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Just wanted to share something with you guys tonight which I hope you'll enjoy reading! It's no secret that my "gambling time" has more than halved over the last two years with the arrival of the little ones and my duties here at AskGamblers, which I wouldn't change for the world . Going back 4 years ago I was pretty much playing every day! Deposit after deposit, casino after casino, I knew about every new game, every provider and pretty much the ins and out. Whereas now, the time I take to pick up new things has drastically changed, and today got me kind of reminiscing! It made me think of the changes it makes from being someone who plays every day to someone who only gets to play now again and when time allows! I've been thinking have I saved money? Pretty hard one to answer this. Yes I'm making considerably less deposits but obviously that means considerably less withdrawals! I'm not someone who has ever kept a record of my outgoings and in-comings so who knows with this one! I can tell you something though I really do miss the big withdrawals! Next...the slots. I get to learn about new slots from you guys now and sometimes it takes me weeks until I get chance to even play a new release. This is definitely a downfall to not playing as regular as I was playing. It also means when I return to a casino from my last visit there's a ton of new games there that I've never played and I find this overwhelming never knowing which ones to try On the plus side - Now when I look for new casinos there's loads there for me to try. Whereas before I'd be searching every day for a new casino to come out that I can play at! Do I miss playing all the time? Nah...I definitely don't. I actually love where I am right now, I may take longer to try new games and may be a bit behind but I get there in the end! So yep, that's pretty much the life of an occasional gambler, not sure how many more of you there are like me?

If you play poker in a casino, it’s certain that once in a while you’ll be involved in conflicts with other players on the table. It's important for you to know how to manage it when it happens. What are your experiences in such situations? Please share and also give some tips for it.

Since this is the Ask Gamblers forum I wanted to share and advise fellow members of the community with an AMA (Ask Me Anything). My name is Jon Price and I run SIT Picks aka Sports Information Traders. Within the last few years I have gone more public with my wagers and bets. Being featured in Yahoo! Finance, Forbes Magazine, Inc., Ante Up, Cardplayer, Gambling911.com, and well the list goes on and on. I let other Covers forum members know about my bet prior to the big game and got a couple of thanks for the big win. I placed over a million dollars in bets on the Mayweather Pac-man fight. In September I correctly predicted during an interview with the Huffington Post that the Denver Broncos would win the super bowl and placed a big fat wager on the Kansas City Royals to win the World Series in 2015. I've had big highs and big lows but my stable psychological state, great analytical research, and that gut feeling has helped propel me to be one of the all time greats. Today in my day to day I still wager on games and work on handicapping via my website you can see here. I developed a service to educate bettors about the long term outlook and to stop with all of these no good for nothing touts. I'm a black swan in a grey lake as I like to tell my peers. So ask away and I will be glad to share my knowledge with the community here.

Hi I'm curious to know if anybody has any gambling tricks Let me elaborate My "trick" is: When I have a high bankroll and still need to wager some to free up a bonus I usually play Robin Hood - Shifting Riches. When I have met the wagering requirements I quit the game. If I have a low bankroll I can return to this game and play at low stakes but still win big because of the moneybags which are stored in the chests from my highroller session. This is my trick, let me know if you like it and share yours if you have any

Hi everybody If you had to give some good and simple gambling advice with just one word, what would it be? Mine would be: PATIENCE Let's hear yours if you have any

I seen this on Facebook today and thought we could give it some discussion here. Tell me some of the things that annoy you in gambling. I have a list (off facebook) and I have to say I agree with them all but I'm sure we all have our own pet peeves. I'll start with one that was on the list but is definitely something I find annoying. 1. Free spins that are spread out over a few days. Nothing more annoying than an offer that is 100 free spins and you get 20 per day! What's the point! Just credit them all at once and stop wasting my time please! So who is going to hit me with Number 2? Once we run out I'll name the ones on the list to see if we all agree.

