Slot machines are the most profitable part of any casino. Why? Because they’re designed to be addictive. When users play with slot machines, they’re risking their own money, and if they aren’t careful, they could land in a heap of debt, sometimes without even realizing it; accordingly, slot machines are heavily regulated (usually by state in the United States) to carefully control the odds of payout, and how they can be played. But once a psychological phenomenon is discovered and exploited, it rarely stays in just one place for long. Studying the design and effectiveness of slot machines and other…

iGaming Business – Bookmaker Ladbrokes has moved to capitalise on this summer’s Fifa World Cup by launching a bespoke Facebook application designed to facilitate a daily community derived from bets on the national team football tournament. According to Thedrum.com, the BIG Score app is a crowd-sourced, free-to-play, accumulator-style betting competition that allows players to grow a community pot by selecting one of five daily bets on which to wager. Once a player has entered their virtual bet, they will be entered into a prize draw for that day. The overall winner of the betting competition will be awarded £5,000 while…

iGaming Business – Online casino and bingo operator Gamesys it is to withdraw its real-money Bingo and Slots Friendzy application from social network Facebook after less than two years in operation. As reported by iGaming Business, Bingo and Slots Friendzy was the first real-money gambling app to launch on Facebook in August 2012. However, in a communication addressed to its players, Gamesys confirmed that the app would be shut down almost immediately and urged players to withdraw positive funds from their accounts. Gamesys, whose subsidiary Jackpotjoy operated the app, did not give any reason for the withdrawal while there have…

Online-Casinos.com – Atlantis Internet Group is a public Nevada Gaming corporation specializing in the development of casino games, casino management software, slot machine software, gaming networks and land based casino development. ATIG Gaming online division is licensed in Montreal, Canada by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, the largest off-shore Internet Gaming Hosting jurisdiction in the world.  The Company’s subsidiary Atlantis Gaming International, (Australia) is licensed in the Northern Territory of Australia to distribute Gaming Equipment. The recent announcement that Atlantis Internet Group will partner with WikiBetting to launch social sports gaming on Facebook has brought the firm into the online gambling…

The Register – Facebook is planning to launch a mobile payments service that would allow its European users to store and exchange funds via the social network, sources claim. According to a report in the Financial Times, Facebook has filed an application with the central bank of Ireland to become an “e-money” institution under EU regulations and is “weeks away” from gaining approval. Should it succeed in acquiring that status, it would be free to act as a payment institution throughout Europe, thanks to a provision of EU law known as “passporting”. Just what CEO Mark Zuckerberg wants to do…

iGaming Business – Social casino studio Plumbee has announced the addition of player tournaments to the Facebook version of its Mirrorball Slots application. Players will be able to access the new tournaments via a lobby within the app, allowing them to select one of four different stakes in which to compete with others in a ‘Battle Royale’, with the top two players winning virtual cash prizes. In addition, Plumbee has also introduced a new free-to-enter tournament where players can win coins to spend in other tournaments or slot games in the main Mirrorball Slots game. Dave Wright, games producer at…