Parlay Entertainment, the Canadian online bingo software provider, is boasting that it is the only bingo software developer in the world to have gained a UK license from the UK Gambling Commission.

This will allow Parlay to target the UK market where it can now supply and install as well as develop free bingo online software. Parlay also holds a class 4 gaming software provider’s license in Malta and is a certified gaming software provider in the Isle of Man.

The company says it already has over fifty operators using their online bingo software. With its new UK license, Parlay should be able to add to that number.

And how does the company feel about entering probably the nuttiest and most fanatical online bingo games market in the world?

“We’re thrilled to have been granted a UK license,” said Steve Cook, Parlay’s managing director for Europe. “It means we’ll be able to continue serving our existing UK-based licensees as well as signing up new ones. We’re also pleased that we are currently the only online bingo developer to receive a remote gambling software license in the UK.”

The company is expected to release its latest bingo online product; Parlay 5: Bingo Without Borders – stay tuned to hear the latest on that developing story.

Written by John Witherspoon – Become a part of a great online bingo community. Play online bingo chat games at BingoStreet.com

Las Vegas’ attempt to boost its non-gambling attractions to non-gambling tourists is further indication that we are moving to an online world when it comes to how we choose to gamble.

Adding to its already successful ‘What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas’ campaign is proof that the days of land-based gaming action is going the same way that opera went in the face of a little technical innovation called motion pictures.

Vegas survives on its tourist numbers, but your average gambling tourist no longer needs to shell out for the trip to Vegas to satisfy his gambling needs – they simply go online these days.

Online bingo and those who operate online bingo games and online bingo halls are very well placed to take advantage of this clear trend in the gaming industry. We already have evidence of this in the UK where land-based bingo halls are struggling while bingo online is growing.

One of the good things about being in the online bingo industry is that we don’t need no advertising slogan to attract players, and players don’t need no plane ticket to reach us. But at least Vegas is trying to do something constructive about their predicament, which is more than can be said about UK land-based bingo operators.

Written by John Witherspoon – Visit the best UK online bingo site. Bingostreet.com is your ultimate source for the best bingo games online.

The acquisition and merging of online bingo operations in 2008 is well underway in the industry if reports that Playtech is to acquire UK-based backend online bingo software developer Virtue Fusion are correct.

The move by Playtech, if it is true, signifies a major development in the UK online bingo industry in that it confirms a major company has confidence in bingo online as a viable industry.

Playtech already provides many of the UK’s online bingo halls with their software support and is clearly signaling to the market that it’s bullish about online bingo.  As 2008 progresses, will we see more of this in the industry? – I think we will.

Written by John Witherspoon – How about playing bingo online? The best free online bingo games are just one click away.

An interesting article on the use of online gambling by economic analysts appeared recently in the US publication The Wall Street Journal, that paradigm of business reporting more closely associated with stock market news and international finance.

It seems a bunch of economists in the academic world have been turning to the fluctuations in sports betting to gain a clearer understanding as to how people’s rational thought processes react when making decisions. The insights into gamblers apparently provide some interesting prediction models for economists looking to forecast market movements.

Of course, those of us in online bingo kind of know that the markets (Wall Street, the London Stock Exchange) are nothing more than giant gambling enterprises no different than your average online bingo game except for one all important factor – online bingo players know they’re in a game; stock traders actually think they are in a controllable business.

The actual reason for most economists to take an interest in sports betting centers around how people react to new news entering the market. In this case, a goal scored in a football game often changes the way bets are being made on the game – this excites economists who see the chance to draw comparisons with world market activity.

My advice to economists – try taking in new information every time the ball is dropped in a free online bingo game to get an accelerated idea of how people react to new information entering a market place.

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When the betting stops at Virgin Bets, the online bingo begins. Virgin Bets are currently closed for a revamp and a notice to visitors is advising them to check out Virgin Games’ online bingo games as compensation.

A notice on the Virgin Bets site concludes with this:

“If you’re looking for a punt in the meantime why not try your hand at poker, casino or bingo? Whatever your game is, we’ve got it all at virgingames.com. Thanks for betting with Virgin Bets, see you again soon.”

Simon Burridge, CEO of Virgin Games, said of Virgin Bets at its launch a few months ago: “Virgin Bets is designed to be as simple as possible so that casual players who are put off by the complexity of traditional online gambling will find it easy and fun to place their bets.”

