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New Online Slots – BGaming, Gamzix, Wazdan, Lady Luck, Playson, Red Rake Gaming

new_online_slots_bgaming_gamzix_wazdan_lady_luck_playson_red_rake_gamingWith so many new studios out there and the legacy brands working overtime to compete for player spins, each week sees well over a dozen new game releases. Today’s players simply have to click on a title at one of their favorite gaming portals to be the first in their circle to try a new game.

In the not-too-distant past, each and every online casino was simply an extension of the game developer with one site carrying Microgaming titles exclusively and others that carried only Playtech, Realtime Gaming, or Cryptologic games, etc. – there were no multi-software online casinos and in order to download a new game at a Microgaming site, players had to completely reinstall the Viper download client and every element of each game. Thanks to innovations such as instant play via HTML5 those days are long behind us now.

Today’s games can be built with pre-existing modules on Remote Game Servers (RGS) and deployed as soon as they are certified. In some jurisdictions such as in Spain, after winning a supplier license, a developer like Play’n GO can self-certify each new game in that market and release it across its entire network of games without the need for regulator by regulator approvals.

Raft of New Games to Play

Today we’ll look at a few fresh releases from BGaming, Gamzix, Lady Luck, Playson, Red Rake Gaming, and Wazdan.

BGaming – Alien Fruits

Look for groundbreaking AI-generated graphics in this game with refilling reels and a chance to win up to 15,000x. You’ll come along with fruit characters as they hunt down jelly letters in this intergalactic thriller for energy.

The game launched across the SOFTSWISS network and other operators carrying BGaming titles. Alien Fruits features a maximum win of €180,000 at full-tilt betting.

Yulia Aliakseyeva, co-CPO at BGaming, said: “As a leading slots provider, we are delighted to add Alien Fruits to our portfolio of more than 100 creative titles. We are especially excited to introduce AI-generated graphics – just one example of BGaming’s innovative approach to slots development.”

Land four or more Scatter symbols (spaceships) to trigger the free spins bonus and the fruits will traverse galaxies to carry you into the free games.

Players will in most markets also have access to the Bonus Buy feature to cut to the front of the line (for a price) and play the bonus game whenever they feel like taking a chance.

Random multipliers ranging from 2x to 100x take the game to new heights.

Gamzix – Wolf Story

Wolf Story is set up as a 5-reel, 3-row slot with 25 fixed paylines. Game icons depict members of the animal kingdom and symbols like Scatter and Moon provide more: Scatter symbols trigger Free Spins and Moons are a portal into the Bonus Game using the Gamzix Hold the Spin mechanics.

There are four jackpots available and you’ll need to collect 15 Moon symbols to have a crack at the Grand Jackpot.

Wolf Story has a fairly high RTP at 96% and a max win over 5000x.

Alexandr Kosohov, CEO of Gamzix commented: “Every slot is a combination of visual representation and a perfect mix of available features. It has to catch attention from the first sight and leave a player intrigued until the very last spin. This is what we were focused on while creating Wolf Story. You’ll see a lot of animated elements, changing backgrounds and features, like Mystery Coin, that reveal the final result only when time comes. Wild and mysterious, isn’t it?”

Lady Luck Games – Popeye

This highly anticipated release from Lady Luck Games is officially scheduled for its global launch on April 20, 2023 – however, word has it that it could be released into select regional markets before rolling out over the Lady Luck distribution network.

Popeye was created in collaboration with King Features Syndicate (Hearst Communications), a comics content company and animation studio first launched in 1914 and the home of iconic characters such as Flash Gordon, Beatle Baily, Hagar the Horrible, and of course, Popeye.

Some of the regional releases include The exclusive regional releases include partnerships with Danske Spil for players in Denmark, Novibet which caters to Greek players, Tipobet365 active in scattered markets globally, Betsson, and White Hat Gaming for players in the UK.

“We are excited to bring our captivating and immersive Popeye slot game to a global audience through these exclusive regional launches with leading brands in the industry. We believe that our engaging gaming experience, combined with the strong market presence of these leading platforms, will be a winning combination for players worldwide,” said Mads Jørgensen, Co-Founder, and CEO of Lady Luck Games.

