It’s been a roller coaster ride this past year for the online gambling industry, and with 2012 just days away, now is the time to take a look at the past year, as well as look at the big changes that have been made.

At the beginning of 2011, many online casino operators were shut out of the United States, and as a result, many European online casino operators lost quite a bit of revenue that they would have normally got from U.S. players. The reason being as to why online casino operators were shut out of the United States is because it is illegal to gamble online, and there was a growing concern of offshore gambling as well.

Fast forward a few months later, and Black Friday hit. It may have hit the United States, but it affected the entire gambling industry, especially the poker industry around the globe. Essentially, player confidence was down, and many countries cracked down and got even stricter with their online gambling laws.

The U.K. and many parts of Europe have been successful at keeping online gambling around, and developing great laws that protect players. Across the ocean, the United States has been toughing it out, working tirelessly for legalized online gambling in some states.

It looks like the U.S. will have an easier time of online gambling and making it happen, now that the Obama administration has revised the 1961 Wire Act, changing it so that it only applies to sports betting, instead of applying it to all forms of gambling. With 2012 just days away, it looks like the start of a good year for the gambling industry in the United States, and perhaps, the United Kingdom will benefit from this as well.

Playtech has been on a roll this year, and with just days left until the start of a new year, they have kept up momentum, never missing a beat. The latest news from Playtech is that they are continuing with their expansion, and have announced that they will be launching a new online casino this very week. The company that will be adopting Playtech’s gaming software is Boyle Sports, which is an Irish company that already offers up sports betting, bingo and poker at Boyle Casino.

Boyle Casino is already live, and offers two different platforms for players to utilize. There’s the Flash instant play version, and the downloadable version. The downloadable version is complete with Playtech video slots, table, and card games.

Players will be able to find all of Playtech’s most popular game titles at Boyle Casino, including branded slot games and themed ones, like Iron Man 2, Beach Life, and Santa’s Surprise. Players that sign up today can receive a welcome bonus, and also enjoy other promotional offers and a VIP club.

Playtech has certainly kept busy this past year, and it looks like they won’t be slowing down any time soon! If 2012 is anything like 2011, players are going to have a lot of look forward to!

The ever expanding Facebook could possibly be expanding into the booming online gambling industry. Facebook seems to be seriously considering this, and by entering into the online gambling industry, they stand to bring in millions in revenue, especially if people would be able to play with real money.

Facebook played dinner host last week in London for industry representatives, and that’s when Facebook unveiled their latest plans. Shortly after that dinner, many Facebook users found out about their plans, and there has been a lot of backlash, especially in the United Kingdom.

The Daily Mail published an article that highlighted some of many negative reactions to the news that Facebook may start offering real money online gambling on the social networking site.

More than anything, it seems that in The Daily Mail article, there was a huge concern over underage gambling. In the United Kingdom, there are over 3 million users on Facebook that are between the ages of 13 to 17. On top of that, there’s an unaccounted number of users that have lied about their age in order to be able to have a Facebook user account, because the age limit is set at 13 years old.

Online gambling has been expanding around the globe at a rapid pace, but to bring real money online gambling to a social networking site like Facebook may perhaps be too soon. It has not been reported whether or not Facebook would also be attempting to enter the North American online gambling market.

Playtech is set to add the brand of Cowboys & Aliens to their laundry list of games. Thanks to an agreement with Platinum Studios, Inc., Playtech now has a licensing agreement in place that allows them to create a branded Cowboys & Aliens game.

Platinum Studios, Inc. is a huge company, and they hold rights to over 5,000 comic book characters. This is Playtech’s and Platinum Studios, Inc.’s first time working together, but it likely won’t be the last. Of course, it’s going to be hard to top the characters from a New York Times best-selling graphic novel.

Playtech is a well known online gaming software provider, and when it comes to offering branded slot games, no one beats Playtech at it. Playtech has managed to tap into a niche market, and since they started, they’ve acquired quite a few popular brand names.

The first of Playtech’s branded slot games started with the Marvel Movies super heroes. After that, a deal was made with MGM, and Rocky came, and then the Pink Panther. A deal with Universal Studios was made, and Kong joined the rest of the cast.

Many players are awaiting the unveiling of the new Cowboys & Aliens game, and in the meantime, they’ll just have to enjoy Playtech’s other branded slot games. What will Playtech’s next branded game be after Cowboys & Aliens?

April 15, 2011 sounds like any other day, but it was not. This was the day the online gambling industry was shook to its core, and is now referred to as Black Friday. Black Friday was the day the U.S. Department of Justice cracked down on online poker sites that were illegally operating in the country. One of these poker sites just happened to be Full Tilt Poker. Besides illegal operations, the U.S. Department of Justice also came down on poker sites for other criminal activities, including money laundering, and bank fraud.

Since Black Friday, Full Tilt Poker has suffered blow after blow, and it is surprising that they have even made it this far, considering everything they have had to go through. From their site being seized, to losing their licenses, to being in some serious financial problems, to multiple lawsuits from players, Full Tilt Poker has been through the wringer. To add to their problems, they searched for an investor for months, but there was very little interest, after all, they were a train wreck still in motion.

It looks like the dust has finally settled on Full Tilt Poker, and French investors have come to an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice. With just a little over four months before the one year anniversary of Black Friday, will Full Tilt Poker be up and running properly before then, or will there be more delays?

