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Mega Moolah’s 70th Millionaire claims €7 million prize

February 25, 2022 by Admin

Microgaming’s legendary Mega Moolah progressive jackpot has an impressive history of churning out multi-million winners. Now, the first big winner of 2022 has emerged with a huge €7,296,286.88 jackpot.

The impressive prize was won on the classic Mega Moolah slot on 6 February, making this the 70th instant millionaire in the game’s history.

Rich History

The original African-themed Mega Moolah made its first appearance in November 2006 and revolutionised the industry with its four-tiered progressive jackpot that has a maximum starting pool of €1,000,000.

Hordes of players have flocked to try their luck with this title and have their chance at a potentially life-changing win. Many have felt the generous touch of the network with over 18.4 million jackpots across all tiers being paid out since its inception. This represents an amount of close to €919 million.

Record-Breaking

In September 2018, Mega Moolah made a massive global impact when it paid out an astonishing €18.9 million. This record was soon surpassed in April 2021 with an even more momentous payout of €19.4 million on Absolootly Mad: Mega Moolah.

There are now seven titles in Microgaming’s Mega Moolah series with more additions planned for the future.

Andrew Clucas, the CEO at Microgaming commented on the win, saying,

“Fantastic to see the first Mega Moolah win of the year, particularly as it’s another sizeable seven-figure sum – huge congratulations to the winner! An amazing 15 years after taking its first bet, the mighty Mega Moolah slot continues to be extremely popular and payout massive wins such as this Mega €7.3 million* reward. Long may that continue.”

Upcoming Thrills

Microgaming’s upcoming content release schedule for March 2022 will be available soon and includes fresh content from the provider’s stable of exclusive studios and partner content providers. Players can expect titles like 15 Tridents, Cash ‘N Riches Megaways, Lucky Leprechaun Clusters, Kings of Crystals and Masters of Valhalla.

Pragmatic Play reimagines Ancient Egypt in new Might of Ra online slot

February 23, 2022 by Admin

Pragmatic Play returns to the mystical land of the pyramids with its new iGaming release, Might of Ra, a title with an arresting, dark theme that revolves around Egyptian mysticism. Ra lives up to his title of king of the gods, providing untold riches to intrepid players willing to brave the high volatility gameplay.

This 6×4 reel title boasts an above-average RTP of 96.49% with 50 fixed paylines, and a maximum possible win of 22 500x your bet.

Pharaoh-tastic Features

If you glance at the paytable you will observe 10 to A card icons, adorned with dangerous-looking weapons, alongside the higher value scorpions, phoenixes, hellish horses and monstrous serpents. A very human-looking Ra steps in as the wild symbol that appears on all reels and stands in for all the symbols besides the golden scarab scatter that only appears on reels 2-5.

Wild symbols can also randomly expand into a full-reel wild, with an attached 3x multiplier that applies to any winning combos that it forms part of. Landing at least three bonus symbols on the last 4 reels will award you with 15 free spins where a new Ankh symbol makes a special appearance for the duration of the feature.

As the Ankhs appear, they are collected in a meter to the left of the reels, and as you collect the symbols in increments of 5, you will receive additional wild symbols to enhance your winning opportunities and potential.

You can also retrigger the feature by landing 2, 3, or 4 scatters which will reward you with an extra 3, 6, or 9 extra spins, respectively.

Player-Preferred

Yossi Barzely, the Chief Business Development Officer at Pragmatic Play commented in a press release, saying,

“Filled to the brim with extensive bonus features and modifiers, Might of Ra provides players with free spins and the opportunity to trigger big wins. Ancient Egypt remains a very popular theme with players, and we wanted to bring something exciting and new to operators and fans alike.”

The introduction of Might of Ra follows Pragmatic’s recent releases such as Elemental Gems Megaways, The Ultimate 5, and Colossal Cash Zone and forms part of the developer’s portfolio of over 200 HTML5 titles.

Ministry of Health vetoes pokie facial recognition tech funding

February 18, 2022 by Admin

The Gaming Machine Association of New Zealand (GMANZ) has appealed to the government to contribute to funding for facial recognition software in gambling venues to prevent gambling addicts from playing.

Preventative Members

The association has explained that this technology is designed to aid self-identified gambling addicts in their recovery, by barring them from using the machines as the facial recognition cameras would alert the owner of the venue to their presence.

