India is one of the world’s fastest emerging markets since its economy is growing at more than 6.5% per annum. The Times of India published an article recently where it stated that the Indian government should legalize internet gambling since it’s losing approximately $1.5 billion in taxable revenues per year.

The newspaper article points out that a recent study indicated that India’s internet gambling market could be worth as much as a massive $5 billion. If one takes the country’s average tax rate into account with regard to internet gambling, the study indicates that as much as $1.5 billion in tax revenue could be added to the government’s coffers each year.

The report said, “Despite a booming middle class and a rapidly expanding internet user base, only the state of Sikkim has made any meaningful efforts to regulate online gambling in India,”. “On a national level, there seems to be little desire to regulate this lucrative market – even though an ever-increasing number of Indians gamble online.”

The popularity of online gambling is growing by the day in India, this is because India’s middle clash is becoming more affluent and more and more people have access to the Internet. With a total population of more than 1.1 billion people the potential internet gambling has is truly astronomical.

The study also indicated that should online gambling be regulated it will have a positive effect on the country’s economy such as job creation and added tax revenue.

Bulgaria is one of many European countries that’s beginning to regulate and legalize internet gambling. However, it’s concerned that its current tax rate might discourage internet casinos from investing and operating in the country. Hence the reason it decided to review its current online gambling tax rate on 1 June and might even drop it by 50%.

Bulgaria Tax Rate Revised

A representative for the Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, issued a statement confirming that the tax imposed on internet gambling operators will be cut from 15% to a more amicable figure of 6 to 8%. The rest of the European Union welcomed Bulgaria’s reconsideration and said that it’s encouraging to see that there are countries within the EU that abide by its rules and regulations.

On of the reasons why Bulgaria had to revise its present tax regime is because an unnamed source from the Parliamentary Budget and Finance Committee said, “…no foreign operator would come to Bulgaria, because the taxation would be very high.”

Chairman of the parliamentary budget commission, Menda Stoyanova predicted that the tax rate would be dropped on 1 July, 2012. The good news is that finance minister Simeon Djankov agreed, the exact tax rate percentage has not been decided yet.

Realtime Gaming (RTG) software has just released a new internet slot game titled “Loch Ness Loot”. It is 5-reel, 25-payline video slot. It could now be played at all RTG internet casinos. Loch Ness is a lake in Scotland and approximately 25 miles long. Over the years there has been many sightings of the alleged “Nessie” or the infamous Loch Ness monster.

Loch Ness Loot Slots

The theme of the slot game is about the Loch Ness monster. It features special symbols such as as the scatter symbol and Nessie. Nessie  is the wild symbol and it replaces all symbols including scattered Treasures, as well as free spins and two jackpots – Minor and Major.  Additional symbols showcased on the reels are Lochie, a Fisherman, Newspaper, Boat, a Camera, Poloroids and Bags of Loot.

Free Spins

If there are 3 or more Bags of Loot Free Spins will be awarded from left to right on successive reels. Players will be awarded eight free games with a 2 times multiplier. In the reels of the free spins should Lochie appear, it will expand to fill the reel entirely! The good news is that the Free Spins could be retriggered.

A Win-Win feature as well as a Minor and a Major Jackpot are available in loch Ness Loot. You’ll will be awarded a bet multiplier upon completion of your free spins, on condition a certain amount has not been won. The total amount you’ve wagered will be added to the multiplier enabling you to add it to the total won from the free spins. To play this new slot game we recommend Sloto’ Cash Casino. Please gamble responsibly and always read the terms and conditions of the casino first.

It so happens that a high roller comes along and takes the art of online gambling to a completely new level. Rumor has it that an Asian player recently wagered a massive $20 million over a period of one month at an internet casino. The casino games he played were blackjack and craps.

We know for a fact that these games especially craps are very popular with Asian players and one of the most played games at Macau and Las Vegas Casinos. The bets he made on these games must have been astronomical to have lost… $20 million!

The casino where he lost the cash has not issued a statement as yet and most probably never will. Apparently this person is one of the richest men in Asia. If he gambled via a portal casino some very fortunate affiliate is smiling all the way to the bank. We don’t think we’ll ever know who the player nor the casino is, because of the confidentiality agreement in place between the two parties. To the best of our knowledge this is by light years the highest amount ever lost and wagered at any online casino.

If you have any information with regard to the above we’d like hear from you.

We also did an article more than a year ago about high-roller who lost a massive $100 million at a casino in Singapore. Coincidentally this person is also one of the richest men in Asia. It goes without saying that Asian gamblers don’t muck around when it comes to gambling be it at land-based or online casinos.