From the producers of, "When a promotion goes too far" comes a far out epic thread to this sequel.............." Aren't we all......?". In this thread, we relate to everything that we do, say, feel, or how we interact inside online casinos but first an example of this thread........aren't we all in denial that we are all.......gambling who*es!? Let's face the facts! The fact exists that we "choose a new casino", "register new accounts on many other new casinos", we choose our "method of deposits that inserts itself into our balances", receive a "match bonus in which we take advantage of to wager the amount before it turns into cash", we "choose many slot games that provide us entertainment.....hello Cherry Love, you can give me a good time!", then we "wait to get paid after the pending period, fees or no fees added" by the casinos after a job well done!! On another issue, when a casino promotion promotes the following below, To spend money that we already have.....holding onto our hands/balances just to risk them for Free Spins is something immoral to any gambler! Sure, if a gambler has plenty of money to burn left over it's fine but an average gambler to gamble an initial deposit balance and exchange money for free spins!?!? Some of you must see this point of view clearly as I do. What is the point of gambling? It's publicity to the casinos to earn but what does this mean to everyone else? A way to earn money from us? The point being is that it's better off going about this in three ways.......gamble your collectives on slots, withdraw them OR the 3rd least option is to exchange them for risky free spins upon only having excessive winnings. Just a wise decision to avoid spending money on offers like these because the minute we exchange our money for free spins we can earn less than the origin point of sale (Buying them) and who knows, these free spins could have a shockingly surprising "strings attached" wagering requirements that we do not deserve especially when we bought them with our own money! How does this define a player as "Lucky"? It's injustice in a jar waiting to be opened! Do you remember the movie: Thirteen Ghosts? The main character making an epically timed jump into the moving ring blades to save the other two. The jump represents the risks we take, the two characters inside the rings represents the rewards within the casinos, for better or worse and the moving blades can represent the blocking of wins......whether the spins are a success or they are chopped into tiny pieces of dead spins! Looking at the picture below, is it worth it? For those of you who took offense to this, please gather your choice of punishment towards me in the form of a negative comment, wrath, strings of berated opinions, pitch forks and other underworldly mentionables or perhaps an agreement to the paragraphs in question. They will be taken care of in the order in which they are received! The knowledgeable admins can add another warning point to my collection if they choose! As for the entirety of this thread, please feel free to continue this thread in the form of Aren't......, or Aren't we....... (Ie. Aren't we better off with....) Lucky Casino, if your reading this, my apologies but it is to protect the gamblers of all types from having less than satisfactory offers from the Free Spins Shop! Come up with free spins that are far more worthy than the money we are putting down on the line! Please give us more for what we bargained for! Coming up in a lesser shocking thread..............Cashbacks, the real deal? Icymod Branded as crazy by the Admins and the soon to be Pariah?

Hello everyone* I just come across this hybrid slot created by students and its skill-based. I think its very funny and brilliant idea but I have no clue if this slot could really work. It will be tested soon and I hope it will go live as soon as possible and we might get online version of it to give it a try soon. I would appreciate your feedback guys** Let me know what are your thoughts Cheers* As skill gaming prepares to unleash itself on the casino floors of America, two enterprising young University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) undergraduates believe they may have come up with the perfect puzzle-game-slot hybrid. UNLV undergrad and inventor Trot Pettie at the 2016 Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in September, demonstrating “Line ’em Up.” The game has as much in common with Candy Crush Saga as it does with a traditional slot machine. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Review-Journal). At just 20 years old, Troy Pettie and Evan Thomas have co-founded software development company Guru Games, and they hit the floor at G2E last week to showcase their new game, “Line ’em Up.” “It’s inspired by Bejeweled and Candy Crush,” Thomas told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “We took what we loved about those gaming mechanics, what made those games popular, and then we took what we know about gambling games and traditional slot machines and we melded the two to make something that’s seamless, unique and something that could actually work in a gambling space in a casino.” Beta Testing New skill-based slot hybrids, or video gaming machines (VGMs), could debut in the casinos of Las Vegas and Atlantic City within weeks, with Caesars properties likely to be first to test them out on their customers. The idea is to tempt millennials onto the casino floor, a demographic that has little interest in traditional slot machines. The new breed of games will involve more strategy, skill, and social interaction than their one-dimensional predecessors. And they offer versions of games that millennials are used to playing, such as racing and puzzle games, that are like Line ’em Up. For the first time, they will offer variable payouts, awarding slightly higher odds of winning to those who have mastered a certain game. The difficulty is finding a game that’s challenging and fun enough to keep the player playing, but hard enough to prevent them from winning too much. Plus, the math needs to be balanced correctly, so that the house still makes a profit in the long-run, but pays out enough to reward skilled players. The House (Still) Always Wins But with Line ’em Up, the boys think they’ve cracked it. “The great thing about our math is it meets all the Nevada gaming regulations,” said Pettie. The mathematics dictates that the house always will have an edge of 3.5 percent for those playing optimal strategy. For the rest of us, about 6 percent. Pettie and Thomas, who developed the game under the guidance of Mark Yoseloff, executive director of UNLV’s Center for Gaming Innovation, say they are currently in talks to develop the game for a land-based casino. In the meantime, it is available for download as a free-to-play social casino app. Source: www.casino.org

