Will you be the next winner? Play Mega Moolah now!

It’s official! Microgaming’s Mega Moolah Progressive Jackpot Slot has made the second millionaire for the year, paying out at a massive NZ $10,144,395.82 (£4,926,878.99)!

The lucky millionaire is Rawiri Pou, a 27 year old fast food worker who played Mega Moolah and won the life changing sum on the 17th of June 2016. The win came after Pou deposited $250 at the casino and won NZ$1,500 and decided to use these winnings to extend his game play for a shot at the mega-win on the Mega Moolah slot.

Pou is reportedly still coming to terms with the idea of his newfound wealth which, as with all Microgaming progressive jackpots, will be paid out to him in a single lump sum. At present he has no immediate plans to stop working, but that might change once the money is safely in his bank account.

Unfortunately, unlike the other Mega Moolah winners, Pou’s win does not come without complications as the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs is reportedly looking into the matter deeming the multi-million win “suspicious” after receiving notification from the Problem Gambling Foundation.

The Problem Gambling Foundation believes that it is illegal to promote international casino sites in New Zealand and has warned local players to be cautious when playing online. The online casino where the win took place is licensed in Malta, and the Problem Gambling Foundation’s Andree Froude said that the foundation expressed concern that it’s not legal to promote online casinos in New Zealand and turned the matter over to the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) for investigation.

She incorrectly added that online gambling is unregulated and there are many scams associated with it and so they wanted to warn people to be very cautious.

According to local reports, the DIA has responded to media queries on the matter by saying that the casino in question had not been brought to the Department’s attention, but based on reports of other large “wins” that were in fact lottery scams, the win is being investigated as “suspicious”.

How lottery wins and a legitimate Microgaming jackpot win have anything to do with one another is a mystery and time will tell how the matter plays out. Let’s just hope that Pou is allowed to keep his massive win.

Drück Glück Roulette game on the TV show

DrückGlück (literal translation push luck) is a popular online casino, largely aimed at the German market, however from the screenshots on various player forums it is evident that it has also picked up a substantial following in the UK market.

In addition to some rather off-colour German language ads that certainly stick in your head, this online casino has come up with a clever way of attracting new players, that we can’t help but mention.

It has secured airtime on Sport1 – a German TV channel to run a 30 minute, bi-weekly call-in show entitled “DrückGlück.de die Casino Show” wherein viewers are required to register on the site, then phone in to take part in an on-air game of slots or roulette with the host in order to win.

Of course, thousands flock to the site to register but only one lucky player gets to play on air each episode.

The program itself then unfolds with the player instructing the host as to how he/she would like to place bets on a roulette table, and the slots game is merely 10 free spins which the host makes for the player. Any winnings the player enjoys during the show are then credited to the their player account at the casino. Ingenious isn’t it?

Drück Glück Slot

Let’s face it how many people are going to register only to play on the TV show? The majority of players are going to make deposits and play at the casino between shows and even those lucky enough to get on air and win have their prize awarded to them in casino credits rather than cash.

In all the years we’ve seen a lot in the industry but this is by far one of the cleverest tactics we’ve seen in terms of new player acquisition.

That said though, DrückGlück is operated by Skillonnet that has a less than savoury reputation across the web and is blacklisted as a rogue operator by many online casino review sites. Interestingly, the two presenters, Max Schradin and Norman Magolei of its Sport1 channel TV show also have controversial histories due to their association with channel 9Live shows in Germany that required players to call in (obviously at a cost) to guess the name of a hidden animal. Callers would be given the clue, the animals name starts with “S” and when no one could get it, the animal would be revealed to be a “Stirnlappenbasilisk” (translation: Plumed Basilisk) – obviously something that no one would ever guess easily.

These shows have been cancelled by the German government and are no longer airing 24/7 like they used to, but it seems that other continually pop up to take their place across various channels.

Obviously there has been no evidence of dodgy practices by DrückGlück and it is licensed in Schleswig Holstein and features games from the top software providers like Microgaming, NetEnt and WMS. They are also obviously investing a great deal in brand building, so it wouldn’t make sense not to be above board. Just after years in the industry it is one we’d advise that you play with caution at, given the fact that it is a relatively new online casino that does have some questionable entities involved.

Augmented Reality Scratch Cards

Just two decades ago the notion of online casinos was far out there and playing at them was likened to some futuristic pastime. Twenty years on, we’re now playing at the some of the same casinos from our mobile and tablet devices from anywhere in the world!