Here’s the article: http://www.cassaon-casino.com/blog/online-casino-news/singapore-businessman-loses-100-million-at-local-casinos

Last year new internet gambling laws have been passed by Spain’s Socialist Party in a bid to regulate its domestic gaming market. However, the promulgation of these laws have been put on ice for the time being since it lost the election to the Popular Party. The new changes with regard to Spain’s online gambling market will only allow players to wager at gaming sites that have a .es domain.

In order to operate online all websites must be issued with an internet gambling license from the Spanish government first. The following casino games are regulated: internet poker and online sports betting. The only game that’s still left outside the loop is bingo. In hindsight this game has not been banned per se, but not included in the regulation boom since operators where all jockeying for top positions within the Spanish market. Unfortunately online bingo is presently ‘illegal’ in Spain.

The Spanish government imposed strict regulations on all forms of online gambling right from the word go. For instance live-betting is illegal whilst sports betting is not. Playing poker online is allowed but Spanish players can only play against fellow countrymen and cannot participate in international events.

Although many companies have received internet gambling licenses, many will exit the market. The Spanish government was kind enough to allow online casinos that operated without a license before regulation, suffice it to say that they must now apply for a license or withdraw from the country completely.

We’ve asked ourselves this question many times before what is the ideal internet casino? Truth be told they are very far and few between and only a handful are in operation today. In this article we’re going to give you a brief overview of our ideal online casino.

We live in an age where money is everything, corporations focus more on the money factor instead on the human factor. I’m not saying all businesses are like this there are some exceptions to the rule. Before we give you a run down of our ideal online casino we’d like to give you 2 scenarios how most internet gambling operators should run their businesses.

Scenario 1

Let’s assume you’re a first time player, you deposit $50 with a casino since the review of it is well-written and informative, you decline the welcome bonus offer since you don’t want to get bogged down by excessive wagering requirements. You’ve wagered the $50 and lost it within a couple of minutes, you had fun and moved on or at least you thought so. The next day you receive an e-mail from the casino plying you with all kinds of bonus offers. You decline all of them since you gamble for entertainment purposes only and delete these e-mails from your Inbox.

You receive more e-mails with the same bonus offers, you contact the casino notifying them that you’re not interested. The casino ignores your request and keeps on “blasting” your Inbox with lucrative and enticing bonus offers. You send them an e-mail yet again stating that you’ve had enough and that they must stop spamming your account immediately and they must also close your account and delete your e-mail address from their mailing list! The casino ignores your request, to make a long story short you decide to register a new e-mail address. The bottom line is some online casinos will do anything to solicit money from you ignoring your wishes implicitly!

Let’s have a look at what the casino should have done in the first place. After you’ve wagered the initial $50 they send you an e-mail with additional bonus offers. You reply and state that you’re fully aware that any bonus or “free money” has a set of play through requirements attached to it and you’re not willing to wager more than $50 per month. The casino responds in kind and says it understands and respects your wishes and asks you if they can mail you a newsletter once a month outlining all its promotional offers. Your Inbox is not spammed and you receive the newsletter once a month as agreed.

Scenario 2

You decide to go for the welcome bonus offer of 100% up to $100 free. You deposit $100 and receive another $100 (100% match bonus), you can now play with $200. The wagering requirements is 30xbonus. Before you can cash out you must stake 30x$100=$3,000 on selected games. Certain casino games contribute differently toward meeting the play through requirements. You won $500, met the wagering requirements in full and decide to cash out. The casino deducts the $100 bonus and transfers $400 to your casino account.

All of a sudden your Inbox is spammed relentlessly since you won $400 and the internet casino wants its money back! No congratulations on the cash amount won but promotional offers that will make any miser squirm. You’re enticed with VIP promotions, various slots tournaments, no deposit bonuses and so forth. You notify the casino that you only earn a small income and that you gamble for the fun of it. The offers from the casino just never stops! Do you take the $400 and run or do you continue on wagering and lose the cash you’ve won?

Our Ideal Online Casino

1. It must respect the wishes of the player, this is paramount! Before you make any cash deposit/s, first contact the casino and stipulate the amount of cash you intend to wager. Notify the casino that you do not want your Inbox cluttered with unsolicited e-mails.

2. One of the support staff at the casino gives you a run down of all their promotional offers and a detailed explanation of the wagering requirements attached to the welcome bonus.

3. Before you register an account with the casino it must request a payslip, that is if you intend to deposit a $1,000 or more. Since it adheres to a strict policy when it comes to problem gamblers. It states that you are not allowed to wager more than 10% of your net income. The moment you wager more than your net income it suspends you until the next month.

