Play online gambling long enough (or do, like, 15 minutes of research on the subject), and you’ll inevitably come across a somewhat official term typically used to describe online casino, online betting and other gambling activities which are performed over the Internet, namely – iGaming. In fairness, I have mostly encountered this term in relation to people speaking about online casinos than in online casinos, but regardless, it is a valid definition that has been used in the names of several different conventions, like the awesome “Excellence in iGaming” which I personally visited last year and had an absolute bomb. Anyway, the point that I was trying to make is that it doesn’t really take a genius to figure out that the words “iGaming” and “gaming” are extremely similar to each other, except one refers to casino games and the other – to videogames. Totally different things, right? Well… Maybe not so much.

Over the years, those two industries have intercrossed more times than I can count. We’ve seen countless casino games portrayed in videogames (from full-on blackjack and roulette in adult-oriented titles like “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” to more child-friendly representations of slots in something like “Pokémon”), and we’ve also seen plenty of slots based on popular videogames, such as “Tomb Raider”. But it goes even deeper than that. Gaming and iGaming share some very similar design sensibilities, or at least they should. Playing a slot and playing something like, say, “World of Warcraft” fires up the same areas of our brains and releases the same chemicals (which is why both activities can be equally addictive). Hell, videogames have realized the similarities long ago and have adopted some very iGaming-like design sensibilities, such as microtransactions, within themselves, but for some reason iGaming refuses to alter itself in order to resemble its big brother. I could write an entirely different article about why that is, but for now, let’s just focus on how iGaming can change to resemble its counterpart.

What I’d love to talk about is something called Bartle’s Taxonomy of Player Types, which is a truly fascinating read that I don’t really have a lot of time to fully go into, so you should fully check out for yourself. According to Richard Bartle (you can think of him as the guy who basically created the genre that “World of Warcraft” belongs to), players can be segregated quite neatly into four different categories. We have the achievers, who want to fulfill the game’s goal in the best way possible; the explorers, who want to discover the game’s world, story and secrets; the socializers, who like to make friends and play together with other people; and the killers, who mostly play to provoke drama and impede other players (if you’re a bit more Internet-savvy, you may also know them as “trolls”). Obviously, most iGaming players fall quite squarely into the Achievers category – the casino game has a certain goal (usually “win as much money as possible”), and they aim to accomplish it. But do you notice how iGaming is basically excluding 3/4ths of all gamers by focusing solely on a single player type?

Now, don’t get me wrong – I don’t really think that “killers” have a place in iGaming. However, why do we not have a slot machine that tells a good story, or has a world that can be explored? Some have tried, like the excellent “Aliens” (whose bonus game allowed you to walk through a hallway full of aliens and eventually destroy the Alien queen), but none have taken that extra step. There’s certainly plenty of room there for a slot filled with secrets and story bits that lucky players should discover. The same goes for social players – the overwhelming amount of online casinos have absolutely no social features whatsoever outside of live casino, which is completely unforgivable considering the fact that real casinos are very social spaces. The thing is, I don’t think that iGaming really needs to change all that much – it’s more profitable than ever, so it’s obviously doing something right. But maybe if, instead of just churning out the same games over and over again, developers made the effort to cater to any of the other player groups? I’m not saying that there’s going to be a 200% increase in player participation if that happens, but there will definitely be some increase – and that’s all that really matters.

With the recent economic crisis worldwide and the accessibility of gambling online it comes as no surprise that big and small operators are looking at all and any markets to expand their services and broaden their audience. Eastern Europe may not be on the top of the list of destinations, mainly due to the fact that people don’t have that much cash to splash on games (at present), but it still accounts for good 5% of spending on gambling worldwide.

Both – the physical venue operators and online businesses in the gambling sector are starting to look at ways to exploit the massive potential of the area. They are still of course facing fighting legislations and public opinions. Even though EU regulations have eased up over the past decade, all member countries have the authority to apply their own rulings when it comes to some areas, gambling and betting being the ones that interest us in particular.

Even still, countries like Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Romania have already made tremendous progress by licensing a number of gambling operators on top of their national lotteries. The industry is particular flourishing in Romania, with 13 operators being granted the right to operate on its territory in just 3 short months, thus beating Bulgaria in terms of market share in the field.