Imagine playing a slot machine and winning $1 million. Now try and imagine your disappointment when you're told by the casino, "there's been a mistake." It happened to a Biloxi woman three years ago. Since her court battle is now over, she's going public with her story, which she shared first with Steve Phillips. It has been a series of emotional ups and downs for Florida Eash. Just a few days ago, the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled she's entitled to just $8,000 in slot machine winnings, not the $1 million she's still convinced she's due. "I felt excited, and thank you to Lord. My God, that's a big thing. I never expected, you know," said Florida Eash, talking outside the casino where she hit the big jackpot. "This is the picture when I won that million dollars," she said, pointing to an 8x10 color photograph, "I totally believe that I won that $1 million." Florida Eash has vivid memories of that winning night exactly three years ago Thursday. She was playing a $5 slot machine at IP. Suddenly, the top jackpot lines up. "I felt so great. And I thank you to God, to the Lord. And it said on the plate machine, congratulations Florida, you won $1 million. See attendants for pay," she said. Just as suddenly as her dream came true, the bubble burst. The casino claimed the machine was mistakenly programmed as a progressive slot, meaning the actual top jackpot was just $8,000, not a million. The dispute over the jackpot first landed before the Mississippi State Gaming Commission, which ruled that Florida Eash was indeed entitled to that $1 million payout. But the happiness over that ruling soon disappeared when the issue was taken to court. First a circuit judge sided with the casino, ruling Eash was entitled to $8,000 only. That ruling was upheld by the Mississippi supreme court last week. "You get a decision and it's okay, they've sided with you. Then you go to the other side and it's they've appealed it. So, it's back and forth like emotions. It's emotionally draining too," said the winner's daughter, Celeste Eash. IP released a statement from general manager Jon Lucas, saying, "We are happy about the decision. The monies involved IGT, not IP. They are IGT's slot machines." "And it's not my fault that I hit the machine and won that jackpot. And they admitted they're the ones that set it up by mistake. Mistake is mistake. You have to pay for it if you make a mistake," said Eash. I talked with Florida Eash's attorney, Paul Newton. He told me she has just two options for further legal appeal: asking the state supreme court for reconsideration, or trying to get the United States Supreme Court to hear the case. No decision has been made yet. Source:www.wlox.com

Hi I am going to Spain for 3 weeks Does anybody know if they have any gambling restrictions? Thanks

I lost at Casumo twice so where actually on a break from playing. But now I guess this weekend i might try my luck again in a casino. Hippodrome Casino apart from their games has lots to offer with world class entertainment. This weekend I'll be found there for sure

Hey Guys , Just thought I'd raise this I've been with Neteller for a while now and over the past year I've noticed a few things for one I know that they merged with Skrill I know about that and I would imagine with the merger there would be some improvements sadly not the case . 1. I've noticed Live Chat Support Completely Vanish when it comes to trouble shooting issues you now have to contact a number and with no Neteller phone support in New Zealand I now have to contact the Australian Support or the United Kingdom just to get somebody whom I can understand that doesn't speak broken english. (either that or wait for the delayed vip response) 2. All of a sudden there have been random security checks made I know a few members outside of myself who have been subject to having to send in extra verification for god knows what reason just to conduct business. 3. The Turnaround time for a vip callback is now a lengthy thing I requested a call on a particular day and two days later received an email asking if I still needed the call. I'm a bronze vip was a silver till the rules changed and I have to say standards have slipped a bit not happy Netty don't know whats up with you guys but I'm not impressed . -T

Greetings AG Community , This thought has been on my mind for quite some time in regard to Casino Reviews I see that one review is allowed at a time strictly by the rules as I had one removed yesterday which was just an update to the first as I like to give people the whole picture and not just a part of it . Also I think these reviews should be editable if there is going to be a one review per casino rule enforced then there should be the option for ongoing feedback as situations can change with casino's and up to date information is useful I think to the community . Thank you for your time , -T

