When online slots developers started to incorporate elements of skill into these games, we started to call them “Sklots”, basically a marriage of the two. But it was only a matter of time until MMORPG developers realised that monetizing their games could create a new stream of revenue for them. Whether or not all Virtual World developers will create gambling games stills remains a moot point, but one MMO has done this, and has done it with the title of Dragon Tales.

Role playing gaming is über-popular online, and this classic MMORPG has been created at great cost by lead designer of eGenesis – Andrew Tepper. His comments on the release of Dragon Tales basically that he was struck by the idea that gambling online can be lonely, and this could be the truth, as so many community slots games and such are actually being developed today.
The typical online slots player simply seats themselves in front of a 2 or 3D slot and whiles away the time. Despite the fact that online casinos also offer a chat feature, we don’t know the number of players that take advantage of this form of social interaction. We do know that online bingo players are a chatty lot.

So, Tepper has taken the experience he has garnered building MMORPG’s over the last 15 years, and has given this game a gambling application. He believes he has created an “intensely social world” where players can get together online, and not take the journey alone. Exploring this game world together means sharing skills or techniques, as well as being able to rely on each-other with each completing gambling quest in order to level up.

Credit cards and Bitcoins are the in-game monetary systems, and Tepper has said that every game inside Dragon’s Tale is “novel.” It has been designed for a 3D environment, and includes running monkeys through mazes, dragon egg hunts, cow tipping, fishing, and feeding the ducks. So far sixty games have been created, and new games are being continually added. They are apparently all a new take on gambling, with half being based on sheer random good luck, and the other half being skills-based.

eGenesis has featured a tournament system, in Dragons Tale, as well as student/teacher system, with player-controlled governance similar to that of their other claim to fame – A Tale in the Desert. If you fancy taking Dragon Tale for a test run, they start Beta testing this week on Friday the 12th of July.

Live dealer provider Evolution Gaming, which has offices in London, Malta and Stockholm and high tech Internet video-streaming studio facilities in Latvia, has become one of the first in its sector to achieve the high standards required for the eCOGRA Certified Live Dealer Seal.

The company is an acknowledged leader in its sector, and counts many major European Internet gambling operators among its clients, including 888, Bet-At-Home, Expekt, Gala Coral Group, Ladbrokes, PaddyPower, Party Gaming and Unibet.

Explaining the significance of the Certified Live Dealer Seal, eCOGRA CEO Andrew Beveridge said this week that the relevant eGAP or international best practice standards required had been specifically designed for the distinct nature of live dealer operations, in which live games are streamed over the Internet in real time from casino studio environments managed by pitbosses and staffed by croupiers.

"The genre differs from the more common and purely software-powered online casino concept in that it features live staff using real gambling devices and tables," said Beveridge. "This requires a very specific set of operating standards and requirements to ensure absolutely fair, safe and independent gaming in which both hardware and software systems are reviewed.

"Along with our usual tests for problem gambling and dispute facilities, we also look at anti-money laundering systems, staff training, operator probity, player information security, staff access to sensitive areas, the retention of video recordings of all sessions, collusion controls and overall game statistical performance on the roulette, baccarat and blackjack games offered."

Chartered Accountant Gareth Muirhead, who spent several days in Riga, Latvia conducting the review, said that his compliance plan had included the examination of both return-to-player and RNG elements, and ensuring that eCOGRA’s Total Gaming Transaction Review system was securely in place, continuously monitoring all gaming activity.

"Evolution Gaming operates a very tight ship, and the cooperation of chief operating officer Svante Liljevall and the technical and operational staff in Riga was outstanding," Muirhead wrote in his report to the Independent Directors controlling the issue of eCOGRA seals.

Congratulating the management and staff in Riga on achieving the eCOGRA accreditation, Evolution Gaming chief executive officer Jens von Bahr said: "As a company we have always tried to lead rather than follow, and I am delighted that you have been successful in satisfying a tough but very practical set of international best practice standards.

"This can only boost our confidence in the commercial arena, knowing we are among the first to successfully put our technology, systems and people to this type of rigorous test."