Betting Casinos Poker::UK Gambling Blog

Lord No No to Super Casinos

2007-03-29T23:57:00.000+01:00

A bunch of old unelected grey-haired blokes with nothing better to do have said no to the government plans for a super casino - and the additional 16 casinos.

Isn't democracy a great thing?

From the Beeb: Lords scupper super-casino plan

Betfair $600 Sign Up Bonus

2007-03-01T17:42:00.000Z

I don't usually do a straightforward promotion, but I like Betfair and what they're trying to do in this industry, so its good to give them a plug every so often.

Betfair changed poker software late last year to a new platform and its pretty good.

Their latest promotion offers up to $600 depending on the number of points you generate. Use BFP600 to qualify for the deal when you sign up

here's the deal:
• Sign up using the promotional code BFP600
• Receive a bonus of up to $600* based on the number of Betfair Points generated
• Bonus is effective from your first hand played
• First hand must be played within 30 days of registration to qualify
• Bonus is valid for 60 days only
• Bonus is paid every Wednesday for Betfair Points generated in the previous week i.e. Player will receive $10 if they generate 400 Betfair Points
• Payments are made in increments of $10
The bonus will be paid every Wednesday and is effective from first hand played
*See Terms & Conditions

Now pop along to Betfair Poker to sign up

And the Super Casino Goes To....

2007-01-30T16:49:00.001Z

....Manchester.

Contrary to speculation and expectation, Manchester beat out London and Blackpool to win the race to build the UK's first 'super casino'- the close, but not quite Las Vegas style casino.

The 'super' that makes it a super casino is that it will be allowed to have 1250 slots with unlimited jackpot prizes - instead of the restricted 2000GBP machines allowed currently.

A number of 'large' casinos were also named in: Great Yarmouth, Hull, Newham, Middlesbrough, Solihull, Milton Keynes, Leeds and Southampton and 'small' casino licenses in: Bath and North East Somerset, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lindsey, Luton, Scarborough, Swansea, Torbay and Wolverhampton

Of course every politician is now freaking out. They would never go to Vegas. Never. Never. Never.

Source: Manchester wins super-casino race

The US Finally Pulls the Plug on Online Gambling

2006-10-03T19:14:00.000+01:00

wow - I go away for a few days and everything goes to pot.

The bill to ban online gambling has finally been put through in the US - albeit in a sneaky underhanded way - then again, what do you expect from this US government these days? So the mighty 'free world' across the pond once again works its magic and brings in a mix of prohibition, protectionism, nannying and moralistic craziness - in which its own online poker playing people don't even get a say - so much for democracy.

The bill was put through at the last minute as the Senate takes a break - and stuck onto a completely unrelated bill about Port Security. In effect, it bans the transfer of funds via financial institutions such as credit cards and banks - something the banks did voluntarily a few years ago anyway. It doesn't modernise the Wire Act whatsoever and causes legitimate companies to scurry out of the US market - leaving in their place the dubious, shady companies the bill was trying to stop in the first place as they no doubt will find a way to collect from US players

Bill Frist - who took the anti-online gambling bill on the road amidst Right-Wing Christian moral and ethical concerns (stop smirking please) and no doubt some interference from 'interested parties' (there are exemptions to the Bill which include lotteries and online horse racing amongst others). Frist himself is a potential presidential candidate in 2008. For those Republican voters out there - lucky you.

The ban obviously took its toll on the huge gaming companies listed in the UK as their shares nosedived on the announcement.

Here's some media reports:
- UK gamers hit by US online crackdown - Times Online

- Bad Luck for Online Gaming - LA Times

- Online Gaming: Good or Evil? - National Ledger

The USA vs BetonSports: The Story So Far

2006-07-21T17:52:00.000+01:00

As the US Conservatives seem desperate to create a new era of prohibition - this time using online gambling as its sorry excuse, they seem to be doing as much as possible, as quickly as possible to show the world how ~~stupid~~ strong...they really are

Here's a quick rundown of whats happened so far

- The House of Representatives agree to a bill to outlaw online-gambling - except horse racing and state sponsored lotteries.

- David Carruthers, CEO of BetonSports.com, gets arrested during a stopover in Dallas. He and 10 others are charged with racketeering

- UK online gambling stocks take a beating on the stock market

- Betonsports.com shuts down its website

- Antigua complains to the WTO about the US's behaviour claiming the US is violating International free trade laws. The WTO set up a committee to study the claims. The US no doubt couldn't care less.

