Players believe there is a "win switch"
Gambling experts at Nottingham's Trent University have conducted a groundbreaking study into online gaming in which almost 11,000 Internet users from 96 countries took part in a revealing survey.
It claims to be the largest study to date into player behaviour, and gives the first comprehensive picture of the average online gambler. It's findings are likely to help shape the booming industry.
The 130-page report reveals: Most online gamblers played more for fun or to relax, rather than make money.
Most players claimed their monthly winnings or losses fell within a range of plus or minus £130 (€198) a month, or £32.50 (€49.50) per week.
The average online poker player is likely to be a man who is 26-35 years old, who plays two or three times a week for up to two hours at a time, and has been involved for up to three years.
Online casino players are, on average, women who are 46-55 years old, who play two or three times a week for one or two hours, and have played for up to three years.
The study was commissioned by the industry regulatory body, e-Commerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance. Its chief executive, Andrew Beveridge, said the study showed that the "vast majority" of players enjoyed online gambling responsibly.
But, "disturbingly," the report adds, a third of players wrongly thought computer software used in online gambling sites could be manipulated to run in their favour.
Whisky a go-go
The new rustic-themed Bumpkin, a brasserie and whisky house that occupies four floors of a townhouse in Notting Hill, London, is staging poker games on Tuesday evenings.
Celebrities Bryan Ferry, Miranda Richardson, Natalie Imbruglia, and television presenter Patrick Kielty already have been amongst the visitors at the venue.
Poker movie has musical ingredients
Music heavyweights such as Bob Dylan, Kris Kristofferson, and Bruce Spring-steen have contributed to the upcoming Las Vegas-based poker movie,
Lucky You.
The film's soundtrack will include a new Dylan track,
Huck's Theme, a Kristofferson original,
They Ain't Got 'em All, and Springsteen's classic,
The Fever.
The soundtrack also features tracks from recording superstars Ryan Adams, George Jones, Shawn Colvin, Bonnie Raitt, and film co-star Drew Barrymore, who plays an aspiring singer.
Lucky You, distributed by Warner Bros, is scheduled to hit European cinemas in late March.
Hill's has games
William Hill has launched what it claims to be the world's largest integrated network of skill-based games. Accessible through a tab on William Hill's home page, the selection of skill games is now available in seven languages and 11 currencies.
Addicted helped on NHS?
Welsh doctors have called for compulsive gamblers to be given treatment on the NHS, similar to cocaine or alcohol addicts.
In a hard-hitting report, "Gambling Addiction and its Treatment Within the National Health Service," the British Medical Association of Wales is calling for gambling to be a recognised addiction that requires treatment on the NHS.
In the report, doctors say they are particularly worried about adolescent problem gamblers and Internet gambling establishments, which is the major gambling sector with the fastest growth.
Dr. Richard Lewis, Welsh secretary of the BMA, said, "Gambling is not intrinsically wrong, but it becomes morally unacceptable when a person's gambling becomes obsessive or leads to the gambler or his family suffering through loss of money.
"The duty of society is therefore to regulate gambling, to allow it to continue while effectively protecting vulnerable people, especially young people, who may be at risk of exploitation or addiction.
"As well as ensuring that gambling is better regulated within the UK, it is vital that the government commits itself to seek effective regulation of Internet gambling establishments."
A key recommendation from the report includes gambling operators and service providers paying at least £10 million per annum to fund research, prevention, intervention, and treatment programmes.
New racehorse for Ladbrokes
Following the success of the racehorse Laddies Poker during 2006, Ladbrokespoker.com has bought another 2-year-old racehorse for the forthcoming flat season, which ultimately will be owned by online players who have won shares at the Ladbrokes poker site as part of the novel promotion.
The new recruit, Laddies Poker Two, was bought at the Goff Orby Million Sales for €110,000. Sired by crack sprinter Choisir, his long-term target is the
Goffs Million, which, like its name suggests, is worth €1 million to the winner - a tasty prize for shareholders who will keep all the prize money he earns, along with his sale price at the end of the 2007 season.
Furthermore, shareholders in Laddies Poker will receive a range of fantastic benefits and opportunities. Last year, Ladbrokes staged freerolls exclusively for shareholders to win the following packages:
• Private box on
Gold Cup day at Cheltenham
• Newmarket 2,000 guineas weekend, including stable visits and live late-night poker
•
World Cup dinner held at the Marriott on Grosvenor Square for the England versus Sweden match
• Newmarket hospitality to see Laddies Poker's first race,
plus accommodations, dinner, and live late-night poker
• Kempton hospitality to see Laddies Poker's second race,
plus accommodations, dinner, and live late-night poker
• Curragh hospitality to see Laddies Poker's final race in the
Goffs Million, witnessing a very exciting fifth-place finish, including travel and accommodations, and again followed by dinner and live late-night poker
• Newmarket hospitality for the Tattersalls Sales, where Laddies Poker was sold for £63,000
• Finally,
Poker Million V party tickets, including dinner, coverage of the final, and off to Paddington Casino for more live late-night poker
Nations Cup on C4
The second-annual
Poker Nations Cup has been filmed in Cardiff, Wales, for broadcast as a nine-part show on
Channel 4 during March and April.
