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Featured Editorials

Expert Tips for Your First Casino Experience

Whether playing online or visiting a traditional bricks-and-mortar venue, visiting a casino for the first time can be a daunting experience. Especially in a land-based casino, everything can seem fast-paced and confusing, with little done to explain to new players what is where, how each game is played, where to make a deposit and how to order a drink - while online, the sheer number of games and betting options available can be rather overwhelming.

While it's likely at some point during your first visit that you make a simple mistake, be it finding yourself in the wrong poker room or mistaking your chips when betting on roulette, there are some steps you can take to give yourself the best chance of enjoying your first casino experience. 

Get to know your casino

Cool Ways to Increase Retention in Games

Hook, line and sinker – the tricks of the trade!

Retention is the Name of the Game

Of all the metrics out there in the gaming world, retention ranks atop the pile. Retention can keep a game alive for decades, and it is the ideal way to generate ongoing revenue streams. In the competitive online gaming arena, various design hooks have been employed to captivate the attention of players and to maximize retention. Kicking off proceedings is maximum immersion from the get-go. All games need to be captivating and exciting from the moment the user logs in and starts playing. If the game appears to be boring, slow, or unavailable off-line, users may be turned off. You never get a second chance to make a good first impression as the old saying goes.

Keep the Player Informed About What’s Going On

The Choice is Endless

From the days when gambling online, or gambling at all for that matter, was depicted as rather shady to today, where millions of people enjoy a bet or wager either in a bricks and mortar or online regularly, slots have always been popular.

Because of the rapid advancement by software developers together with the design features of the hardware, we can now buy relatively cheaply, a whole range of mobile devices on different operating systems to suit our needs. This advancement has been further enhanced by the more reliable and faster internet connection most people enjoy today.

This means if you are going to play online slots then your experience will be nothing like it was in the early days. If you can wind back before we had anything like the smartphone then you will probably remember the Nokia and 'Snake'?  In fact you can still get Snake on your smartphone if you are feeling nostalgic!

A Perfect Holiday Destination

Sophie Behan chats to Ricky (F.) Tromp, Director of Casino Operations at Hyatt Regency Aruba Resort Spa & Casino and Chairman for the Aruba Casino Association

When did the Casino first open and who opened it?

The Casino first opened on November 12, 1990 and was inaugurated by our GM Mr. Carlos Cabrera, nowadays SVP - All Inclusive Operations Regional Operations.

Have you met many famous and/or interesting people that have visited the casino? If so who? What, if any, memorable moments do you have of that time?

We had the honour to host many famous soccer players from the Netherlands, as well as celebrities from the USA. On an annual basis we support and sponsor several music festivals, such as Soul Beach Music Festival, Caribbean Sea Jazz Festival and Summer Festival that bring many celebrities to the destination.

Play Your Cards right

Sweden

Denmark’s online casino market has continued to evolve with several changes made to the Danish Gambling Act. 

Danish Online Casino Legislation: History and Forecast

The country is among the few European nations to have a successful formula in regulating online gambling, which is evident from gross gaming revenues released by Spillemyndigheden or Danish Gaming Authority (DGA). In the fourth quarter of 2016 the gross gaming revenue for online betting was 356 M DKK or 64.5% of the betting market. Online casinos alone accounted for 1,564 M DKK in 2016. Overall, Denmark’s gambling market gross gaming revenue recorded DKK8.9 billion in 2016, which was a 6% rise from the previous year.

One of the major changes in regulatory provisions for offshore online casino operators came in May 2011. The DGA began to allow part of the licensee’s operations to be located outside the country. This was in line with other European jurisdictions where it was not mandatory for online gaming servers to be located in the country in order to be licensed.

The Choice is Endless

From the days when gambling online, or gambling at all for that matter, was depicted as rather shady to today, where millions of people enjoy a bet or wager either in a bricks and mortar or online regularly, slots have always been popular.

Because of the rapid advancement by software developers together with the design features of the hardware, we can now buy relatively cheaply, a whole range of mobile devices on different operating systems to suit our needs. This advancement has been further enhanced by the more reliable and faster internet connection most people enjoy today.

This means if you are going to play online slots then your experience will be nothing like it was in the early days. If you can wind back before we had anything like the smartphone then you will probably remember the Nokia and 'Snake'?  In fact you can still get Snake on your smartphone if you are feeling nostalgic!

Play Cosmo: Part of the new wave of online gaming sites

After being announced in December last year, Play Cosmo went online in February 2017 to rave reviews. At first glance, it’s nothing special. After all, there are no live dealers or stunning graphics. 

Yet Play Cosmo is part of a step change in the way online casinos can operate. Back in 2014, Adweek announced that CashBet were launching real-money gaming tools in the UK.

Founded in 2012, CashBet develops and supplies software and marketing tools for fledgling operators seeking to make their mark in the industry. Prior to this, (with some exceptions) it was largely only name brands with the financial power to set up secure, competitive sites that could be sure of gaining a foothold in the online gambling industry.    

What’s With the Candy Obsession?

We all remember the gargantuan hit that was Candy Crush Saga as for a while it was everywhere you looked and everyone seemed frenzied panic to crush candy. Brought to us in 2012 by games developer King, this match-three puzzler is considered one of the first and most successful games spawning the model we now call freemium, where players can progress through the game without spending any money, but revenues can be made from players who wish to pay for special features or actions. There are some impressive Candy Crush Saga stats out there, but the one that really captures the attention is the 550 million monthly active players it had in early 2015. Although figures seem likely to drop at some point, as we're five years after the initial boom, these numbers are still impressive.