With the F1 racing season on, and the German Grand Prix about to start, the online casino InterCasino is hosting a tournament to help celebrate.

Over a period of five days from July 16-20 the Casino is launching a promotion which has a total prize pool of $500. The games that will be played in the tournament will be a variation of poker named Let It Ride.

The goal for a player in this tournament will be to achieve the highest balance possible within an allocated time of 30 minutes. All the players in this tournament will start with the same amount of tournament chips. A player does not have to play for the whole 30 minute period at one time, but can play for however long he wishes to at any one time.

This tournament has a $10 entry fee, with total prize money of $500. The winner will take home $250, while the player finishing second will win $100. Players finishing in positions 3-8 will take home a prize of $25. All the money used in the tournament will be play money, with only the prize money being real.

All a player has to do to sign-up for this tournament is click on More Software then Tournaments in the InterCasino lobby and select the tournament from the list. He then pays the entry fee and can play.

Launched in January of 2008, Slotland.com’s new 3-D online casino, WinADay.com has released a new suite of real-money slot games. With several free games launched last month, the new set of games has been highly anticipated.

Joining WinADay’s list of online games (Wheeler Dealer, a 3 reel, 8 payline slot and Jack’s Show, a video poker game based on its Jacks or Better predecessor) is Lucky-Go-Round. This carnival-style slot is available at both the free and real-money game halls.

WinADay.com is an exciting new breed of online casinos. With no downloads required and the ability to ‘wander around the casino’ as you would in a land based one are just some of the great perks of playing. The site also includes animated customer service attendants, virtual casino employees and realistic lobbies and game halls.

“The 3D environment may be a little disorienting at first if you’re used to traditional online casino games,” said WinADay.com Manager Martin Smith. “But our virtual casino hosts – 3D figures circulating throughout the casino — are always nearby ready to provide information and point you in the right direction.”

All of WinADay.com’s games are based on the latest instant-play, no-download Flash technology and contain some of the crispest graphics, fanciest animation and coolest sound effects around.

And right now, new players are being welcomed with a 100% deposit bonus of up to $250!

The online casino industry has been faced with difficult decisions, especially those catering to customers in the United States, since the passing of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act.

Although it has been a rough ride for some, a report by the European Commission suggests that business is still booming in Europe despite the losses by their US-facing counterparts.

Some of the particulars of the report show that gambling amounts to 3 percent of the total EU GDP, and is also set to rise even further as the US operators focus solely on European opportunities.

As well, the report suggested that following 2003, when more than 51 Billion Euros was generated through gambling (45 percent lotteries, and 17 percent betting), the European mobile gaming industry will be exploding in 2008.

CEO of Chartwell Games, Lee Richardson, said, “The current drive towards licensing in Italy will offer new international operators substantial retail and online betting and gaming opportunities in a strong growth market; we are very excited by the new possibilities in what has always been a key area of growth for Chartwell’s clients.”

The European market is ready to explode, and online casino firms can now focus on the positives of the industry.

The online casino MansionCasino.com is pleased to introduce a new Welcome Bonus which will pay players up to US $200 cash - or the currency equivalent, as soon as the deposit is successfully cleared.

This bonus was earlier paid to players the minute they made their first bet at the online casino. The new Welcome Bonus is paid out to them immediately and it makes it both quicker and easier for players to get their cash.

The new Welcome Bonus can be used to play any of the games. Mansion Casino features over 100 download games and more than 60 no download options. The games featured on the website includes progressive jackpots, video poker, traditional card and table games.

In addition to the Welcome Bonus there’s Lady Luck Tuesdays for female players only. All ladies who deposit $40 on Tuesdays will receive US $20 free.

In addition to the Welcome Bonus all new players who make their first deposit will be eligible for an additional 100% bonus up to US $100. This first deposit bonus offer is available every Wednesday throughout the month.

Mansion casino was established in 2004 and is regulated and licensed by the Government of Gibraltar.

The land-based bingo hall Mecca Bingo has announced it has signed a deal with eQube International.

The partnership will see the latter installing new hand-held electronic bingo devices in 21 land based bingo halls situated throughout the UK.

eQube International is a wholly owned subsidiary of eQube Technology Limited and has been in operation since 1999 in Canada. eQube International has software and hardware bingo products installed in 77 different bingo halls situated in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario.

Mecca Bingo already has test site bingo halls throughout the UK that use handheld units which are made by Game Tech and Plant Bingo.

Gary Gardner, the President and CEO of eQube speaking about the agreement said, “The deal is the achievement of a major milestone for us. It also validates our new handheld bingo device.”

He added, “Having won the Mecca Bingo which is one of the leading operators of bingo halls in the United Kingdom, we are showcasing the acceptance of our handheld devices by customers.”

Mecca Bingo is a part of the Rank group, which run many other organizations that include, Grosvenor casinos, Mecca bingo clubs and Blue Square fixed odds betting.

A new player at JackpotCapital.com online casino won a large progressive jackpot without wagering a penny of her own money.

The winner, Kerri T. won the progressive jackpot worth $14,593 after placing a bet using the free bonus money she’d received as a new player.

CEO for JackpotCapital, Oliver Smith, said, “We don’t let our players wait long for their winnings. Like all our winners, Kerri received her money immediately.”