On the other side of the Black Sea, in Kiev, despite recent events, the gambling industry is also looking at bright horizons. The government is rightly seeing it as a way to increase tourism and generate tax income. Still not thoroughly regulated and organised, but undeniable – this is a step in a good direction.

If this is something you are interested in, the Eastern European Gaming Summit is one of the most prestigious forums in the gaming industry in Eastern Europe, holding conferences every November (22nd – 23rd this year, stay tuned, I will keep you posted). The conference is organized by the Bulgarian Association of Manufacturers and Operators in the Gaming Industry (BTAMOGI).

In short – this region of the world could well be the next heaven for gambling giants – with the income of citizens improving, regulations catching up with Western Europe and the customer profile of the average easterner fitting the perfect gambler – people who love fun and risk. Let’s wait and see!

Large betting companies keep merging left and right, don’t they? A little over a month ago, Coral and Ladbrokes, the UK’s largest operators, merged to create a $3.5 billion firm, making them the market leader in the region. For a while, it seemed like that’d be the biggest merger of the year, as far as betting firms were concerned. After all, the creation of the UK’s biggest exchange seems like it’s rather important, doesn’t it? Well, little did we know that it’d be outdone by the creation of the world’s biggest betting company such short time afterwards!

Indeed, two giants of the betting industry, Paddy Power and Betfair – names that even someone who isn’t really all that familiar with betting has most likely heard of – have just announced that they’ll merge to become the market leader worldwide. Funnily enough, when the merger between Coral and Ladbrokes happened, Paddy Power’s Twitter account sent a tweet proclaiming that they would soon merge with Betfair and would rename themselves “Betty Power”. Little did we know that this wasn’t just a mildly amusing joke, but a hint of things to come! Thankfully (or regrettably, depending on your sense of humour), the new company will most likely not be called Betty Power.

From a certain point of view, the union makes sense – both Betfair and Paddy Power are relatively young companies, with Paddy Power (the older of the two) only been around for about 25 years. While this may still seem like a lot, it’s absolutely nothing compared to grandpas like William Hill (1934) and Ladbrokes (1886). Despite their quick development, the only way the two companies could ever come out ahead of their more established and recognizable competition was through a union. But from another point of view, Betfair’s decision to go in bed with a physical bookmaker is rather surprising.

Remember that in 2000, when Betfair first launched, its executive staff famously staged the “funeral of the physical bookmaker”, dressing in black and mockingly mourning the death of their competitors. A lot of people laughed them off (and, honestly, who wouldn’t – it was a rather arrogant move), but during the next 15 years Betfair proved that they could keep their promises, showing the world that online betting was a very, VERY viable and legitimate business. Their market shares jumped higher and higher every year, until we come to today, when the name Betfair is associated with the biggest betting company in the world. Considering the current merger, it’s fair to say that they’ve realized that physical bookmakers aren’t going away completely any time soon, but that doesn’t make Betfair’s achievements in the online space any less commendable.

Shareholders should be quite happy with the deal – Paddy Power is set to receive 52% of the new company’s shares, which means that anyone who has invested in Paddy Power has reason to take out the champaign. As history has shown us, though, good news for investors and shareholders don’t always mean good news for consumers. For example, in the case of Ladbrokes and Coral’s union, customers suddenly found themselves with less options than they originally had, and if those unions and mergers continue the threat of a monopoly, or a state very close to it, is a very real one, especially when considering just how difficult it is for new companies to break into the business and survive their first year (let’s just say, not everyone can stage a mock funeral for the competition at their opening).

On the other hand, it’s important to note that while Paddy Power has an online division, it’s primarily a physical bookie, with booths all over the world. Meanwhile, the exact opposite is true for Betfair. While Betfair employs 2000 people, the majority of them are working on their online services. Considering the nature of this merger, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the plan is probably to have Betfair handle the online division while Paddy Power will be able to expand on ground, meaning that both companies win. As for the players, the ones who prefer the land-based approach will still be able to place their bets in a physical bookie while the web lurkers can still keep using Betfair for their betting entertainment. While there is a certain amount of room for risk, for the most part it seems like the companies know what they’re doing.

