Progressive Jackpot

 

Mahjong Club – www.mahjongclub.com announced today the first of a series of tournaments where players will be able to win their way into a seat in the million dollar World Series of Mahjong tournament to be held at the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel in Macau on August 19-22 2010.

Players will be able to buy into qualifier tournaments for as little as $1 starting Friday 18 March and win their way up to the “big one” – the Main Event with an expected multi-million dollar prize pool.

The 2010 WSOM will include three separate tournaments, namely the 3-day single-elimination Main Event World Championship, a US$5,000 buy-in High Rollers Event and the US$1,000 buy-in Reach (Riichi Rules) Event. The buy-in for the Main Event is HK$5,000 (US$650), plus HK$500 registration fee. Prize money will be based on the number of participants in each tournament. The total maximum prize pool for the combined 2010 WSOM events is US$1,000,000, and prize money will be paid to the top 32 places in the Main Event. All tournaments are open to any mahjong player who is at least 21 years of age.

The WSOM features the world’s best mahjong players from around the world competing for cash prizes in the exciting tournaments being held annually in Asia’s gaming capital. Given the diversity of mahjong rules as played in Asia and other parts of the world, the WSOM employs a simplified rule and scoring system that is fair to all, simply and easy to learn, systematic and consistent, and emphasizes the playability of the game as a competition of skill. A detailed description of The World Series of Mahjong Rules® is available at www.wsom168.com.

“We are very excited to be supporting the World Series of Mahjong and hope to send as many of our players as possible to the competitions in August” said Adriaan Brink – CEO, Mahjong Club.  “With our huge following on the Facebook Mahjong Club application and our growing player base on the download client I am confident that we will find the top Mahjong players to take on the rest in Macau”.

“We are happy to bring the World Series back to Macau this year, and are looking forward to welcoming players from Mahjong Club to the event. Over the last two World Series events we saw extraordinary mahjong players emerge at these tournaments, with an amazing level of skill and competition. This year’s event is expanding its size and reach to bring together some of the top mahjong players in the world and provide them with a brand new tournament experience at a world-class venue.” said Mr. John Hardyment, CEO of World Mahjong Limited, the owners of the WSOM.

For more information on Mahjong Club :

Adriaan Brink – CEO

+34 663033244

adriaan@mahjongclub.com

For more information on the World Series of Mahjong :

http://www.world-series-mahjong.com/

info@world-series-mahjong.com

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The World Series of Mahjong 2010 was announced this morning in Macau.  The third-annual WSOM will be held from August 19-22, 2010 at the prestigious The Venetian® Macao-Resort-Hotel. WSOM continues to be the world’s largest mahjong tournament in terms of player participation and prize money.

Mahjong Club will run online  feeder tournaments to WSOM, and aims to be the largest online Mahjong operator present at the competition.  “Mahjong, like poker, is a skill game

Winner of last WSOM

that is played both casually and for significant amounts of money in evironments from the kitchen table to this tournament in the Venetian” saif Adriaan Brink – CEO of Mahjong Club.  “Mahjong Club will be running feeder tournaments to the World Series, our goal to have a significant number of the participants sponsored by Mahjong Club.”

Mahjong Club recently opened up for real money play and is rapidly becoming the premier destination for lovers of this time-honoured game.  With a significant presence both on the internet and on Facebook through its Mahjong Club facebook application Mahjong Club’s player base is growing significantly.  “We are thrilled with the rapid growth experienced by Mahjong Club, and are very excited and looking forward to participating in the World Series”, Brink added.

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Leading Mahjong Tournament Teams Up with The Venetian® Macao

(MACAU, January 20, 2010）The World Series of Mahjong (WSOM) will return to Macau again this summer after the amazing success of the last two events. The third-annual WSOM will be held from August 19-22, 2010 at the prestigious The Venetian® Macao-Resort-Hotel. WSOM continues to be the world’s largest mahjong tournament in terms of player participation and prize money.