Peter Dengate Thrush, the chairman of GMANZ shared that the cameras were “mostly funded” and already installed in many establishments.

Thrush urged the Ministry of Health to assist operators in paying for the software licensing with some of the funds it collects from the problem gambling levy on pokies. He added that the Ministry of Health’s unwillingness to make this contribution is “disrupting the self-determination efforts of problem gamblers”.

“There are 148 facial recognition systems already installed in venues across New Zealand. The class 4 industry – the societies – spent $3.5m themselves because they don’t want problem gamblers in their venues. What they’re looking for is for the Ministry of Health to use their unspent $1.5m technology fund for software licensing, which should be bought for the whole country at once so that every region gets a fair deal,” he added.

Government Response

A Ministry spokesperson advised that it has worked alongside the association on facial recognition software.

“As part of this service we fund a database that has the capability to securely store photos to support facial recognition systems, making it easier for venues to incorporate these into their systems,” they said.

The spokesperson also advised that the Ministry and the Department of Internal Affairs believed that it “would not be appropriate for the Ministry of Health to fund software licenses for gambling venues”.

“Venues receive a commission payment of up to 16 per cent of gaming machine profits to meet the operational costs of hosting gambling. This includes the costs associated with meeting harm minimisation requirements,” the spokesperson continued.

The Problem Gambling Foundation supported the Ministry’s position that pokie operators should cover the cost of licencing the software.

The foundation’s communications director, Andree Froude, characterised the current exclusion system as “cumbersome”.

“The system at the moment often involves the person who is gambling providing a photo and then the venue making sure they are not entering the venue, so it is quite cumbersome,” she said, before warning that the technology was being framed as a “magic bullet for preventing gambling harm”.

Froude explained those venues and the trusts that own the machines bear a “host responsibility” to players and that the cost of licensing the machines is their responsibility.

Sinking lid pokie rule enters consultation stage

February 15, 2022 by Admin

Waitaki’s District Council is currently in the process of formulating a sinking lid policy on gaming machines in the area, an initiative that seeks to mitigate gambling addiction and harm.

The council’s Class Four Gaming Venue and TAB Venue Policy will be put out for consultation in the near future, with five options to be presented to the community for their feedback.

Pokies in pubs and clubs fall under the definition of “class four” gambling, making them a target of the proposed sinking lid policy that states that when a class 4 gambling venue closes, the council will not issue a licence to another operator to replace that venue.

Existing licences may also not be transferred to other locations in the event of a venue’s closing. This would ultimately prevent the introduction of new gaming machine venues from opening, and gradually decrease the number of gaming venues and machines in the district.

Waitaki’s Mayor, Gary Kircher, stated emphatically that there was “no doubt” that numerous groups and organisations draw benefit from the existence of the machines in question, but that the social cost of addiction to gambling on these devices is unacceptable.

“Many people get to enjoy them as entertainment but, sadly, too many people are addicted as well,” he said.

The council will also present the option of maintaining the status quo, meaning that the current limit of 140 gaming machines and 22 venues, along with other restrictions would be kept in place.

There have been no proposed changes to the council’s TAB venue policy, however, two options will be offered as part of the consultation, which ends on March 1, 2022.

“We welcome the opportunity to get public feedback on gaming machines, as an important part of the review on Waitaki’s bylaw. Please take the time to have your say, good or bad, so we can make the best decision for our community,” Kircher added.

The council is only obliged to review its gambling policy every three years. This is, however, only a component of its duties, as demonstrated in 2021 when it embarked on an initiative to identify significant national areas with “outstanding and significant natural features” that would receive increased protection.

Explore new realms with Microgaming’s February releases

February 11, 2022 by Admin

Jump into unique and enthralling iGaming experiences this February as Microgaming, its content providers, and exclusive studios offer up another enticing selection of pokie releases that transport you across space and time.

Take to the seas with the Dashing Captain Blackjack in an action-packed treasure hunt. Adventures of Captain Blackjack by Just For The Win sets sail on 15 February and features stacked wilds, cash prizes, and free spins. Claim the top treasure of 5000x your stake with the Kraken Wheel bonus feature that you activate by collecting randomly-generated Kraken Coins. The Skull Cave free spins feature thrills with extra spins, multipliers up to 3x, and upgraded symbols.

