Wednesday, February 29, 2012

news.casinolife

news.casinolife

GREAT BLUE HERON CHARITY CASINO CELEBRATES 15 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Posted: 28 Feb 2012 05:25 AM PST

Port Perry, 27 February 2012 The Great Blue Heron Charity Casino in Port Perry, Canada celebrated its 15-year anniversary at the end of January 2012 with a celebratory luncheon at the Mississaugas Health and Resource Center. Located on scenic reserve lands of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation, the Great Blue Heron Charity Casino is one of Ontario’s finest casino entertainment properties. It first opened in 1997 with a simple vision of providing economic development and advancement opportunities for the Mississaugas of Scugog Island and has since evolved into a significant economic driver and one of the largest employers in the region

"We are very proud of our charity casino and the contribution it has made to the region over the past 15 years," said First Nation Chief, Tracy Gauthier. "It gives the Mississaugas of Scugog Island a great sense of pride, as it gives us the ability to support our own people and contribute to the local community."

Together, the Great Blue Heron Charity Casino and its charitable arm, the Baagwating Community Association, are the region's most significant charitable resource. Since it opened, the casino has raised more that $1.4 million through its annual charity golf tournament in support of the Port Perry Hospital and Starlight Children's Foundation. Baagwating has donated over $6.7 million to local organizations and initiatives, such as the R.S. McLaughlin Durham Regional Cancer Center or Oshawa's University of Ontario Institute of Technology. Most recently, they donated $100,000 towards Attawapiskat emergency relief efforts.

"I am pleased to be able to say that our charity casino now has 60 tables, 550 slot machines, a 175-seat restaurant, and is one of Durham Region's largest employers with over 1,100 staff," said CEO and General Manager, Arnold Block. "Our economic benefit to the greater Durham Region is approximately $236 million per year, we provide direct and indirect full time employment to over 1,770 individuals, contribute over $64 million annually to various governmental agencies and have become an important source of assistance to a variety of community organizations. We are a true example of what can be accomplished when you have a good business model, act in a fiscally and socially responsible manner and have stakeholders who are committed to a strong sense of community and purpose."

"The Ontario government is proud to be a partner in this operation," said David Zimmer, MPP and Parliamentary Assistant to the Ontario Minister of Aboriginal Affairs. "I would like to congratulate the Great Blue Heron, the First Nation, Casinos Austria and all other partners."

About the Great Blue Heron Charity Casino
The Great Blue Heron Charity Casino is located 90 km northeast of Toronto in the picturesque town of Port Perry and is a cooperation between the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation. The casino is operated by the Great Blue Heron Gaming Company, which is comprised of Casinos Austria International, the Steiner Group and Sonco Inc. Open 24/7, the casino offers a total of 60 gaming table and 550 TITO-enabled, latest generation spinning reel and video slot machines. It also features the award-winning 175-seat Waters Edge Buffet Restaurant.

Great Blue Heron Charity Casino
21777 Island Road
Port Perry, Ontario
L9L 1B6, Canada

 

THE GLOBAL DRAW EXTENDS CONTRACT WITH JENNINGSBET

Posted: 28 Feb 2012 02:46 AM PST

LONDON – 28th February 2012  Gaming machines provider The Global Draw, a wholly owned subsidiary of Scientific Games Corporation (Nasdaq: SGMS), is pleased to announce that its contract with JenningsBet has been extended to 2015.

After a successful 12-year partnership, The Global Draw will continue its close working relationship with JenningsBet – one of the UK's leading independent bookmakers with 450 employees and 95 shops across the UK.

Greg Knight, Managing Director of JenningsBet, commented, "The Global Draw's consistent support has been pivotal to our significant growth and we are delighted to demonstrate our appreciation for this support by, yet again, extending our contract.

Gaming machines are an essential part of our offering and The Global Draw provides unrivalled quality when it comes to machine management and implementation, game content and staff training and support.

The Global Draw's 'best practices' and technical back-office staff training builds familiarity and confidence with new machines, games and promotions. This has resulted in our staff having a greater product understanding which helps drive enhanced customer service, an increase in operational efficiency and ultimately assists the company in boosting cash box yield."

The Global Draw's ongoing independent customer support program is unique to the industry and is extremely well-regarded amongst its customers. JenningsBet benefits from all aspects of the program including a dedicated account management team, bespoke marketing support and monthly free-to-play tournament promotions.

These promotions have helped JenningsBet support the roll-out of new games by providing an additional draw to attract new players, as well as engage existing players. Having observed the benefits of nationwide promotions, the two companies now work together to develop specialised Jenningsbet tournaments – exclusive to Jenningsbet customers.

"Independent bookmakers continue to benefit from our dedication to the industry," commented Phil Horne, Managing Director at The Global Draw. "JenningsBet is our largest independent bookmaker and we are delighted to continue supporting the company as it expands. We are committed to ongoing development of machines, quality content and support programs, which are integral to helping drive machine revenue for JenningsBet and all of our independent customers."

