Turkey is reported to be close to privatizing the country’s state-owned National Lottery, with some estimates saying this may happen by August.

Turkey’s online gaming market needs to be liberalized as part of the country’s attempts at joining the European Union.  Due to current state-run gambling monopolies online bingo games operators and online bingo halls are not abel to operate in Turkey, something that may change in the future if the relaxing on the National Lottery is anything to go by.

A US trade delegation trip to Antigua aimed at negotiating a resolution to the ongoing online gaming dispute between the two countries has produced little hope of a settlement any time soon.

The Antigua Sun is reporting that Antigua Finance Minister Errol Cort is saying the negotiations can be expected to continue for another two or three months.

The next set of discussions are penciled in for August 1, 2008.

Bingo online industry observers have been watching for developments in the dispute which has seen the tiny Caribbean island nation locked in an argument over the US’ UIGEA legislation.  Antiguan online gaming companies have effectively been banned from doing business in the US due to UIGEA, an act Antigua says puts the US in direct violation of its World Trade Organization obligations.

Antigua-registered online bingo halls other online gaming companies suffered massive losses due to the implementation of UIGEA in late 2006.  The online gaming industry has long had hopes that Antigua’s WTO action against the US would help eliminate UIGEA.  To date, such hopes have proved elusive despite the WTO ruling in favour of the small Caribbean nation.

CryptoLogic, a Dublin-based online gaming and online bingo games software developer, has released a new set of games, one featuring a Marvel Comics super hero theme and the other 4 deck multi hand video blackjack.

The new set of games does not include any new bingo online themes, though CryptoLogic continues to be a popular choice amongst many online bingo operators and online bingo halls.

“At CryptoLogic, we know there are two critical elements to online gaming success: give players a compelling experience with a game or character they know, or design a fresh take on a familiar concept,” said CrytoLogic CEO Brian Hadfield.

He added: “Our relationship with Marvel has enabled us to create and deliver some of the most memorable online slots with some of the world’s most recognized characters. Coupled with our patent-pending gaming innovations, CryptoLogic has aggressively positioned itself as a leader in this highly competitive space.”

Written for Eyes Down Bingo by Greg - Your Bingo UK source

BingoPort, an online bingo games industry information and tracking service, has released a report that shows that UK bingo online operations created as much as £120 million in earnings during 2007 out of a total of £650 million in revenues

The report also shows the industry attracted up to 500 000 UK online bingo per month according to information from the UK Gambling Commission.

Online bingo may expand up to 25% of worldwide online gambling by 2012 and is expected to be a growth market during 2008. The amount of online bingo halls operating in the UK has increased from 17 in 2004 to 243 this year.

Online bingo hall All Bingo Club is planning to give away £2,000 worth of holiday vouchers if you can guess how many bingo balls are in their virtual bottle!
From July 1, All Bingo Club players will have the opportunity to guess the number of balls over the next month and the person who guesses the exact amount, or the closest to the actual amount without going over the exact number, will win the prize.
To add to the excitement, All Bingo Club is offering online bingo players the chance to qualify for additional entries. For every friend a player invites, they will get an extra entry and should their friend win, they will win the runners-up prize, £1,000 worth of holiday vouchers.
Mikki G., All Bingo Club’s Manager, said, “Count Our Balls is going to be a real fun promotion because it truly gets our players involved. Last month’s promotion was a big success and we want to build on it. All Bingo Club is on mission to create a special, authentic bingo atmosphere for online players that includes more than just a chance to play bingo. Everyone knows that house games add to the fun and All Bingo Club is dedicated to creating more and more exciting promotions like this one.”

Claims that the European Commission (EC) is soft-peddling its enforcement actions against European Union (EU) members that still maintain protectionist monopolies over their gambling industries has been dismissed by Charlie McCreevy, the EC main official dealing with the issue.

Discounting the view that the EC is being placed under political pressure to adopt a go slow approach in its attempts to reduce trade barriers between member EU states, a spokesman for McCreevy told Reuters that action against offending countries was still a priority despite a perceived slowness of results.

The EC is currently conducting investigations in ten EU where policies preclude foreign gambling companies from accessing those markets.

The European gambling industry, including many online bingo games operators and online bingo halls, have been hopeful the EC would have by now marched EU members Denmark and Sweden into the European Court of Justice.  To date, no announcement has been made regards these countries, both of which have growing bingo online markets.

“I am seriously concerned that what would appear to be political maneuverings are trying to slow down the Commission’s pace and kick the issue into the long grass,” commented John Whittaker, MD at Stanleybet International.

An EU member country is usually allowed two months to reply to an EC final warning or face being brought to the EU’s top court.

What do you think about the pace of the European Commission re these monopilisit practices . I know that we have very definite views in regards to this at Eyes Down Bingo - we would like to see your comments .

The Bullet Business Online Bingo Summit is nearly upon us and online bingo favourites Gala Bingo, Foxy Bingo and Ladbrokes Bingo are amongst the online bingo halls up for awards including Online Bingo Operator of the Year.
The awards segment of the summit acts as a meeting place for some of the top online bingo operators in the UK. The awards and summit are scheduled to be held from June 17 and 18 at the Royal Garden Hotel in London.

Parlay Entertainment, a developer of bingo online games software, has joined with Chartwell Technology to start a new online bingo network.  The network will combine Chartwell’s back-end administration system with Parlay’s front-end bingo online products.

Parlay have now made over fifty direct license deals with many online bingo halls utilizing the company’s popular online bingo software.

Scott White, President and CEO of Parlay Entertainment, said:  “This is a huge win for licensees and bingo players alike.  By combining the strengths of Parlay’s industry-leading bingo games with Chartwell’s advanced administration system and network operations expertise, we’re creating a very compelling bingo network solution.  Player excitement will grow exponentially as bingo sites pool their liquidity to create bigger games, huge jackpots and lively communities.”

A French court has ruled against online gaming companies Unibet and Expekt in favour of the French Tennis Federation over the two companies attempts to offer online betting at the French Tennis Open.

The ruling throws the online gaming industry into confusion over where French government policy is now heading regards a possible relaxing of the country’s current monopolistic gambling laws.

Online bingo games providers have recently thought a change in French online gambling policy was on the cards with a series of recent statements by French officials hinting at a relaxation of the current restrictive rules.  This recent ruling, however, may indicate online bingo halls have some time yet to wait for access to the French market.

Both Unibet and Expekt, who have been ordered to pay the French Tennis Federation Euros 800 000 in compensation, say they will appeal the ruling.

The British Revenue and Customs authorities may have to pay a tax windfall to interval bingo operators like the Rank group’s Mecca Bingo due to a recent tribunal ruling that Value Added Tax on the pastime contravenes European Union (EU) laws.

UK operators of land bingo have been suffering under what amounts to a double taxation which has contributed to a marked decline in land-based bingo revenues.  Online bingo games and online bingo halls are not affected by the double tax.

Rank stands to gain up to £36.3 million in repayments from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs department if the department is unsuccessful in appealing against the EU ruling.  Mecca Bingo’s online bingo operations are not affected by the development though its bingo online business has been doing very well in stark contrast to its land bingo operations.