2018 is coming to an end and to say it was a fun year is an understatement. Many historical, outrageous or simply interesting events fell to his lot. Let's refresh our memory and be amazed once again at what players, casinos and online gambling in general have experienced in these 360+ days.
Of all the new slots, Max Quest Wrath of Ra from BetSoft made the biggest impression. The developer began to talk about his mega novelty for a long time, as the players got the opportunity to get acquainted with what to expect in general. But when the game did come out, it turned out to be a real sensation.
BetSoft said Max Quest was "a new era in gaming" and they weren't exaggerating at all. Just a crazy game, nothing like any of the existing slots. This is an amazing mixture of computer and gambling. Many will be interested at least once to try. Here is an overview of the game and a demo, and here are explanations on how to play it.
One of the most anticipated slots of 2018 has arrived at NetEnt casino. Since February, the developer has been slowly feeding players with news, igniting interest. The result was a good, exciting slot. There is nothing particularly innovative about Vikings, as is the case with Max Quest. But this did not make the slot less attractive.
We must not forget about board games. In this category of games, unlike slots, there is little change, and significant changes are very rare. But in 2018 there was a breakthrough - Yggdrasil launched Sonya Blackjack. A traditional blackjack table game, only the table is served by a character named Sonya. It would seem a trifle - there was no dealer, but now he is. But in fact, this is an innovative solution.
Let's start, perhaps, with the loudest news of the outgoing year - a new record for winnings in online casinos. On September 28, 2018, this record was set by the Mega Moolah slot from Microgaming, and the winner took away as much as 18,915,721 euros! Only 75 cents was needed for the lucky one to break this record amount. Not surprisingly, the player did not want to divulge his name. Now he is a multimillionaire.
After Push Gaming released Jammin' Jars in mid-September, reports began to surface that something was wrong with the slot machine. The two streamers had a complete winning streak. Imagine that the same winning combinations fall out one after another.
Everything coincided - both the position of the symbols and the multiplication. In general, it is not surprising that the players began to have questions. There have been many different versions, from streamers playing in a special mode to an error in the slot machine.
The truth turned out to be that the Jammin' Jars slot machine is simply programmed for many scenarios that can be repeated. First, it is determined whether the player won or not, and then how much money he is entitled to and according to what scenario the win will take place. Push Gaming commented on the situation and everything became clear. However, even after that, reports of similar cases with similar accusations surfaced.
Every year thousands of players complain about the casino. Most complaints are related to delayed or denied withdrawals. The Bob Casino case is special as the amount was 940,000 euros. At the same time, according to the player, the representatives of the casino behaved simply disgustingly. They ignored the player, and tried to fix the problem for a much smaller amount, implying that otherwise he would not receive any money at all.
After the player raised the issue on AskGamblers and other reputable resources, the news quickly spread across the internet. At first, the casino referred to the need to check the winnings, but then they paid out the money.
If the developer admits that he tweaked the demo mode, it seems that he cannot be trusted. It is expected that their business should decline, and as a result - bankruptcy. But not in the case of GameArt. This slot provider has officially admitted that the demo mode was set to a higher return. It seems harmless, since the game is all the same for candy wrappers. However, this is a serious deception, as it misleads players about the possibilities of the slot.
There were a lot of skeptics at the beginning when the first reports of a possible scam appeared. Then the messages became more and they began to listen. As a result, VideoSlots casinos have achieved recognition from GameArt. But, apparently, the developer was simply reprimanded and continued to work with him.
Neither the operators nor the regulator began to punish the supplier. Moreover, the Malta Gaming Authority later stated that they are not affiliated with GameArt in any way and claims that the developer has MGA licenses are false. It means that the developer was deceiving in this as well. The result is one - they continue to work, as if nothing had happened.
At about the same time, several well-known streamers declared war on the PlayAttack affiliate. At first there was Vitus, who recorded a whole video about this. He talked about how his player had won a big jackpot and was under close surveillance. He also accused the affiliate that they want to compensate for the costs of paying this jackpot at his expense.
In response, PlayAttack gave clarifications on all the negative points that Vitus pointed out and Vitus himself wrote that the conflict was settled.
Literally in a few days, it becomes known about the conflicts of the partner program with DimOK and Igromania regarding participation in the Stream Apocalpse X2 tournament. The situation with DimOK was resolved and the streamer noted that they promised to pay him a prize, and regarding Igromania, the partner explained the reasons for his exclusion from the tournament. But even after that, TTR raised the well-known foreign resource AffiliateGuardDog (AGD) to the ears, referring to the same incidents.
Interesting moments appeared on the AGD forum, mutual accusations and conflicting messages from two representatives of the affiliate program. Among the controversies were claims by one that TTR was never affiliated with PlayAttack, while another said that TTR was banned by the affiliate a long time ago.
Probably the most exciting for streamers was the period when YouTube began to massively block the channels of casino streamers. At first, the Russian-speaking brethren began to blame each other for this heavenly punishment, but then it became clear that they were also blocking the channels of foreign streamers.
Since there was nothing like this on YouTube for a long time, everyone who made money on streams was shocked. To make matters worse, YouTube did not officially say anything about the bans. Here is a selection of comments on the subject.
Even such publishing houses as Forbes joined the discussion. As a result, YouTube said that this was their mistake, and they apologize. Read about all this here. But even after this statement, the bans continued. Although then someone created new channels, others restored the old ones. In general, the turmoil seems to have subsided.
It happens that the player almost turns gray while he is achieving his legitimate winnings. At the same time, the casino can throw mud at him, accusing him of fraud, theft, or whatever. Now this will not work, at least for operators in the UK. From October 31, 2018, the country's regulator introduced a new rule according to which operators can be forced to pay compensation for moral damage. Read more about what is considered damage here.
At the end of the year, one shocking news appeared. I personally did not expect this. The government of Curacao is going to put things in order in the field of online gambling. They receive complaints about casino operators who spoil the reputation of the jurisdiction. Therefore, a new regulatory body will be appointed - the Gaming Control Board, which is now in charge of land-based casinos.
Conclusion
This year, we also received an official statement from Igrosoft about their lack of a license, we went into detail about Curacao licenses and what jurisdiction a player falls under if he plays in a casino with several licenses.
These are just some of the events and news. Write in the comments what were your memorable moments in 2018.