And if Microgaming’s latest strides in technological advancement are anything to go by we are sure to see virtual and augmented reality products and wearables available in the online gambling market in the not too distant future.

We previously reported on Microgaming’s award-winning VR Roulette game and the software giant recently debuted a prototype which they hope will be a future attraction along with a number of Augmented Reality products in their casinos games portfolio at this year’s ICE Totally Gaming expo.

From the reaction of the participants, the experience was more than just a little impressive and Microgaming will be following Google and Microsoft’s lead when bringing virtual and augmented reality products to market in future.

Microgaming Virtual Reality Roulette

Microgaming showed visitors Augmented reality scratch cards based on their Avalon and Hot as Hades Slot games, using this technology land based scratch card games are brought to life when a player points their mobile phone at them. When you think of all the possibilities this could bring to online gaming in future, it’s a very exciting prospect.

On the Virtual Reality front Microgaming allowed visitors to play their VR Roulette game which relies on 3D technology to immerse gamers in a virtual world through the use of the wearable Oculus Rift device and elite motion technology. Once wearing the device you will be able to enter the world of Virtual Reality Roulette where you can not only use your own hands to move things around thanks to motion sensors but also touch everything you see on the screen!

While we’re probably still a few years away from integrating wearable technologies into our online gambling experiences, it does give us something to look forward to!

UK based 32Red announced its acquisition of Roxy Palace Online Casino for an amount totalling £8.4 million this week. According to details released by 32Red, the company will pay £2 million in cash and issue 10 million new shares to cover the expense.

Roxy Palace is a long standing Microgaming software powered online casino which was established in 2002 and while it has remained a relatively small operation in comparison to other online casino groups, it still has in excess of 230,000 registered players.

According to reports, Roxy Palace reported net revenue of £10.1 million in the year ending 31 December 2014, with gross profit figures totalling £3.4 million. EBITDA totalled £1.6 million in 2014.

32Red’s acquisition of Roxy Palace will be facilitated by the use of Eucalyptus Investment’s issued share capital and once the deal has been executed, 32Red will take ownership of the casino’s intellectual property rights, player databases and information.

32Red’s CEO Ed Ware commented that the company was delighted with the purchase of Roxy Palace and believed that the move would benefit both their existing and new shareholders. He further pointed out that the companies shared a number of mutual values, making them a good fit for one another and furthering 32Red’s growth strategy in regulated markets.

While full details of what the acquisition will mean for existing Roxy Palace players and affiliates has not been disclosed, the integration is expected to be completed quickly and smoothly without any issues. This will not however necessarily be the case for existing Roxy Palace employees and job losses down the line seem to be inevitable.

Following the Roxy Palace acquisition announcement, 32Red confirmed that it would be releasing its trading update for the first half of 2015 on the 22nd of July, and with its share prices increasing since the acquisition announcement, the second half of 2015 looks bright for the organization.

Betway Casino accepts UK players

If you’re a UK resident you may have received an e-mail or some form of communication last year or at the beginning of 2015 from your favourite online casino informing you that you could no longer play at their property any longer, and/or directing you to a completely new online casino.

Here we’ll take a look at exactly why this has occurred, along with the UK law which caused the changes as well as which online casinos still offer safe and reliable game play for UK players.

The UK Licensing and Advertising Act

After a great deal of research debate, a discussion of findings and industry consultation, the UK Parliament was introduced to Gambling and Licensing Bill in May of 2013. This bill proposed significant changes to the regulation of online gaming activities within the UK, most notably, the change to the previous act of 2005, stipulating that ALL operators wishing to offer or even promote their services to UK residents via advertising had to apply for a license from the UK Gambling Commission. The act was passed when Royal assent was given in May of 2014 and became known as the “Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014“.

It took a number of months to be put into full effect with the original cutoff date being set as the 1st of October 2014, but after a High Court challenge from Gibraltar, the date was moved to the 1st of November 2014 and operators were forced to get their houses in order.

From December 2015 a new 15% tax on gaming will be levied on all wagers taken from UK players (this will be borne by the online casino operators). This in addition to the new licensing requirements and advertising regulations have meant that a number of offshore operated online casinos have taken the decision to not apply for UK licenses and many Microgaming powered casinos are among them.

This has meant that a number of UK based casino fans have seen their favourite properties either closing their doors to UK players or redirecting them to another online casino.

The Implications for Online Casinos

While some UK based online casino operators like Microgaming powered Betway Casino and Playtech powered William Hill Casino Club have applied for licenses and will continue to operate their businesses as usual, offering UK based casino players uninterrupted gambling services.