Experience the iconic cinematic glory of the newest title in the Jurassic Park pokie series by Stormcraft Studios. Venture amongst scaly beasts from a bygone era in Jurassic Park: Gold on 22 February. Collect tokens to trigger bonus features that include free spins and the dynamic Link&Win mechanic. Collecting is the name of the game in this 40 payline pokie is where feature chases, multipliers and jackpot prizes offer you amazing winning chances. Trigger a feature selection mode with four free spins options and the game-changing WildStorm transforms up to five reels wild on a single spin.

SpinPlay Games invites you to go wild on 8 February in Wolf Call with 1024 ways to win and the Power Range innovation that generates 2x wild multipliers on the three middle reels during the base game. Collecting wild symbols fills the Diamond Meter, which eventually activates the Diamond Jackpot feature where you match icons to claim corresponding prizes.

Do it your own way with Gameburger Studios and its new release, Hyper Strike HyperSpins on 9 February. This title offers a mechanics mash-up that generates an engrossing gameplay experience. This upgraded pokie title is enhanced with a fast-paced free spins round and multipliers, not to mention the iconic HyperSpins feature that allows you to respin individual reels to land nine Hyper Strike scatters and take home the big prize worth 2,000x your bet, or activate up to 30 free spins with a 3x multiplier.

Northern Lights Gaming’s Aztec Falls launches on 24 February, promising you a mystic journey with the Cash Fall feature and free spins enhanced with sticky wilds. The random Coin Drop bonus opens up a selection of features in the base game, including the Jackpot bonus and win multipliers.

Get your head on the game on 21 February with Perfect Strategy Blackjack by Switch Studios. This player-centric blackjack innovation includes real-time guidance on how best to plot your blackjack strategy with a slick and modern theme.

Viking Queen by GONG Gaming Technologies has a 7 February release date and girls you into a Nordic adventure with free spins, multipliers on a 25 payline, 5×3 reel layout. Land the required free spins symbols, represented by warrior shield, to move up the multiplier map for multipliers worth up to 10x.

Switch Studios is doubly dedicated to February with two releases. French Roulette launches on 7 February and is the most recent of the studio’s roulette titles, featuring a brand-new game engine, 28 February will see the release of Wheel of Winners, a classic TV gameshow-themed experience where you spin money wheels to claim spectacular prizes.

Pulse8 Studios has got money on its mind on 17 February in Bust the Mansion, a cinematically-styled pokie experience with the Link&Win mechanic and free spins where Wild Money Vault symbols appear on the third reel.

Microgaming’s content partners are also eager to make your month a thrilling one. Hacksaw Gaming’s The Bowery Boys launches on 23 February and Booming Games turns the heat up on 10 February with Flaming Chillies.

Yggdrasil and G.Games launch an adventure on the waves in Dead Man’s Fingers

February 8, 2022 by Admin

Global iGaming leader Yggdrasil and YG Masters member G.Games invite you to pull on your pirate boots for an adventure on the high seas in Dead Man’s Fingers.

This 4×5, 25 payline pokie sets you on a swashbuckling quest for buried treasure, with free spins and a money collect feature to help you on your way.

The cash collect feature runs during the base game, generating treasure chests that hold random cash values or display the mini, minor, major and grand jackpots. With the appearance of a collect symbol on the fifth reel, all the treasure chest values will be added up and a handsome booty will be deposited into your bankroll.

The wild symbol is a wriggly octopus while a compass on a string acts as the scatter that awards you with 10 free spins when you land 3 on a single spin. While the bonus round is active cash symbols appear more frequently and you can retrigger the feature infinitely.

Dead Man’s Fingers is G.Games’ fourth title to emerge from the YG Masters program, following the successful releases of Cthulhu, Tiger Tiger and Serendipity.

Yggdrasil’s state-of-the-art GAT technology was employed in the creation of the new title. This innovation empowers partners with a preconfigured, regulation-ready, standardised development toolkit that helps them produce premium content and distribute it rapidly.

Stuart McCarthy, the Head of Product and Programs at Yggdrasil said,

“The fourth creation by G.Games as part of the YG Masters initiative sees players take to the seas in search of big wins. Combining a fun theme and lucrative money collect feature in both base play and free spins, it offers a new dynamic to the existing G.Games portfolio.”

Helen Walton, the CCO at G.Games added,

“Dead Man’s Fingers is an exciting new addition to our offering and we’re eager to see how fans react across Yggdrasil’s operator network. With big wins available on every spin through the money collect feature, as well as re-triggerable free spins, treasure can’t be far away for our fearsome pirates!”

