iMEGA Versus UIGEA Online Casino Gambling Case
The Unlawful Internet Gambling and Enforcement Act (UIGEA) came into effect in October 2006. Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association Inc. (iMEGA) is an association that protects the interests of the online gaming industry. In 2007 iMEGA filed a motion seeking injunction against the implementation of the UIGEA in the US District Court of New Jersey. The motion came up for hearing before Judge Mary L. Cooper in March 2008. In the first instance the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) challenged the validity of iMEGA representing the online gaming industry. However, Judge Cooper accepted that iMEGA had legal standing in the issue. This not only allowed this case to proceed further but also allowed iMEGA to represent the online gaming industry in other cases. The DoJ then tried to stop the case on the grounds of “ripeness”, which means that since all the regulations required under the UIGEA had not been implemented therefore challenging it was premature. However Judge Cooper did not allow this. Then iMEGA was called to explain why it wanted an injunction against the UIGEA. iMEGA argued that the UIGEA violated the 1st Amendment right to free speech. Judge Cooper ruled that the financial transactions that the UIGEA sought to ban could not be equated with free speech. She stated that iMEGA and its members were not being prevented from expressing their opinion about the UIGEA. Therefore she did not accept this argument. iMEGA then argued that as a result of the UIGEA the United States would be violating the WTO agreements it had entered into. Judge Cooper ruled that this issue was not one that a private organization could decide. It was for the Government to take a call. iMEGA’s final argument was that the UIGEA was a bad and ineffective law and that the Government’s objectives would be better served by legalizing and regulating online gambling. Judge Cooper ruled that it was not in the court’s purview to comment “on the wisdom of a Congressional act or speculate as to its effectiveness.” Judge Cooper dismissed the motion but allowed iMEGA to appeal against the decision if it so desired. Accordingly iMEGA filed an appeal in the United States 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. The case was heard by a three judge panel in September 2009. iMEGA put forward two arguments. One was that the UIGEA was vague in law and the other was that it violated the privacy of the individual. The court ruled that online gambling operators would be able to determine if their operations were illegal or not based on the existing gambling laws read in conjunction with the UIGEA and therefore the UIGEA was not vague. The court also ruled that commercial financial transactions do not fall in the purview of the right to privacy. Therefore iMEGA’s appeal was struck down. However the court offered a silver lining to iMEGA and the online gambling industry. It categorically stated that the UIGEA did not make online gambling illegal. It merely sought to act against illegal online gambling. Whether online gambling would be illegal or not depended on the laws of the state from which the online gambling operator functioned. Joe Brennan Jr., the chairman of iMEGA, took this part of the judgment to be a positive. He said, ” there are only a half-dozen states which have laws against Internet gambling, leaving 44 states where it is potentially lawful. It’s not perfect, but it’s a good start.” The action will now presumably move to the individual states. Articles from Casino Advisor

Auto Play in Microgaming Online Casino Games
The auto play feature in online casino games allows players to automatically repeat the wager a number of times under identical conditions. The leading online gaming software provider Microgaming offers the auto play feature in more online casino games than other software providers. This article discusses the auto play feature in slots, roulette, video poker and blackjack games and the different implications that the feature has in each of these games categories. Online slots are ideal for auto play. The only decision that players make is the amount wagered. Since most players will play online slots with all the lines enabled the decision rests on selecting the line bet. This is often dictated by the players bankroll and players usually play the entire session without changing the line bet. Hence it is very convenient to put online slots on auto play. In Microgaming online slots auto play is available in the Expert Mode. 5x and 10x auto play can be directly activated without going into the auto play menu. The menu enables players to set the auto play up to 9999 spins. The auto play can be set to stop only after all spins are completed or if a win exceeds a specified amount. The auto play will automatically stop if any feature is activated in the slot game. In roulette the player also does not make any strategic decisions. He decides on the quantum of the bet. But in roulette there are a large number of bets to choose from. If the player wants to keep changing the type of bet or the numbers selected then he cannot use the auto play. However if the player is willing to keep fixed all betting parameters he can activate the auto play in the Expert Mode in the Microgaming roulette games. The player can select up to 9999 spins and also select the time between spins. He can set the auto play to stop on one of the three following conditions: when all spins are complete; when a win exceeds a preset amount and on any win. The player can enable two other conditions for the auto play to stop. These are if the credits increase or decrease by a preset amount. In video poker the players have to make a strategic decision of which cards to hold once the initial hand is dealt. On first evaluation this would appear to provide an impediment to the auto play feature. However, the video poker games in Microgaming have the optimal strategy built into them. Hence the software automatically chooses the best cards to hold and this allows for the auto play feature. The auto play feature in Microgaming video poker games is very complex. It contains all the features of the slots and roulette auto play and some more. The auto play can be set to stop when a jackpot is hit. Also Microgaming video poker games allow players to double the payout by playing a gamble game. The auto play can be programmed to activate the double all the time, never or under specified conditions. Some versions of Microgaming blackjack have the auto play feature. Blackjack involves even more complex decisions than video poker. uk online blackjack games that offer auto play have a built in strategy card that dictates the moves to be made by the player. This strategy card is not only available to the player but the player can alter the strategy according to his liking and the play blackjack on auto play with his chosen strategy. Functionally the auto play in Microgaming blackjack is identical to the auto play in Microgaming roulette games. Articles from Casino Advisor