At this stage I’m not sure what is behind Virgin Bets’ need to revamp their site so soon after their launch, but if it translates into a boost for bingo online I’m all for it. Virgin Bingo is a good online bingo hall to visit and maybe a few hardcore sports bettors will find a spot of free online bingo to their taste.

Written by John Witherspoon – How about playing bingo online? The best free online bingo games are just one click away.

The news from Australia that its new government will start introducing new Internet legislation to stop children from accessing banned websites is another potential blow for online gaming, including online bingo games and online bingo halls.

While pornography is the main aim of this new legislation, online casinos will also be targeted and this adds yet another front in the attacks by governments on the right to choose your own form of entertainment. However, the effectiveness of trying to police such legislation via filters, as the Aussie government proposes, is bound to fail. This is because your average kid tends to be more computer-savvy than your average government legislator and will find a work-around to deal with a filter in less than a minute on average.

The only way to run an effective online gaming industry is to follow the UK lead and legislate a regulated environment. Online bingo in the UK enjoys probably the best environment in the world and this is reflected by an industry that practices excellent self-policing. Why? Because it’s in the industry’s best interests to do so.

My suggestion is that the new Aussie Labour government take a close look at the UK model for online gaming. It’s worked well here, it can work well there.

Written by John Witherspoon – Need the best online bingo games? BingoStreet.com collected the best online bingo promotions and free bingo games online.

As one of my predictions on how the online bingo industry would develop over 2008, I pointed to an increase in mergers and takeovers between gaming companies around the world.

We already saw evidence of this with the moves by Swedish company Unibet to expand into the online bingo market with a particular emphasis on the female market. As we move into 2008 we see that Rank, a major land-based and online bingo operator, is being targeted by one of the US’ largest gaming companies in the form of Hurrah’s, a company that already owns the London Clubs International family of casinos.

If Hurrah’s are ultimately successful in taking over the struggling Rank, they will inherit a major bingo franchise in what is arguably the best online bingo market in the world. It will be interesting then to see how Rank’s bingo operations are developed, particularly since its land-based operations are proving such a drag on earnings at this time.

Rank are currently proving elusive in entertaining any merger or takeover talks, but how long this will last as economic conditions impact even more on its land-based bingo operations remains to be seen.

Written by John Witherspoon – Become a part of a great online bingo community. Play online bingo chat games at BingoStreet.com

Germany’s disappointing lurch back into protectionism over its online gambling industry has provoked a predictable response from those set to lose the most, i.e. the major players like Bwin and Fluxx. Both companies are already formulating a comprehensive legal challenge, and the best of luck to them!

Online bingo does not have much of a stack in the German online gambling scene, but the recent vote by sixteen German states to maintain their gambling monopolies means any online bingo games industry is stymied until at least 2010.

Of course, it comes as no surprise that the law makers who are responsible for this vote to maintain the monopolies are generally driven by the promise of voting to themselves all the taxable revenue this lucrative industry will generate.

Anybody who thinks they are displaying a sense of civic moral duty needs to get their blinkers off and see such votes for what they are – legislated greed.

So how long is this situation going to take to play out? As noted above, 2010 is when the vote may get reviewed and concessions made to online operators, including any bingo online operators still trying to crack the German market.

However, expect a replay of what we have seen in France and Denmark where those countries now face European Court of Justice actions over their stances.

So Germany, as they say: See you in court…

Written by John Witherspoon – Visit the best UK online bingo site. Bingostreet.com is your ultimate source for the best bingo games online.

In the first news of the New Year affecting the UK online bingo scene, UK land-based and online bingo operator Rank has had an offer made for its famous Mecca bingo chain by one Duke Street Capital.

Words like ‘embattled’ and ‘struggling’ have recently been used in the media to describe Rank’s overall situation and its land-based bingo operations have been turning in some lackluster results.

Of course, the land-based bingo pundits blame the smoking ban and double taxation for their industry’s woes, which makes me wonder why Duke Street would be interested in a land-based operation. Being a private equity outfit, Duke Street don’t exactly bring a lot of bingo experience to the table and if they are going to persevere with a land-based bingo model for the Mecca franchise they are going to need some innovative ideas to compete with online bingo’s growth.

We all know that Mecca does operate a very fine online bingo hall which means it already has the expertise to develop the online bingo games market within its set-up. Maybe this is what Duke Street are hoping for if they are successful in their bid to buy Mecca. But then, all indications are that the ‘embattled’ Rank group are going to rebuff this offer like a few others that have come their way.

Written by John Witherspoon – How about playing bingo online? The best free online bingo games are just one click away.