Stakelogic and Jelly invoke the might of the gods in Might of Zeus

February 4, 2022 by Admin

Stakelogic’s new action-packed title is a stylish Greek Odyssey that features free spins, sticky wilds, monumental multipliers, and prizes worth up to 7163x your stake.

Might of Zeus is a product of the Greenlogic initiative, a partnership program by Stakelogic that empowers fledgling studios to develop game concepts with the assistance of state-of-the-art logic and back-office integration.

Epic Tale

The pokie’s theme draws from Greek mythology and is integrated into the five-reel, 1,024 ways to win format. The rich visuals feature striking stone pillars and a storm brewing above Mount Olympus. The Greek gods Zeus, Hera and Poseidon appear as symbols alongside playing card royals, rendered in elaborate cursive.

The aptly named Gift of Zeus is a feature that can randomly activate on any spin. You are transported to a cut-scene where the leader of the gods transforms a high-value symbol into a wild for the duration of a respin. If any instances of the chosen symbol land on the reels, they will become sticky and another re-spin will be triggered. This process repeats as wilds keep appearing.

You can also take advantage of the Boon of Hera Free Spins. You activate this feature with 3 lightning bolt scatters that reward you with 10 free spins where golden Hera symbols accumulate in a collection meter and award you extra free spins and 3x multipliers.

The feature also includes 2x multiplier wilds that appear when the Gift of Zeus is triggered. If you’ve only landed 2 scatters on the reels, you might still have a chance as the random Bolt of Zeus feature can add the third scatter that you need to reap godly wins.

If you’re into games of chance, this pokie has one more surprise up its divine sleeve with the Herculean gamble mode where you can increase the value of your base game wins by guessing the colour or suit of a concealed playing card.

A Worthy Contender

Salvatore Campione, the head of Greenlogic commented on the new release, saying,

“Having already worked with Jelly on the hugely successful Jade of the Jungle, we’re delighted to be teaming up with the talented studio once again to bring players another electrifying release in Might of Zeus.”

GMANZ backs New Zealand’s push for reduced problem gambling

February 1, 2022 by Admin

New Zealand’s problem gambling levy budget looks set to receive a 26% increase ($16 million) over the next three years if a proposal by the country’s Ministry of Health is successful.

Once approved, the revised budget proposed by the Ministry would provide $76.12 million to the levy, an increase from the $60.24 million budget for 2019-2022. The budget increase would allow for the implementation of a de-stigmatization strategy alongside culture-specific programs for Asian, Pasifika, and Māori communities.

Half of this increase would be provided by the Gaming Machine Association of New Zealand’s (GMANZ) collected profits. While GMANZ is one of four contributors to the levy and fully supports any necessary increases, the association has recently questioned the effectiveness of the levy, with new statistics indicating that more needs to be done.

GMANZ’s director, Peter Thrush argued that the percentage of problem gamblers in the country has remained steady at 0.2% for the past 25 years, suggesting that the levy itself is not producing the results that it is supposed to.

Problematic Trends

While the latter part of 2020 saw an uptick in gambling spending, fewer than 65 000 people sought out problem gambling treatment provided by ministry-funded services over 2020-2021. Considering that as many as 92 000 people were estimated to be suffering from mild to severe forms of gambling harm, this number falls far below ideal levels.

Reports indicate that as many as 230 000 adults in New Zealand have experienced at least one form of gambling harm within their household over the past year. Over 4,300 families have been recorded as receiving treatment for problems linked to an individual’s gambling.

Andree Froude, speaking on behalf of the Problem Gambling Foundation, offered an alternative perspective, stating that the 0.2% figure is only representative of the most severely addicted gamblers in the country, while the actual number of adults dealing with problem gambling at any level is much higher and harder to quantify.

Thrush stated that the association is more than willing to no increase its contribution by $8 million and agrees that pokies should fund the levy more than lotteries, casinos, and other forms of gambling. He did add that the contribution increase would have to produce better results as GMANZ is of the current opinion that the money is “disappearing”.

Pokies currently share 1.3% of their profits towards the levy’s budget, while Lotteries, widely accepted as the most benign form of gambling, are only contributing 0.4%.