Microgaming Online Casino Video Poker Games
Video poker is one of the most popular online casino games for the simple reason that it offers a very low house edge and therefore players have a better chance of winning. The video poker section in Microgaming online casinos currently offers almost 60 variants. The basic variants in terms of the different games offered are only 17. However Microgaming offers separate games for single hand, 4-hand, 10-hand, 50-hand, 100-hand and Level up variants and this increases the number of games on offer. This is one disadvantage of Microgaming video poker games. Other online gaming software providers allow the players to choose the number of hands within the same game. The maximum basic variants are offered in the single hand games. These are listed under Standard in the Games Menu. There are 17 different standard video poker games on offer. These are Aces and Eights, Aces and Faces, All Aces, All American, Bonus Deuces Wild, Bonus Poker, Bonus Poker Deluxe, Deuces and Joker, Deuces Wild, Double Bonus Poker, Double Double Bonus Poker, Double Joker, Jackpot Deuces, Jacks or Better, Joker Poker, SupaJax and Tens or Better. Many of these video poker variants have wild cards that substitute for other cards in order to make up winning combinations. In Bonus Deuces Wild, Deuces Wild and Jackpot Deuces the deuce is the wild card. In Double Joker and Joker Poker there are extra cards in the deck, which are jokers and which are wild cards. In Deuces and Jokers both deuces and jokers are wild cards. The multi hand games in Microgaming online casinos are known as Power Poker games. There are 11 basic variants offered in Power Poker games. However the total number of games in this section is 36. Aces and Faces, Deuces and Joker, Deuces Wild, Double Double Bonus Poker, Double Joker, Jacks or Better and Joker Poker are available in 4-hand, 10-hand, 50-hand and 100-hand versions. Bonus Poker is available in 10-hand, 50-hand and 100-hand versions. All Aces is available in 10-hand and 50-hand versions. Bonus Deuces wild is available in 4-hand and 10-hand versions. Tens or Better is available only in the 4-hands version. Level Up Poker is the latest format of video poker. It is available only in Microgaming online casinos. The variants offered in this format are Aces and Faces, Deuces Wild, Double Joker, Jacks or Better and Joker Poker. Microgaming video poker games can be classified according to the jackpots offered. The jackpots are the highest payouts usually offered for a natural royal flush with maximum coins wagered. Jackpot Deuces and SupaJax are progressive jackpot games. In Jackpot Deuces the progressive jackpot is hit with a diamond royal flush only. In SupaJax the progressive jackpot is hit with four jacks and the SupaJax card. The Deuces and Joker video poker games offer a fixed jackpot of 10,000 coins. All other games offer a fixed jackpot of 4,000 or 5,000 coins. Microgaming video poker games offer a number of customization options. There are four speed settings to choose from. Players playing the 50-hand or 100-hand option must opt for Fastest setting. There are three different sounds game sounds, win sounds and background sounds. Each of them can be enabled or disabled independently. Players can also enable or disable the Double and Auto Hold features. Auto Play is available in the Expert Mode.Articles from Casino Advisor

Understanding Fruit Machines Casino Games
Fruit machines are a special kind of casino slot game. New players often avoid wagering on fruit machines for a variety of reasons. Fruit machines contain a number of features not found in other slot casino games. Familiarity with these features comes only with experience and new players hesitate to try a game they cannot fully understand. Very few fruit machines are offered at online casinos and new fruit machines are rarely added. Players have plenty of options to choose from in the normal slot games and therefore they give fruit machines a wide berth. However, if players spend some time in understanding fruit machines they will be highly rewarded. New players need not worry about losing money because they can always play for free till such time they understand the game completely. Fruit machines replicate online the slot machines that were found in English pubs. This article explains to new players some of the common features found in fruit machines. One of the features is Nudge. Nudge is randomly displayed below the reels. By clicking on Nudge below a particular reel, that reel moves one position down. Depending on the symbols displayed on the reels the player can judiciously choose which Nudge button to activate so as to make a winning combination. Sometimes players are allowed to use more than one Nudge button in the same spin making it even easier to make a winning combination. Another interesting feature is Hold. Like the Nudge feature it randomly appears below the reels. In this feature players can select one or two reels which are kept fixed and the remaining reels are spun again. This gives players a greater chance of arriving at a winning combination. The Cash Ladder is an integral part of fruit machines. Any win highlights the bottom step of the Cash Ladder. In order to climb up to the Cash Ladder players then have to play the Hi Lo gamble game. With each spin a number is displayed. In the Hi Lo gamble game the players spin again to reveal a new number. Before spinning, players have to guess whether the new number will be higher or lower than the existing one. If they guess correctly they move one step up on the Cash Ladder. If they guess incorrectly then they lose their wager. In the Cash Ladder players have three options. They can continue playing the Hi Lo gamble game till they lose or keep winning and reach the highest step for the jackpot prize. At any time on the cash ladder they can collect their winnings and start a fresh spin. Or they can exchange their winnings for the feature game that is displayed on the step at which they currently stand. Fruit machines employ a number of feature games on the Cash Ladder that are in consonance with the theme of the game. The highlight of fruit machines is the Feature Board. This is triggered by special symbols appearing on the reels. The Feature Board has squares along its perimeter in the same manner as the Monopoly board. When the player clicks the Start button a number is displayed and the player moves that many squares on the Feature Board. Each square on the Feature Board allows for one of the following actions. It can move the player up the Cash Ladder by a specified number of steps. It can add to or multiply the amount that the player is holding in the Cash Pot. It can activate one of the feature games after which the player automatically moves to the normal spins. In the worst case a square can terminate the players stay on the Feature Board. Because of the numerous features incorporated in them, fruit machines move away from the regular spins more often than the other slot games do. In this manner they alleviate the boredom that can be felt while playing the usual slot games. Related Articles The Classic Fruit Machine Slots Articles from Casino Advisor