Others however, have informed their customers that they will no longer be able to play, while others still have chosen to only license one property in their portfolio and have begun redirecting players to it – for example, The Palace Group has redirected players from its famous Spin Palace Casino to its newest online casino Betway. Some big groups like The Palace Group and the Fortune Lounge Group (now the Digimedia Group) have also joined forces and launched new casinos like SpinCasino.com which are fully UK compliant.

While others are blocking UK residents altogether and are referring their players to a third party brand, as is the case with Vegas Partner Lounge who redirected their players to Roxy Palace.

What does this mean for you as a player?

It means that your choice of online casinos is shrinking and you’ll probably be seeing less overall competition in the short term. It also means that if favourite online casino no longer accepts UK players you’ll have to move to one that does. Generally if you are happy with a casino’s performance and they direct you to a new property owned and operated by their group, this may be a good option for you. Beware of casinos directing you to third parties unless these online casinos are reputable properties.

And if you’re looking for a totally new place to play that is safe and reliable and accepts UK players, here is a list of some of the best UK online casinos:

• Betway Casino
• William Hill Casino Club
• Titan Bet Casino
• Casino Action

Lucky Witch Slot on Multi-player platform

Microgaming has been expanding its multi-player platform at a rapid rate recently and its latest tournament slot release, Lucky Witch is just in time for Halloween.

Many players were disappointed that Microgaming’s October new games release did not include Halloween themed slots but it seems that instead they have extended their HTML 5 and multi-player platforms with existing Halloween themes instead.

Lucky Witch is a 5 reel, 15 line magic themed slot that is complete with some seductive witches along with magical potions, spells and of course, black cats and pumpkins. The game offers an enchanting bonus feature which offers 13 free spins as well further winning opportunities with four additional interactive bonus features.

The Lucky Witch tournament online slot was released on the 16th of October and will be the game of the Halloween season as part of the Microgaming network’s One Shot tournament which will commence on the 28th of October, so make a note in your calendar to visit your favourite Microgaming powered online casino on this date.

The One Shot tournament is a promotional event wherein players will be able to compete against one another to achieve the best overall score during the tournament period to earn some outstanding prizes.

Microgaming has also enhanced its multi-player platform with a ground-breaking new bonus money feature which enables casinos to vary their own tournament offering by offering alternative prize options in addition to the standard offers available. This means that you really need to shop around to get the best tournament offerings going forward and watch this space for news on who is providing the most generous rewards.

If you can’t wait to play the Lucky Witch slot, visit Spin Palace now.

Playtech has long been one of the leading software providers to the online casino industry and in recent years the group has really lived up to its slogan “Source of Success” by performing phenomenally well thanks not only to its popularity amongst casino players but also due to a number of additional factors including the sale of its stake in the joint William Hill online venture for which it received a sum of £424 million earlier this year.

The group also recently released figures for the first half of 2013 which showed a 13% increase in earnings and a net profit of €67.9 million. According to a spokesperson for the company, the group is on track to meet full year expectations.

Playtech CEO Mor Weizer commented that with €500 million in the balance sheet and access to more than €100 million in credit facilities the group is in a very good position and expects to use these funds to take their offering to the next level.

So what does all of this mean for players? While all of the details have not yet been revealed, Playtech has announced that it will be expanding its product line extensively through a variety of bolt-on acquisitions and strategic alternatives that will assist in growing the business.

Recent reports have also revealed that there are plans to move aggressively into the mobile arena so you are sure to see improvements in overall gaming experiences for smartphone and tablet devices when playing at Playtech powered casinos.

Looks like it there will be exciting times ahead at Playtech powered online casinos, so watch this space for more!

There has been much excitement this week as two of online gambling’s iconic companies announced that they would be partnering to deliver an even more thrilling online casino experience to players than ever before.

Microgaming and William Hill Casino Club have entered into a partnership agreement whereby the casino will now offer its players Microgaming powered online casino games within its already vast offering. Previously the casino was powered solely by Playtech software but the new decision to incorporate Microgaming powered games indicates that the group will, like some other competitive brands, be licensing multiple software providers in order to expand aggressively into the market while ensuring player acquisitions and retention. After all, what better way to keep players playing than to offer them all of the games titles they’d like to play under one roof!

To the delight of players, the new Microgaming powered casino games have been seamlessly integrated into William Hill’s casino platform and are already live, available to players and attracting a great deal of attention.