The 2010 WSOM will include three separate tournaments, namely the 3-day single-elimination Main Event World Championship, a US$5,000 buy-in High Rollers Event and the US$1,000 buy-in Reach (Riichi Rules) Event. The buy-in for the Main Event is HK$5,000 (US$650), plus HK$500 registration fee. Prize money will be based on the number of participants in each tournament. The total maximum prize pool for the combined 2010 WSOM events is US$1,000,000, and prize money will be paid to the top 32 places in the Main Event. All tournaments are open to any mahjong player who is at least 21 years of age. Official registration for the 2010 WSOM will begin on May 1, 2010. For more details, please visit the new WSOM website at www.wsom168.com.

Organisers of 2010 WSOM

“We are happy to bring the World Series back to Macau this year, and excited to be working with The Venetian® Macao as our official venue partner. Over the last two World Series events we saw extraordinary mahjong players emerge at these tournaments, with an amazing level of skill and competition. This year’s event is expanding its size and reach to bring together some of the top mahjong players in the world and provide them with a brand new tournament experience at a world-class venue. Last but not least, we wish to sincerely thank The Venetian® Macao for their enthusiastic support of WSOM,” said Mr. John Hardyment, CEO of World Mahjong Limited, the owners of the WSOM.

“The Venetian Macao is proud to be bringing the third annual Worlds Series of Mahjong tournament to Macao in August. It is the first, largest and the only true championship mahjong tournament in the world. Hosting this prestigious event is part of our continuing commitment to bringing world class sporting and entertainment events to Macau,” said Mr. Mark Russell, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, The Venetian® Macao-Resort-Hotel.

The Venetian® Macao will work hand in hand with World Mahjong Limited to promote and support the annual World Series of Mahjong. In addition, The Venetian® Macao will sponsor a new qualifying series of tournaments this year, “The Venetian® Macao Mahjong Tour”, which includes events in Taipei, Tokyo and Sydney. The Taipei tournament will be on March 20, 2010 with the final dates for Sydney and Tokyo to be confirmed. The top eight finishers in each qualifier will be entitled to free entrance to the 2010 WSOM Main Event, plus complimentary travel and accommodation at The Venetian® Macao.

“I have been waiting anxiously to play in the WSOM again. The last event was a dream for me. Nothing could be compared to the excitement of matching my skills against all the good players from different parts of the world. I have made very good friends with some of the players after the event.  Also, I have been spreading the good words about WSOM to all my fellow mahjong friends. We are planning to participate in the tournament together and I will beat them at the mahjong table this year!” said Mr. Alex Ho Kwok-hung, the champion of WSOM 2008.

The WSOM features the world’s best mahjong players from around the world competing for cash prizes in the exciting tournaments being held annually in Asia’s gaming capital. Given the diversity of mahjong rules as played in Asia and other parts of the world, the WSOM employs a simplified rule and scoring system that is fair to all, simply and easy to learn, systematic and consistent, and emphasizes the playability of the game as a competition of skill. A detailed description of The World Series of Mahjong Rules® is available at www.wsom168.com.

The WSOM was created by World Mahjong Limited in 2006.  The principal partners and management team are international media veterans and entertainment industry practitioners. Headquartered in the Greater China Region, World Mahjong Limited organizes major, high-quality international sports and entertainment events. Details about the event – enrolment, format, rules and scoring system– are available at www.wsom168.com.

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Mahjong Club announced today that it had purchased the popular Facebook game “World Mahjong Tour”.  Played by thousands of players every day, the application provides a multiplayer mahjong game embedded within social networks including Facebook.

“We are very excited by this development, as it is an important part of our strategy to be the number one destination for multiplayer Mahjong on the internet.  We intend to significantly enhance the Facebook game, while also offering the great game play and tournaments on the download version available on the website.” said Adriaan Brink – CEO. “Zynga have shown the world that there is a market for free-play games on these social networks.  Our goal is to bring these concepts to the Mahjong Players on Facebook and other social networks.”

Brink was previously CEO of Mahjong Mania – a Dynasty Gaming company – from 2004 to 2007.  During this time he successfully launched Mahjong on a number of high profile internet sites including Ladbrokes – the UK bookmaker.  The operation ceased trading after he left.

