Betsoft spokesperson Aliya Alpiyeva said: “Enchanted truly exemplifies the captivation of the Slots3 series, pushing the boundaries of the slots gameplay experience.”

The software developer has used its proprietary Expandicon technology to incorporate dynamic preloading, symphonic sound and vividly appealing 3D animations without requiring the player to download a separate client, and the games are optimised for Flash players 9 and 10.

The theme is a highly detailed magical forest full of fairies, wizards, ogres and elves, who discover treasures at every turn.

Poster Limp_J claimed to have contacted a poker manager at the Victor Chandler skin who told him that the new year could see punitive measures by some networks that would force skin operators to ratchet up the requirement for more losers by categorising players as either
“fish” or “shark” in order to meet a mandatory minimum fish/shark ratio if they wished to avoid fines.

With the old system only big winners were banned, but if the new system is implemented the indications are that even small players could be banned in order to adjust the technical deposits/withdrawals ratio.

Limp_J takes the discussion from speculative to a clearer picture, posting the following response from an unidentified Victor Chandler poker manager:

“The truth of the matter is that we have restricted the cash game stakes at which a number of players can play and which effectively means we will lose these players.

“The reason why we have done this is because iPoker will be implementing a new policy in the New Year which will class every player on a monthly basis as a fish or a shark, and which will penalise card rooms that have too many sharks in relation to fish.

“As it stands, we are top heavy with sharks and, despite the fact that our win/loss ratio is fine, we stand to be fined heavily by iPoker under this new scoring system, and so we have had to reduce the number of sharks that we have in order to comply and avoid penalisation.

“It really galls us to have to do this not only because of the negative feedback and the inconvenience to the players but because the fish to shark scoring system is a farce in as much as even losing players can be classed as a sharks.

“Ridiculous isn’t it – when did you ever hear of a losing player being called a shark? What’s more, if the categorisation of the players was such that only winning players were classed as sharks we wouldn’t have had to make these account restrictions in the first place and so this whole topic has been created by the absurd scoring system about to be introduced by iPoker.”

Watch this space - there are bound to be ructions if/when this system is introduced.

Pokerducks, owned by the Malta-based and Kahnawake licensed Astraline Limited company, was endorsed by this year’s Irish Open winner Christer Johansson and appeared to be doing well. Originally powered by Tain, it switched to the International Poker Network operated by Boss Media, from where it closed this online gambling week.

The closure notice on the casino website gave little information, simply stating: “Pokerducks is closed.”

Pokerducks was the subject of a cautionary warning from the LGA regulator on Malta in 2006. In a press release, the LGA claimed: “The Lotteries and Gaming Authority would like to bring to your attention that a foreign remote gambling company by the name of Poker Ducks is claiming that it is being located in Malta and therefore winnings for EU citizens are tax free.

“The Authority would like to inform the public at large that the above statement is not true. Pokerducks.com has no connection whatsoever with the Maltese jurisdiction.”

The newspaper reported over the weekend that the two sides have been holding on-off talks since the summer. PartyGaming, led by chief executive Jim Ryan, is expected to be asked by the Takeover Panel to clarify the position before the market opens Monday morning.

A year after floating, Party Gaming suffered a huge setback when America made internet gambling illegal. Groups including PartyGaming closed their American operations and lost huge amounts of revenue.

“Speculation about consolidation in the online gaming sector has been rife in recent months,” the newspaper report claims. “A tie-up between PartyGaming and Bwin would be logical given the former’s ambition to grow its presence in sports betting, an area where the Austrian group has particular strength.

“PartyGaming, based in Gibraltar, is best known for offering poker and casino games. It seems likely that if the two businesses can agree a tie-up, the deal would be structured as a merger of equals.”

The Sundat Times quotes an insider who told it that discussions were at an early stage and there was no certainty that a deal would be agreed. “Everyone in the industry is talking to everybody else,” said the source.

Shares in PartyGaming closed on Friday at 256p, valuing the business at GBP1 billion. Bwin, which is listed on the Vienna stock exchange, has a market value of Euro 1.3 billion (GBP 1.2 billion).

In April this year, Party Gaming agreed a settlement with America’s Department of Justice to ensure that it would not face prosecution over its activities in the United States. It agreed to pay $105m (GBP 65m) as part of the arrangement. That will make it a far more attractive partner to Bwin.

The Times also records that gambling groups including London-listed 888 Holdings and Sportingbet as well as Sweden’s Unibet, have all been examining possible deals.

The cars are prizes in Bet365’s latest milestone promo running between December 14 and 28th which will see the online casino drawing the stylish cars as a prize at various “milestone” points.

Online gambling players can qualify for each drawing by betting GBP 500 during specified time periods.

