11 JANUARY 2012 (LONDON UK) GTECH G2 the premier full service provider to the iGaming and sports betting industry is launching an array of new products and technologies at ICE this year.

The company will be showcasing Casino Job: – its first 3D game. The game is designed to excite and engage players as they adopt one of four true-to-life characters, including an Angelina Jolie lookalike, and crack into the casino safe against the clock. Casino Job is the first of many new games that will see GTECH G2 push new boundaries in game development during 2012.

The desire to meet and exceed player needs has driven GTECH G2’s development of GMS Flightboard, which will also debut at ICE. Flightboard allows operators to communicate and interact with their players in real time, ensuring that operators never miss a vital moment in their players’ journey, and creating a truly personalized experience for every player.

The development of mobile gaming will be one of the company’s major areas of focus in 2012. GTECH G2 understands the importance of providing players with a seamless gaming experience across all gaming channels. Its vision is to see ‘more players constantly playing our games than ever before, wherever and whenever they chose to play.’

Along with sister company SPIELO International, GTECH G2 will be demonstrating its vision of a seamless player experience with games such as Book of the Sphinx™, available on land-based gaming machines, online, on mobile devices, or on a tablet.

With the aim of bringing a little friendly competition to ICE; GTECH G2 is offering all show goers the chance to win an iPad every day, with the G2 Goal Challenge.

As part of its award winning sports betting offering GTECH G2 will be showcasing an update to their STOS screen system to allow for HD quality display and increased functionality. In order to showcase the flexibility and capabilities of Margin Maker, which was recently described as ‘the ultimate solution’ by a leading trade publication, GTECH G2 will be hosting a lunchtime demonstration on Wednesday 25th January.

“Everything that we are debuting at ICE shows our commitment to having more players playing our games than ever before,” said Walter Bugno, President and CEO of GTECH G2 and SPIELO International.

“I am proud of the developments that we’ve made in the last twelve months, and I’m excited when I see what’s in the pipeline for the year ahead. I look forward to everyone seeing our entire product suite — and as a football fan, I hope to see them scoring a goal or two in our goal challenge. See you at stand 5260!”

October is set to finish with a flourish of big money Bingo games at bet365 with their sensational £100,000 Cash Avalanche promotion.

The action gets going on 30^th October at 18:00 UK Time with a night full of prizes. The main focus will be on five storming Avalanche Jackpot games, each with a £100,000 Avalanche Community Jackpot. Depending on the ball count when House is called, up to £100,000 will be split between the Bingoheads with tickets to the game!

But that’s not where the fun ends, because bet365 are also running guaranteed Money Mountain games throughout the night, with ticket prices starting from just 3p! This means even more chances to win on a special night of Bingo.

Make sure you don’t miss out on bet365’s amazing £100,000 Cash Avalanche this October!

You can see more bet365 Bingo promotions in our in-depth review HERE

On Friday 28^th October it is advised that your trickery and Halloween celebrations be completed before 22:00, You can then log into Jackpotjoy.com and make your way to the “Special Game” tab in the bingo lobby and purchase your tickets. There is a massive £13,000 up for grabs but tickets are only 50p each. Players can purchase up to 36 tickets for the game so there will be lots of opportunity to get your hands on one of the three prizes available.

Prizes will be awarded as follows:

1 Line: £1,000

2 Lines: £2,000

Full House: £10,000

Tickets are available now, simply click on the Special Game tab in the Bingo lobby.

The room opens its doors half an hour before this very special game begins so make sure you join us early to get the most out of what’s sure to be an unforgettable evening!

Kelly Dunn, a former manager at a card factory shop, pleaded guilty to the theft of £12,000 at an earlier hearing. The money stolen, was supposed to have been deposited in the bank on her way home from work, but instead was used to finance her online bingo gaming.

The court heard how Dunn had become increasingly addicted to the game after a substantial win.

Prosecuting lawyers explained how the events came about by saying: “The company operates a policy where no more than £3,000 can be held in the tills overnight. Staff were asked to pay money into the bank. Between that period, £12,000 was taken by the defendant. When this was discovered by the organisation, she freely admitted taking the money.”

Lawyers representing Dunn said she had developed a ‘chronic gambling problem’ but had failed to accept at the time that bingo was gambling. She had a substantial win when she started playing and that has prompted her to continue, believing she would keep winning. She is deeply remorseful for her actions and very sorry to her employers.”

Recorder Maurice Greene, sentencing Dunn, said: “You’re a woman of good character who got involved in bingo and gambling and you needed money to do that. It wasn’t a case of needs, but because of a lifestyle choice you made and couldn’t control.”

