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.

Virtually every month Microgaming releases a couple of new games. The latest releases for November are Both Break Away and Octopays video slots. These are not the only new things in the pipeline however, there will be plenty of new games on offer to help you while away the long cold winter nights. Microgaming is an Isle of Man based software provider with a very good reputation as a mainstream online casino gaming provider.

The new releases are an ice hockey themed game, and an underwater treasure hunting theme. They will be available online in the new month and available at most of the good Microgaming powered casinos.

Break Away as we said is a video slot – it invites players to take to the ice and win their way to victory. The theme is a super combination of this exciting winter sport and unbeatable online casino software. It offers great bonus features, scatter pays, the new Rolling Reels feature, Smashing and Stacked Wilds, Stacked Wilds, as well as the chance to win twenty-five free spins and up to ten x multiplier. Icons are all thinks ice hockey, so, if slots and ice hockey are the names of your games why not give it a spin or two.

Octopays, another video slot offers appropriate underwater treasure hunting graphics, and we know this has all been done before. But it is a fresh look at the theme, with the 243 Ways to Win feature, there is no pay-lines as such. The Kraken is a monster bonus feature and there is up to 16,000 coins to be won in the free spins feature.

But now for the really big news, Microgaming has announced a new partnership and licensing deal with the makers of Battlestar Galactica™. What this means is there is bound to be a game in the pipeline based on this Sci-fi theme. The licensing agreement is with NBC Universal TV and they are definitely in it for an online slot game. Sci-fi fans this is one for you.

Battlestar Galactica is one of the most critically acclaimed television programmes, it has reached an audience of more than 14 million viewers globally. The final season of the tale sees the last vestiges of humanity under attack from deadly Cylons whilst at the same time trying to find a new planet to call home. It has captured the imagination of millions of people and at the same time, created a new generation of fans. The series has also picked up three Emmy awards. The series ran between 2004 and 2009.

Microgaming are obviously delighted with this new partnership, and Battlestar Galactica’s strong international appeal should mean that the new slot game will be well received. "We can’t wait to see the finished product, but there will still be a wait. Be prepared for something truly special. Roger Raatgever, who is CEO of Microgaming, says they are thrilled to be creating video slots which are light years ahead of the rest".

A Norwegian player has landed a staggering 7,3 million euro jackpot playing Net Entertainment’s Hall Of Gods™ video slot on Betsson.

The man in his forties landed the monster sum playing online on Tuesday 23rd October and the life-changing win is the second multi-million euro jackpot to be paid out on Hall of Gods™ slot this year.

Hall of Gods™ allows players to immerse themselves in an ancient Viking world where players can win free spins before smashing their way to riches with Thor’s hammer in bonus games to win one of three jackpots.

Since last year Net Entertainment games have paid out more than €29 million in jackpot wins and that figure could soon be extended as another Net Entertainment game, Mega Fortune™, has a jackpot currently exceeding €6.8 million.

Net Entertainment’s progressive jackpot games are proving more popular than ever as substantial jackpots are building up quicker and falling more frequently.

“The high liquidity offered by Net Entertainment progressive slots helps jackpots build extremely quickly and they are a fantastic acquisition tool for operators. We would like to congratulate the winner on his huge success and we look forward to hopefully making many more millionaires in the coming months” said Per Eriksson, President and CEO of Net Entertainment.

In the online gambling space, it has been said, and we know this to be true, that innovation is king. The internet by its very nature is a highly innovative space that moves along related industries at a far faster pace than most other channels of manufacturing, sales and development. During 2012 – as has been the case throughout most of the short history of Internet gambling – a many and varied number of innovations have taken place. Some of the most state-of-the-art advancements have been made in 3D and animated online slots games offerings, as well as RTP (Return to Player) systems.

