Gambling Casino Blog

888.com, one of if not the world’s premier online casino website, has announced that it expects to reach a further 30% growth in revenue during 2008 on that of last year. This announcement, coming shortly after the launch of both the new bingo and sports betting services launched by 888 earlier this year, would leave 888 the undisputed market leaders within the online casino industry worldwide. Currently, the growth rate of 888 is running at around 20%, but with talk of a merger of some kind between themselves and other industry leader PartyGaming to restart sometime this year, it is widely thought by financial experts that a further increase on this rate of 10% is not unrealistic.Speaking recently, Gigi Levy, Chief Executive of 888.com, has confirmed his delight at the haste with which the new services launched earlier this year have grown. Although he confirmed that the newly formed bingo website was where they had expected it to be at this time, he also added that the sports betting service had massively exceeded their initial expectation, with 888 receiving hundreds of new customer signups daily.This will do much to enforce the legitimacy and longevity of an industry still in the mists of recovery from the US governments decision to effectively ban online gambling in all of its forms in 2006. With an apparent back-pedal on this shock move, which rocked the industry to its core and cost leading players billions of dollars as well as a number of lawsuits brought against several of the major outfits,  it is expected that there will yet again be interest from land-based industry outsiders which could result in an industry shuffling virtual land grab later this year.  

According to Sports Minister Richard Caborn, the attempt by the UK government to regulate the gambling and gaming industry is not a bid to increase already controversial tax revenues.  Unlike in the US where it is banned, the UK is the first of the major countries to offer online gaming licences. Caborn argues that the move is intended and designed to protect punters and rid online gambling of crime. Online casino’s offer a host of games – Blackjack, Roulette and many other forms of betting and gambling  In the current UK market there exist around 70 online sports betting sites, however no online gaming sites exist – that offer poker, blackjack and other games. Most are based in off-shore tax havens such as Gibraltar.  Tessa Jowerll, the culture secretary has said she hoped some firms would now consider moving to the UK to operate their business.

Under the Gambling Act of 2005, commercial betting in pubs is illegal. It applies mainly to England, Wales and Scotland, and is designed specifically to control all forms of gambling.  The Act gives its objectives as:  - Preventing gambling from being a source of crime or disorder, being associated with crime or disorder or being used to support crime.- Ensuring that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way.- Protecting children and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling.” Some provisions of the Act have caused mixed feelings, with the allowing of Super Casino’s to be considered for the UK gaming market. Since the bill however, this idea has faced some fierce opposition, and progress has stalled. The form of gambling within the UK may take some years to come into an everyday occurrence.

According to researchers, gambling can be as addictive as drinking and drug taking. A team from a leading German university studied this suggestion in great deal. The variables measured included changes in the participants heart rates, and the levels of cortisol (stress hormone). When playing for the individuals own money, scientists found both heart rate and cortisol concentrations were much higher. Interestingly, the results echoes the euphoria experienced by drug takers, which results from a surge of the serotonin in the brain. Games like Poker, Roulette all produced similar results for gamblers.

Last year casinos in the UK were in steady decline although that may soon change with gambling experts indicating that the industry was about to recover . One leading gambling operator, Rank, were reported to be improving, with their casinos no longer declining and their bingo division has found a period of stable growth.The causes of this decline can be directly attributed to a government increase on gaming taxes as well as their imposed smoking ban.  There have been reports of casino companies losing as much as £16m in revenue during 2007.Rank, among other leading UK operators were hit considerably by this industry slump with talk of takeover bids from a number of foreign industry leaders including Harrah’s Entertainment, the largest casino operator worldwide. Although this news brings a sigh of relief for many of the UK’s largest game operators we are by no means out of the water. Everyone within the industry is expecting a difficult and challenging time over the coming year and it will be interesting to see how the industry adapts.

