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.
Representative Peter King is the latest Republican to add his voice to the growing chorus calling for a repeal of the 2006 online gambling ban and the introduction of a regulated online gambling environment in the United States.
During the previous administration Peter King was very much at the center of homeland security. Two points that are often made with regard to the subject of online gambling are the potential for money laundering and by extension the funding of terrorism.
Representative King stated clearly that there is no evidence to suggest that a regulated online gambling market would create a problem in either regard. In fact he went as far as suggesting that the current situation was far more likely to cause problems in this regard.
Mr King’s opinion carries a lot of weight within the Republican party and the fact that he was so clear on the subject is a big boost for the overall case for a repeal of UIGEA and the introduction of a regulated online gambling environment in the United States.
As we reported here just a few days back, Facebook has been cracking down on online casino ads.
This is not unusual among any of the major advertising platforms and has been pretty much standard behavior across a range of potential advertising sources for some time now.
This lack of access to a lot of the mainstream advertising sources has cased to online casino industry to become quite innovative in terms of utilizing less than perfect advertising platforms and making them perform better and finding other sources to generate traffic from.
The vast majority of the reticence on the part of the major online ad sources is based on the regulatory difficulties that the online casino industry has suffered from over the last couple of years.
There is now the distinct possibility that a lot of these difficulties will be cleared up in the coming year. This could also pave the way for a softening of the view of the online casino industry that is currently held by the mainstream online advertising industry.
If this does turn out to be the case then it may be possible for the online casino industry to begin using these mainstream sources again and there is no doubt that for the most part this will be done very efficiently based on the lessons learned from the wilderness years.
It’s been a lively few days for Cryptologic. A couple of days ago we had the announcement that the company was in talks with Betclic about the possibility of a merger and this raised two very interesting possibilities.
Firstly the immediate prospect of Cryptologic rolling out its games through Betclic but there is also the longer term prospect of Cryptologic developing into the area of the provision of sports betting information technology for that area of the industry as well. Both in the context of the Betclic framework and to the wider industry as well.
Cryptologic has also been very busy in the area of rolling out a whole new range of games as well.
There is some speculation that the company is involved in all of these activities in an effort to get well positioned for a possible move into any newly regulated market that may emerge in the United States at some stage next year.
The online casino industry has suffered at the hands of the recession like virtually all businesses. It was an often used expression that the online casino industry was recession proof but the unprecedented scale of this downturn has show n that nobody can be immune to that kind of shock to the system.
Many people have suggested that this situation means the industry is not as solid as was previously thought but to arrive at this conclusion one must overlook two very glaring facts that really ought to be taken into account.
Firstly, the industry has performed much better during the downturn that most other types of business. Yes, the numbers are down but when looked at in the context of business in general online casinos have been performing well ahead of the curve.
Secondly, the industry has had to deal with all sorts of regulatory problems in various different jurisdictions with the mos notable being the ongoing difficulties in the United States. It is hard to put an estimate on how much these types of operating problems have cost but it would not be unrealistic to suggest that it would run into billions at this stage.
When one filters the raw information through the prism of these two facts it becomes evident that the online casino industry is in fact, very resilient and with the prospect of an upturn in the international economy and the resolution of some the the larger regulatory problems in the coming year, the future looks very bright indeed.
One particular area of the online casino industry where we have seen quite a lot of growth over the last year is the proliferation of new games. It would seem that almost every day brings the launch of new games.
For the most part these games tend to be variations on existing games and one would expect this trend to have a marginalizing effect on the more traditional casino games. Industry sources suggest that this effect has not really materialized.
It would seem to be the case that the traditional casino games are still forming the core of the business online while the newer games are the ones that are being pushed more towards the fringe.
Games such as blackjack and roulette are still the mainstay of activity at the larger online casinos. One thing that has been a big winner is branded slots.
This is where slots games are promoted with high profile brands from other parts of the media such as the highly successful Cryptologic games branded with Marvel Comics characters.
When one looks a little closer it is apparent that the vast majority of these types of games are still branded versions of traditional games.
As was pointed out by one of our readers on this story, the recent opening of the Caesars Online Casino by Harrah’s is not actually the company’s first foray into the online world and thank you to Chris for pointing this out. This is a worthwhile correction but I think it would still be fair to say that it is the company’s first high profile move into the area.
The other interesting point that was raised was the fact that Harrah’s has taken a supportive position on the subject of online gambling.
While this is by no means a unique position within the traditional casino industry, it is worth noting that at this stage there is still quite a bit of opposition within the core traditional business towards the introduction of a new regulatory environment for online gambling in the United States.
With all of the positive talk we have been hearing recently it would be easy to arrive at the conclusion that everybody thinks that a repeal of UIGEA is a great idea and that the forces that drove the introduction of the online gambling ban in the first place of all just gone away.
This is simply not the case. Apart from lobby groups voicing opposition, there is still a strong political will that exists to oppose any new regulatory environment. So, while the feelgood factor has been running very high recently, it is also very important to remember that there is still some distance to travel and that it’s not time for a victory lap just yet.
After many years of sitting on the sidelines and avoiding getting involved, Harrah’s has finally taken the plunge into the online world with the opening of its first online casino.
Harrah’s is the largest traditional casino company in the world but has previously been completely absent from the online world.
With the six month delay on the full implementation of UIGEA and the growing momentum towards passing a of a version of Barney Frank’s bill to replace UIGEA with a workable regulatory environment all happening at the moment, this is an exciting time for the online casino industry in the United States.
The fact that Harrah’s has chosen this time to make a splash into the online world must also be evidence that the company is relatively confident of t he successful implementation of a new regulatory environment as well.
The company has a history of being very good at sensing the direction in which things are going and as a whole the industry can only hope that Harrah’s has gotten it right again this time.
Not long ago we reported here of the potential job cuts at Partygaming. Some sources are suggesting that anything up to two hundred jobs could go a the company.
While all companies that have been cutting jobs will immediately point to the global economic downturn as the reason, there is growing suspicion within the industry that there may be more to it than that.
The recession has certainly hit the online casino industry but as a whole the industry has done reasonably well in terms of the numbers remaining healthy when compared with other sectors.
Even with the current market conditions, Partygaming is still profitable at the moment. Ultimately, we will have to wait and see how this all turns out but for the moment this particular online casino company is probably not he most comfortable place to be working.
The focus on the momentum that has been gathering behind Barney Frank’s bill to regulate online gambling has been mostly on the political will that surrounds this bill.
Experts from he banking sector have now suggested that Mr. Frank’s bill would solve a lot of problems with their part of the implementation of UIGEA as well.
While it would be safe to assume that most people are not overcome with sympathy for banks there is recognition in political circles that the entire financial system is still in a fragile state.
There is a persuasive argument to be made for not putting any more pressure on banks at this time. The full implementation of UIGEA would certainly cause a lot of problems for the banks and there is no doubt that this is the main cause of the positive noises that are now being heard inside the banking industry for Barney Frank’s bill.
While consensus seems to be growing it is also worth remembering that the delay of the full implementation of the ban is only six months. The noises may be all positive but the pressure is still on.