As a medical professional I have been seeing many people who have lost their entire life savings while trying to win the millions on the internet. Thousands and thousands of dollars wagered. Sometimes they win, sometimes they lose. I have never wagered online before but curiosity got the best of me and I decided to write a paper concerning online gambling. In order to do so, I had to invest my own money to open up 10 different casino accounts exclusivley for slot gaming. My patients were facinated by these internet sites. I wanted to understand them better so I took the decision. I was never worried about addiction. I opened up 10 accounts over a 7 day period and deposited 1000 canadian dollars in each account. As a scientist, I actually see things in a different way than most people. Over a 20 day period, I read the term and conditions of every site. party casino 32 red win palace spin palace casino extra jackpot city unibet bodog 888 casino casino luck Let me start off by saying the following about all of these casinos, they all claim 97%+ payouts.... all certified by companies like ECOGRA who has still yet to return my calls Most are licenced in Malta, Gibratler or Curacao.....? and? it's the only way they can accept payment from processors. There a few licenced by the Khanawakee gaming commision. Cleary a fraudelant enterprise as history has shown you with absolute poker and ultimate bet and many others. Another thing that you all need to know, when you google, "on line casino no deposit bonus" or "best online casino".... or anything similar, be reminded, these sites could not care less about you. Everything on their site is to redirect you to a casino, believe me, they receive a lot of your losses. I even saw one place refering people claiming a bonus code that would give you 100 free spins.... whether they refer you or you go alone, you still get 100 free spins! It's called an affilited program. Back to these casino sites.... Party Casino, 32 Red, Unibet were by far the only compitent people to talk to. They actually explained everything prior to a deposit. All 3 were the same, Deposit 1000 and we will match your deposit but you will need to wager 60000 dollars in order to be able to cash out. Explained very well, so i did it. All 3 casinos let me reach 4000 dollars, by the time I had wagered less than half of the needed to be able to withdrawl, it was all gone. All 3 paid like crazy in the beginning. free spins galore. all at 9 dollars a spin. I had my secretary spinning, it really was funny to see! End result, there is no way these casinos are random. It is not possible. All 3 were being played at the same time, they all had the exact same pattern. They paid and then it all came down. Very obvious. Unibet actually let me finish the wagering requirement while I still had 4k in the account, When I asked for a cash out, They wanted proof of who I was. I sent it all over and believe it or not, I actually got 4k from them within 10 days. Now, Was that random spinning? they use the same platform as many others? micro gaming... who knows. The rest of the casinos are just a joke, especially win palace.... I deposited 1000 dollars and received 4000 in bonus money? Alarm bell went right off. A disgraceful attempt to misead people. 150000 wager requirement? Are you kidding me.... My poor secretary begged me to be alloowed to wager more than 10 dollars, I decided to agree after an hour. Once the wager went to 25 dollars a spin, the tide had turned, no more free spins, no more bonus, absolutely nothing. Within 30 minutes, the 7k was gone. They let us float knowing perfectly well that we could not cash out. Jackpot city, casino luck and spin palace have the micro gaming platform, but there is no way the spins are random. We kept hitting that mega moolah free spin for the 3 million dollar jack pot, never saw a payout out more than 11 dollars after a spin. Once we played for over an hour, the free spins and the jackpot trigger somehow vanished on all three sites? There is obviously a problem there. Bodog not only has a very crappy platform, they dont even let you win anything. 3 times 10 free spins paid us 0, yup. I was laughing so hard it made me cry. End result, I think people are so mislead and have this feeling of belonging to a fantasy life that they are willing to risk anything to get it. Take your hundred dollar bill and throw it in the garbage or deposit it online to gamble, it is the exact same thing folks. These on line gaming sites are not random in any sense of the word. They feed of your weakness and slowly make you die inside. I wish I hade more time to tell you more about my research, Alot more things went on while the accounts were open. Many calls, many times they called me, especially 888 casino, at one point I told the lady that shewould be better off begging on the streets. 888 Casino is not there to offer gaming, they are there to offer free bonuses that you can not cash out anyway? Just a bad business practice in every sense of the word. You want to gamble? You want to have fun.... Take some change with you and goto your nearest casino.... have a drink, relax.... I can pretty much assure you that even if you win 10k online while playing slots, very rare, you will just end up losing it right back. Avoid if you can, seek professional help if need be. It is never too late... Dr Jimmy V. Forest Hill, Ontario God bless

Well , Its been a whole bunch of fun out there I must say but comes a time when the win:loss ratio needs to be looked at and I'm well up I must admit and with all the "game errors" and muck around's lol Time to give up for a bit been here before . So guys and girls stay cool out there give em heaps Peace !!!! Ciao ....