- Bodog gets nervous and ~~cancels~~ postpones its annual online gambling conference in Vegas

- David Carruthers remains in jail after his lawyer asks to postpone a bail meeting

- Partygaming ignores everything and reports huge increases in revenue. It maybe too late because they'd already lost a fifth of their value following the betonsports fiasco

UK's Super Casino Shortlist

2006-05-24T17:49:00.000+01:00

'Super-casino' shortlist set out

8 sites have been shortlisted for the UK's first foray into Las Vegas style Super Casinos.

From 27 applicants, the following made the cut:
Wembley Stadium
The Millenium Dome
Cardiff
Blackpool
Manchester
Newcastle
Sheffield
Glasgow

Only one gets the greenlight and there's 16 more licenses available that allows casinos to have jackpots over £4000. 60 councils have applied for these

British Punters Fleeced by Credit Cards

2006-03-21T21:32:00.000Z

The Sun Online - News: New 'tax' on web gaming

If there's a way to make money on gambling, then you can be sure it'll be found - and the credit card companies have decided they don't make enough from consumers - they have to create a new invisible tax just for online gamblers

From May 1 anyone who uses their credit card to put money into an account will be charged as if they made a cash advance. MBNA already adds an extra 2%

A 'spokesperson' from RBS has tried to justify themselves to call it a cash advance - but since RBS has been involved in online gambling from the beginning - offering their services and trying to capture the market - it smacks of pure greed.

It sounds as if they sniffed through their little book of definitions trying to find a way to profit even further from the cash heavy online gambling industry - and this is what they came up with.

So if the punter wins - do we charge the credit companies interest on our winning? No - thought not

Time to use your debit card - and any other legit card that doesn't impose obscene taxes

US Gambling Bill Doesn't Concern 888

2006-03-16T19:30:00.000Z

888 brushes off US legal concerns

Life is a lot easier when you've just reported a 16% increase in annual profits. 888.com announced its pre-tax profits to Dec 05 totalled $50.2m. Not bad for the casino giant.

However, the press is more concerned with recent developments in the US where a bunch of congressment with too much time on their hands are trying again to get a bill through that would ban online gambling. The bill has now moved to the House floor for consideration.

But 888 don't think it will go through - but even so, has worked to move its current playerbase from the US - although it still takes as much as 55% from American players.

888 aren't the only ones though that thinks this way. Seems as if there's going to be plenty of opposition to the new gambling bill. Lets hope the US sees the sense in that sooner rather than later

Too Much to Soon for Underage Bingo Player

2006-03-15T20:29:00.000Z

Underage Bingo Player Loses 200k Payout

Over at Gamblog Jon is reporting on a 17-yr old girl who won the £200,000 on a national Linked bingo game at her local Commodore Club in Ryde, Isle of Wight.

However club officials soon found out her age and promptly invalidated the claim.

It must have been a boost to her ego to pretend to be 18 and be allowed in the club in the first place - little did she realise the consequences

New Celebrity Betting Blog

2006-03-15T19:36:00.000Z

OK - so i'm still ignoring this blog some what - but that will change!

In the meantime, I've launched a new blog - solely for scurrilous celebrity betting, gossip and anything relating to novelty or what the bookies categorise 'special' bets. That includes reality TV, music, movies, politics, awards show - and just anything that doesn't really fit into sports, horse racing or football

You can read it all here - sometimes preferably with tongue firmly stuck in cheek.
Celebrity Betting

Bookies Fall For Wembley Stadium Scam

2006-02-23T04:15:00.000Z

The Sun Online: Arch enemies of Wembley

Its been way too long since I posted to this blog. And as they see in the US. My bad.

But I couldn't resist this (and thanks to Nick for pointing it out to me)

Seems as if local bookies in the Wembley area fell for a construction scam that made them look like amateurs.

Knowing full well they weren't going to hit the Wembley deadline for hosting the FA Cup this year, construction workers went to the local bookies to put £1000's on their odds of 13-8, 4-6, then 1-3 that the stadium wouldn't be ready. Finally betting was suspended, but that wasn't before they were taken for £10,000.

