Greece and Gambling
Greece has been a big topic in the news. A deadline of the end of September has been set up by International lenders to establish the revenue generation measures that were already agreed upon. One of these such limitations has to do with legalizing online gambling and how the government is to get their share of revenue from OPAP. A contract is said to be signed by the government and OPAP by this deadline according to a member of the media.
In order to have their monopoly extended until 2020 OPAP will have to get new gaming licenses and pay the accompanying fees, which add up to approximately €950 million. Since it is such a large amount, it is not likely that this money will be seen before the deadline arrives, and a full contract with all of the fine print will need to be created as well.
The Greek government currently owns 34% of OPAP, but the CEO of the company, Spanoudakis, has made the point that before an agreement can be reached the rest of the shareholders will have to give their approval as well. This means that they will have to borrow some of the €950 million in order to pay for the meeting. The government has also talked about selling their part of the company by the end of this year, but nothing has been solidified yet. It is reported that the reason for this is that some of the politicians do not want to give up the control and revenue that is generated from the company.
The government in the Netherlands has also expressed interest in legalizing and regulating online gambling but is having trouble getting the support of their parliament, a much different situation than in other European countries. The biggest concern of the Dutch members of parliament is that there is not enough in the bill to help protect people against online gambling addiction. Dutch Deputy Minister Teeven has announced that the government will create a sort of watchdog group to help with gambling addiction, but the members of parliament are afraid this won’t be as effective as they hope it will be. Those that oppose belong to several different political parties, including the Christian Union, The Socialist Party, The Green Left, and the Labor Party.
The Italian government is being extremely supportive and encouraging to other governments in the legalization and regulation of online gambling, having already experienced it for themselves. Their gambling regulating company, AAMS, has stated that their wages had increased 21.45% in the first seven months of 2011, and rose 19.33% faster than the same time period in 2010.
Does the House Always Win?
It is a known fact that people lose when gambling because the house tends to have an advantage in many of the games. Some people may even claim that they house ‘always’ wins and that the pit bosses depend on large numbers of players and bets to be placed in order to turn a profit.
It’s actually been found that the truth is the opposite. While some groups may earn more profits than others both the players (collectively) and the house would eventually come out even. What everyone really wants to know though is what the odds are that the player wins, and what factors must be examined to make a determination.
First off, you must understand that the odds vary for the different games, and with the amount of the bet. Craps is one good example of how these factors affect the bet. Bets are $30 on a 5 through 9, but a dollar less for a 4 or 10. If you win on a four or ten, you’re looking at a win of $57, 5 or a 9 gets you $42 and a 6 or 8 is $35.
If you decide to just bet on one number, say $30 and you don’t want to go through more than $300 in a four-hour time period. You’re looking at approximately 240 throws with the following odds of busting: on a 4 or 10, 41%, 5 or 9, 39%, 6 or 8, 32%. Whether or not there is an edge greatly affects these percentages. If you double your loss amount you significantly decrease your chance of busting in four hours or less. It is all relevant to how much you have to bet and how much you bet each time.
The reason how much you bet affects how much you win is more complex than the obvious. It’s more how you bet that makes a difference. You can choose to bet all $30 on one number, which gives you higher odds and a bigger payout if you win, or you can break it up and play a combination bet. This type of bet pays less on numbers that are hit, but by betting on more numbers you increase your chances of winning. Even with the house edge taken into consideration you can still make a tidy profit, though it may take longer to do so.
Once you learn all of the different factors that are looked at when determining the house’s odds you can plan your betting strategies accordingly. Simply remember these few things and you’ll have a solid base for any game:
- Betting too much consistently means you will probably bust out sooner
- The house’s edge increases your chance of losing your money, but how long it takes depends on your bets.
- If you play quickly but bet small you increase your chances of winning.
How Fair is Online Poker?
You won’t be able to find an online poker site that doesn’t boast about its fairness, but whether or not this is true is another story. Fortunately, a new site has been developed in an effort to call out any website that cannot substantiate their claims.
Online Poker Watchdog goes onto various poker sites and plays hands in games and tournaments in an effort to label the sites as either ‘fair’ or ‘bad’. In order to make sure their label was justified, they will play in several different games at various stakes to judge how game play would be different.
Here are the results of some of the sites that were evaluated by Online Poker Watchdog. For a full list or to see how the sites were evaluated visit the Online Poker Watchdog website.
Several of the sites that are managed by the Entraction Network were tested and deemed to be ‘fair’ and are not biased against good players. These sites include Devilfish Poker, Victor Chandler Poker and Bettson Poker.
OnGame Network has a “player evaluation system” that was tested after many people claimed their site was rigged. This system would take your playing style and level and match you up against players who shared similar levels. Despite the accusations, this site has also been deemed ‘fair’.