At this point, anything is possible!

The United Kingdom’s got plans to change remote gambling industry laws, and William Hill has spoken out about this, expressing their opposition.

As one of the United Kingdom’s oldest bookmakers, William Hill entered into the online gambling industry in its early stages. The reason why William Hill opposes these new plans from the United Kingdom to change remote gambling industry laws is because they believe that these new law changes are going to drive away players onto online casino websites that are not regulated.

William Hill feels so strongly about this that they’ve even hired representation from Deloitte to fight on their behalf. One spokesperson compared this asking the government if they should introduce a policy which distorts markets.

Worth an estimated $1.7 billion, the gambling market is huge. The Treasury is reviewing things, and will finish their review soon. What this means is that the Treasury could also be approving some of the proposed law changes that could mean a bigger tax take for the United Kingdom.

There’s a real possibility that because of new tax law changes, legitimate gambling firms will pull out of the United Kingdom’s market. As a result of this, many online gamblers will likely gamble offshore, on illegal websites.

Even though Christmas is a month away, that’s not stopping Cryptologic from giving players a special holiday treat early. The software developing giant has released three new slot games for players at InterCasino to enjoy, and the classic baccarat game has undergone a makeover, making it even better!

Regis Pissot, the Head of Casino at InterCasino talked about the company being a premium brand when it comes to online slots. Talking about the games, he had this to say: “All three of these games are quirky, funny, and very rewarding to play. Arcade style bonus rounds, voodoo themed slots, and games where the Gods battle – who else offers their players such fantastic entertainment.”

The games Regis Pissot is referring to are Juju Jack, Battle for Olympus, and Horns and Halos. If a voodoo magic themed game isn’t interesting enough to players, then there’s always the Greek mythology theme, and if that still isn’t enough to get players going, then there’s always the battle between Heaven and Hell.

The new Baccarat is still the same great game players know and love, but it’s a been updated. Players can enjoy a bet limits from as low as 1, to as high as 5,000.

Commenting on the new version of Baccarat, Regis Pissot said “We are also thrilled to be able to offer Baccarat fans a much wider range of bet levels. Seasoned players will enjoy our bigger limits while new players can try their luck at this classic game without breaking the bank.”

Members of the European Parlament have approved a non-binding resolution that calls for greater cooperation between European Union member states on online gambling. The resolution was lead by German MEP Jürgen Creutzmann, and is the follow up to the European Commission’s March 2011 Online Gambling Green Paper. The resolution by German MEP Jürgen Creutzmann was approved by a show of hands, and asked the European Council to end unnecessary licensing duplication, administrative burdens, and take action against European Union treaty violations. Many MEP’s want the European Council to conduct a study on creating an operator blacklist as well as blocking transactions between financial institutions and blacklisted operators.

One MEP voiced her opinion on the resolution, and expressed she was less than impressed, because she felt that the resolution was for the most part, a vote to maintain gambling monopolies that are currently in place in member states. These gambling monopolies are very lucrative, so that also is a factor in why Ashley Fox, MEP for South West England and Gibraltar wasn’t impressed. Ashley Fox referred to online gambling as “a reality that will not stop at national boundaries,” and labeled the resolution “a missed opportunity … Protectionism has won over common sense.”

After facing many obstacles with them, Playtech has finally parted way with their broker, Deutsche Bank. Deutsche Bank resigned its position as Playtech’s broker, and because of this, Playtech will be unable to join London’s main stock market.

As a result of this move, Playtech’s stock took a big hit, and knocked down to 13p at 239p. While Playtech tries to regain their bearings, they have released a statement that says “with immediate effect Collins Stewart Europe Limited is the Company’s sole broker and NOMAD.” It looks like Playtech is trying to send out the message that they are in control, and they aren’t lost without their former broker.

Roger Withers, Chairman at Deutsche Bank, said there was no fight, and the big issue was that Playtech and Deutsche Bank grew apart. This was likely due to the fact that when Mumtaz Naseem left in the summer, relations went south.

Despite this setback, Playtech is still in top form, and has regularly been releasing new games, making deals, creating partnerships, and making games that online casino operators and players love. Players can still enjoy Playtech’s great games, and they will soon be out with new games for players to enjoy for the next little while.

Gaming software giant, Microgaming has struck a big software deal with Ladbrokes, and they will now be providing their casinos and poker software to Ladbroke’s Danish and Spanish markets.

Ladbrokes is one of the largest gaming groups in the gambling industry, and offer players a variety of games, as well sports betting services. They have online operations in Gibraltar, and other operations in the United Kingdom.

Andy Clucas, Head of Business Development at Microgaming, commented about the deal, saying “We have had a long and successful relationship with Ladbrokes and are delighted to be entering these two exciting markets with them. Once granted a licence, Ladbrokes will be able to offer the most competitive range of products.”

Ladbrokes Spanish site, as well as Danish site is expected to go live with the new Microgaming software by January 2012, once licensing has been granted for both markets. Microgaming has over hundreds of games under their umbrella, and the sites will have Flash and download games available to Ladbrokes players.

Microgaming is known for their excellent poker software, and Ladbrokes expects that Spanish and Danish players will really enjoy the opportunity to play poker in games and tournaments when the time comes.