4. Will not divulge your personal information to any third party.

We’d appreciate your feedback with regard to the above. Our aim is not to scare you to wager online but to make you aware of how most online casinos operate. There are literally thousands of sites each vying for your hard-earned cash. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, any casino worth its weight in gold will be more than happy to have your business, but you must lay down some ground rules first. Always read the terms and conditions carefully, if you’re unsure contact live chat and keep a record of all correspondence between you and the casino.

Gambling is a pastime enjoyed by many in the United Kingdom, hence the reason two reports covering it have been released. The first is the Gambling Prevalence Survey released by the UK Gambling Commission and the second by the IBIS World study.

Gambling Prevalence Survey

ICM Research completed the Gambling Prevalence Survey which covers the year ended March 2012. The report a survey done on 4,000 adults covers gambling participation as well as remote gambling. Overall annual gambling participation has gone up. In the previous four weeks in 2009, 55.2% of the respondents said that they participated in at least one form of gambling. This figure now stands at 58.1%, a marginal increase of more than 3%. Males more likely to be 45 and over outnumbered females. National Lottery tickets remains the most popular gambling activity, since 48% of the respondents purchase lottery tickets. Shortly on its heels is the National Lottery scratch cards and good cause lotteries. Whilst horse race betting and gambling on slot machines were 4.3% and 3.4%.

In the previous four weeks only 12.2% of the adults surveyed said that they participated in at least some form of remote gambling. In 2006 this figure was 7.2 but in 2011 this figure stood at 12.4%. The National Lottery tops the list again since many tickets are purchased online. Again there were more male participants than female, this time round the age group was between 18 to 44. Of all the respondents 11% said they did remote gambling via a computer or laptop. Followed by mobile gambling and interactive/digital TV.

IBIS World Study

Although the IBIS World study was brief it clearly indicates that the UK’s current gambling industry is in a healthy state, however, during the past five years it did not fare so well. Problems started when indoor smoking was banned, causing profits to fall. Experts predict that profits will continue to drop at a predicted rate of 0.7% throughout 2012-13. Had the economic climate been better major events would have encouraged the growth and profit of gambling IBIS World stated. It goes without saying that perpetual recessions had a negative impact on major sporting events. Even the London Olympic Games might bring a cheer or two.

The study indicated some of the negative aspects such as budget cuts by the government, many internet gambling operators moving offshore and the decrease in gambling over a long-term. Hopefully gambling will bounce back within the next 5 years through 2017-18. All is not doom and gloom, factors that will contribute toward the positive growth of gambling are additional investments in new gambling technology, sporting events such as the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games and the Rugby World Cup in 2015.

Virgin Casino is licensed in the gambling jurisdiction of Alderney making it a white listed jurisdiction. The reason why it is a white listed jurisdiction because it’s licensed in accordance with British and European Law. Its gaming platform is powered by various software providers namely WagerWorks, Microgaming and Cryptologic. This internet casino offers players 150 plus casino games that covers the full gamut of online play. Casino games that could be played range from an array of slot games, table games, speciality games and large progressives. Virgin Casino caters specifically for players from the United Kingdom.

Cash Pot Tuesday Promotion

Virgin internet casino offers this promotion every Tuesday (1, 8, 15, 22 and 29 May 2012) to new players for the duration of May. The Cash Pot Tuesday promotion entails a 100% up to £50 on a single deposit. The deposit amount must be between £10 and £50. To qualify for this bonus you must deposit at least £10. The maximum bonus amount that could be availed is £50.

Before a cash out is granted you must wager the deposit amount 30 times (30xd). You must meet the wagering requirements for this bonus before Wednesday otherwise it expires. This bonus offer cannot be used with any other bonus offer at Virgin Casino and is a stand alone bonus offer only. To claim this bonus the following bonus code must be used: TUESPOT

One Tonne Wednesday Promotion

It offers a 25% deposit up to a maximum of £100. To qualify for this bonus you must deposit £10 or more. This offer is valid every Wednesday on the following dates: 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30 May.  To earn your bonus you must stake x7.5 times your deposit on selected games. Once the play through requirement have been met, your account will be credited with 25% up to £100. You must meet the wagering requirements for the bonus before Thursday, otherwise the bonus expires. Different casino games contribute differently toward the play through requirements. To claim this bonus use the following bonus code: WED100

The minimum qualifying cash deposit is £10 and £400 is the maximum qualifying cash amount. Maximum total bonus is £100. It excludes an individual’s first ever deposit made at Virgin Games where he/she would qualify for the £100 Welcome Bonus.