It would have taken a short bus ride to see the unfinished stadium for the bookies to realise it was unlikely the stadium would be finished. That cheap 50p ride cost them £10,000.

Made me laugh anyway

Poker Chef Wins $1 million

2005-09-29T16:20:00.000+01:00

Move over Jamie Oliver, here's a guy that not only cooks, but wins big at poker as well.

Lee Biddulf had only ever won £28 before at poker, but this week arrived home $1 million richer after taking on 8 opponents at a poker tournament final in Costa Rica. 39,000 had entered the tournament

Biddulf started playing poker in 2002 and felt the nerves. His final hand was a flush - as was his final opponent. But he kept his head and took the pot, and the overall tournament as he held the higher card

Not a bad way to make a living - now can I have 2 eggs on toast to go with that?

888.com Valued at $1.08bn

2005-09-29T16:12:00.000+01:00

Online casino giant, 888.com -or Cassava - finally floated today, albeit at the lower end of their valuation prediction.

The float makes 888 worth just over $1bn. Not quite as big as expected, and nowhere near PartyPoker, but still pretty large. The price was set at £1.75 per share.

So thats 3 down in recent weeks, albeit with the slight blip of 32Red's shaky floatation last week in which it did float, but not with any fundraising.
It'll be interesting to see how many more come to market in the coming months

Gala and Coral talk to create gambling empire

2005-09-29T16:11:00.000+01:00

Looks like a new gambling empire may be born in the UK - and it isn't between online websites.

Number three bookie, Coral and bingo and casino group, Gala, are apparantly in talks to create a £4bn gambling empire. This is in reaction to the deregulation of the new Gambling Act - a joint operation could take advantage of this

The government is set to allow one 'super-casino' under the new act - by including Coral in the mix, Gala could essentially offer a one-stop shop for punters, under one very large roof

Coral are still looking to float - and have been for years. And they will continue to pursue this if the Gala interest fails.

Is the world ready for an all-encompassing gambling empire? Does anyone care? Point of fact - Ladbrokes got rid of their casino product (sold it to Gala) a few years back to concentrate solely on betting - are they regretting that decision in light of the deregulation or was there a reason for it? Finally, is there really any synergy between betting, casinos and bingo - or is it essentially an ego boost for the 2 companies involved?
I think i'll be quiet now and wait to see what happens.

Its Another Boom for Mobile Phone Gambling

2005-09-22T17:17:00.000+01:00

Gambling by mobile phone is booming

Someone once asked me when I thought mobile phone gambling was going to 'take off' - I said within 2 years - but don't ask me which 2 years.

So once again, research groups are trying to earn their money by telling us that mobile phone gambling has 'exploded' or 'rocketed' or is 'booming' or any other supersonic adjective we can think of.

They actually measure these figures by the number of 'pages downloaded'. For an industry that is run by real financial numbers, thats an amazing research technique - and tells us nothing we need to know about the actual real amount of betting or gambling that actually takes place.

But for the research companies its a good living - and for the betting companies, these kind of numbers look good to the shareholders.

So mobile gambling - boom away.

Casino Goes up in Smoke

2005-09-22T05:09:00.000+01:00

Wow - I feel like i've been away for weeks - and I probably have. Although in all this, I was at the G2E casino expo in Vegas - so all wasn't too bad.

I dount I've missed much though - Chelsea is still unbeaten, of course The Ashes is noteworthy (and fantastic), Cryptologic has announced plans to launch Marvel comic slots to rival Microgaming's Lara Croft game and Senator John Kyl finally got told to shut up with his plans to ban online gambling - although I still can't see the US make any progress on legalising it instead.

So instead, here's a real Internet stalwart - collapsing buildings.
If you've ever wanted to see a casino go up in smoke, here's the controlled implosion of the Grand Casino in Gulfport, that was ravaged in Hurricane Katrina and was flung somewhere on a highway

Gamblers and Monkeys are Closer than Ever

2005-08-24T03:39:00.000+01:00

Who'd have guessed, huh?

I can't resist research studies like this

It seems monkeys are pretty big gamblers when faced with a choice of risk or steady rewards. And as the stakes rise, so will their risk-taking.

Basically, a set of male rhesus monkeys were given a choice of 2 lights that would yield them a reward. One light would give a steady reward of juice, whilst the risky light would either offer a smaller amount or a larger amount - there was a significant result of the monkeys preferring to gamble.