The Global Draw's leading content and exclusive in-house titles, such as the popular Key Bet Roulette game, will continue to be delivered to JenningsBet through its esteemed Nevada terminal. This machine has proven extremely popular with both customers and players alike, due to its inherent reliability, robustness and seamless player gaming experience.

 

 

Players can now get Ukash throughout Argentina

Posted: 28 Feb 2012 02:14 AM PST

February 2012: Ukash, the leading Global eMoney network and specialists in prepaid payment solutions for the gaming sector has announced that players across Argentina can now deposit and play or bet using their cash online with Ukash.

Ukash had been available in Buenos Aires since February 2011: now its presence has been extended to the entire country because of a partnership with More in Argentina, made possible via its LATAM partners Raberil Trading S.A. The entire network has now gone live, bringing over 100 nationwide outlets where players can get Ukash in Argentina.

Ukash enables players worldwide to use their cash to pay online, irrespective of status, device or boundary, and is available at 420,000 retail locations. Globally, Ukash is active in more than 55 countries.

David Hunter, Chief Executive of www.Ukash.com, said: "Our research indicated that Ukash is perfect for the Argentinean market. For example, over 60% of the population access the internet regularly, with rates of internet access and e-commerce also growing."

"Furthermore, bank account penetration in Argentina is relatively low, with cash transactions accounting for 42% of all purchases, compared to just 4.6% card transactions – as an alternative cash payments business, we were very interested to discover this.

"For all these reasons, we knew the opportunity to play online using cash would be well received, and that Ukash could provide a safe, secure and convenient solution for many player's across Argentina."

In order to shop, pay and play online with Ukash, customers will be required to give their full name, ID number and address the first time they visit More stores.

Once this registration process is completed, customers can simply confirm their name and address verbally in order to purchase Ukash vouchers. Customers will be able to locate their nearest Ukash outlet via the website: http://www.ukash.com/latin-america/es/home.aspx

 

 

ComTrade announces Facebook Blackjack launch

Posted: 28 Feb 2012 01:08 AM PST

Tuesday 28th February, London – ComTrade would like to announce the launch of its Facebook Blackjack solution which is now available via the Palaces Live brand on Facebook and will run off its leading Remote Game Server and iGaming Platform.

Facebook Blackjack is "play for free" and with player acquisition in mind, it will undoubtedly attract new players to the Palaces Live Casino.  The overall objective of the game is for players to progress to its Live Games Blackjack solution which is also provided by ComTrade.

The game lobby has been designed with familiar sharing features that a player has come to expect from social games on Facebook and will enable Palaces Live to reach more users through the sharing and inviting of friends.

Facebook Blackjack offers a robust backend system that allows for an easy integration process and advanced user analytics. It also enables an operator to create a more "sticky" and engaging environment and drive brand loyalty and cross promotional activity.

Oliver Lynch, Managing Director for UK and Ireland, ComTrade said "Our Facebook Blackjack solution will be used by our clients as a key tool to drive player acquisition or retention. It will allow operators to create engaging relationships with their players, driving brand loyalty among landbased players and creating new communities."

 

Enrique Alejo Director General for Gambling Regulation will be the inaugural lecturer of the SiGS congress to be hold on March 27

Posted: 28 Feb 2012 01:06 AM PST

28 Febrero 2012 Enrique Alejo González Director General for Gambling Regulation will be the inaugural lecturer for the congress “Spanish iGaming Summit” (SiGS 2012) with the lecture “Regulatory framework and Procedure for Online Gambling Licensing in Spain”. The SiGS 2012 will take place at the hotel Husa Princesa, Madrid, on March 27, promoted by the consulting company JAK Comunicación together with elRecreativo.com.

The first part of this multisectorial event, which takes over the iGamingSummit 2011 of October 25, is devoted to the new regulation of remote gambling at a time of overwhelming interest since the first licenses are being granted right now. In this regard, there will be a specific panel on the initiative of the Regional Government of Madrid which will be attended by representatives of online operators holding specific licenses granted by the government of this region.

Moving from the regulatory framework, there will be a round table on advertising and marketing conducted by Santiago Asensi, lawyer, who will conduct the panel “New legal challenges for the sector” which will be also attended by the expert lawyers Alberto Agustinoy, Pedro López Martín-Andino, Heliodoro Giner and Juan José Sánchez Colilla.

The second section is entitled “Online business: Operators’ bet”, consisting of two parts. The first one will be conducted by Mauro de Fabritiis, director of the Italian consulting company MAG who will deal with how to adapt to a regulated market and which will be attended by prominent operators of online gambling. The second part will be devoted to analyse convergence between offline and online gambling and will be conducted by Eduardo Antoja, sectorial director, and will count on the presence of important companies of offline gambling which aim at exploiting online gambling.

At the third section, there will be a panel devoted to the development of technology entitled “Technological providers under examination”, to resume the congress with a final panel on security and payment tools.

José Ángel Fernández Siruela

Founder & Director