February 2008 Online Casino Reviews
Published: Sunday, March 02, 2008 Online-Casinos.com
FEBRUARY 2008 ONLINE CASINO REVIEWS
And other online gambling industry news
betsafe.com
Online casino, poker, sportsbook and bingo site with poker from Cryptologic, sportsbook powered by Parspro and casino software from Net Entertainment. Owned by Rudi Thomassen, whose CEO Andre Lavold recently claimed the group is going after increased market share in Europe. The websites are professionally presented and offer a good range of deposit options and full facilities in terms of 24/7. Five mainly Nordic language versions and some 100 or more games on offer. SUB is Euro 100. Betsafe started in January 2006 and currently boasts a player base of 60 000 in 100 countries. It is believed to operate from Costa Rica.
ascotecasino.com
Believed to be an RTG powered subsidiary of the Isle of Man licensed Ascot Sports, owned by Malaysian billionaire Vincent Tan's Berjaya Group. Note that the e-casino does not fall under the IOM license but carries a First Cagayan license. Launched in September 2007, it offers 60 or more games with the usual support and financial facilities. The site is unremarkable.
chilipoker.com
Playtech powered and operated on the iPoker network. The site, which is professionally presented and has full services and facilities, includes no-download NetEnt games. Matchplay SUB maxed at $600. Founded by Swedish entrepreneurs through funding from the UK's GameInvest, there appear to be three operational elements: Chilibet in London; Chiliplay in Malta and Mediarex International SA in Costa Rica. The affiliate program is Share The Chili.
annsummerscasino.com
New sister to Ann Summers Bingo.com, a white label from St Minver powered by Parlay Entertainment and launched mid-2007. The Ann Summers brand is a lingerie and adult products High Street chain in the UK owned by the Gold Bros. This latest (casino) site is also through St Minver which has a good rep in the white label sector and uses Boss Media games. The website is professional but unexciting, and carries full services. There's a matchplay SUB maxed at GBP150.
win2day.com
New online poker website which signals the move of the Austrian state monopolies Casinos Austria and Osterreichische Lotterien into the online poker sector, assisted by the Swedish state monopoly Svenske Spel and Boss Media. The site has full services and is presented in a workmanlike manner.
winaday.com
New website from the Slotland group using proprietary software and carrying new 3D online games like "Wheeler Dealer." Presentation poor to pathetic.
blackpoolclub.co.uk
Download and Flash games from Playtech on this new site, which is believed to be a white label project through CPays-Crown Solutions-Webrouteservices. The very professional looking site offers casino, sportsbook and bingo online action backed by the usual facilities and services . Antigua and Kahnawake licensing, Multipurpose Processing Cyprus on the financial side and owned by Major Holdings Ltd, Cyprus. There are three introductory SUBs: for the casino 125 percent max GBP125; for the poker Matchplay max GBP300 and for the bingo a no deposit freebie of GBP21. 6 language versions.
perlacasino.com
Playtech powered online casino on a First Cagayan license and owned by Resume Investments Ltd in Cyprus. Operator is a subsidiary titled Bayview Technologies Ltd. 60 or more games of good quality, and full services. The site is well presented and comes in 6 language versions.
playcherry.com
An interesting new venture by the public Swedish gambling group Cherryfortagen to make Internet gaming available to the millions of passengers aboard cruise ships in international waters. This Malta licensed operation is teamed with the Entraction network and leveraged by Cherry's extensive cruise line business contacts, with a potential market of up to 25 million passengers a year.
bet-at-home.com
This is an online casino owned by a major European sportsbook, casino and poker group that was formerly powered by Chartwell Technologies and has now switched to Net Entertainment's CasinoModule product. Due for relaunch Q2 2008.
casinoriva.com
Interesting if unimpressive online casino site powered by FastCPU, a software company usually associated with the French land casino group Partouche and its interactive division. French, Spanish and English language versions, full services and a Maltese license. There are several bonuses on offer, including a $10 no-deposit and a 200 percent percent maxed at $200.
slotsandrollcasino.com
Average presentation but the usual services. The software offers around 60 games from Casiopea (the old Be The Dealer people) now based in Cyprus.
bethedealer.com
Another Casiopea site, this one offering players the opportunity to play as dealer (upon gathering enough Dealer Points) or player. Very average looking site with basic services.