Party Poker is another company that had several of their sites evaluated for fairness. Party Poker has faced some heat over the years over the fairness of their sites, and has faced even more from Black Friday this year. Online Poker Watchdog looked at their sites carefully and determined that these claims were unfounded and that their site is ‘fair’.
What this company has determined thus far is that many players tend to blame their bad luck or low skill level on an unfair system and website or even bad software. If too many of these claims are filed against a company they can lose their gambling license, and therefore would have to shut down. While many professional poker players do frequent some sites, it can only help you improve your game and should not be seen as the site working against you. Online Poker Watchdog will continue to monitor and test sites and will make their results available on their website.
Consumer Advocate Group for Online Gaming
FairPlayUSA has recently been created to assist in the efforts to convince Congress to put a system in place that will regulate online gambling and legalizing it in the United States in the process.
This new collective has already gained the attention of such big names as the former chief of Homeland Security Tom Ridge as a supporter. Ridge fully supports the need to legalize online gambling, and is also in support of the group’s effort in clarifying the current gambling laws so everyone is easily able to figure out what is legal and what is not.
Executive Director Marissa McNee wants to make sure everyone knows that the goal of FairPlayUSA is educational in nature, not lobbying. She has been quoted in saying they are,” …trying to educate the public and Congress on the need to reform federal Internet gambling laws.”
This Washington, DC based group is primarily run via their website, which boasts a petition urging Congress to make light of the problems that coincide with offshore online gambling and giving law enforcement groups the necessary tools to eliminate sites that are illegal and help to set the framework for regulations.
McNee acknowledged that the current federal gambling laws not doing what they originally intended to do, and the various support elements attached to FairPlayUSA were exactly what is needed to regulate online gambling.
One of the biggest controversies in monitoring online gambling was the passing of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act of 2006 which prohibits online payment systems such as PayPal from dealing in online bets and payments associated with them. While this bill made it hard for US players to utilize online gambling sites, it still allowed payments on horse racing and Internet-based lottery systems. Meanwhile, serious gamblers merely chose to find other ways to still participate in online gambling sites and did with much success.
April 15th, 2011brought to light just how many companies were participating in online gambling sites. This was when the federal government filed lawsuits against many of the top companies, including PokerStars, FullTilt Poker and Absolute Poker. In addition, bank accounts were shut down and monies frozen on more than twenty sites on May 24th of the same year.
Even with all of the legal action there are still some online poker cash games that US players can still participate in. These sites are based overseas, and as of this past week there were about ten that accepted US players.
There is a second bill that has recently been introduced that would make online gambling legal, but only if the state authorized it. This law would allow each state to decide what their stance on online gambling was instead of making it federal. While there are plenty of people that support this idea, while many others, McNee included feel this could cause more problems than solutions.
Playtech Leading the Online Gambling Software Game
The financial results from January through June of 2011 are currently available for Playtech, one of the leading online gambling software providers out there. The company shows an increase of revenues of 18% despite having to make a €7 million adjustment after pulling out of the French online gambling market. The company shows a sizeable, profit (net) of €37.9 million, up 2%, and revenues went from €72.9 million to €76.3 million; 5% higher than last year.
While this information may be interesting to some people, more are sure to interested in what Playtech has set up for the rest of the year. The acquisition of PT Turnkey Services in July is already proving to be profitable, and when they acquired Mobenga, a mobile gaming specialist, Playtech is sure to see a boost in the mobile aspect of their online gaming empire as well. Recently a 10 year deal was signed with Gala Coral. This company has promised to showcase a certain number of Playtech products in their online casinos as soon as 2012.
The purpose of this deal is to slowly replace the current games and products displayed by Gala Coral with those boasting the Playtech name. Playtech is currently one of the most well-known names in the online casino market, and has already reported an increase in revenue of over 23% in less than two months of 2011’s third quarter. The reason for this increase is due in part to the start of Playtech making a name for itself in the Italian online casino market, making it one of Italy’s first software licensees.
There are also a number of different mergers and acquisitions that are currently in the works with Playtech, but the company is currently keeping any details under wraps until the time comes to release them. Rumors have it that one of these companies is Ash Gaming, but there is no evidence to support this theory. One thing that has been confirmed by Playtech CEO Mor Weizer is their entry into the mobile gaming world.
Weizer has also confirmed that while the California Online Poker Association was also brought up in reports for discussion due to the fact that SciPlay, a partner of Playtech, was selected as the service provider for this venture. While there have been some negative feedback regarding this, Weizer maintains that this is all just part of being in the buisnes.
Weizer mentioned that as more countries begin to move towards regulation that Playtech will be able to operators a market leading suite of products and services, which will help them navigate the complexities of apparently, continuously changing regulatory environments.
