News from both France and the US make for contradictory views on the progress
in online gaming freedom.  While the French seem to be softening their stance regards their monopolistic restrictions on foreign gaming operators, the Frank bill in the US aimed at ending that country’s controversial UIGEA law seems to have stalled.

Barney Frank’s attempts at changing UIGEA to allow greater access by online gaming operators into the US market were a major source of hope to many online bingo halls and online bingo players.  Unfortunately, in an interview with online publication e-Review, Frank’s assessment of his bill’s progress was muted to say the least.  He now believes it may take action by foreign countries to inject momentum back into the initiative.

However, regards France’s willingness to make some concessions in its stance over its ongoing protection of its gambling monopoly offers some cheer to those of us in the free online bingo industry.  While this will take some time to play out, here’s hoping online bingo will soon be able to access the French market in the way the EU’s free trade policy decrees it should.

Written by John Witherspoon - Play bingo online at http://bingostreet.com/ and read celebrity gossip.

They are not the most trusted or respected name in online gaming, but the Costa Rican-based Virtual group’s online promotional reference to the 911 Twin Towers may have crossed the line with many players.

While not a feature in the online bingo community, Virtual has gained for itself a solid reputation for questionable behaviour and gaming standards within the online gaming world at large. However, a web promotion by the company’s alter ego, one ‘Danny Virtual‘, has caused outrage amongst a fair cross section of the Internet. The cause: a promotion that seeks to capitalize on the 911 terrorist attacks in which players can take advantage of a “911% Twin Towering Total Bonus�!

This total lack of taste is an opportune reminder of the responsibility operators of online gaming, including online bingo halls, have in ensuring certain levels of decency are maintained. It’s not enough that Virtual are not considered the greatest examples our there of online gaming virtue, but it does bring home the point that we are, in a way , all responsible for our own actions.

Written by John Witherspoon - Play bingo online at http://bingostreet.com/ and read bingo news.

An interesting event took place on September 10 which may have a major impact on the reporting of events affecting the online bingo industry.  The company Clarion Events merged both River City Group and ATE into one enterprise, thus bringing under one roof some of the online gaming industry’s best publications.

Serious observers of news relating to bingo online will know of publications like IGaming News, Betting Business and Casino Review which regularly carry articles about online bingo.

Clarion Events acquired both ATE and River City Group last year and it makes sense for them to merge both into a single entity (now called Clarion Gaming).  Let’s hope the standard of reporting on online-related gaming issues continues in the same high standards we’ve come to expect from the publications now controlled by this single company.

Written by John Witherspoon - Play bingo online at http://bingostreet.com/ and read bingo news.

Was there ever a time when online bingo seemed infinitely more appealing than the offerings of jaded TV stations like MTV?

Of course, I refer interested bingo online players to the farce that was the Video Music Awards.  Taking an unadvised break from my latest round of online bingo games fun, I was visually assaulted by some of the most painfully embarrassing ‘entertainment’ I’ve ever had to suffer through.  Oh, let me count the ways:

• Britney Spears comeback! This disaster has already made it into internet legend as one of the worst attempts at whatever it was.  Billed as ‘potentially shocking’ by pre-show hype, MTV gave the troubled former teen icon top slot to woe the masses – instead what we got was Britney in a stripper outfit unable to lip-sync her new single or dance.  One scathing observer previous to the show had made the comment that Britney juggling her two kids with a live chainsaw might have constituted a genuine ‘shocking’ performance worthy of notice.  Alas, it was not to be.
• Kid Rock/Tommy Lee fight!  MTV couldn’t even get this on camera!  The two former husbands of aging pin-up Pamela Anderson exchanged un-pleasantries before engaging in manly combat, prompting black entertainer Jamie Fox to quip: “Enough white-on-white violence!â€? – I liked that one, but where were the pictures MTV?
• Kanye West tantrum! He was nominated for five awards – he got zilch,… and a subsequent “I want my Mummy!â€? performance ensued.  Again, MTV, where were your camera’s for this one?

I’ve had it with last century concepts of pre-packaged ‘live’ entertainment.  It’s back to the future for me – live online bingo and the company of fellow players having a genuinely good time.

So, what’s this got to do with the serious business of online bingo?  JJust my observation that, with competition like this, bingo online operators need have no fear for the future from last century’s media entertainment giants.

Written by John Witherspoon - Play bingo online at http://bingostreet.com/ and read celebrity gossip.

I’ve commented before that when it comes to gambling on a large scale, Wall Street can not be beaten as the world’s largest gambling den - and this week it’s clear the stock market casino is on tenterhooks whether it will be a bust or not.

for those of you who don’t really follow the great Wall Street drama and would rather take a punt on the best and most recent online bingo jackpots highlighted by Bingo Street, the wailing and nashing of teeth from the stock markets probably amount to little more than a moment of interest in the daily news roundup.