Miscellaneous information:
The Australia-based Tusk Investment Group is not communicating with its players after telling Microgaming that it was going into liquidation, prompting that company to terminate its software licensing. Tusk had earlier had its eCOGRA "Safe and Fair" seals pulled for unspecified non-compliance with eGAPs after a professional team conducted a routine on-site review. It is understood but not confirmed that the problem was to do with the safety margins between obligations and capability to pay. The following operations are involved in the closures:
Casinos: casinoaction.com/onlinecasinos.aspx - Challenge Casino, Golden Reef Casino, Music Hall Casino, Nostalgia Casino, UK Casino Club; Big Casino
Poker Rooms : mypokerprofit.com/poker-network-brands.asp - Battlefield Poker, Royal Card Club, Red Nines, Arctic Poker, Raw Poker, Poker.ie, Daily Poker, Flush Draw Poker, Will Bet Poker, Bet Road Poker, Grand Central Poker, Off The Rail Poker, Privy Poker, Berserk Poker, Atomik Poker, Dave's Poker Room, Hetman Poker, Hot Pepper Poker, Poker Seas, TilttAA Poker, Loose Games Poker, CPT Gaming Poker, Ice Bear Poker, GoHard Poker, Caya Poker, Mr Urban Poker, Poker Sweden, Euro Poker Dream.
Crown Vegas (RTG powered) has closed.
World Mahjong Tour has acquired Asian games developer 945i.com
Entraction (the rebranded 24hpoker) is to use Swedish developer NYX Interactive bingo for its licensees from the European spring onwards.
Country and western star Kenny Rogers and The Gambler Mobile club in LA are currently promoting iPhone and iPod games from MyNuMo, including Blackjack, poker, roulette and slots.
Digital Gaming Systems poker network appears to have disintegrated with reports of its members headed for alternative networks such as Merge and Gold Chip (Dobrosoft)
Vegas Poker 247 has been acquired by its host network Absolute Poker. No financials were disclosed, but it is understood that this was the last independent site on the network, Big Chip having been taken over a year back and Goal Poker having folded.
Betgameday has changed its poker operations to the Microgaming network.
Bet24 and Entraction have renewed their software licenses with Net Entertainment.
Wagerworks is to provide games to the UK interactive television group Two Way Gaming, which teams with SkyTV, Teletext and Jackpot TV.
888.com has signed up international cricket star (now retired) Shane Warne as its roving online poker ambassador. The company operates Pacific Poker.
HippoJo online casino, owned by unknown Australian investors and operated by industry professionals Geoff Sheehan and Kelly Signell has failed after extensive delays in payouts to players. The RTG powered casino has been widely criticised for its lack of communications with its players and for non-payment, but promises have now been made that all outstanding player payouts will be honoured.
Scandinavian entrepreneur Torben Hubertz appears to have rectified the extensive teething problems encountered when his T6 Poker.com site launched late last year with an unidentified software. Hubertz called in the Cyberarts software developer to get things back on track, a feat that was accomplished in a remarkably short time over the festive season by that company. Reports indicate that growth has been rapid following substantial investment in marketing by Hubertz. T6 has 8 language versions and is registered to the 1 Oz Group in Costa Rica.
Orbis Openbet will be supplying the UK gambling group William Hill plc with its online sportsbook requirements following the hugely expensive failure of NextGen in-house efforts to develop a proprietary product.
Cyberarts and the respected Card Player magazine group have combined to offer the poker community site Spade Club.com, which opened online in February.
Las Vegas From Home is providing gaming software for CY Foundation to use in the People's Republic of China.
Two new Asian-facing online poker sites will be coming to market on the iPoker network soon from Asian Logic plc, a recently London-listed associate of Playtech. The sites will be owned by Fortune Bid Holdings BVI, with the first, Dirty Stack Poker due for launch in April and the other (and as yet unnamed) site due later. Both will be operated by AsianLogic subsidiary ESL.
The King Solomons (Empire of Gold) online casino group is to use two software platforms, adding Playtech to its existing RTG offerings.
Bet2Go's sportsbetting services are to be carried by the ISP Tiscali.
Partouche, the French land casino group, has engaged Red Planet Poker (run by ex 888.com exec Vahe Baloulian) to add poker to an as yet unnamed sportsbetting site due for launch Q2 2008.
Swedish provider Boss Media is to be acquired by GEMed, a subsidiary of combined major Boss shareholders GTECH and Medstroms following a second offer of SEK25 per share which the board has recommended to shareholders.
Net Entertainment has announced that it has clinched a bingo deal with an as yet unidentified major Swedish bingo operator.
Cashcade in the UK (Get Minted, Foxy Bingo and around 20 other online gambling sites) has announced that it is to list or sell in the near future. The announcement suggested that IGT-Wagerworks or 888.com as its main software providers might be the "most synergistic" partners.