Global Release date: April 20, 2023
RTP: 94.0% | 96.1% | 88.0% depending on the market
Layout: 5×3
Volatility: Medium
Lines/Ways: 20
Hit frequency: 29.8% | 29.7% | 30.4%
Max win: 5100x bet | 5500x bet | 5300x bet
Min/max bet: €0.10/€100.00
Languages: EN, RU, TR, ES, IT, DA, ZH-CN, TH, KO, DE, EL, NL, RO, SV, KA

Playson – Giza Nights: Hold and Win

This game is feature-rich with semi-complicated mechanics that will keep new players enthralled with mystery and discovery as well as bring back seasoned players for years to come. Set up as a 5×3 slot with 25 paylines, it promises to take players on a journey to one of the Seven Wonders of the World and set off to find treasure in the mysterious ancient town of Giza.

The Boost feature collects the value of accumulated moon symbols and awards them to players instantly. It can also award one of three jackpots if the proper symbols land on the reels on the same spin.

The bonus game is powered by Playson’s popular Hold and Win mechanic which resets the number of available respins to 3 with each new Bonus, Boost, or Mystery symbol that appears in the feature. The bonus game plays until the player runs out of chances or fills the 5×3 grid with bonus symbols which will award the Grand jackpot worth 5,000x your bet.

The Mystery symbol can also change into a Mini, Minor, or Major Jackpot symbol during the bonus game. These will appear after a Boost symbol is landed or they will be revealed one at a time when the respin bonus is completed.

Land three scatters to trigger or retrigger 8 free games with only top-paying Bonus, Boost, Scatter, and Wild symbols being collected.

Tamas Kusztos, Chief Commercial Officer at Playson, said: “Giza Nights: Hold and Win is a great addition to our library, adding the allure of Giza to our Egyptian-themed series of games.

“The Hold and Win mechanic is a player favorite and with the Boost feature integrated, they’re sure to have a thrilling time when they explore our bespoke gameplay offering.”

Red Rake Gaming – Ramses Legacy

There must be dozens if not tens of tens of Egyptian-themed slots out there but it remains a popular genre as developers add their own twists to the highly visited theme. Red Rake is no exception. First launched in 2011 the studio plied its trade in the social game realm before taking on the more serious role of becoming a BMM-certified real money game provider.

Ramsey’s Legacy is a huge slot in many ways – the first way that jumps out is the One Million Ways to Win feature, but the minigame and free spins also loom large for players who enjoy total game immersion when they play.

Go to the doors of Ramses’ pyramid and watch a wall raise with each win and reveal more rows of symbols. When a pyramid appears on the reels it will be added to the progress meter which triggers the minigame when it gets filled.

In addition to the minigame, there is a free spins bonus round with 8, 12, or 16 free games for 3, 4, and 5 scatters respectively. The game screen starts out with 4 rows on the reels and with every win 2 more rows are opened up.

The game was released across the Playson network on April 13.

Wazdan – Hot Slot™: 777 Cash Out

Wazdan had added its eighth game to its top-performing Hot Slot series with Hot Slot™: 777 Cash Out.

Andrzej Hyla, Chief Commercial Officer at Wazdan: “We are delighted to share the latest addition to our Hot Slot™ series, bolstered through immersive new mechanics that provide endless entertainment and massive win potential.

“As the first game of a new quarter, we wanted to release something for our partners to be excited about while building on the momentum of our ever-popular series.”

Like all games in the Hot Slot series, this game melds a classic retro theme with Wazdan’s innovative modern mechanics.

However, this game introduces a new feature with the Cash Out symbol. Players can use it to collect prizes including jackpots through Wazdan’s player-engagement engine.

Cover all of the reel positions with jackpot symbols to win up to 1,500x your bet when you win the Grand Jackpot.

Players can double up their bets to enable the new Chance Level mechanic which increases the chance of landing jackpot symbols.

Wazdan prides itself on catering to individual players’ wants and needs through its Freedom of Choice™ Suite which allows players to customize their game experience in various ways, providing a sense of ownership and increasing player retention and loyalty.