With his experience bringing Mahjong to the internet from the previous incarnation, many are watching with interest as his latest online Mahjong strategy unfolds.  Could this finally be the time when Mahjong challenges Poker for its spot in the Asian gaming landscape?  The vital signs are all in its favour. It is arguably the most-played peer to peer game in Asia (which probably means in the world as well given the size of the Chinese marketplace).  It is hugely popular as a “kitchen table game” – in much the way that poker has its roots in America. It is played as a gambling game – players stake sometimes significant amounts on the outcome of a game. And last but not least, it combines skill and luck in a very similar manner to Texas Holdem Poker.

Time will tell, and Brink is remaining mute on the size and growth of the current operation.  We certainly watch this space with interest.

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Estonia, a small European country on the border with Russia has recently legalized online gaming as a way to increase tax revenues.

Estonian citizens will be permitted only on Estonian-based platforms before opening up to international operators in 2011. Thus, the Playtech Group will remain in a very favorable position at the moment as the main provider of legal online gaming in the country. Playtech Executive Manager, Mor Weizer, commented on this development: “We are truly glad of this opportunity to start our partnership with Olympic as the leading casino entertainment provider in Central and Eastern Europe”

Estonia is one of the smallest European Union (EU) countries, with only 1.33 million citizens. It is bordered to the north and west with the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea, respectively, Latvia in the south and the Russian Federation in the east.  It has had one of the world’s fastest growing economies over several years. It joined the EU in May 2004 and hopes to adopt the euro as its currency in 2013. Here, online gambling comes in.

Estonia seemed a certain entrant into the euro before the 2008-2009 economic crisis, which left it with the second most affected economy in the EU, down 36%. A country must meet strict criteria to join the euro area and Estonia is taking pains to come out of the depression in time. The Estonian government hopes that the taxation of gambling will help to revive its economy with the additional income and the influx of new jobs.

According to the Estonian Free Press, large international online gaming companies are now showering Estonia with attentionin the form of huge advertising campaigns, and there are rumors of substantial investment planned for the country to serve as a gateway for the entire Baltic Sea.

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Mahjong Logic, supplier of online Mahjong Software to Mahjong Club, is proud to announce compliance with the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Council’s stringent Online Gambling Regulations.

Mahjong Logic’s compliance was assessed by the independent player protection and standards body eCOGRA’s (e-Commerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance) compliance audit team. eCOGRA compliance manager Gareth Muirhead commented that Mahjong Logic had shown dedicated and effective commitment to complying with the regulations. As a compliance function of the regulations eCOGRA also assessed the RNG on the mahjong games, which passed all statistical tests for randomness.

Jonas Alm, CEO of Mahjong Logic was pleased with the announcement noting: “Security and player protection is highly prioritized and ranked on top of our agenda. Our compliance demonstrates our commitment to providing our players with an extremely high level of protection when playing on a Mahjong Logic site. Further the Isle of Man license shows that Mahjong Logic is a responsible operator to be reckoned with.”

Andrew Beveridge, CEO of eCOGRA commented that Mahjong Logic’s enthusiastic commitment to complying with the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission’s Online Gambling Regulations denotes an important step in the progress of online gambling entities and regulation thereof. Further, that eCOGRA was proud to be working with companies such as Mahjong Logic and regulatory bodies such as the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission to achieve a common goal of responsible regulation, which will lead directly to greater player protection.

About Mahjong Logic:

Mahjong Logic is a versatile and innovative software development company producing the 21st century version of the timeless gaming classic Mahjong. The game is often referred to as ”Asian poker”. The company operates out of offices in Stockholm, Sweden and Isle of Man.

Mahjong is the most widely played game in China and is hugely popular throughout Asia. Its popularity has also spread to North America and Europe. The game is at the heart of the enormous terrestrial gambling market in Asia, but has yet to translate into the Internet space.

About eCOGRA:

eCOGRA is a non-profit, London-based player protection and standards organisation that provides specialised compliance auditing services and an international framework for best operational practice requirements, with particular emphasis on fair and responsible gambling. These requirements are enforced through inspections, reviews and continuous monitoring.

Since 2003, the eCOGRA seal has become synonymous with the highest industry levels of fair and responsible gaming, professional conduct and superior operating standards.

Accreditation remains open to all software companies and their operators. For more information, visit http://www.ecogra.org/

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Mahjong Logic today announced that they have obtained an on-line Gambling licence in the jurisdiction of Isle of Man.