In today’s world, there exist a number of different forms of gambling, that vary significantly, and appeal to different types of gamblers.A simple definition for gambling is:“Wagering money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods. Typically, the outcome of the wager is evident within a short period of time”While almost any game can be played for money, as well as fun, the following table games are offered in a casino setting; Blackjack, Pai Gow Poker, Tiles, Poker, Spanish 21, 3-card poker, Baccarat, Caribbean Stud Poker, Casino war, Craps, Fan-Tan, Faro, Let it ride, Pachinko, Pyramid Poker, 4-card poker, Red Dog, Texas Hold’em poker and Roulette.Forms of electronic games include slot machines and video poker. Other forms of gambling are Sports betting, Arbitrage betting, Keno and Bingo.Fixed-odds gambling usually occur at many types of sporting events. The odds are fixed and regulated by betting companies. Parimutuel betting is one of the most widespread forms of gambling. It involves betting on horse or greyhound racing. Bookmakers usually play a big part in this form of gambling. Arbitrage betting is in theory a risk free betting system. It is a mixture of traditional betting methods and modern day methods of gambling.

The popularity of touch screen roulette machines in betting shops such as Ladbrokes, William Hill and Tote have been boosted by recent legislation that included lifting the ban on bookmakers advertising on television and allowing them to extend store opening hours. The changes that came in to force last September, are a result of the 2005 Gambling Act. Traditional forms of betting, or ‘over the counter’ sales have also increased within the industry. Gerry Sutcliffe, the UK sports minister said the government had asked the Gambling Commission to review the impact of these machines. An earlier study by the commission found that ‘one in nine of those who played the roulette terminals were problem gamblers’ Overall, easing legislation has increased what was already a popular form of gambling. Some people may prefer to use touch screen forms of gambling, as opposed to gambling in casino, or super-casinos, as they can play games such as Blackjack, Poker and Roulette without the pressure of spending copious amounts of money, and in a familiar surrounding.

Compared to other gamblers, Internet gamblers can be argued to be more likely to develop a serious gambling problem than other gamblers, according to researchers. Online casino’s offer a host of games to play, including Roulette, Black Jack as well as poker. Subscription is usually free, however with the incentive of free money when buying the first set of “chips”. A study from the University of Connecticut, argues that the growth of the Internet, and in particular online gaming will lead to more on-line betting opportunities, and therefore increasing the risk to consumers. The most popular form of gambling by participants who took part in tests, where lottery , slot machines and scratch tickets/cards. Other forms of betting included sports betting, bingo and animal betting. Although one can argue that Internet gambling can increase addiction, there are industry safeguards put in place to protect online gamblers. Many online gaming companies operate a database structure that enables it to track the behaviour of each punter, thus allowing it to watch closely for any signs of abnormal behaviour as well as excess spending. Other restrictions in place measures to restrict the amount of money a customer can deposit and win. The resulting argument is;  Internet gambling that is properly regulated and controlled is much better for the punter’s health than other forms of gambling.

The proposal to begin building a Las Vegas-styled super casino here in the UK has now been ditched by new Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Manchester, which beat off stiff competition from UK holiday spot Blackpool and what is now the o2 arena in London, we’re chosen to host the first casino of its kind here across the Atlantic.  With the loss of this licence, which would have allowed a single casino to be built to house up to 1,250 slot machines, local businesses and the local economy, who were geared up for a modern-day gold rush, will have missed out considerably on this decision.  The bid also brought some much needed regeneration to the east side of Manchester, promising around 3,000 new jobs as well as £265m in investment.Culture secretary, Andy Burnham who announced the government’s u-turn on these proposals, said that there had been concern for the possible negative impacts a casino on this scale could bring. Although this super casino has been scrapped, it is important to note that the government have still allowed the planned go ahead for 16 approved casinos which will be far larger than anything we currently have in the UK.Will we ever see a super casino here in the UK? At this moment in time it remains uncertain, but with this current government’s apparent like for casual policy change it is more than likely than this issue will come up again in the near future.