Source: Embark On Space Odyssey With Bgaming’S Alien Fruits, European Gaming News, April 13, 2023

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Aussie Banks Want Credit Cards Banned for Online Gambling

aussie_banks_want_credit_cards_banned_for_online_gamblingAustralia has no online casinos licensed in the country even though federal law allows states and territories to license and regulate internet slots and table games. However, home and mobile sports betting is licensed for punters there.

According to the country’s primary banking trade organization, there’s a big gap between financial protections online and on land so the Australian Banking Association (ABA) is asking the government to ban the use of credit cards at online sports betting sites.

The request comes decades after credit cards were banned for gambling at the land-based sportsbooks and casinos there. The licensed online gambling industry did not even exist at the time land-based credit card gambling was prohibited but is now worth an estimated A$50 billion a year.

Credit Cards Already Banned for Land-based Gambling

The ABA’s CEO, Anna Bligh asks: “Why should it be possible to do something in the virtual world that is prohibited in the real world? Every pub with poker machines, every TAB and every trackside bookie already implemented this 23 years ago.”

Bligh wonders if gambling, as a product “is this something we should be providing credit for given what’s happening to our customers?”

According to a report in the Guardian, banks are not on a moral crusade with the initiative but instead are looking out for their own business interests. That said, the association is quite aware of the damage undisciplined gamblers can do to themselves very quickly with potential long-term negative consequences.

“This is just a product that is not suitable for credit,” said Bligh. “You can accrue a very, very large amount of debt in an incredibly short period of time and have nothing to show for it.

“Banks have seen the harm that is being done and they are very conscious of their responsibility as lenders to ask [hard questions].

The initiative would tend to lend itself more to ideation than implementation due to the way merchant category codes work. The international merchant category code (MCC) that has been used for online gambling transactions since soon after the US changed its payment processor rules for online gambling with the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) can also be assigned to transactions involving charities that fundraise by selling lottery tickets.

MCCs are 4-digit numbers listed under the international standard ISO 18245 which currently doesn’t have a code for lottery tickets sold primarily for charity fundraising. In order to create one, advocates would need to apply through ISO/TC 68, Technical Committee 68 on Banking, Securities, and other Financial Services in Geneva, Switzerland. However, changes to ISOs such as adding a new MCC, are usually not entertained for industries generating less than $10m in revenues.

The ABA doesn’t seem interested in paying for changes through the Geneva process, indicating that gambling operators should have to deal with and pay for compliance on their own after a grace period to give them time to adjust.

Licensed Operator Body Supports Ban

Responsible Wagering Australia is an independent body for wagering service providers based in Australia. RWA members include well-known names such as bet365, Betfair, Entain, PointsBet, Sportsbet, and Unibet.

A spokesperson for the group said: “The RWA and its members have been at the forefront of the work to implement a credit card ban – having led the discussions with the banking industry to determine the technical solutions, and delivered them to the government. We cannot speak for other non-member gambling companies.”

While offshore casinos can run credit card gambling transactions through a form of potential money laundering by assigning “the wrong code” to deposit transactions, a few Australian banks have already banned their branded credit cards from being used for gambling transactions, which presumably disallows the purchase of lottery tickets sold for charity fundraising with a credit card. Bank Australia, Bank of Queensland, Citibank, and Suncorp will no longer process MCC 7995.

MPs Sharkie and Wilkie are each preparing legislation to address the issue as well as to introduce suspicious transaction reports to authorities with Rebekha Sharkie’s private member bill focused on banning online credit card gambling and Andrew Wilkie’s bill focused on proceeds of crimes and suspicious transaction report obligations.

Sharkie also wants operators to be required to inform bettors of ongoing losses prior to accepting further bets.

Source: Australian banks urge Albanese government to ban use of credit cards for online gambling, The Guardian, March 26, 2023

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SZTFH Decree Massages Hungary’s Online Betting Operator Rules

sztfh_decree_massages_hungarys_online_betting_operator_rulesWith a ruling party super-majority in the Parliament of Hungary, simply pulling the levers of powers should be enough to move any desired legislation through the political process in a normal and legal manner. However, for well over 2,500 days now the government has used that absolute majority to do some things without transparent debate or utilizing other hallmarks of liberal democracy – instead relying on simple decrees to accomplish the State’s business.

