Online Casino and Gambling News: April 2009

Online gambling software and games developer Cryptologic Limited has released its latest game offerings, which includes Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, together with the eagerly anticipated Millionaires Club III, multi-line video slots branded Samba Nights, Reel in the Cash and Penguins in Paradise, a new card game titled Double Deck Blackjack, and enhanced versions of Single Deck and Progressive Blackjack.

The latest game pack coming online this week at Microgaming-powered casinos includes four new slots games headed by an innovative game that combines popular features such as wilds, scatters, multipliers and free spins with a series of six different bonus games-within-the-game, each presenting the player with different rewards.

The Poker Players Alliance has cautioned against complacency in the important skill vs. chance debate on poker - a critical element in working toward the legalisation of poker as a game of skill rather than chance, therefore placing it beyond the reach of anti-gambling laws.

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation is facing legal claims of Cdn$ 3.5 million from a problem slots gambler who alleges that he has lost hundreds of thousands of dollars due to an ineffective "self exclusion" system in the organisation's responsible gambling program.

A legal request by an as yet unidentified German gambling group that it be granted an interim dispensation to accept bets as long as a lawsuit against state gambling restrictions is pending in a lower court has been rejected by the German Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe, reports Bloombergs news service.

The price of protectionism paid by German online gambling company Jaxx AG, was showcased again this week when the company announced financial results that included a consolidated loss of €16.9 million, largely due to the implementation of the German State Treaty On Gaming.

Taiwan-based and US-listed GigaMedia Limited, which owns successful online gambling operations like Everest Gaming, is in talks with a number of interested parties in connection with a strategic merger or sale, reports MergerMarket.

The Australian media are speculating on the possibility that Intralot's Aussie subsidiary may have its state licence pulled after estimates suggesting that its first year operational figures wll likely be shockingly lower than budgeted expectations.

PartyGaming plc delivered a disappointing quarterly result this week, revealing that the significant strengthening of the US dollar and competitive pressures in its core poker division were the primary factors behind a drop in quarterly revenues.

Shares in the London-listed online gambling group PartyGaming are expected to soar following the group's announcement Tuesday that it has reached a settlement with the US Department of Justice, removing the threat of prosecution for pre-UIGEA activities.