On this first test, over time, the average amount of juice was the same. However, in a second test, the odds were shifted to make the risky light less of a reward than the steady light.

And again, the results favoured the risky light.

It was clear the monkeys preferred the idea of the big reward - which cancelled out any losses they suffered. When wired up, the researchers also found that neuron activity increased as the frequency of the monkeys choosing the light did

Like monkey like gambler? well, with a bit more research, it could be true!

Now its Betrosexual as Female Poker Players Turn Male

2005-08-12T22:11:00.000+01:00

BETROSEXUALS

Who comes up with these terms? first its metrosexual, and now even online poker needs to get in on the act and have created the term "betrosexual".

So what are these creatures?

Apparantly there are a number of female poker players online that use male names to give the impression, well, that they're male.

According the the 'experts', this is due to the faceless nature of online poker - which is currently seeing an influx of female players who have long avoided the 'real thing'.

Without the facial expressions and body language of playing in real life, there are other ways to bluff - and it seems that if your opponent thinks you're the opposite sex, they would make different judgement choices.

Whatever works I guess...

Sentenced Contrary to the Gaming Act 1845

2005-08-04T04:58:00.000+01:00

Gambling Scam Rumbled

A man from North West London has made legal history by being sentenced 'contrary to the gaming act 1845'

Three men were accused of 'top hatting' in a game of roulette - which basically relies on all the relevant people in the casino - from the dealer to the security staff and other players - to be distracted just before the ball drops - giving them vital seconds to put chips on the winning number

The scam was ultimately spotted by casino security and the men were known gamblers that were banned from a number of casinos

I suppose you have to be famous for something

Big Brother 6 - Latest Odds

2005-07-29T04:30:00.000+01:00

I can't believe this is my first big brother post - must be more dull than usual I guess.

The 9th eviction seems to be a given with Orlaith at 2/9 whilst Anthony continues to strengthen as outright favourite to win at 2/5. Eugene is second favourite at 4/1. Thing with Big Brother is that almost anything can happen on anyday which can change the odds drastically - but for now, its all fairly straightforward it seems

Big Brother 6 - 9th Eviction
All Odds Taken from William Hill
Orlaith 2/9
Kemal 3/1

Big Brother 6 - Outright
All Odds Taken from William Hill
Anthony 2/5
Eugene 4/1
Makosi 9/1
Derek 12/1
Craig 14/1
Kemal 20/1
Orlaith 50/1

British Open Golf - Latest Odds

2005-07-14T05:04:00.000+01:00

As expected, Tiger Woods has been made clear favourite to take the 134th Open - but that just offers value elsewhere in the field.
Whilst Tiger is at a restrictive 5/2, consistant Vijay Singh is at a nice each way 16/1, Els is 8/1 and Goosen is 18/1. Noticeable also is US Open champion Michael Campbell, who if he can keep up that form, is at a massive 66/1

Golf : 134th Open - Outright
All Odds Taken from William Hill

Woods T 5/2
Els E 8/1
Singh V 16/1
Mickelson P 18/1
Goosen R 18/1
Garcia S 20/1
Donald L 25/1
Clarke D 25/1
Westwood L 33/1
Scott A 33/1
Love I I I D 33/1
Furyk J 33/1
Cabrera A 40/1
Campbell M 66/1

All Players and Alternative Markets available at William Hill

London to Hold 2012 Olympic Games

2005-07-06T16:51:00.000+01:00

London beats Paris to 2012 Games

This was one of those announcements that just makes you go 'wow'. However, whilst Paris was the favourite for a long time - apparantly London won most rounds of voting - bar one. So someone's information somewhere was very wrong

But it was still a hell of a surprise - and a great one! will be good to see how London handles the olympics - and how much prices go up to pay for it

I would feel sorry for the French - thats 3 times in recent years they've been denied - but I wasn't too sorry when I saw a sportsman on CNN earlier claiming the London contingent 'cheated' - not the best way to take the loss methinks

Partygaming Finally Becomes a PLC

2005-06-27T23:24:00.000+01:00

Partygaming shares rise on debut

The owners of Partypoker.com have finally floated on the London Stock Exchange with an increase of 11% on their first day. They are now valued at over £4.5bn

Can we move on now please?