However, consider this:  At a time when the gamble on Wall Street seems to be taking the shirt off everybody’s backs, stocks in online gaming concerns are, ironically, doing well.  Whether is online bingo-related or purely casino style games, companies involved in gambling are proving to be sure bet in a climate where top-rated financial institutions are trembling in their boots.

I’m not a player in the stock market, but if I were, I would currently be looking at any company with an interest in bingo online or any other online gaming connection.  Just my opinion.

Written by John Witherspoon - Play bingo online at http://bingostreet.com/ and read celebrity gossip.

In an interesting twist to the whole advertising on TV thing, PartyGaming has announced it will be providing top broadcaster ITV’s website with its gaming products, including online bingo.

Online bingo halls and operators of online bingo games have been able to advertise on UK television since the beginning of September for the first time thanks to a relaxing of gambling laws in the country.  PartyGaming have scored a major coup with this deal which seems to be the next best thing to running a full TV campaign on the broadcaster’s network.

So, the next time you get sick of the latest Coro St. drama and X-Factor antics, take a look at ITV’s website for some online bingo action, then get to the real stuff by taking a trip down Bingo Street.

Written by John Witherspoon - Play bingo online at http://bingostreet.com/ and read bingo news.

It’s good being able to report good news in the online bingo industry, or at least good news from areas that directly affect bingo online.

Playtech’s release of figures which show it is nearly pulling in the same amount of money as it did prior to the implementation of the US’ UIGEA law give us all hope that the loss of the US market can be overcome.  The company’s software platform is a popular choice amongst online bingo halls in the UK.

However, one wonders how much might have been gained had Playtech been allowed to continue operations in the US market.  But let’s take encouragement where it is offered and hope that Playtech’s successes indicate a more healthy post-UIGEA industry for us all.

Written by John Witherspoon - Play bingo online at http://bingostreet.com/ and read bingo news.

With the National Bingo Association (NBA) launching its £3.8 million ad campaign, is there scope for operators of free online bingo to cash in on the hype?

The national coverage this campaign is going to get is surely going to put bingo out there in the public eye, whichmust have some bingo online operators wondering if they can get a piece of the action.  The campaign has been launched by the NBA to take advantage of the relaxing of advertising restrictions on the gambling industry in the UK.

My thoughts on this is that it can only be good for bingo as a whole and that online bingo should be able to scalp a bit of business from this. There’s a proverb from Thailand that says, “when in the jungle of business, follow the elephant�.  In other words, let the NBA be the elephant clearing a pathway for us in the online bingo industry.

Written by John Witherspoon - Play bingo online at http://bingostreet.com/ and read bingo news.

The South African government’s Department of Trade and Industry has come to the curious conclusion that online gambling, and presumably they include online bingo, does not constitute a significant proportion of the current South African gambling market.

The news comes via a report in South Africa’s Business Day and says the Department believes only 2% of the country’s population are involved in online gambling, whilst land-based casino operations account for up to 80% of the gambling public.

“There is no apparent threat to the land-based casino [industry] from interactive gambling,” the Department’s  acting deputy director- general Fungai Sibanda said to a trade and industry committee.

The curious thing here is that the statistic is being used by the government to counter claims by the Casino Association of South Africa that online gambling will constitute a negative impact on its land casinos.

This must surely be a governmental first in a world where most governments seek to limit online gambling in order to protect lucrative government-sponsored gambling monopolies.  Well done South Africa!

Let’s hope some of the EU member states start to take a similar line of logic in re-assessing their own gambling laws.

Written by John Witherspoon - Play bingo online at http://bingostreet.com/ and read celebrity gossip.

Did anyone see any evidence of online bingo or land-based bingo adverts appearing on British TV over the weekend?  Last Saturday marked the first time this has been allowed following changes to the Gambling Act in the UK.

Though it’s unlikely operators of bingo online will use the medium of television to advertise (the Internet is proving fairly adequate for that already), it’s possible we will see an upsurge of land-based bingo advertising designed to offset that industry’s recent downturn.  Then again, maybe not, as it seems apparent to me land-based bingo is content in tugging at the government’s heartstrings with piteous pleas for salvation than to get on with things and compete in the new anti-smoking environment.

By the way, there’s a big hurricane called Felix bearing down on the inhabitants of the Caribbean at this time.  It looks like it’s going to be a monster!  I could not help remembering that it was a devastating hurricane that forced the island nation of Antigua to seek economic salvation through the development of an online gambling industry, including some of the better online bingo halls out there.  The US, of course, has all but put paid to that with its draconian UIGEA laws which have had their own devastating impact on the economy of Antigua, forcing that country to seek help from the WTO against the US.

If this Hurricane Felix takes out a few little island nations this time round, will they be allowed to contemplate online gaming as a means to revitalize a devastated economy?  Or will they look at what has happened to Antigua and think it’s not worth the hassle?

Written by John Witherspoon - Play bingo online at http://bingostreet.com/ and read celebrity gossip.