Online casino describes the discovery of America thus: “Early in the morning on October 12th, 1492, a sailor looked out to the horizon from the bow of his sailing ship, the Pinta, and saw land. After 10 long weeks at sea, from the port of Palos, Spain, Columbus and his crews saw the New World.” The casino wishes all its players a happy Columbus Day and offers two special bonuses on the occasion.

Both bonuses can be availed by players from October 12 to October 15. The first of these bonuses is specially designed for players who want to wager it on the casinos slots, scratch cards and Keno games on offer at Ruby Royal online casino. Players who make a deposit during the promotion period will get a bonus that is equal to 100% of the deposit subject to an upper limit of $250. I-slots are the specialty at Ruby Royal online casino. The casino has recently added two new I-slots called Fixer Upper and Spy Game. Both have some excellent animations and interactive bonus games. There are three scratch cards on offer - Gunslingers Gold, Penguin Payday and Tiki Treasure.

The second bonus is meant for players who want to wager it on blackjack and video poker. Since these games have very high average payout ratio the bonus is not as attractive as the earlier one. It offers 25% of the deposit subject to an upper limit of $50. Ruby Royal online casino offers both the single hand and the multi-hand formats of blackjack. There are more than half a dozen of the most popular video poker variants available.

The special bonuses are not the only attractions at Ruby Royal online casino this week. In the Weekly Slots Challenge the casino has chosen the popular video slot Pigskin Payout, which is based on the theme of American football. It is an appropriate choice for Columbus Day because American football truly represents the spirit of America. Five of the symbols on the reels from the slot game have been designated in a particular order. Players who wager on Pigskin Payout and hit the exact specified combination stand to win 10 times their total bet subject to a maximum of $100.

The Trivia Competition is also running at Ruby Royal online casino. One of the symbols on the reels from a popular slot game has been partly revealed and the players have to guess the name of the slot game from which the symbol has been taken. If they guess right they stand to win a free prize of $20. There are two notes of caution. Players can take only one guess per month, therefore they should be totally sure that they have the right answer before sending the entry. Players have to make a deposit at the casino cashier in the week in which they are sending the entry.

Ruby Royal online casino is powered by Rival Gaming and licensed in the gaming jurisdiction of Curacao. The online casino accepts players from the United States, who can participate in the above offers and celebrate Columbus Day in grand style.

Right2bet is an initiative of online casinos gamblers from Europe seeking to assert their right “to bet with whichever European Union-licensed betting company they choose, regardless of in which member state that casinos company operates from.” The immediate objective is to collect signatures of a million players from European Union countries and take them to the European Commission.

This initiative stems from the Lisbon Treaty that was signed by the member countries of the European Union in December 2007. This treaty included a novel concept called the European Citizens Initiative (ECI). According to the ECI if citizens of the member states of the European Union can collect a million signatures supporting any petition then they can submit that petition to the European Commission. This will guarantee that the Parliament of the European Union will act on the petition. 26 of the 27 member countries have ratified the treaty. However unless the last member country also ratifies it, the Lisbon Treaty and therefore the ECI will not yet be in force. However, Rifght2bet has decided not to wait for the complete ratification but to start collecting the signatures while the ratification process goes on. It aims to be the first to submit a petition to the European commission under the ECI.

This initiative became necessary because many of the European countries are refusing to act on the principle that there should be free trade of goods and services across the European Union. Whereas member countries are more open to apply this principle when it comes to other goods and services, they somehow feel insecure when it comes to online gambling. Only a few of the European countries have initiated steps to allow for an open online gambling market. Most of the countries apparently want to protect their state-owned online gambling monopolies. Therefore they are dithering on the process of liberalizing the online gambling regulations and as a result the players are suffering.

Though only the signatures of the citizens of member countries of the European Union will count towards the magic number of 1 million, online players all over the world can sign this online petition. It will help them to legalize and liberate online gambling in their own countries and ultimately serve to create one global unified online gambling market.

Right2bet is leaving no stones unturned in order to ensure the success of this initiative. Two of the largest affiliate associations have thrown their weight behind Right2bet. The GPWA and the APCW have assured Right2bet that its members will support the petition. Right2bet is also taken its campaign across the Internet using social networking forums like twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Flickr. It is in the interest of all online players to check out the Right2bet website and register their support.

Bejeweled is a branded online slot game from Cryptologic. Not only is it visually very appealing but it has innovative features. It is one of the most popular casino games at VIP Casino. Therefore VIP Casino is offering an attractive online tournament played on Bejeweled.

The first attraction is that the tournament is a freeroll. There is no entry fee whatsoever. The second attraction is that this online casinos tournament offers a starting stack of $500. This is a bankroll that few players would start out with when they sit down to wager online line. Then the players have only 10 minutes of playing time. This is not so good in one sense because 10 minutes is hardly satisfying on an online slot game like Bejeweled. But it is great in another because it allows the player to wager aggressively like a high roller and go for the big prizes. And at the end of the rainbow is the pool prize that will be shared by the winners.