That’s not to say that the emergency powers completely constipate the government, as can be seen in the online gambling industry through the lens of the country’s Gambling Act – something Hungary has been “trying to get right” since the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued rulings in 2016 and in 2017 which should encourage the government to come into compliance not to infringe the freedom to provide services (Article 56 TFEU) or grant non-competitive concessions.

The Supervisory Authority for Regulatory Affairs (SZTFH) has recently issued a decree implementing minor changes to allow amendments to the country’s Gambling Act to function more fairly or efficiently.

Technical Clarifications, Fees

Operators who wish to offer online sportsbetting there must meet certain financial requirements and prove up at least five years of experience offering licensed online gambling services in a European Economic Area state. Any operator who has offered unlicensed gaming within five years of the dated application will be rejected from consideration for a license.

In an attempt to protect bettors from harm, operators will be able to offer early cashouts on sports betting wins but the operator must warn the player about the immediate gratification of such an action as it could contribute to gambling addiction.

The decree reads: “The gambling operator is obliged to expressly draw the player’s attention to the fact that the use of this function entails an increased risk of excessive gambling and addiction and this information shall appear in the text of promotion in the same font size as the text.”

It continues: “The gambling operator shall also make available to the player on the gambling website the information that the use of that function entails an increased risk of excessive gambling and addiction.”

In order to facilitate early cashouts bettors will now be allowed to have segmented account balances rather than one master balance.

Early cashouts are subject to any regular terms and conditions of other withdrawals.

Recent History of Changes

Early last year, legislation was introduced to help Hungary come into compliance with anti-monopoly measures that should promote a more free and open market as many nearby EU states have done. At the dawn of 2023, several conditions or technical changes were made that could apply to casino operators as well as sports betting providers.

However, none of the changes loosen the hold on remote casino licenses that are still tethered directly to the three main land-based operators. While the CJEU ruled in Unibet’s favor in 2016, ostensibly opening the door to other European online casino operators, the land-based casinos can be declared a priority of national economic interest. This allowed budget items in the 2021 work sessions to grant 35-year extensions to the casino licensees without a public tender process.

The workaround used, according to local democracy watchdogs was to re-allocate the concessions as at least half of the original concession period had come to pass. This was purported to assure the state continuity in revenues for the long term.

A government-connected stakeholder in Las Vegas Casino group is operated by Diamond Játékaszinó Üzemeltet? Kft. (LVC Diamond), the most important urban casino operator was originally granted a concession in 2015 that was set to expire in 2024 but now extends to 2056.

Our research does not find any mechanism in legislative accomplishments or decrees that would untether online casino licenses in Hungary from land-based operator licenses so it would appear as if at least one operator is locked in.

The LVC Diamond properties include The Atlantis, Atrium Eurocenter, Corvin Promenade, Sofitel, and Tropicana casinos.

Tax Authority Retaliated Against Operator for Lawsuit

One thing the Unibet lawsuit did accomplish was to tease out a CJEU ruling that recognizes Hungary’s online gambling rules did not allow the taxing authority to take retaliatory actions against other EU-licensed operators as it did in response to Unibet filing suit. Those actions included ordering ISPs to block access to the site and the levying of fines against the operator and its parent company, Kindred Group.

In short, while the process for licensing land-based casinos and thus their tethered counterparts online may not be in line with EU standards, there isn’t much, if anything standing in the way of a Malta Gaming Authority-licensed casino offering services there.

So far, SZTFH has not authorized any foreign operators to offer sports betting with all regulated consumer traffic still flowing through Tippmixpro.hu – operated by the former and still a de facto monopoly of Szerencsejáték Zrt.