It seems that both parties couldn’t be happier with the Director of Gaming at William Hill, James Curwen commenting that the new agreement which has facilitated the integration of Microgaming’s Quickfire platform into the William Hill Casino offering will not only offer players world class gaming content but also strengthen William Hill’s brand globally.

The Microgaming camp seems equally as pleased with CEO Roger Raatgever stating that the organisation is thrilled to have online gambling giant William Hill amongst its list of customers.

We for one are very excited about the partnership and see it as a great step forward for a brand that has always been one of the better and more trustworthy online casinos.

Want to experience the magic of William Hill Casino Club for yourself? Sign up now!

The 17th of March is Saint Patrick’s Day – a national Irish holiday that is celebrated worldwide. While the day is a religious holiday in Ireland, for other countries it is a day of celebration packed with festivals and parades – not to mention thousands of people dressed in green! And if you’re an online casino fan you’ll know that every year casinos offers some awesome Irish themed online slots and St Patrick’s Day promotions to keep you in the true spirit of the holiday.

The history of St Patrick’s Day is a rich one which follows the story of St Patrick who was a Christian missionary in Ireland. Legend has it that St Patrick used the three leaf clover, also known as a shamrock to depict the Holy Trinity. Usually clovers have three leaves which are said to be representative of the emotions hope, faith and love. A four leaf clover is a special rarity and it is said that the fourth leaf represents luck and if you find one, it will bring you good luck.

As with many other Christian holidays, Saint Patrick’s Day is also associated with a degree of paganism in the form of Irish mythology and folklore. Over the years St Patrick’s Day has been associated with legendary creatures known as Leprechauns who are said to be exceptionally wealthy and hide their pots of gold at the end of rainbows. Leprechauns are also believed to be notoriously mischievous and have the power to play magic tricks on people BUT if you hold a four leaf clover, it will cancel the Leprechaun’s magic so that you may discover his gold.

In light of these traditions and beliefs it’s no wonder that St Paddy’s day themed online slots are packed with 4 leaf clovers, Leprechaun’s, rainbows, pots of gold and loads of fun and rewards. So if you’re looking to celebrate with online slots play at your favourite Casino, look out for these St Patrick’s Day themed slots:

Plenty ‘O Fortune

Playtech powered Plenty ‘O Fortune is a newly released 3×5 reel, 20 payline video slot featuring a dancing 3D Leprechaun that could have you dancing all the way to the bank with wins of 500 times your line bet!

This game is a graphical delight and packed with features from start to finish so you’ll not only be entertained but rewarded all the way as you play.

Play it at Titan Casino today!

Irish Eyes

Microgaming’s Irish Eyes is a Celtic themed, 5 reel, 25 payline video slot filled with Leprechauns and their pots of gold, rainbows and let’s not forget…beautiful Irish lasses.

It is packed with free spins, scatters and wilds, even boasting a double feature that sets it apart from the rest and could have you taking home a pot of gold of your very own this St Patrick’s Day!

Play it at Spin Palace now!

After an immensely successful launch of Batman: The Dark Knight video slot in 2012, software giant, Microgaming has announced its intentions to launch the sequel, The Dark Knight Rises video slot this summer. This news is sure to delight the millions of Batman themed slots enthusiasts across the globe.

While little is known about the actual details of the slot at this point, those in the know promise that this new release will offer thrilling action based on the recent blockbuster smash hit of the same name and will feature Batman and Catwoman as they take on the masked evil mercenary, Bane, to defend Gotham City from destruction and annihilation.

To celebrate the summer 2013 launch of The Dark Knight Rises video slot, Microgaming attended the ICE exhibition in London with its very own Bat-Pod where visiting fans were given the opportunity to get an up-close look at Batman’s awe-inspiring vehicle which was features in The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises movies. At the Microgaming stand, avid Batman slots fans were also able to watch the newly released teaser trailer of The Dark Knight Rises video slot to get an inside scoop on what’s to be expected in the months to come.

Microgaming’s CEO Roger Raatgever, recently discussed the upcoming Dark Knight Rises release, saying that The success of The Dark Knight video slot revealed the passion that avid slot enthusiasts have for action and adventure involving one of the world’s most popular Super heroes. He further stated that Microgaming continues to offer a combination of content, gameplay and winning opportunities that will not only keep slot players entertained but coming back for more.

While there is great anticipation for this new release, summer is still a few months away and if you absolutely can’t wait to play, then check out some of Microgaming’s other popular online slots on offer which will keep you entertained until the temperatures start to soar.