The walls have eyes

Thrush went on to state that the ministry should dedicate a portion of the levy’s funds to the installation of facial recognition systems in bars and other gaming machine venues. This $6 million investment would allow for the tracking of problem gamblers and self-excluded players, and the prevention of further harm.

He added that some marketing campaigns created by recipients of the levy have drawn criticism for their stigmatization player and that while the ministry does have a new proposal on the table, in his opinion, it would be “more of the same”.

John Hunter leaps back into action in Pragmatic Play’s new Book of Fallen pokie

January 28, 2022 by Admin

Pragmatic Play has added to its impressive iGaming portfolio with a fresh instalment in the John Hunter pokies series. The intrepid adventurer returns in Book of Fallen and he is back on the trail of spectacular treasures.

The new title is the seventh chapter in the long-running series and integrates thrilling features that deliver pulse-racing winning opportunities.

Pragmatic Play’s CEO, Julian Jarvis, spoke about the new release saying the timing could not have been better to launch Book of Fallen. He stated that that series is packed with excitement and great gameplay that has gained the unwavering support of players across the globe. He also attributed the success of the games to the compelling storytelling and inventive mechanics included in every title.

Features Aplenty

This chapter in John Hunter’s adventures transports you through Ancient Egypt, exploring tombs long lost to time. Precious artefacts, fearsome gods and John Hunter appear as the game’s symbols, alongside the iconic Book symbol which does double duty as both a wild and a scatter.

The golden 5×3 reel, 10 payline reel set is set against the background of a well-lit tomb, crafted with stunning Egyptian architecture. The action heats up when you activate the Super Spin Ante Be feature, which lets you instantly increase your bet by 10x, resulting in an enhanced gameplay experience. You will now have the power to select your own Special Expanding Symbol that expands to fill the entire reel, significantly boosting your winning chances.

The expanding symbol also makes an appearance during the free spins bonus round which is activated by landing 3 book symbols on the reels. While the feature is active, your chosen symbol will expand to fill entire reels.

Flying Start

Yossi Barzely, the Chief Business Development Officer at Pragmatic Play, said that the company is delighted to get 2022 to as similarly productive a start to the end of the previous year, that concluded with the release of the high-energy Magician’s Secrets pokie.

“The game is littered with Wild symbols that can have a huge impact over the base game and the Bonus Rounds, so players can expect to enjoy a huge variety of different wins and multipliers,” Barzely concluded.

Pragmatic Play’s premium prehistoric pokie is the ultimate throwback

January 25, 2022 by Admin

Discover the riches of an untamed world in Pragmatic Play’s primeval-themed new pokie title, Rock Vegas. Ferocious creatures from a savage era spin across rock-carved reels that are backed by a lush, green jungle environment. A friendly caveman stands to the left of the grid, wielding a mighty club while an oddly contrasting old-school rock & roll soundtrack plays on in the background.

The impressive Mega Hold and Spin feature activates when you land 3 bonus scatters on the reels, transporting you to a lucrative bonus game where you could claim multipliers of up to 500x the bet.

Once you launch the feature, you will be greeted by a massive 10×10 grid, where you will have 3 respins and colourful rocks bearing various values are the only symbols that land. If a rock symbol lands during the respins, the respin count will go back to 3 and the rocks will remain in place until the feature ends. Once you do run out of respins, the sum of the values of the rocks on the reels will be yours.

There is also a key collection mini-game that runs alongside the enlarged grid The keys appear on certain rock symbols and are collected when they land, eventually activating the Mystery Multiplier feature is triggered, where you unlock chests that reveal multipliers of up to 500x, prizes worth up to 500x your bet, and retriggers.

A Worthy Addition

Rock Vegas follows the developer’s recent releases of other premium pokie titles such as Gold Party, Wild Depths, and Magician’s Secrets, and now forms part of Pragmatic’s iconic, award-winning catalogue of 200 HTML5 titles.

Yossi Barzely, the Chief Business Development Officer at Pragmatic Play said,

“Rock Vegas™ provides players with a thoroughly exciting experience, as well as a unique selection of bonus features that complement each other nicely. The prehistoric theme, in conjunction with the modern reels and engaging bonus features, stays true to our ethos of creating fantastic games and we can’t wait to see how our players respond.”

Pragmatic Play delivers up to five new pokie releases a month, while simultaneously providing Live Casino, Virtual Sports and Bingo games from its multi-product portfolio that is available through a single API.