EGBA to Launch Euro Gaming Newsletter

As reported earlier this week at Online Casino Suite, the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has been busy preparing for its second annual Responsible Gaming Day. And now that the conference has successfully come to a close, there is yet even more casinos news to report.

Something which betting site operators, policy makers and players themselves now have something to look forward to is the EGBA newsletter. Secretary General for the EGBA, Sigrid Ligné announced the launching of the newsletter at the introduction of the conference, citing it will serve to help lawmakers and regulatory bodies make more informed decisions, as well as guide players to wager more responsibly and safely.

Ligné further pointed out that Europe is still a long way from having a truly liberated and uniform online casino gambling sector. Reiterating the primary mission of the EGBA, Ligné said that national market protectionism is beginning to be chipped away at, while strong campaigns to develop an online gaming industry driven by standards and innovative technologies are in full swing.

The news was met with widespread approval - especially from EGBA members, who happen to be the major European free casino gaming players in the field. It's probably a safe bet to say too that one of the first newsletter subscribers will be the European Commission's Internal Market and Services Commissioner, Charlie McCreevy, who has been very effective pressuring EU member state to update gaming regulations and end their monopolistic gambling policies.

The inaugural issue of the EGBA newsletter will have articles on the free movement of goods and services in the EU, information on effective means of verifying customer identities, and some thoughts on sports betting in Europe.

http://onlinecasinosuite.com/casino-news

Blackjack Online Casino Progressive in the News

Most of the progressive jackpots that are on offer are based on online slot games. Most of the big hits this year have been on progressive slots games like Mega Moolah of Microgaming and Beach Life of Playtech. But one must not forget that there are progressive jackpots in other games as well and that these can pay out significant amounts. Roulette Royale of Microgaming recently paid out just under a million pounds.

Blackjack is a game that in the normal course does no offer huge payouts. The normal payout is 1 to 1 and blackjack pays out at 3 to 2. Hence to provide an opportunity to hard-core blackjack fans to win large amounts almost all the online gaming software developers have online casinos blackjack games with progressive jackpots.

The biggest blackjack jackpot currently on is Progressive Blackjack by Playtech. It stands at over £195,000, which is greater than its highest hit so far of £143,184. In order to play the progressive jackpot in this game the player has to wager the side bet of £1. The progressive payouts begin at 25 to 1 and depend on the number of aces drawn by the player. The jackpot is hit if the player draws four aces of the same color.

Vegas Technology has a Progressive blackjack game as well. The jackpot currently stands at over £154,000. The highest it has paid out is £172,910. The Vegas Technology blackjack jackpot hits every second month on an average and has paid out £976,421 till date. The £1 side bet has to be made to be eligible for the progressive jackpot. The payouts begin with at 25 to 1 for any two aces, but to win the full jackpot the player has to draw four aces of the same suit.

Cryptologic also offers its version of Progressive Jackpot. The jackpot’s first payout of £202,622 was the highest. Since then the hits have been of lesser amounts. The jackpot currently stands at over £67,000. The first payout is 25 to 1 if the first two cards drawn by the player are two suited aces. The jackpot is hit if the first four cards drawn by the player are aces of the same color.

Microgaming’s progressive free blackjack game is called Triple Sevens and as its name suggests it is structured differently from the other progressive blackjacks.

Source: http://www.casinolaunchpad.com/news/

Antigua and Barbuda island nations experience a surge in online casino gambling

The island nation of Antigua and Barbuda has experienced a recent surge in their online gambling casino industry. They appear to benefiting from the recent online gambling laws.

Recent foreign approval from the British Department of Culture, Media and Sport regarding Antigua's operations mean that many online casino operators are looking to set up base camp in the country.

The UK's influence is seen as the major factor in the recent boom, and a major newspaper is reporting a budget increase of 100% for the online gambling industry. The British Government has recently granted ''white-listing'' which applies stringent regulations to the Antiguan online gambling industry, thus making it safer and more trusted.

Kaye McDonald, director of gaming for the Antiguan commission, said: ''Key personnel, key management and key operators are required to be in Antigua and Barbuda. This is of utmost importance.''

Source: http://www.onlinecasino-news.com/