One of the big questions on the minds of many lately with the World Series of Poker fast approaching is whether or not this would be the year that Howard Lederer returned to the felt to chase bracelets. On Wednesday afternoon, Lederer released a statement via Daniel Negreanu'sblog at FullContactPoker.com that began "I am writing to apologize to everyone in the poker community." In the letter, Lederer takes on more responsibility for the fallout of Full Tilt Poker that occurred once Black Friday rocked the poker world on April 15, 2011. A year and a half after that day, PokerNewsspoke to Lederer for an exclusive seven-hour video series deemed "The Lederer Files." In those videos, Lederer deflected much of the blame away from himself and his account of what happened didn't sit well with the poker community. Since then, not much of Lederer has been seen around the poker world, except for a few glimpses here and there in some high-stakes cash games around Las Vegas. The letter, originally posted on Negreanu's blog on FullContactPoker.com, reads as follows: "I am writing to apologize to everyone in the poker community, especially to all the players who had money on Full Tilt Poker on April 15, 2011. When Full Tilt Poker closed in 2011, there was a shortfall in funds, a distressed sale to recover those funds, and a long delay in repaying players. Throughout this period, there was little explanation for the delay, and no apology. Players felt lied to. They trusted the site, and they trusted me, and I didn’t live up to that trust. "I take full responsibility for Full Tilt’s failure to protect player deposits leading up to Black Friday. The shortfall in player deposits should never have happened. I should have provided better oversight or made sure that responsible others provided that oversight. I was a founder in the company that launched Full Tilt, and I became the face of the company’s management in the poker community. Many of our players played on the site because they trusted me. "Even though I was no longer overseeing day to day operations, my inattention in the two years leading up to Black Friday imperiled players’ deposits. My involvement in Full Tilt from 2003-2008 put me in a unique position of trust—a trust that I disappointed by failing to ensure that Full Tilt was properly governed when I stepped away in 2008. My failure to make sure proper oversight was in place when I left resulted in the situation that began to unfold on Black Friday. Players were not able to get their money back for a minimum of a year and a half, and, for many, it has been much longer. I’ve been a poker player my entire adult life. I know the importance of having access to one’s bankroll. The lost opportunity, frustration, and anxiety many of FTP’s customers experienced in the intervening years is unacceptable. I cannot be sorry enough for what happened. "During Full Tilt’s rise, I received a lot of praise. I couldn’t see it at the time, but I let the headlines change me. In the first couple of years after Black Friday I made lots of excuses, to my friends, my family and myself, for why I wasn’t the bad guy or big-headed or wrong. In the months immediately following the crisis, I focused a lot of energy on trying to refute allegations that were factually untrue. I convinced myself that I was a victim of circumstance and that criticism was being unfairly directed toward me instead of others. I was missing the bigger picture. "At a wedding in the fall of 2014, I was sitting with a friend, talking about Full Tilt. I was grumbling about how unfair my lot in life had become. My friend didn’t let me off the hook. I’m paraphrasing here, but he said, “Howard, it doesn’t matter whether you knew about the shortfall or what you did to help players get paid. These players feel like you lied to them. You were the face of the company in the poker community. Thousands of players played on the site because they trusted you. Many pros represented the site because they thought you were in control. And you happily accepted the accolades while falling short of their trust.” "At the time, my friend’s response felt like a slap in the face, but it is clear to me now that it was fair. An apology is not enough, but it is what I am able to offer to the poker community in the wake of a travesty that I should not have allowed to happen. I am sorry." Following posting the letter, Negreanu provided some commentary of his own, first suggesting that "I think this is the kind of apology people would have liked to read five years ago." Negreanu later reiterates that he wishes Lederer's comments in this capacity came sooner than five years down the road and understands that accepting what Lederer has to say will be a matter of personal choice. Negreanu also said, "For what its worth, I personally believe the apology to be genuine." The letter is also timely in that it came the same week the Full Tilt client was fully rolled into the PokerStars platform, marking the end of an era as Negreanu put it. As for what the future holds, the letter could be seen as Lederer's plea to the poker community that he wants to play poker again, and that it's better to try and right the wrongs of the past, no matter how late, in order to help do so. Even Negreanu says this could be the case. "My guess is that he just wants to be able to play poker again without the vitriol sent in his direction," Negreanu wrote. "Will this apology accomplish that? I don't know. I can only say that for me, I'm not bothered by him being at the poker table anymore. The players have been paid and he seems to be finally acknowledging and owning that he really screwed up. I have no interest in continuing to hold my grudge against him. I don't expect us to ever be 'pals,' as we never really were even before, but the venom I once held inside for him has subsided and I'd also like to close that chapter of my own life."