It’s very important to note that Betfair is a rather beloved site, giving thousands of bettors located in places without bookmakers a chance to place legal bets on a wide variety of sports events. Not only did Betfair facilitate the increase of online bookmaking by proving it to be a valid (and largely untapped) market, it also often provided the best odds and rates. Even after adding a Premium Charge to its service (a tax of 20% on large winnings), which according to a representative was absolutely necessary in order to keep the site profitable (which could be another reason for the merger), Betfair still remained the most popular choice not only in its native UK, but worldwide. We’re just going to have to wait and see if its union with Paddy Power will respect that legacy, though so far things seem rather promising.

Online casinos are a great way to bring a little jazz to your life even if you are hundreds of kilometres away from Vegas or Monte Carlo. What could possibly beat the convenience and ease of access? The mobile casinos can. You can play your favourite games even if you are commuting, waiting for a meeting or you have no plans for lunch. And you can do it as often as you’d like because most of the games can be played just for a couple of minutes. The majority of the apps or mobile sites developed by the operators are so widely compatible that you can play even if you have a Samsung from 2012. And if your device is always low on space, you can just play on the mobile site of the respective casino directly in your browser without installing yet another app. There’s a really nice article about the most popular mobile online casinos on this site, that offers a more detailed look on the subject. But now, let us present you just in brief three of the best-performing mobile casinos and their offers. Rest assured that we have checked all the operators we recommend and they have a valid license from the UKGC .

32 Red – This operator is powered by Microgaming and uses their innovative “GO” mobile platform that offers HTML5 games. There’s also a native iOS app you can find on the App Store if you prefer. The mobile portfolio is not as rich as the PC version, but still there are quite a lot of games. Unfortunately, there are no live-dealer tables but we are expecting this feature in the near future. Anyway, there are 92 games including blackjack, poker, roulette and many popular slots such as: Game of Thrones, Break Da Bank and Mega Moolah. 32 Red offer a nice no-deposit welcome bonus of a tenner that is followed by 320% bonus up to £160 on your first deposit. The deposit-related bonus will be valid for 30 days and if you want to cash out any winnings, you will have to wager it 40 times.

Mr Green – Nothing screams style like the dapper gentleman with a green tuxedo. This operator is mischievously fun and classy at the same time. With more than 140 games this mobile casino sure promises variety. Here you can also play live baccarat and live blackjack on your mobile device. As for the bonuses for the newcomers, they are quite advantageous. You will get up to £350 in the welcome bonus bundle plus 100 free spins.

Betfair – Last but certainly not least, there’s the mobile casino app of the market leader Betfair. There are 2 mobile apps actually, one for the live casino and one for the regular games. We are going to present you the standard games. There are 48 slots, 1 roulette, 2 blackjack tables and 1 video poker game. You get a fiver just for opening your account and the deposit related bonus grants a 200% match up bonus up to £300.

One of the most reputable UK bookies Ladbrokes agrees to a merger with Gala Coral in a £2.3 billion deal in attempt to surpass William Hill, which currently is the leader on the market.

The latest deal on the UK gambling market has been struck just a couple of days ago when Peter Erskine, Chairman of Ladbrokes, commented on the merger as being a “major strategic step”. The combined business will certainly give a competitive edge to Ladbrokes Coral (as the new company will be called) because the 1,845 shops of Coral will be added to the 2,100 shops of Ladbrokes. By comparison, William Hill have 2300 shops across the UK. However, it is expected that the regulator will demand that some shops are sold in the areas where they overlap to meet the requirements of the Competition Market Authority (CMA). The consolidation of their business in a Combined Entity comes as no surprise. After the changes in the UK Gambling Law, which impose higher taxes and stricter regulation, acquisitions and mergers are the logical step for the operators so that they keep their positions on the market.

Gala Coral is owned by a group of private equity firms, including Apollo Global Management, Anchorage Capital Partners and Cerberus Capital Management, amongst others. After the deal, Gala’s present shareholders will receive 48.25% of the expanded company, whereas Ladbrokes will own 51.75%.

To fund the merger Ladbrokes will have to place 93 million new shares, which represent 10% of the company.

Ladbrokes Coral will be lead by the current Ladbrokes CEO Jim Mullen, while Gala Coral CEO will assume a new role, that of an Executive Deputy Chairman. In a press release Peter Erskine says: “Together, we will create a leading betting and gaming business combining strong brands with an attractive multi-channel offering and an extensive national and international coverage. “