Kerri was enjoying one of her first games of Caribbean Stud when she hit the jackpot.

“I guess you’d have to call it beginner’s luck,” said Kerri T. “I hadn’t even made a deposit to my account – all it had in it was the free $25 they’d given me to get started. Next thing I knew I was withdrawing nearly fifteen grand!”

JackpotCapital offers more than 300 online casino games provided by Real Time Gaming, one of the world’s top casino software developers. The Caribbean Stud jackpot network is one of 12 progressive jackpots offered to JackpotCapital players.

‘Shopping Spree’, currently the biggest jackpot, is waiting to pay nearly $900,000 to the next lucky winner.

A twenty year old lady living in Glasgow won a sum of £313,000 playing Bingo at her local Mecca Bingo hall in Forge Street, Glasgow.

She went to the club that night as her grand mother talked her into going. She not only hit the big jackpot on the national bingo game, but also won three huge cash prizes.

She had luck on her side as on her first visit to the club she won a house prize of £220. Speaking to the national gaming body after her massive bingo win she said, “I just could not believe that I had won a large sum. I started playing the game due to my grand mother who is a regular player.” 

The winner’s grandmother is 65 years old and lives in North Lanarkshire and Emma herself comes from North Glasgow. The winner works as an administrator. She now plans to buy a flat with her share of the winning amount as she can now pay for it outright.

She won the large sum of money due to the monthly platinum jackpot play off bingo games that take place on the last Sunday of each month.  She won the platinum jackpot prize of £303,904 by calling house in just 37 numbers, she also took away the national bingo jackpot prize of 8,960, plus the regional prize of 1,020 and Mecca Bingo’s own in house prize of £220.

The online gambling group InterCasino is celebrating the Tour de France, with a new 11-stage promotion based on the world-famous cycling event.

During each day of the promotion, dollars go the distance as players race to see how much they can bet. Every $1 bet is 1km and the more a player bets, the further they go and the more they win. The objective in this tournament is to travel the most distance every day. The person who bets the most is the winner.

During the course of the promotion there are a total of 11 stages to participate in, with prizes available each day. The player who travels the most distance on any given day can win up to $75 each day and a unique jersey. The person who travels the longest distance wins $100 and a white jersey.

The overall promotion winner gets $200 and an exclusive yellow jersey. The four stages of the promotion have different games for each stage that include Video Poker and Online Slots. There are special time trial stages, where a certain time limit is given to wager $200 on the Street fighter Slot game. The winners will receive a $10 bonus. A $15 bonus is also awarded if you travel 500km within days 1-5, or days 7-12.

The payments of these bonuses will be made on 10th and 17th of July. Players are invited to log on to the casino website and take part in the online race.

The online casino affiliate program Fortune Affiliates which represents the Fortune Lounge group, has launched its new affiliate promotion program called the Vault of Mystery player acquisition promotion. The Fortune Lounge group consists of eight casinos and three poker rooms guaranteeing a superb gaming experience.

As part of the new program, affiliates need to bring in new players that are active players between July 1 to August 31, 2008. The more new players an affiliate gets the better gift they will receive from Fortune Affiliates whose marketing department has designed the new acquisition program.

This program will be run at the Vegas Palms Online Casino during the month of July. Its Promotion banners will be available on the Fortune Affiliates website soon.

Every new player will get the chance to pick from one of three boxes so that they can get a good welcome bonus. They will also get the regular Vegas Palms welcome bonus that is a 200% Deposit Match Bonus of up to $100 on their first deposit.

Also, when a player makes their first deposit, they will be able to take part in the Vault of Mystery competition. The site will send the player an invitation to take part in this competition, which boasts over 100,000 casino credits in prizes.

The program not only aims to recruit new players, but also aims to convert them into purchasing, betting players. The group Fortune Lounge is home to some of the most established and largest online casinos and poker rooms in the gambling industry.

Online Poker players will be wearing many more diamonds this summer, as the online poker site, Absolute Poker has kicked off Fame, its new loyalty program. In the newly launched promotion it promises to give away $45,000 in diamonds to its players.

An Absolute Poker spokesperson said, “The site believes that its poker players ought to be treated like the rich. That’s the reason we have launched this unmatched loyalty program which will reward players in new ways that includes diamonds as gifts.”

The new loyalty program will reward players with selected gifts that will get more restricted as the players become more famous. There are five levels to the loyalty program - Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum VIP and Diamond Elite. Each time a player trys their luck on a money game, they will earn Status Points. The number of Status Points a player earns during a month, will define their Status level and also determine the gifts they will win.

Among the gifts a player can win is the ability to buy gas on credit, players will get access to the sites shopping store where they can buy the latest goods, tickets to events, a 10% discount on merchandise, the ability to exchange credits for cash and a 9% interest bearing account.

The site is giving away 23 diamonds with costs ranging from $1,000 to $5,000.  There are three separate online poker tournaments with the top three players that earn the most status points in the time period July 1st to August 30th by playing in tournaments, in ring games or by playing Blackjack will each win a $5,000 diamond.

The first five players that earn 10,000 credits in July will each secure a $2,000 diamond. The five players to do the same in August will also win a $2,000 diamond.