The Sands – Best Payouts, Best Reputation
Kiwi Casino – Best New Casino
Complete results are published in Gambling Online Magazine’s Yearbook issue
Gambling Online MagazineInterCasino was voted Top Casino in a reader survey recently conducted by Gambling Online Magazine. Runners up in the lead category include The Sands and Riverbelle Casino. The Sands also won for Best Casino Reputation, Best Reward Program and Best Casino Payouts.
Thousands of Internet gamblers cast their ballots at Gambling Online Magazine’s web site between June and August this year. Results have just been released.
In the Best New Casino category, Kiwi Casino edged out Casino Grand Bay, Aspinalls and DrHo.com.
Notables in Sportsbook balloting included WWTS, Toto SGP winner of the Top Sportsbook award, and VIP Sports, which was recognized for Quickest Payouts.
WINNERonline.com received three awards and honorable mentions: Top Portal, Top Watchdog and Editor’s Pick.
Bingo Mania was voted Top Bingo Site.
Complete results are available in Gambling Online Magazine’s Yearbook issue.
Gambling Online Magazine is the leading print publication focused exclusively on Internet gambling. It is published every eight weeks, and available on newsstands throughout the United States and Canada. A UK edition is also published.
Online Inspiration from (a) Muse
Internet gaming is becoming a huge business, both for casinos starting life on the Net and for established land-based casino operations looking to go online. One company that is helping brick-and-mortar (B&M;) operations make the transition is e-gaming consulting firm, Muse Gaming.
Land-based casinos had been on the periphery of the online gaming industry up until a few years ago, when a number of B&M; casinos launched play-for-fun sites. Most major casinos chose not to go the real-money route, however, in the event that an ill-fated online venture would jeopardize traditional revenue streams.
Things changed this past September when U.K.-dependency, the Isle of Man, issued online wagering licenses to three land-based casino giants: MGM Mirage, Littlewoods Leisure, and Sun International Hotels. The Isle of Man is expected to issue others licenses in the near future.
That – along with the Nevada bill to explore online casino licensing – changed the equation, and many B&M; casinos were suddenly anxious to launch their own real-money sites.
But most of these casinos don’t have the experience or know-how to launch an Internet venture. That’s where Muse enters into the picture.
Andrew Caras-Altas, head of sales and marketing at U.K.-based Muse, suggests that there’s more to launching a casino than just building a web site and flooding the Net with banner ads. And most of that work takes place behind the scenes.
“Setting up a successful online casino requires a combination of strategic skills, including brand migration, eCRM, innovative marketing campaigns, visible security, and a compelling playing environment,” Caras-Altas said.
Muse has created a full-service team that will enable casinos to successfully expand land-based operations onto the Net, in large part by leveraging the brand recognition associated with an existing land-based casino.
A good example of this would be Littlewoods, which has been in business in the U.K. for nearly eight decades. U.K. bettors will be familiar with the Littlewoods name when it goes online, but American audiences may not. Muse’s job is to make the most of an existing name brand when a casino decides to go online.
There’s more to things than just marketing, however. Or at least there can be. Clients “take as little or as much as they like” during a casino build, notes Caras-Altas, choosing from services as diverse as strategic planning and brand migration to customer support and server administration.
The company is also able to create custom software packages that include administrative casino management tools and brand-specific player interfaces. In other words, Muse is able to handle the front- and back-end components of an online casino.
Not surprisingly, the new Isle of Man licenses will be factoring into Muse’s business plan. According to Caras-Altas, the licenses are “the first step on providing the legitimization of the industry, which will in turn bring the larger brands – casino and non-casino – online. It is also an important step towards First World, Western governments accepting online gambling.”
Muse is holding its client list pretty close to its chest at the moment, but Caras-Altas says the company is working on casino-builds with “some leading international brands.” Just don’t expect Muse to be standing in the spotlight when these casinos hit the Net.
