It’s been two years since the independent i-gaming standards, testing and certification company eCOGRA was the subject of a management buy-out from the original 2003 founders and the organisation has undoubtedly flourished.

In a management update this week, Executive Director Tex Rees revealed that ten additional professional staff, predominantly in the fields of chartered accountancy, certified information systems auditing and software test engineering have recently been selectively recruited by the company, extending its capacity to service a growing client base of tier one operators and software suppliers who have chosen to contract eCOGRA for i-gaming testing, monitoring and preparatory certification work in numerous regulated markets.

Among newly signed clients has been the respected and itself rapidly expanding Swedish online gambling software development group Net Entertainment.

eCOGRA has also won new eGAP standards and monitoring contracts with other leading industry companies, the most recent being the online gambling operator Paf (Ålands Penningautomatförening).

Rees says that her company has made significant financial investment in new audit software and programmes, internal control systems and testing laboratory infrastructure to support effective management of the growing business.

"Our substantial investment in technology and human resources will favourably enhance our ability to meet clients’ needs and the licensing jurisdictions’ stringent criteria for accredited testing facilities," Rees said this week.

"Based on unsolicited feedback, we are confident that our clients are more than satisfied with our testing and certification services, particularly in regulated markets such as Spain, Denmark and Italy.

However, the foreseeable introduction of diverse regulations and requirements by national licensing jurisdictions will continue to provide unique challenges for both licensees and testing houses, an industry dynamic for which eCOGRA is suitably positioned to excel." she said.

There is huge money to be made in the gambling industry, in particular in low cost wagers where life-changing amounts of money can be won. The Irish are selling their National Lottery with a €600 Million price tag, and Minister Brendan Howlin has been warned that he should be compelled to introduce measures that will protect players from gambling addiction. This comes as a section of a social responsibility charter that the new private operator must be prepared to adhere to.

A Gambling expert has been advising both buyers and sellers in this new deal. This expert is of the opinion that the sale actually calls for new measure to be put into place. This is a very controversial sale of a licence which will allow the private operator to run this lotto for a period of twenty years.

At the moment, despite the price, any buyer would be taking a gamble. The new operations company would have to be able to increase both turnover and revenues substantially. Last year sales for the Irish Lotto dropped by 10.6% – down to €252.3 Million, so any return on investment for the new operator, looks particularly bleak, unless they can pump up the sales.

However with the need to increase ticket sales, a massive push into advertising would obviously be a necessity, and it is this that causes concern. When a lottery product and the amounts of money that can be won are advertised on a grand scale, this takes place amidst fears that vulnerable members of society may be drawn into purchasing tickets that they can actually not afford. Or that under-age gambling may take place online.

There are a number of online gambling concerns that have an interest in this Irish license, and this is chiefly due to the fact that the online market for it remains largely untapped. Gaming giant Gtech (Italian) has shown an interest, and have actually admitted that this aspect is its chief selling point.

Declan Harkin who is chief operating officer of Gtech has hinted that if their bid were to be successful, a roll-out of self-service points in retail shops, as well as a "significant refresh of technology support", would definitely be on the cards. However, present laws need to be relaxed before lotto purchases may be made online.
Currently a cumbersome system is in place in terms of player registration.

This system is intended to be relaxed under a new Lottery Act, and experts in gambling, and gambling problems, believe that as long strong social responsibility ethics are adhered to by operators of online lottery-style games. Problem gambling will not be inevitable.

It is a very sad but true fact that many land-based bingo halls in the UK have already gone the way of the Dodo, and no longer exist any more. Historic Bingo halls were often once, dance halls, cinemas, and even theatres, and many have a particular – even art-deco – charm of their own. We see these closure taking place regularly, and although this short piece is not really supposed to be about land-based bingo, we though to use it as a platform to at least say something before they are all gone.

Another sad but true fact is that the Government in the UK sees fit to tax this "soft gambling" activity, more than it does for casinos. Casinos as we know, offer some very high-roller games, and yet pay less tax. Online bingo and casinos in the UK, have been burned by customs and excise before, and have retreated into the safe harbours of offshore, white listed territories. UK land bingo halls don’t have this choice. One cannot simply pick up the largest bingo hall in London, with some gigantic crane, and plop it down upon Alderney. Online bingo on the other hand is an extremely portable business.

Bingo halls in the UK offer a surprising, and barely surviving, legacy of valuable architecture. They were once the pumping heart of many a community too. It has been nigh near impossible for many to keep up with the taxes required, as well as compete against online site, which offer a ton of free bingo, massive cash and tangible prizes, as well as hosts of fantastic promotions.

As well at the tax situation, and the threat posed by online bingo, halls in this country have seen steadily declining audiences since the 1980’s. Then round about 2006 a smoking ban was introduced, and all of these factors together have rung a death knoll for many.

Playing bingo online has completely transformed this game, not only in terms of delivery, but by the sheer variety of games that can now be played. These games can be played 24r/7, 365 days a year, and many die-hard fans of bingo clubs now prefer to play online. The convenience factor plus the fact that most people keep up with advances in technology, has also attracted a whole new demographic of bingo player.

It is not all bad news however, while some historic building that once housed hives of bingo fans have gone the way of the Dodo. Others are being revamped and given a new lease on life. Some have re-emerged as supermarkets, shopping malls, nightclubs and other venues, so while the buildings do remain, it is only the game that has changed.

It does not matter if you are the only gay in the village, have got to check out the new online slot that is taking the UK by storm. This is the only game in the village as far as we are concerned, and it can be found and played at some of Great Britain’s best of breed gambling websites.

It is an Ash Gaming powered slot, that takes die-hard fans of Little Britain back to when the series first played. A fresh look at a long-trending brand often gets us interested once again. The trend now for online video slots games to follow a popular cultural theme, has also become popular culture. We suppose we could say this is the zeitgeist of online gambling.

With five reels, thirty pay lines, and a ton of bizarre comedy thrown into the mix, we find a whole new meaning brought to the fact that playing slots should be fun. We are not sure if you remember the infamous series where David Walliams and Matt Lucas played a whole host of characters each?

Everyone has their favourites, but Dafydd – the only gay in the village – was certainly one of mine. Most of the most prominent characters are featured in the slot, that is Daffydd, Lou, Andy, Vicky, Marjory, Ann and a few more.

Probably the best thing about this online slot is there are five (yes 5) bonus rounds. These are the Vicky Pollard’s ASBO Bonus, the Big Gay Bonus (where players have to help clothe Dafydd), the Marjorie Dawes’ Fat Fighters Bonus, Emily Howards’ Lady Things Bonus, and our personal favourite, Lou and Andy’s Love It Bonus.

This slot offers hundreds of ways to win, with Anne as the wild icon, which greatly enhances winning combinations. There are scatter symbols, free spins and in-reel features, which all comes together nicely under the narration of Tom Baker. Wagers may be placed from as little at 30p (1p per line), to as much as £300, so, is suitable for all kinds of risk takers.

When bonus symbols line up on reels 1, 3 and 5, this triggers the bonus feature of the corresponding character. Let’s take the Vicky Pollard’s ASBO Bonus as an example. We get to choose the activities she takes part in, and the longer it takes her to say "yeah, but no, but yeah, but no", the better this is for the player. Essentially the longer she takes to decide, the better it is. An added feature to look out for in this bonus, is the speech bubble. Get lucky in this bonus round, and it is possible to land a prize of 750 x an initial wager.

Little Britain, is truly a Great British online slots game. Ash Gaming have once again pulled out all the stops!

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