Hi During the past months I have won about 10000 euros, but now they are all gone. I never use money I don't have, but I often end up gambling away all my winnings because of my carelessness. Does anybody have any advice for not gambling away all your winnings? Trying to restrain myself has not worked yet Thanks in advance

Hey everyone Thought I'd start up a topic that's close to me. The criticism one gets from being addicted to playing casino games. For me it's the slot machines. If I could I would own several and have them in my lounge lol now that's a dream what really disturbs me though is the judgemental comments others feel necessary to throw at you. For example family members, they all think they have this righteous power to berate me about my addiction. I'm not a fool. I know I have an addiction. I'm in control of it. ***** if I wasn't then we'd be living on the street. Those who berate, verbally abuse and point fingers need to look at themselves, everyone has a vice that they are addicted to, it could be food, shopping, smoking, drugs, drinking, playing on line games etc so why knock out our addictions and make us feel so bad. It has got to the point where I have to hide where I'm going when I go to the casino and that's messed up. I should be allowed especially at my age to do as I want when I want. But life is not like that, it's not simple cut, it's cruel and humans are the meanest of the bunch. Friends - do you know how hard it is to really find a like minded friend who's as interested in gambling as you yourself are? It is far harder than looking for that needle in a hay stack (TRUE) Any ways do you all get criticised, persecuted, and hung by the population jury? if you do how do you handle it? What do you say to those who are raining on your parade? God I love this site, finally I get to be who I really am without being judged I love to gamble - end of story Hugs Peggy

Mega Symbols Level-based Play Shifting Reels Every Symbol is Reel Reels Hold Nudge Feature Cascading Symbols Stacked Symbols Respins Way Wins Please explain me what do these features on slot machines mean. I cant to figure it out THanks