Dunn, was given an eight-month prison term, suspended for one year, and ordered to do 150 hours of unpaid work.

Playtech are considered one of the market leaders when it comes to providing online gaming software. The Playtech logo can be found on many of the worlds most successful bingo websites.

Paddypower.com are equally as successful, and considered one of the UKs largest and most popular online gaming websites. Paddypower offers customers a whole range of gaming, from there comprehensive sports betting facilities, there world class poker rooms, and of course the very popular Paddypower Bingo. Paddypower have now joined forces with Playtech, to launch Paddypower casino. A collaboration that is said to include a multi year agreement with Playtech.

Playtech’s Chief Executive, Mor Weizer, commented: “We have built a strong relationship with Paddypower over several years and are delighted to be able to further consolidate our service provision to one of the industry’s leading players through this agreement to provide our leading casino technology.”

With two of the online bingo worlds biggest players joining forces, this collaboration looks set to deliver a very special casino gaming experience for Paddypower customers.

One of the most recognised charities is the Marie Curie Cancer Care Charity.

Marie Curie Cancer Care provides much needed, end of life care to terminally ill patients in their own homes, or in one of their nine dedicated hospices, so relies heavily on donations to be able to continue to offer this invaluable support. Donations received helped over 31,000 patients last year. With costs of over £10,000 per day, donations to the Marie Curie Cancer Care could never be more crucial.

Mecca Bingo have a long term promise to donate 40% of ticket sales from their “Two Little Ducks” bingo room to the Marie Curie Cancer Care Charity. The room is open from 13:00 UNTIL 21:00 every day from the 1st of the month until the 7th. Tickets for each game cost only 25p, so for every four tickets purchased, Mecca Bingo will donate 40p to the Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Julia Barrett, of Lakehall Road, in Thorton Heath was playing bingo at the Beacon Bingo hall in Streatham Hill on Sunday, September 25. She claims to have won the £500 jackpot that night but was not awarded the winnings because the bingo caller did not hear her call.

The club refused to give her the winnings. The general manager of the club is reported to have said “Mrs Barrett had failed to make her winning call in time. Obviously she is not very happy, but it happens nearly every week. The onus is on the player, she or he has to be loud and clear. They are the rules of the game- it is not that we have not paid her the money. Everyone knows the rules.”

Mrs Barrett, said “I am crying inside. If that is the way it is going to be, I am not going back because I am wasting my time and my money. I have never won £500 in my life. I am so sick.”
The club manager invited her to come back and play a game on the house as a gesture of good faith.

The Waters Glass premises closed its doors in March of this year and the owners found themselves looking for a new business opportunity.

James Barber said: “As an owner of Waters Glass I was devastated in March of this year when we had to close our doors and let so many staff go. At its peak Waters Glass employed 65 people.

Mr Barber has already started recruiting staff for his new venture and plans to employ up to 30 staff members in a variety of positions.

The facility, called ‘Rock Bingo’, will be located in the old Waters Glass premises in Togher, Cork.

The Barbers will own and manage the business. They have occupied the address for more than 25 years as Waters Glass. After investing €600,000 into the new project they hope to provide a first-class facility that will be managed by Mr Barber, his brother and two sons.

Dave Barber said: “Standard practice in Ireland for operating a bingo hall is that the club must benefit local charity…We are taking the time to choose worthy local charities that will benefit from the significant funds boost (and) would welcome any local organisations that require funding to contact us.”

After seven hours of discussions in the licensing hearing, councilors rejected the plans to create the Kingston Arena on the former Gala Bingo Hall in Richmond Road, Kingston.

Councillors gave a statement later on that read; “As there is already an overspill of anti-social behaviour from Kingston town centre into the vicinity of the premises, in particular the subcommittee believed the grant of this premises licence would exacerbate damage to cars, urination and vomiting in front of residents’ properties in the vicinity of the premises, together with an unacceptable level of noise from persons leaving the premises in the evening and night time. With specific regard also being given to the police evidence, including statistics, showing the high level of reported crime and violence in Kingston town (Grove ward being the third highest in London) and the close proximity of these premises, it was considered that its location increased the likelihood of crime occurring at and in its vicinity.”

As Mecca Bingo’s online reputation soars, it appears the land based operations are taking a bit of a beating. In a recent announcement, Mecca Bingo have informed customers that The Mecca Bingo club in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear is due for closure.

This closure is not for any refurbishment of modernization, as one might expect of one of the countries largest bingo brands, but instead to make way for a car park.

The closure is expected to be within the next few weeks.
Mecca Bingo has a club in South Shields which is hoped will provide some of the staff from the Wallsend premises with new jobs, instead of making them redundant.

The closure is expected to be within the next few weeks,