Playtech currently lists two of the most popular online casinos as Omni Casino along with Casino Tropez.
Bwin Seeks Out Partners in the US
Jim Ryan, CO-CEO of Bwin.party presented the results of this year’s first half results while also letting us in on the plans for the company’s upcoming efforts to get into a foreseeable US online gambling market. Jim Ryan is not the only hopeful member of the online gaming industry looking forward to the US regulating online gambling.
The difference this time is that many of those industry leaders are now putting their money where their mouth is by backing that legislation. Ryan announced that agreements are being finalized with a few partners in New Jersey and California at both the state and federal levels. These strategic alliances will put Bwin ahead of the game once legislation (if legislation) is passed that allows Americans to participate in gambling online.
Jim Ryan, nor any Bwin representative has named any of the partners in America. Ryan however, did indicate that poker brands across the board would find American partners very beneficial. He also stated that Bwin.party was never interested in buying Full Tilt Poker.
Bwin.party has recently seen a dramatic decrease in earnings when compared to last year’s earnings during the fall. A whopping 21% decline in revenue is being attributed to taxes collected in regulated markets and an increase in costs for marketing. Bwin online casino did show a 2% revenue increase but sports betting declined in the same amount. Jim Ryan stated that 2010 was a very good year and is an abnormally high benchmark for the following years.
The outlook for Bwin Party Gaming and Bwin is good and all involved have positive expectations for the business, especially in the French and Italian markets where they gained 19% and 17% of market shares respectively. As more partnerships finalize, the company looks to be strong in its positioning in the global online gambling market. By taking hold of the US in its early stages of possible online gambling regulation, Bwin will continue to be one of the world’s leaders in the gaming community.
Will Failla Take the WPT Legends Win
It was a tough ride, but Will Failla finally prevailed and took the WPT Legends win at the final table. Fans from across the globe were able to join in with the poker action with a somewhat live feed from the event. Failla went to the table with 1.5M in chips and soon lost that lead. Eventually, Failla reclaimed a sizeable stack and took on lower stacks. Most of the action at the table was between Pollock and Failla as they continued to do battle. Bicycle Casino attendees were never left wanting for action, especially when Failla made a move against Aronson and only succeeded in doubling Aronson’s stack. More slick moves were made at the expense of Failla’s stack until finally Failla was the underdog at the table with five still remaining.
At one point, Failla was severely disadvantaged at a massive 9 million dollar gap between himself and the top stack. Failla eventually made his move against Vertes and Aldridge, doubling his stack from both players. After one hundred hands, Failla was only 1.6 M chops away from the chip leader.
Sixty more hands between Failla, Vertes and Aldridge took place with Vertes leaving the table ranked third. After Vertes departed, Failla took the lead and lost the chip lead only one more time during the final heads up action. The final hand provided incredible excitement when Failla pushed all in against Aldridge. With only a 6,4 off suit, Aldridge called and was left facing Failla’s J,6. The board went the Failla’s way and he took the WPT Legends of Poker win.
Results:
1st: Will “The Thrill” Failla – $758,085
2nd: Ken “Teach” Aldridge – $365,800
3rd: Jeff Vertes – $186,400
4th: Joshua Pollock – $128,500
5th: Adam Aronson – $102,800
6th: Owais Ahmed – $77,100
Not only was Failla the first to get a position at the Season X WPT 2012 Championship, he also took home over $750 thousand in cash. The large cash prize is the most that the Detroit grinder has collected in a single score in his over ten year career. Now with a major title in his books, Failla will continue to compete as a champion poker player.
Now that Legends is done for the year, there are only a few more tournaments taking place in the WPT. The first tournament that will be held by the WPT is at the Aviation Club in Paris, France, The Grand Prix de Paris is being held from September 5th through the 10th. Following The Grand Prix de Paris will be the Borgata Poker Open. This tournament will be held in Atlantic City, New Jersey from the 18th to the 23rd.
New Slots at Bodog
Bodog has recently released yet another new slot game on its website as part of the Freaky series. This series is owned by CTXM and has a variety of different games available for your online gaming pleasure through the Bodog website. Freaky Cowboys, the newest launch, is a Western themed slot game that was inspired by Freaky Wild West. The latter is one of the most popular online slot games available at Bodog Casino online.
As the name suggests, Freaky Cowboys is set in the Old West, and features many characters that can only be described as freaky, from the banker, fat bank guard and cowboys. The paylines for this game and how the characters appear is highly entertaining. One of the cowboys keeps trying desperately to plug a hole but keeps getting defeated by an equally determined gopher.