Isle of Man, December 27, 2009 – Mahjong Logic, the leading Mahjong software developer of the real money player-to-player mahjong network, is pleased to announce that the company today has obtained a licence.

As part of receiving its licence, Mahjong Logic and its management were required to satisfy the jurisdiction’s licencing requirements and comply with the stringent online gaming standards and player protection rules of the jurisdiction. This was achieved within 12 weeks of the application being filed.

“We are proud and delighted to be awarded the Isle of Man gaming licence. We applied for the prestigious Isle Of Man licence because it represents the highest standards of jurisdictional control in the gaming industry,” said Jonas Alm, CEO, Mahjong Logic. “We have several customers lined up and in the coming year we hope to grow our business with a genuinely innovative gambling offering.”

Garth Kimber, Head of e-Gaming Development at Department of Trade and Industry commented:

”I am delighted that Mahjong Logic has chosen the Isle of Man and I look forward to seeing the company flourish and grow on the island. This was a professional and well presented application from a company with an exciting future ahead of it and is further proof that quality gaming companies find the Isle of Man successful in creating the right environment to do business from.

We look forward to a relationship where we welcome the company to the Isle of Man family of gaming companies and look forward to assisting  Mahjong Logic with its future growth.”

The licence delivered by Isle of Man further underlines Mahjong Logic’s continued efforts to bring a truly unique and secure gaming experience worldwide. Additionally, Mahjong Logic’s Isle of Man licence will open up more opportunities for partnerships in the gambling market all over the world.

For more information please contact

Jonas Alm

CEO, Mahjong Logic

E-mail: jonas.alm@mahjonglogic.com

Phone: +46-(0) 708-179491

About Mahjong Logic:
Mahjong Logic is a versatile and innovative software development company founded in Stockholm Sweden. Mahjong Logic main focus is on development of fast, stable and flexible software for the gaming markets. Mahjong Logic offers complete online Mahjong solutions where the customer can choose from a variety of software setups and solutions.

For more information www.mahjonglogic.com

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The global recession has caused a lot of turmoil in the finances of governments over the last year. Radical times call for radical ideas and governments all over the world are looking for stable ways to generate revenue on an ongoing basis into the future.

A lot of the old certainties about what types of revenue generating and taxation can be relied upon have been swept away and this situation is causing governments to look beyond their traditional taxation base for answers to the difficult questions.

The online casino industry has a couple of outstanding features in this regard. While online casino revenues have been down over the last year, the industry has shown that it can perform better than most in a recession and also unlike a lot of other types of online business, the industry does tend to generate a good number of jobs wherever operations are based.

Gibraltar as an example has benefited greatly from providing an attractive regulatory and taxation environment for the online casino industry. Will 2010 be the year that we see other jurisdictions start to compete as a base for the industry as well?

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Although no solid figures have come out yet, industry sources suggest that blackjack has been very popular in ration to other game options over the Christmas period.

One thing that there has been plenty of in recent time in the online casino industry is new games, branded games and variations of traditional games.

While the vast majority of this would come under the banner of being a marketing exercise, the ongoing level of interest in the classic games such as blackjack in the face of all this additional competition is remarkable.

Nor is this simply a trend that has emerged over the Christmas period. This follows a line that we have been seeing for some time now where traditional games such as blackjack and roulette have been holding up very well in terms of consumer interest despite all of the newer alternatives vying for attention in the marketplace.

The new year may bring all sorts of uncertainties for the online casino industry but it would seem that consumers can sill be relied upon to reach for the classics.

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One thing that most people don’t expect from online casinos is to have their losses returned but that is exactly what has happened as a yet unnamed online casino has agreed to return 500 thousand Euro.

There are some other important parts to the equation. The money was gambled by an employee of an (also) unnamed company. It would now seem that this particular employee is a problem gambler and had embezzled the money from the company.

While the situation of the the online casino agreeing to return the money is unusual, the circumstances surrounding the incident have made it both potentially a legal and public relations nightmare scenario.

Swift movement on the part of the online casino has headed of both these problems and when if the casino is eventually named their action may actually turn out to be a very smart move as most of the reporting of this incident so far has been very positive.

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