The founder of the highly profitable online bookmaking empire is arguably Britain's most successful self-made businesswoman The most visible face of online bookmaker Bet365, at least to Premiership football fans, is the actor Ray Winstone, who appears on half-time adverts during televised matches with updates on up-to-the-second odds - for example on whether Wayne Rooney will be the next goal scorer. But behind this most male of messengers is a passionate businesswoman, one of Britain's most talented entrepreneurs of her generation.T There is every chance you will never have heard of Denise Coates but with more than £12bn of bets a year staked with her highly profitable Bet365 online bookmaking empire, she is arguably the country's most successful self-made businesswoman. "I really don't enjoy the attention. The public side does not come naturally to me," she explains, giving her first newspaper interview only after much persuasion. "I'm not saying I'm a shrinking violet. I'm not. I've been bossy all my life. It's just I very much enjoy actually running the business." Coates can pass unrecognised through the streets of Stoke-on-Trent, where Bet365's success has made it the city's largest private sector employer, its unassuming offices a hi-tech hive of activity on the margins of an industrial landscape dominated by derelict pottery factories. A gleaming Aston Martin, with personalised number plates bearing her initials in the small car park is the only overt sign of the fortune she has amassed. Certainly, Coates in person is striking in her lack of airs and graces. In 12 years she has built Bet365 into a business with a revenue of £647m, only about a quarter of which comes from punters in the UK. Top-line operating profits of £147m are far greater than equivalent earnings from the online operations of either Ladbrokes or William Hill. And there is a clue to Coates's success in the company name. "You start a 24/7 business and you work 24/7," she explains. "When you're not here [in the office], you take calls in the middle of the night, regularly – that's how the early days were. I've worked harder than you can possibly imagine. In the last couple of years, life has normalised … The impact on my life now is very different." The latest filed accounts show Coates and her family have started to enjoy the fruits of their labour, sharing almost £75m in dividends over three years. Half of this has gone to Bet365's indefatigable founder, by dint of her 50.2% stake, making Coates a very rich woman indeed. Profits too have been used to subsidise Stoke City football club, which is majority owned by Bet365. The Sunday Times' rich list published in April mentioned Coates almost as an adjunct to her father Peter Coates, the chairman of the football club, putting their combined wealth at £800m. In truth, however, while her popular and affable father has a small stake in Bet365, the business is controlled and run by his daughter. "I'm not a social animal … I think there have been false assumptions made about my role," she says without a trace of irritation. "There was a misunderstanding that as dad was the chairman of Stoke, he ran Bet365 – something dad was always clear that he didn't do. However, the media decides, for whatever reasons, that maybe it makes a better story if they say he does." She is similarly unperturbed about what it means to be a woman at the top of the bookmaking industry. "I never gave it a second thought. It didn't cross my mind. I probably had a few [meetings] at first where I had to put somebody right – but I knew my business, so it wasn't a problem … I just wanted to get on with making my business successful. I've never dwelled on the fact, or thought about the fact, that I was a woman." Coates's start in the bookmaking industry was unremarkable. She began as a cashier, marking up results in a small number of betting shops owned by her father, and operated for him as a sideline to his main business which was football stadium catering. Outside the confines of the cashier's booth the bookmaking industry might have seemed to many a very male preserve, but Coates was blind to that and the trade appealed to her mathematical mind. "I really enjoyed it … by the time I left university [where she achieved a first in econometrics] I could run a betting shop." Unclear what to do next, she went on to train as an accountant within the family firm – a useful move, she reflects, though the work was "dry" and she hated it. Given the opportunity by her father to take over what Coates remembers as "a small chain of pretty rubbish betting shops", she jumped at the challenge. Very soon the shops' fortunes had begun to turn around and, with the help of a huge loan from Barclays, Coates acquired a neighbouring chain, doubling the size of the business at a stroke. But turning round the fortunes of the shops – long since sold on to Coral – was not enough. Working from an office above one of her father's bookies, Coates starting to notice the emerging popularity of gambling websites. Quickly, she was convinced this was where the future lay. "She just kept saying: 'This is what we're going to do, this is what we're going to do,'" recalls her brother John Coates, who helps run the business and is her closest adviser. "The internet was there and she just felt sports betting was the thing." Others too, such as Coral and William Hill, were tentatively exploring what the internet had to offer, but none leapt into these uncharted waters with quite the conviction of Coates. Having failed to raise a penny from venture capitalists in London, she turned instead to her father, other family members and Royal Bank of Scotland for the backing she needed. "We mortgaged the betting shops and put it all into online. We knew the industry required big startup costs but … we gambled everything on it. We were the ultimate gamblers if you like." It was a bet that has paid off spectacularly, producing a hi-tech business that employs 1,900 staff in Stoke and spends £60m a year on IT. "Why Stoke? It's a simple answer: it's where I'm from," says Coates. "We began in a Portakabin on a car park near one of the betting shops. It's to a large extent down to an accident of birth … As to why we have stayed here when every other major competitor is based in a lower tax jurisdiction, that's a more difficult question to answer logically." In his March budget, the chancellor confirmed he wanted to remove this uneven tax regime, proposing the introduction of a tax based on the punter's jurisdiction rather than that of the online bookmaker. Bet365 has long pressed for such a move, claiming that about half of the £130m in taxes the group pays to the UK exchequer is made up of duty they might otherwise largely avoid if they relocated offshore. "The area means a lot to us," insists Coates. "We've always worked in Stoke, we've always had businesses in Stoke. I would never what to spend large parts of my time abroad if I can avoid it." While Coates displays a loyalty to her hometown, she is markedly less sentimental when it comes to sport. Unlike many of her bookmaking counterparts, she is rarely to be found at big sporting events holding forth on her opinion of the likely outcome. She retains a resolutely commercial focus. "I'm not a regular at the races. I'm a regular in the workplace." The group's ownership of Stoke City is a project she has almost nothing to do with, leaving it to her father and brother, for whom it is a great passion. Her husband also works at the club, which has received about £60m in Bet365 funds since it was taken over in 2006. While some of her family relish the high-profile challenge of owning a Premiership club, Coates herself is happy to remain almost invisible, left to get on with her job. So protective of her privacy is she that she declines to discuss her interests beyond work. "My family is what's important to me," is the nearest she comes, though she won't say whether she has children. Although she has not won the Veuve Clicquot businesswoman of the year award or enjoyed the celebrity of internet entrepreneur peers such as Martha Lane Fox, Coates's success was finally recognised outside the betting industry last year when she was awarded a CBE. Should Bet365 continue to flourish, it is hard to imagine her remaining below the radar much longer.