Wagers made on all games in the casino are eligible for the promotion, with the exception of video poker double-up or video slots double-up games.

Players can choose to receive a cash alternative of GBP 20 000 in place of the sports car.

The announcement follows HM Revenue and Customs’ consideration of its failed High Court case against the Rank Group, where the group’s mechanised gambling machines were classed as VAT exempt by the courts.

The publication Accountancy Age quotes official sources as confirming that the ruling includes all bingo games and online poker.

Deloitte senior indirect tax partner Tony McClenaghan said it was a “very positive announcement” for the industry, and those organisations affected should consider submitting claims for overpaid VAT.

“We believe that this is the right approach for an industry that has suffered in the last few years with an increasing burden in taxation,” said Clenaghan.

However, with HMRC’s appeal set for the courts in April 2010, the taxman has warned VAT claimants that if the government’s appeal against the court ruling is successful, it would require the repayment of any reclaimed VAT with interest.

The VAT exemption follows a 2 percent cut on ‘bingo duties’ from 22 percent to 20 percent announced in the budget earlier in the week by Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling and due to take effect from April 2010.

Punters registered at participating operators will be able to bet in the global World Cup pool, either as a single punter or as a group of friends betting as a syndicate.

“The Orbis partnership enables us to reach a strong network in time for the greatest event”, said Stefan Mattsson, Chairman of Jacky Betting.

Peter Boyle, chief technical officer at Orbis commented: “The World Cup pool will expand our platform, and Jacky Betting provides a sports pools platform that should be appealing for sportsbooks and online casinos and their customers.”

Jacky Betting Ltd develops and promotes an in-house developed and co-mingled sports pool betting platform that operates under a licence from the Malta Lotteries and Gaming Authority.

The company claims that its approach to sports pools is revolutionary because it offers the casual elements of sports pools, such as low stakes and ready-made betting proposals, in a social media context.

Jadestone launched its backgammon network in June and since then it has enjoyed rapid growth through distribution via b2b partners including Bwin, Nordicbet, Betoto and PAF. The network attracts large numbers of players and is endorsed by the World Series of Backgammon.

Tobias Nissen, general manager of Jadestone Networks said: “We’ve already seen that backgammon is a highly popular casino game with our existing network partners. With Unibet now on board we aim to grow our online backgammon base significantly and to continue to lead the market.

“And with Betfair joining in the first half of next year we really will be the biggest backgammon game in town.”

The Union claims that one of its members requested arbitration on a non-payment claim, but that Cashwave did not respond.

“The Gambling Affiliates Union have to report that Cashwave will not work with the GAU and that we feel that they are not committed to paying their affiliates all monies that are due, says a GAU statement. “Should Cashwave wish to respond to this report and issue, the GAU are happy to enter in to discussions at any time in the future online casinos.”

In order to avail of this promotion players first have to pick one of the three Halloween related mystery bonus codes. These codes are Cauldron, Dracula and Skeleton. Each code is associated with a bonus amount but there is no way that the players can know of the amount before they claim the bonus. This is the mystery. Players have to visit the Cashier of the casino and enter the bonus casino code selected. They are also required to make a deposit of at least $30. They will then be eligible to a bonus of $10, $20 or $30. Whilst still in the Cashier section players can click the My Promotions tab and the bonus that they have received will be revealed there.

There are some conditions that that needs to be met before the bonus can be withdrawn. There is a wagering requirement of 25 times the bonus. Therefore if the bonus allotted is $10 the player has to wager $250, if the bonus allotted $20 the player has to wager $500 and if the bonus allotted is $30 the player has to wager $750 before claiming the bonus. The wagering has to be completed by October 31.

The wagering has to be done on certain designated online slot games only. These slot games have some connection with Halloween. The designated games are Batman, Blade, Ghost Rider, The Punisher, Haunted House, Vampire Bats, Witches and Warlocks and Zone of the Zombies. Batman is the new slot game released by Cryptologic in agreement with DC Comics. Blade, Ghost Rider and The Punisher are from the Marvel series of slots. Vampire Bats, Witches and Warlocks and Zone of the Zombies are from the Frightmare series of slots. Haunted House is the ideal slot game for Halloween. It features a number of ghoul like characters on the reels. These include ghost, mummy, vampire bat, owl and spider. The slot has the exciting Haunted House feature in which three symbols are turned into wilds and additional treats offered to players.

A number of other promotions are on offer at InterCasino during this Halloween. Players can check out the special bonuses offered in the Weekend Specials or Thrillday promotions. Players who love online tournaments can participate in The Hulk slot tournament that will run from October 26 to October 31. InterCasino is powered by Cryptologic and is licensed by the Lotteries and Gaming Authority of Malta.