Category: My Blog

Everybody dreams of a fun vacation on an island resort. Now players can live that dream through Party Island, a news release from industry-leading online gaming developer Microgaming. Players will be able to party all night with symbols like dance and a record. The sunrise icon provides beautiful animations. Daytime activities on Party Island include relaxing on the beach like the bikini girl icon and drinking cocktails.

Important Symbols

Also, there are high-value symbols from Ace to Nine which is colorful and crafted in a royal style. Furthermore, the Party Island logo is representative of the wild symbol with the glitter ball acting as the scatter icon.
Typically the wild and scatter symbols provide the best animations when appearing in a winning combination. However, in Party Island, additional symbols offer attractive animations. For instance, the dance character conjures lights with dancers gyrating to party music. The record symbol activates a record that spins on the turntable with the DJ adjusting the music. Finally, the sunrise icon prompts the ocean to crash waves against the shore.

Benefits Of Party Island

There are several pros associated with Party Island. First, the party theme creates a fun and upbeat atmosphere that most players enjoy. Second, the scatter payouts associated with the glitter ball character are extremely attractive. If five scatter symbols appear anywhere on the reels, the player will receive 750 coins multiplied by the total bet. Three or more symbols equates to the free spins bonus round.

The third advantage of the game is the Microgaming-standard Gamble Game which gives players the option to double the payout by guessing the color of the next card. The final benefit is two of certain symbols combined result in a payout. This allows for more chances to win.

Limitations Of Party Island

There are several limitations to the game. The first is a lack of progressive jackpot. Most online slot games feature some type of progressive jackpot that is connected to a network or is specific to that game. The second disadvantage is there are only nine pay lines. Other slot games average between 20 and 25 pay lines. Finally, the game only accepts a maximum of five coins per pay line.

Overall Party Island is a fun game to play as it sweeps you away from daily life and places you on a party island. Although not one of Microgaming’s best online slot games, the game is still enticing and interesting.

History is repeating itself in the United States legislature from Congressmen John Campbell and Barney Frank’s introduction of the online gambling regulation bill in March 2011. Congressman Jim McDermott recently introduced HR 2230, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act to the House Financial Services Committee.

The First Bill

The process is the same as the first bill, however, at that time, the Internet gambling regulation moved quickly through the legislature due to other more important economic matters. Campbell and Frank are in support of the new bill as expected.

Companion Bill

The goal of HR 2230 is the same as the previous bill. However, the new bill does not seek to legalize and regulate online gambling. Instead, it is a supporting tax bill that will assist Campbell and Frank’s original legislation. Known as a companion bill, it will require online gambling operators to withhold a specific amount of taxes from the winnings of players.

Withholding Tax On Players

The proposed withholding tax is 28 percent which is consistent with current withholding taxes from land-based gambling winnings. Therefore, operators will be required to declare the amount of tax withheld and the exact amount that has been deposited and withdrawn for each player across an entire calendar year.

Information Collected By The Government

HR 2230 is requesting that online gambling operators provide detailed information about their players to the government to confirm the collection of associated taxes. This data includes names, tax identification numbers, and addresses. Further information on gross wagers, losses, and winnings would also be required every calendar year.

Individual And Operator Taxation

Furthermore, the bill is seeking a 2 percent federal tax of operators. Also, individual states would have the option of taxing online gambling providers at a rate of 6 percent. Additionally, operators would be required to pay a tax equal to 2 percent of deposits received each month. The bill further clarifies that this amount must be paid by the operator and cannot be taken from the amounts players deposit into their accounts.

Acquisition Of A License

The bill also requires online operators to acquire a license. Within the tax proposals, McDermott specifies exactly how the federal taxes are to be collected and gaming deployed. 25 percent of all taxes collected will be utilized to fund programs for foster and disadvantaged children. The remaining taxes will be sent to the general treasury.
The passage of this bill could be the first step toward the development of a legalized, regulated online gambling system in the United States. Many support groups have their fingers crossed that this bill will become a law.

Leading software developer for mobile gaming, Spin3, recently launched Mega Moolah for Android in conjunction with Microgaming. In February 2011 the company released the Tomb Raider slot game, also for Android. At that time, the CEO of the company announced that in 2011, Android will dominate the mobile marketplace.

He also divulged that Mega Moolah and Mermaids Millions will be the next Microgaming slot games to be converted to the Android platform. Mega Moolah is currently the world’s largest progressive slots game. The new Android version presents fun gaming with rich graphics, detailed animations, and vivid sound effects. The game features a variety of bonus games such as the Free Spins bonus game which triples all payouts.

The most important game is the Jackpot Bonus game which gives players access to one of four different progressive jackpots available through the Android market. Spin3 has optimized the mobile version of the game to run on all Android devices including smartphones and tablets. Furthermore, the mobile software is optimized for the following screen resolutions:

• Low resolution – 240 x 3220
• Normal resolution – 320 x 480
• Medium resolution – 480 x 800
• High resolution – 600 x 1024

Mobile devices and tablets are currently the fastest growing technologies. As a result, Spin3 considers high-quality Android hardware and software to be critical to the success of its mobile gaming business strategy. Additionally, with so many Android users, the market can easily support itself and allow mobile gaming technology to rapidly grow.

Mega Moolah will give Android users a chance to compete for one of the biggest jackpots in the industry – 2.3 million credits and growing. Over the past several years Mega Moolah progressive jackpot has turned eight players into millionaires with the largest winning 6.37 million Euros.

A division of Spiral Solutions, LTD, Spin3 has teamed up with Microgaming to offer players mobile gaming solutions. This includes real money and fun casino systems, sports betting mobile apps, lottery products, marketing services, and many other innovative marketing technologies at the forefront of mobile gaming.

As handheld devices become more powerful and telecommunications networks improve performance and capacity, more activities will be conducted. Mobile gaming is on the cusp of experiencing a huge explosion of growth in the coming years. Spin3 is already on the ground level preparing for that growth. In the future, the mobile gambling industry will be one of the largest money-makers in the world.