheriff Gaming slots.

The new titles released by Sheriff Gaming will be run under the SMARTTM brand, which currently offer games via Android, iOS and HTML5 technology platforms already. It is widely thought that the move has been made to further make Sheriff Gaming stand out from already existing developers of mobile casino games. Sheriff Gaming has already gained this reputation due to the uniqueness of their online slot machine games (in regards to the genre they develop).

None of the new mobile slot machine games demos have been revealed at the moment, though reports have surfaced that state that the two slots will be called Spartania and Amsterdam Masterplan. The exact specifics of the way these new 3D mobile gaming slots will run is also being kept closely under wraps, although it is through that Sheriff Gaming will incorporate bonus games of some sort of another into the overall game play of their mobile slots. The latter of the two titles is believed to be based on a heist in Amsterdam, as best as can be understood, which Spartania having a wheel of fortune based bonus game of some kind.

Both of these new online slots are hugely anticipated and Sheriff Gaming’s competitors in the market will be looking on which keen and eager eyes to see what Sheriff Gaming can do in the mobile gaming industry with their first attempt.

We often come across news items regarding big wins at online gambling websites. These wins are often nabbed by online slots players, and we are talking about millions of Kroner, not just trifling wins. But, despite the fact that the Swedish winters are long, and online gambling is a fun way to spend those long, lonely, dark, endless nights, the Swedish Prime Minister is taking his life in his hands by proposing changes to gaming laws.

The motivation for the changes is apparently due to some stats release by the National Audit Office. The stats were released in June 2012, and changes are scheduled to be implemented by mid-2014. According to the news report, there has been an “increase in pathological gambling has been identified among certain groups of gamblers”.

While legislation will be implemented to take away certain gambling freedoms a couple of years down the line; it pays to remember that time flies fast when you are having fun, and online gambling is nothing more than having a little harmless fun. If problem gamblers are on the increase, then people are the problem, not gambling per se. This is something we have always maintained, but the real issue seems to be that competition between illegal or unauthorised gambling providers seems to be the main cause of Swedish residents gambling problems. Again, it seems to us, that people are the problem not gambling itself.

By the 31st May of this year we should know exactly what proposed law changes will be. But we have absolutely no doubt that online gambling will be affected. Changes in regulations will more than likely affect high risk areas the most, and as online gambling is a numbers game, with more numbers than ever before playing these games, it stands to reason this industry will be targeted.

However, there is some light at the end of the dark tunnel of those cold lonely nights for the Swedes. It is perceived that current legislation is simply weak in the area of social protections, so the aim is to strengthen these weaknesses, not institute outright bans. Bans in countries which disallow gambling online are often perceived to be bans on access to information, as well as an infringement of rights to choice. No radical overhaul of the present systems is to be expected.

Even state-controlled Svenska Spel was named in the report, and they are one of the very few “legal” Swedish gambling providers. Here it is interesting to note that they also have a very strong online presence. They offer bingo, casino games, sports betting and poker; live and online as well as throughout the entire Swedish entertainment industry, which means restaurants and pubs, as well as bingo halls – the lot.

They have been offering online poker through the Boss Media (now GTECH G2) platform since 2005, which makes them the only authorised product in Sweden, so, where does the “competition” factor come in? Apparently residents have easy access to all kinds of online gambling sites, so, all the Swedish Government need do is require fair individual licensing and regulation, just like nearly all of the EU.

While Northern Ireland is considered to be part of the United Kingdom, this area is a self-governing territory, which implements its own distinct laws. Heaven knows the IRA fought long and hard enough to gain this distinction.

In terms of online gambling legislation and regulation, there was once the idea that an independent licensing authority should be created. However, the idea was soon rejected, due to logistical difficulties. Now Nelson McCausand – Minister of Social Development – Northern Ireland, has announced that new gambling legislation is to be formulated shortly. Apparently the new laws are not expected to affect online gamblers in any drastic way.

The need for new laws has become essential, because as times have changes, the old laws cannot hope to cover all the facets of every gambling portfolio, that is available to the public today. Basically these new laws are for consumer protection, and are focussed at players, and the money they spend being protected.

The EU marketplace as a whole has seen online gambling, as well as games such as poker, surge in popularity. In particular in terms of the game of poker, live events have become just as popular as playing online. Therefore the new Northern Irish laws will be designed to comply with the provisions of the EU, and unlike various EU countries, which have been recently seen taking the law into their own hands, the Northern Irish have no desire to take the EU Commission head on.

The other crucial aspect according to Minister McCausand, is that the original Betting, Gaming, Lotteries and Amusements laws were promulgate in 1985, and only dealt with the activities of bingo clubs, gaming machines, and so on. The times, they are a changing, and therefore so too must the laws. Gambling is so much more than mere bingo today, and is available across a wide variety of channels.

He is also keen that their laws should fit with the laws of the EU, and has in fact made it clear that they wish to have strict adherence with EU provisions.

There is also the matter of the Problem Gambling Review, when in 2009, problem gambling numbers were… well… a problem. At the time the review was conducted it revealed that at least 2% of the Northern Irish population, were actually gamblers with problems. This was a highly damaging review, and at the time, although poker was not mentioned per se, online poker operators had something to say. Operators such as Betfair, Paddy Power and Ladbrokes, are highly reputed brands in this industry, and obviously had something strong to say regarding the results of this review.

However, new laws will increase player protection, as well as address specific loopholes that seem to be present in the current gambling system. As EU law is not anti-online gambling, we don’t see any difficulty with new Northern Ireland law. They have absolutely committed themselves to strictly comply with the EU. Regulations and standards in the UK are being extensively studied to ensure a similar model for this independently governed territory.