Source: Hungary regulator implements new Gambling Act amendments, iGaming Business, March 29, 2023

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France Reg Flexes Delisting Muscle, Australia Adds to List of Blocked Online Casinos

france_reg_flexes_delisting_muscle_australia_adds_to_list_of_blocked_online_casinos.France’s gambling regulator, l’Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) has issued blocking and delisting orders against online gambling sites and has created and published a public blacklist in the form of a downloadable CSV spreadsheet of illegal gambling sites while the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has ordered eight more sites to be blocked, including an advertiser as well as gambling operators.

The French blacklist can be found through a link on the government’s official announcement page (here). It includes well over 500 entries, most of which are redirects or mirrors of sites that were obviously targeting players in markets the operators were not welcome in with operators such as VegasPlus accounting for nearly 10% of the total through more than 45 unique URLs relying on various reiterations of the core name.

Obvious Attempted Circumventions

MaChance casino accounted for more than 50 iterations while Unique / WinUnique clocked nearly 50 entries.

The internal list shared with legal authorities, certain operators, and internet service providers in France has tracked 532 websites from over 150 operators since June of last year but has finally been made public, albeit in a non-user-friendly format. The list will be updated monthly according to the ANJ.

Several months before the then-nascent list was compiled, the regulator was given extraordinary powers to block or demand the blocking of gambling websites as well as the power to delist them through requests or demands delivered to search engines and other indexing databases.

Legal censorship in the name of the public good is a craft the French regulatory body is perfecting with each new development and the ANJ no longer has to wade through 4-6 months of red tape to get the job done. Now, they can simply request that ISPs (internet service providers) block the sites after a quick consultation with an administrative judge, and the marketing websites as well as any known iterations of the gambling domains can be blocked within 30-60 days.

Only about 18 online gambling websites are sanctioned by the government in France as well as internationally in French-administered jurisdictions while La Française des Jeux enjoys an exclusive monopoly on lotteries and related games throughout French law-administered governments worldwide.

Google addresses delisting thusly: “Google may temporarily or permanently remove sites from its index and search results if it believes it is obligated to do so by law; if the sites do not meet Google’s quality guidelines, or for other reasons.”

A ruling by the European Court of Justice, the EU’s highest court confirmed in 2011 that France’s monopoly on horse race betting was justified and legal as long as its purpose was to prevent harm to the public and was applied in a consistent manner. The case (a law allowing Pari Mutuel Urbain a monopoly on horse-race betting) set the stage for further breaks in anti-monopoly law interpretations and upset the assured competition among member states throughout Europe.

The ANJ stated on its website last Wednesday: “Indeed, when a French Internet user plays on an illegal site (for example, in France, all online casino sites are illegal, no casino license can be granted under the legal framework in force), it exposes you to multiple risks:

  • Collection of personal data;
  • Payment fraud;
  • Installation of malicious computer programs on the computer or mobile phone without the knowledge of the player;
  • Frequent non-payment of winnings;
  • Absence of any measure to prevent excessive gambling and underage gambling;
  • Total absence of legal recourse in the event of a dispute with the site.

There are no known empirical data that shows the French are any more vulnerable to those risks than players in any other jurisdiction. The government relies on code enforcement on the supply side and the statements above to dissuade French gamblers from straying from the French-approved sites. Online gamblers in France are not subject to criminal penalties.

Australia Continues Crackdown on Unlicensed Sites.

As is the case in France, gamblers in Australia are not subject to criminal penalties. However, operators that offer unlicensed services to citizens can be punished civilly and criminally if they find themselves within reach of the law. All publicly traded companies have left the market, yet private companies continue to serve the market as Australians are among the most passionate and prolific gamblers in the world.

Offering online gambling services in Australia is not actually illegal as long as an operator is licensed in a state or territory. However, none have developed a framework nor issued any licenses for casino gambling.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has issued new orders for another handful of gambling sites to be blocked by Australian ISPs from allowing residents to access the websites.

As has often been the case in the past, the order affects not only illegal operators but their promoters as well. The latest batch of names includes Casino Jax, Kosmonaut Casino, Mirax Casino, N1 Bet Casino, Rolling Slots, Slotozen, and Wild Fortune Casino as well as an affiliate website that was purportedly directly marketing to Australian players.