Sponsored by PartyPoker.com, the winning team scooped $100,000 in this unique tournament that sees players pursuing personal and team glory, along with the honour of representing their home nation.
Last year's winners, Great Britain, were again captained by Dave "Devil Fish" Ulliott, while the U.S. team, captained by Robert Williamson III, contained a secret weapon in the form of Jennifer Tilly, the
Academy Award-nominated actress who has starred in films such as The Fabulous Baker Boys, Liar Liar, and The Haunted Mansion.
The four other team captains were: "The Flying Dutchman" Marcel Luske, Bo Sehlstedt, Michael Keiner, and Theo Jorgensen, respectively, in charge of teams from Holland, Sweden, Germany, and last year's runner-up Denmark.
Sorensen wins sponsorship
Frank Sorensen, from Copenhagen, has won a $20,000 sponsorship package in Betfair Poker's
Iron Man challenge.
The 31-year-old, who drives a school bus and coaches his local football team, will represent Betfair Poker at tournaments all over the world.
The
Iron Man challenge was Betfair's search for the site's best tournament player based on consistency of performance in daily $15,000- and $10,000-guaranteed tournaments.
"I didn't realise how well I was doing until a friend saw my name on the leader board," said Sorensen. "I love coaching the football team, but this may be the time to hang up the bus keys and concentrate on my poker."
Australia goes automated
Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia, home of the Aussie Millions, has completed the launch of the world's largest automated poker installation, comprised of 10 PokerPro tables.
Party cuts and rises
PartyGaming, owners of PartyPoker, the online gambling company that was rocked by the U.S. crackdown on the industry, insisted it was bouncing back as it confirmed 945 job losses.
The company, in its end-of-year trading update, said poker revenues were running at $721,000 (£366,000) per day, representing a recovery from $637,000 a day, which it fell to immediately after the U.S. outlawed financial transactions between banks and betting sites.
Card cheats avoid jail
Yau Lam, 45, a chef and reportedly an experienced poker player, Fa Tsang, 41, and Bit Wong, 39, were jailed for a suspended nine months and ordered to complete 150 hours of community work following their convictions for defrauding a casino.
The team used a miniature, hidden "up-arm camera" to film cards leaving the shoe in the casino/house game Caribbean stud poker. The pictures were then relayed to a vehicle outside and then transmitted back again to players earpieces at the tables.
Scotland Yard believes they may have netted more than £250,000 from casinos across the country. They were rumbled when managers at the Mint Casino, in South Kensington, became suspicious of Wong's apparently extraordinary run of luck.
Out of a total of 44 hands, she lost just 10 - well below statistical odds - and in just 50 minutes, she amassed more than £6,000. The Metropolitan Police's Gaming Unit was called in and discovered the hidden devices the team was using.
In addition to their sentences, all three were handed an "exclusion requirement" order, which prohibits them from entering any casino for two years.
Paddy-add
Paddypowerpoker.com has ann-ounced that money will be added to all side events at the
Irish Open poker festival, to be held over Easter weekend at the Burlington Hotel, Dublin, Ireland.
The side-event schedule for this year's festival is:
• Saturday, April 7 - pot-limit Omaha with rebuys, €300 plus €30 (€3,000 added)
• Sunday, April 8 - no-limit hold'em freezeout, €1,000 plus €100 (€5,000 added)
• Monday, April 9 - no-limit hold'em with rebuys, €200 plus €20 (€3,000 added)
Virgin Casino?
Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group is reportedly close to finalising a deal to open a £1.5 billion casino in Macau, the southern Chinese city situated opposite Hong Kong, which has overtaken Las Vegas as the world's largest centre for gambling.
Hill Has Freeroll
William Hill Poker has been around for some time, and as part of the Crypto network, it is one of the top-10 poker rooms in the world. As part of William Hill, one of the biggest and longest-established gambling companies in the world, players have the reassurance of a reputation and financial stability that goes back almost 75 years.
Card Player Europe has teamed up with William Hill to offer all of our readers the chance to try out its new poker software for free. That's right, we've set up a $1,500-guaranteed freeroll just for you. The new software features new players avatars and the exclusive hold'em blackjack, offering an amazing $100,000 seven-card Charlie bonus.
To take part in the freeroll, you'll need to download the software from www.williamhillpoker.com and register for the freeroll when it is announced in the lobby, two days before the event on Sunday, April 1, at 17:00 UK. You'll need to enter the password - CPE1500 - when prompted. You'll also be asked to buy in for $3. The buy-in will be refunded in full to your account within 48 hours of the event.
William Hill is also running an amazing
World Series of Poker promotion, and it's not too late to enter!
William Hill does not take bets from residents of the U.S., Germany, or Italy.