Unibet has appointed London marketing agency K a r m a r a m a as its new European creative lead. The gaming operator has been searching for a new partner since it announced that it would be renewing its contract with Albion in December 2015. Karmarama will be tasked with launching Unibet’s ‘online series’, which will be shot across multiple markets and feature international sports personalities, next month. The series will be produced by content production specialists Kream. Alison Sams, head of brand at Unibet said: “Karmarama impressed us with their non-traditional approach and their pitch that really spoke to our ‘By players, for players’ ethos. They are a great team with a great attitude and we’re looking forward to working with them across our business.” Jon Wilkins, executive chairman of Karmarama, added: “Unibet focus on delivering amazing experiences for their customers and we’re thrilled to be working with them internationally.” “Unibet has taken its time in making this appointment, and will hope for positive results during a big summer of sport.” ‘ ... Karmarama the home of good works. We are an independent marketing communications group dedicated to delivering one thing really well: doing what's right to help our clients win. ' Unibet Casino # checkoutunibetcasino or sign up here http://www.askgamblers.com/casino/unibet-casino-review-r2362

Malaysian authorities blocked approximately 12,000 phone lines and investigated more than 400 public complaints over gambling advertising during the first four months of 2016. Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak said action was taken over concerns at the growth of marketing activities through SMS and social media platforms such as WhatsApp. Salleh said the Communications and Multimedia Commis­sion (MCMC) would carry out a digital forensic investigation to monitor and identify websites and phone lines that offer gambling services. Last August, the MCMC claimed the rise of SMS gambling promotions was an indication of the success the government was having in stamping out illegal gambling websites, 2,200 of which were closed in 2015. "Since 2012 and April this year, MCMC had blocked access to 664 gambling websites following written request from the police," Salleh said. Last month, Malaysia’s deputy prime minister announced that the government would rewrite the nation's gambling laws to allow for harsher penalties for illegal gambling operators, with a particular eye toward online operators. The head of Malaysia’s anti-vice, gambling and secret society unit SAC Datuk Roslee Chik said in 2015 that his department was having talks with the Attorney General about toughening the Common Gaming House Act, Lottery and Pool Betting Act 1967 to give authorities “a fighting chance” against online gambling syndicates. “The Malaysian authorities are taking an increasingly tough line against illegal gambling operators, however the numbers suggest their clampdown is not proving an effective deterrent.”

It's Friday the 13th! This date has been associated with bad luck for centuries. Many people believe that this day is cursed and in an almost Halloween-like atmosphere, tell spooky tales about misfortunes that have taken place on this day. The fear of Friday the 13th has been called friggatriskaidekaphobia, and while it may seem like an outdated concept to fear the day, the superstition still lives. According to some estimations, the world loses $700 to $800 million in revenue on Friday the 13th because people do not want to conduct business. And it's not just that, 80 percent of the high rise buildings reportedly skip the 13th floor and many airports and hospitals skip gate 13 and room 13, respectively. Several theories have been proposed about the origin of the Friday the 13th superstition . But the one that we like the most is that in numerology the number twelve is considered the number of divine organizational arrangement or chronological completeness, as reflected in the twelve months of the year, twelve hours of the clock day, twelve gods of Olympus, twelve tribes of Israel, twelve Apostles of Jesus, the twelve successors of Muhammad in Shia Islam, twelve signs of the Zodiac, the 12 years of the Buddhist cycle, etc., whereas the number thirteen was considered irregular, transgressing this completeness. Nevertheless, today we feel like it could be a funny day if you forget about the bad things and superstitions and indulge in some funny phrases that we've gathered up for you regarding the date. - "If you stand in front of a mirror and say One Direction 5 times, they come out and haunt you." - "On Friday the 13th weird things are supposed to happen ... Maybe I'll get in to a relationship." - "It's Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday,' said Jason Voorhees." - "Friday the 13th. Where are you Rebecca Black?" - "Friday the 13th would be a lot more frightening if Jason chased you down in a big SUV and made you pay to fill it up with gas." - "It's Friday the 13th. This simply means that most of my children will blame witchcraft for their regular stupidity."

Top 5 Craziest Gambling losses We've all lost money in a casino right? Some of us more than others but our latest blog entry shows the top 5 craziest gambling losses! The last guy gambled away $127 million in one year! I mean really - how rich can some people be! Surely when you got that much money it just doesn't mean anything to you. I know the value of money I guess when your stinking rich those values go out the window! Have a read guys it's interesting to say the least!

Hello, everyone! A couple of weeks ago I've asked myself, what do I actually know about game developers? So we've started researching and crafted following infographic. Hope, you'll find it interesting!