The banker is shown stealing a gold coin from his own bank. The other cowboy can be seen twirling his pistol in true Old West fashion, only to accidentally shoot down a vulture. There is also a 5,000 coin jackpot that can be won when the banker appears five times on an active pay line. All of the symbols in this game are thematic of the West, such as cowboy hats, lassos, cowboy boots, money bags, pistols, and the Sheriff’s badge, which doubles as a wild symbol.
There is a bonus screen available as well, so keep an eye out for the Bank Bonus logo. You will need to get three of them on any active payline to activate the Shoot for Loot bonus game. The goal of this bonus is to stop as many of the 15 different bank robbers from robbing the bank. You have limited ammunition, and the cross hairs of your mouse double as your targeting system. Just point, click, and shoot! The more bandits you eliminate, the higher the bonus you earn!
Freaky Cowboys has a whopping 30 different paylines available for you to play in this video slot game, only at Bodog Casino. This game allows you to wager anywhere from a nickel to $5.00 each line, but you can only use one coin per line.
There is also an auto spin feature that is exclusive to CTXM slot games. Just click it once and it will keep spinning for you until one of three things happens; you click stop, you win a chance on the bonus screen, or your balance becomes zero. You can also choose a limited spin option of five or ten times. The most money you will be able to win on these is just 20,000 coins when you play the maximum amount of paylines and highest bet possible.
Facebook Opens up Advertising for Online Gambling
Facebook has now opened up online gambling advertising on their website. Previously, their guidelines did not permit online gambling or even advertising for regular casinos. One of the main reasons that Facebook has decided to change their policies is to increase their advertising revenue, which is how the company sustains itself. There are still a lot of rules to follow, but the rules are very reasonable. Most of the regulations regarding advertising online gambling on Facebook pertain to local laws regarding gambling.
Online gambling is illegal in the United States, so any ads must target users outside of the United States. Advertisements that are used to promote any kind of skill based gambling, bingo, sports books or online casinos are only allowed in countries which permit each specific type of gaming. Government lotteries and government backed online casinos are permitted to advertise on Facebook also. The government sanctioned ads are only permitted to be displayed to an audience within the jurisdiction of that government.
Other restrictions for land casinos are also imposed by the company. Ads that promote this type of casino are only allowed in a country that has legislation that permits gambling. The big part of this is that the ads can only be targeted to Facebook users that are age eighteen and up. Facebook asks that gambling advertisers deal directly through an advertising and sales partnership with Facebook and are said to require a minimum thirty-thousand dollar per month investment.
Some have been confused by these recent updates and have stated that Facebook has allowed pages for online gambling for years now. Facebook does not consider fan pages or business pages to a form of advertising and permit them without any restrictions based on the type of business that is conducted as long as that company follows the general rules set forth by Facebook.
These new changes will not affect Facebook users in the United States except in that they may now see advertisements for casinos in Las Vegas, North Carolina or other states in which casinos are permitted. This would also include horse racing, dog racing and casinos that are located on Reservations. Facebook users that are under the age of eighteen should not be targeted by these ads.
This combination of one of the most powerful social networks in the universe and online gambling creates a precedent for other social media companies to follow suit and open up their guidelines for gambling advertisers.
Can Live Poker Compete with Online Poker?
Josh Brikis doesn’t seem to think that live poker can compete with online poker. The well known poker pro has earned over a million dollars from live poker tournaments and an additional seven-hundred-thousand plus bankroll from online poker. Brikis is known for having finished the WSOP 2010 with over one-hundred and thirty thousand dollars. Brikis has been in the news lately because of his comments in an article regarding the events of Black Friday and their impact on the poker and online poker community.
Hundreds of online poker players from the United States are already migrating to countries where online poker is permitted. Brikis however, is not one of them, choosing to stay in the United States because of his commitments to family members. That hasn’t stopped Brikis from comment on other players leaving the States. Brikis was reported as saying that he wasn’t surprised that his poker compatriots felt the need to exit the country to continue making money in their profession. He comment on how America is suppose to be the Land of the Free, but that this very country is driving out professional players left and right.
Many have wondered why poker players just don’t take the option to play at live casinos which litter the United States. Some poker players have complained about the commute and others simply can’t make the money that they need with the volume of players at live casinos. Online casinos generally offer the opportunity to play more hands, play faster and potentially earn the poker player more money.
The live poker circuit tends to cost a lot of money in travel, buy-ins, expenses and the like and many poker players simply cannot afford to care for their family while they are away playing in the circuit. Online poker on the other hand, provides an opportunity for these players to work at home so to speak, and not incur these further expenses.
Brikis, just like thousands of other poker players, hopes that online poker will return to the United States very soon. The shutdown of online poker in the United States has caused some serious damage to a lot of younger players. Many that were being considered for sponsorship no longer have that opportunity and others no longer are able to practice their craft and keep their skills honed like they could in the past.