Online gamblers are more savvy than ever before, they have become a sophisticated lot of connoisseurs who know what they want from an online casino as a product overall. Bearing this in mind these businesses can no longer rest on their laurels, they have to come to the party in a big way and make the grade. Software developments and technological progress is therefore made at such a fast pace, that it often seems impossible for us writers to keep up with everything; but, keep up we must.

The year 2012 has seen any software developer who is any-one entering the business of providing 3D and Animated casino slots games. While some developers are definitely more advanced and particular about design than others, there seems to be a place for most of the big names to find a good fit with their fans. Not all gamers want the frills and thrills that say for example Net Entertainment provides. But if you are seeking an excellent 3D and animated slots experience, then Net Entertainment are the games to play. They are followed in our opinion by Microgaming, Wagerworks, Playtech, and Betsoft, with various others trailing behind.

Complex animated online slots are the name of the game, and these most often feature numerous interactive bonus rounds, which play more like skill games. New releases from Net Entertainment include; Jack and the Beanstalk, which is nothing short of excellence personified, and do check out the brand new “Evolution”; from Microgaming this would be the Batman-themed Dark Knight, and Playtech’s new release Viking Mania.

Return to player features have made many advances too with every online casino worth its salt offering VIP programmes that come together with bonus and winnings tracker systems. These help the player see what time they have left to spend bonus funds, how they are progressing with wagering requirements, what true winnings are based on the amount of funds wagered, and various other financial factors.

Bonus, winning and wagering factors have become enormously critical, especially to regular players, who are in the first instance often gambling online because it is a good value for money type of entertainment. Because it is good value for money, regular players are well aware of all the benefits involved, so, keeping track of these benefits also becomes vitally important to them.

As much as we hate to admit to this, one of our favourite casino games is definitely the slots. If we walk into a casino, we do not head for blackjack or roulette, we head for the nearest seat at our favourite slot game. The same applies to online gambling, and now let us think… hmmm… think some more…Nope. Never played any other game online but bingo and the slots!

Microgaming is one of the biggest and best of all slots designers, although they also design software for craps, poker, blackjack, casino poker, video poker, baccarat, pontoon, rummy… you name it… any virtual gambling game, and this brand is on the floor. One of the latest and greatest innovations in online slot design came when the marriage of the slot and movie genre met. Who innovated this first, we are not sure, it was either Microgaming or Playtech, and they did this through negotiating with the makers of trend-setting movies, and attaching these licenses to their games.

One of the latest marriages in this genre is the popular Dark Knight Slot. Recently launched in August, the last two months have been very busy for this game, and have spawned a whole slew of winners. It has already become one of the most prolifically played slots of the year, and has already given us three rather large progressive jackpot winners. There are four progressive bonus games up for grabs, and the highest starts at one million. Worth playing for? You bet your ass it is!

In the Dark Knight Mega Jackpot Slot game, the Mega Progressive prize starts at 1 000 000.00, the Major Progressive prize starts at 10 000.00, with the Minor Progressive at 100.00, and the Mini at 10.00. We also have to bear in mind, that each of these prizes grow as the game is played. So, there are winners in the base game, and of the progressive prizes.

Dark Knight Winners so far have seen two from Royal Vegas Casino where one lucky player from down under managed to bag AUS$ 22,895.78. Player two won a very impressive €32,823.79 prize, and the third winner, also from down under, won AUS $39,704.23 at Vegas Palms.

If this gives you even more incentive to play it should!

In the free spins bonus round there are 4,000,000 coins to be earned, and these are won apart from the PJP’s. This massive prize is generated by the fact that the free spins round offers a fifteen free spins and growing multiplier. What does that mean to you the player? It means that the sky is quite literally the proverbial limit.

The Joker character Feature can Award even more wins. These appear on the screen at any time they are triggered. Players are then rewarded with random bonuses, and there’s more. The fun just doesn’t seem to end when playing Dark Knight, despite the dark nature of the theme of the slot. Do make sure and join in the entertainment, because the winning just doesn’t stop too.