Online Gambling News

In December 2013, Net Entertainment signed an agreement with one of the world’s leading online gambling groups, bet365. Net Entertainment is today pleased to announce that a comprehensive selection of the company’s best titles is now offered via desktop and mobile channels to bet365’s player base.

Björn Krantz, Chief of GMO and MD at Net Entertainment Malta Ltd, said: "We are very excited and proud to realize a successful launch of our games on Vegas at bet365. I am positive that our innovative and exciting portfolio of best of breed games will be well received by bet365 and its players."

The regulatory landscape for online gambling websites ishugely diverse. However offshore websites are popularly used by millions of fans, even in countries where ostensibly real money gambling activities are not allowed. Most Western European countries have regulatory systems in place, while the majority of the USA, as well as Asian countries don’t have much going in terms of regulation.

Russian courts have made ISP’s responsible for blocking internet gambling websites that are "illegally" offering this form of online gaming, and the latest website to bite the dust is the almighty PokerStars. Here is pays to remember that like most people in the world –the Russians love playing poker. Some of the best WPT, and WSOP players are Russians who first started playing online. Now a November 2012 ruling by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation has put a spoke in that wheel. But it does not stop here, some major type of censorship pogrom appears to be on the cards, with opposition news groups and others being affected.

According to the press, this ruling has not been properly enforced since its inception, but things are starting to change. Although land gambling is restricted to special zones, online gambling is strictly speaking – illegal. Access to PokerStars has now been blocked, together with a host of other gambling websites, and even some sites that do not offer real money gambling games.

PokerStars has the lions’ share of the market for online poker globally. The Russian Federation cutting them out of the equation will obviously have an impact on numbers. It is a very large country, with a very large poker following. While we doubt the effects of a ban will put this mammoth poker brand out of business, it could well be a hard knock.

Other A-listed gambling brands to come under the ban include; Ladbrokes, SportingBet, Unibet, Carbon Poker, and the dedicated Russian PartyPoker.net website. Affiliate sites have been included in the ban and in total,approximately fifty websites have been affected. Although some players are reporting that they are unable to access these websites, but somehow still manage to access tables. Not quite sure how that works, but PokerStars remains positive, and has offered reassurance to fans stating ~ "at this time we do not believe this changes our ability to offer services to Russian players. As such our operations continue as usual."

For many years poker has been one of the best love games in the USA. As American as apple pie – this game has become immensely popular world-wide due to the media coverage big tournaments attract. The advent of online poker has also features in this growth in popularity, and one of the really big changes being seen is that more and more females are playing. Once thought to be the domain of the male of the species, social poker has seen a growth rate of 22% for female fans throughout 2013.

IGT – otherwise known as International Game Technology are a global leader in the production of gaming tech. They provide gambling games to live casinos, as well as casinos online. This new data regarding player patterns, and preferences, was revealed from a US Social Casino Index project. The information comes from a pool of over six million players who make use of IGT’s DoubleDown Casino which is a Facebook powered product. It can be played online or by mobile, and lays claim to being the "world’s largest virtual casino".

While there is a difference between social gaming and gambling online for real money prizes. IGT provides games designed for both of these purposes. It is obvious why they need to keep a finger on the pulse of trends – because gambling is their business. It also pays to not that most states in the USA still do not allow online gambling for real money prizes. However, social gambling products can be monetized in various innovative ways.

The traditional way of thinking about poker being a male-dominated is definitely being thoroughly researched now. This information proves that female fans are increasing at a rapid rate. Gone are the days when ladies were banished to bingo, while the men got on with the serious business of playing this game of skill.

It is appealing to a far broader audience than ever before, and it is only a matter of time we believe, until we see even more females seated at the felt, in popular live competitions. At one time these competitions were also segregated to male and female competitors, but this is also something that has changed with the maturing of poker into an awesome card game for all. It does not distinguish between sex, race, age or physical ability. All a poker player needs to have to win is a very good game.

The latest trends in online marketplaces are regularly placed in the spotlight, none more so than trends in online gambling. This massive marketplace has continued to surprised researchers for years, and with development in mobile channels, continues to surprise even more. The latest trends and development findings from yStats.com has found that this sector continues to grow. No BIG surprises there! Even gambling on social networking sites such as Facebook is getting a good deal of attention.

The increase in use of smartphones and tablets is topping the charts, so too is the use of this technology, increasing both gambling and sports-betting numbers. Currently live, or what we call "brick and mortar" casinos, are still dominating this scene, however, real money gambling online is expected to grow at double-digit rates into the future. Experts are predicting a growth rate of 40% or more by the year 2018, which is not so terribly far down the line.

Besides smartphones, tablets, and the growth spurt that this technology has engendered. There is ever increasing pressure for countries that ban online gambling, to change their regulatory landscapes. Regulations are varied throughout the world, with North America lagging way behind in an industry that in the UK has been legal for years. In fact the UK leads the way’ miles ahead of the rest of the world! Western European countries have some regulations in place, while Asia also lags behind. The pressure is on from both the industry and people who wish to gamble online, to lift anti-online gambling laws, as well as regulate this industry. The argument for regulation is not so that only Governments have better controls, but that players enjoy more protection too.

When speaking about the growth in popularity of gambling online, and its continued success as an online industry leader, we are talking in numbers off Billions of Dollars. It is precisely for this reason that many Governments do not want to legalise and regulate. Why? Well, despite the fact that "moral" arguments are most often espoused, the real reason seems to be Government greed. Online industry is slightly more difficult to control in terms of taxation, as the British Government have found out to their great loss.

But as more advanced tech becomes available, it makes the industry easier to audit and control. However, it seems that most governments around the world would rather have no taxable income from this industry at all, rather than a small slice of something huge.

We don’t find it very surprising that online gambling habits are regularly placed under the microscope for industry scrutiny. Marketing methods have become more scientific over the years, in particular in the online space, where this industry is now a mainstream model for making money.

Mobile game sales, spending rates, hours spent online and so on, are all grist for the mill for surveyors when attempting to understand how to market to their chosen audience. New research in a report from the Online Gaming Market, 2014, sees that players in Europe spend more time playing, than gamblers on any other continent. The research includes social network platforms such as Facebook, as well as use of mobile devices like smart phones and tablets. Apparently nearly 20% of the entire population enjoys taking a gamble online.

It seems that experts in this industry find these numbers disproportionately surprising, however the facts remain in particular in the UK – consumers eagerly participate in playing online games. Gambling platforms have become a part of everyday life, and half of all UK tablet users make this channel their first choice. There is a definite predisposition for online gambling through mobile technology, which promises much growth for mobile gaming into the future.

Mobile in-game purchases as reported by specialists -Swrve– says that 0.15% of mobile gamblers generates 50% of monthly profits. This is the first Mobile Games Monetization Report Swrve has published, and it is hugely interesting to note that so much money is generated from a such a small number of spenders. But the point is that there are a whole bunch of active players that truly enjoy online, or rather, mobile gambling games.

The study was conducted across "tens of millions of players", the aim being to find precisely "where the money is made". It took a whole month to compile and what was also found to be rather interesting – was that very little data exists to show how consumers relate to“free-mium” games. There are many free online gambling models to take advantage of, and while many players do, there is still this small section of players in the market, generating a great deal of money.

Facts revealed indicate thatwomen tend to wager more, and the over 50 age group makes up a large proportion of the social online casino player index. The myth is also being dispelled that people over 50 arenot computer savvy. The second biggest player category is the 60 – 69 year-old age group.