The pool prize is $1,000, which is by no means a small amount for a freeroll online tournament. It will be shared by the top 23 players on the leader board. The top two players will get half the prize pool and leave with something substantial in hand. The player in the first place will win $300 and the second place player will win $200. The remaining of the top 23 players will get a consolation amount of $25 each.

This event will commence at VIP Casino from October 16. In order to participate in the online freeroll tournament players need to access the ‘Play for Real’ casino. They should click ‘More Games’ in the menu and select ‘Free Tournament 2′. ‘Free Tournament 1′ is the online roulette tournament currently in progress and due to end on October 15. Players who have not yet participated in it have just two more days for doing so. After selecting ‘Free Tournament 2′ players should click ‘Sign Up Now’ to enter the tournament. Players can check out the leader board on the right hand side of the tournament screen and set their target and strategy based on total amassed by the current leader.

VIP Casino is allowing players to wager like high rollers with $500 of the casino’s money on Bejeweled and with a chance of winning tournament prizes. This is an opportunity not to be missed. Players who are not members of VIP Casino should join up to take advantage of this offer. VIP Casino comes with excellent credentials. It is powered by Cryptologic and licensed by the Lotteries and Gaming Authority of Malta. New players can also avail of the welcome bonus of up to $180.

The Maryland-based federal task group pursuing cash processors suspected of facilitating online gambling transactions has struck again, according to online casino games.

The newspaper is closely monitoring the task force’s activities, especially in regards to seizure warrants applied for through the courts and appearing on court records.

In the latest discover, the newspaper reports that the seizure of $365 366.69 from two bank accounts in the name of Atrium Financial Group (AFG) is the latest move by enforcement officials.

According to a court affidavit published by the newspaper, Delaware-based AFG is alleged to disburse money to online gamblers, including those using GoldenCasino.com.

Unlike earlier seizures, the Atrium Financial action is supported by an affidavit that was not sealed. The 13-page sworn statement by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agent Augusta Ferenec, who is based in New Orleans, La., was signed on September 4 by U.S. District Court magistrate judge Beth Gesner, with the warrant filed in court records on October 22.

Ferenec’s affidavit, claims the investigation leading to the AFG seizures dates back to July 14, 2008, when Louisiana State Police officers opened an “undercover gambling account” with GoldenCasino.com, gambled online and later requested a payout.

The first check—from a Canadian company called Interco Finance Corporation (IFC) - bounced. Eventually, a second check came, this one from AFG. Thus, the investigation claimed to have established that GoldenCasino.com was using both IFC and AFG as payment processors for its online gambling patrons.

Ferenec explains in the affidavit that a fourth business - Con-Tex Converters in Canada - entered the picture as investigators followed the global money trail.

For instance, an AFG account with Mercantile Bank received wire transfers between December 2008 and January 2009 amounting to more than $1.5 million. The money came from a Con-Tex bank account in Cyprus and a combined Con-Tex/IFC bank account in Canada.

During the same timeframe, Ferenec’s affidavit continues, AFG cut 1 473 checks from that account, at least two of which went to people in Maryland. In August 2009, investigators talked to one of the Maryland recipients, who admitted the proceeds had come from online gambling.

In all, Ferenec’s affidavit maps out a total of nearly $6.3 million wired internationally by either Con-Tex or IFC to AFG bank accounts in the U.S. The AFG accounts, which the affidavit says have all been closed by the banks due to suspicions that the money was tied to illegal gambling, were held with Mercantile, Sovereign Bank, Wachovia Bank, National City Bank, and TD Bank North.

The international wire transfers from Con-Tex and IFC were the sole sources of funds in the AFG accounts, the affidavit explains.

The two AFG bank accounts targeted for seizure are with Fifth Third Bank and Wilmington Savings Fund Society.

The Fifth Third account, from which $124 028.88 was seized, received about $3.3 million in wire transfers from Con-Tex and IFC between December 2008 and June 2009, the affidavit explains. Nearly 4 000 checks were cut from the account, totaling about $3.1 million disbursed to people in the U.S.

During July and August 2009, 35 of those checks were issued to Maryland residents. The amount of money entering AFG’s Wilmington Savings account is not specified in the affidavit, which explains that about 575 checks were cut from the account, one of which was mailed to a Texan who “confirmed to the bank that the check was the proceeds of online gambling.”

Ferenec’s affidavit says it’s likely that money will continue to enter the targeted accounts “for a period of time” after the warrants are executed, because those involved “will be unable to promptly stop the flow of funds or inform all of their contacts of this investigation.” Therefore, Ferenec requests that the warrant order the banks to allow the deposits to continue, but not any attempted debits, and that “ICE be allowed to periodically remove such funds” during a 21-day period after the warrants are executed.