The regulatory body has blocked well over 700 gambling websites since the Gambling Act Amendment of 2001 was strengthened in 2017.

Source: French regulator publishes gambling website blacklist, iGaming Business, March 14, 2023

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Takutiki is a New Online Slot from Swintt with Powerful Totems and Stacked Wilds

takutiki_is_a_new_online_slot_from_swintt_with_powerful_totems_and_stacked_wildsSwintt slots are in high demand and it’s no wonder considering the quality and quantity of games released by the Glitnor Group subsidiary based in Malta. The company’s newest release is Takutiki and follows on the heels of recent hits Path of Dragons and Secret Spellbook Respin.

The new game is played on a traditional 5×3 reel layout and invites players to sojourn into the ages-old heart of the Americas and explore the iconic culture of the indigenous peoples there. The game is part of the Swintt Premium series – one of the company’s two catalogs of games with easily distinguished features.

Iconic Indigenous Symbols

Look for wins across the 30 set paylines comprising classic but highly stylized playing card symbols for the lower paying icons and a host of thematic First Nations imagery including the great bison, bald eagle, male and female tribal members, and stacks of vibrant wild symbols in addition to diamonds and bonus symbol in the form of tipis.

The backdrop is an atmospheric view with more light than detail and most likely represents a foggy morning sunset in the Pacific Northwest. The second and fourth reels are backlit by the heat waves and smoke of a campfire at night.

Land five of a kind to ring the bells and see the payout stack up. It’s not rare at all to see winning lines displayed because in addition to stacked wilds the other symbols can fill the reels too. The stacked reels belie the game’s lower volatility meaning you will most likely have a lot of wins but only the occasional big win in the base game.

While the frequent payouts are satisfying, you’ll also want to be on the lookout for dazzling diamonds. These collectibles come in three different colors and are vital to the game’s bonus features.

Fill Totem Pole with Diamonds to Trigger Modifier Respins

To the left of the reel set is a totem pole with three symbols. Each symbol has a placeholder for three matching diamonds – one totem each for red, blue, and green. Whenever one of the diamonds appears on the screen it will migrate to its proper place on the totem pole. Once three same-colored diamonds have completed a totem’s power, that re-spin modifier is awarded.

Reading the pole from the top down, collecting all three red diamonds will add 45 additional paylines to the game giving players the chance to score any or all of 75 lines on the respin.

In the middle sits the blue symbol and when it fills with blue diamonds from the reels, any wild symbols that appear in a paying combination will double the prize for the line.

Finally, when the green totem on the bottom is completed with three green diamonds players can expect to see anywhere from five to ten extra wild symbols added to reels to increase the odds of a payout.

The diamonds will only appear on reels two and four. However, each reel can release multiple diamonds on a single spin.

Land three teepees to trigger the free spin bonus game – this is where the real money is hiding out.

All Three Modifiers Possible in Free Spins Bonus

You’ll start out with 8 free games and in the bonus game, each totem only has one placeholder for its diamonds so a single diamond will trigger a respin with that totem’s modifier and a new spin will be awarded. This is where it can really pay to land two or even three diamonds on the same spin as all three modifiers will come into play to supercharge the chances of a big win.

All of the Swintt “Premium” games include an after-win risk feature wherein you can gamble your win as many as eight times. Being a low variance game the top win on a spin is set 450x your bet size and that is also the limit when your gamble-game will be over even if you have not risked your current spin’s winning 8 times yet.

Chief Executive Officer at Swintt, David Mann said: “Swintt Premium games have proved popular with old-school fans of classic slot machines and modern casino players alike and our studio always strives to combine iconic design elements with innovative features to ensure all users are catered for.

“Our new Takutiki release remains true to this practice by taking the simple gameplay of a land-based slot machine and cranking up the excitement factor with its Free Spins and three unlockable modifiers. With this helping to reduce the game’s variance and make big wins far easier to come by, we’re sure the game will prove a big hit with players when it debuts at all of online casino partners this month.”

Source: Swintt stack up a totem pole of wild wins in Takutiki, Swintt News, March 1, 2023

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