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Is cricket becoming like football? League-style cricket moves away from the traditional cricket
In the past few years, cricket games appear to have become very popular in countries which don’t have a long tradition in the sport or where this sport is not deeply embedded in their culture. That’s basically because cricket is getting worldwide and it’s going global, as a result of the growth of the league-style structure that is now seen in the cricket organizations.
We have most likely moved away from what cricket had once been and we are heading towards – or maybe we have already embarked on- a new version of the sport.
One that departs from its traditional structure and emphasis on international tournaments or competitions and lands on more league-based sports, such as football. It’s no wonder that you can see cricket betting sites in Germany, let’s say being almost equally popular among bettors like football betting sites or any other top sport for that matter.
People around the globe have started to watch cricket with the same passion, enthusiasm and interest that they are watching more mainstream and competitive sports. And this is definitely a result of how cricket is played now.
Some analysts have voiced their concerns, saying that cricket is heading towards ‘footballization’ or that it grows more and more into a sport like football, where leagues are the dominant structures around which the sport unfolds and clubs get to have the final say in cricketers’ moves and decisions.
How is cricket becoming more like football?
Well, cricket seems to be adopting the football-like structure, which is based on leagues’ format. This has been around for nearly two decades now, with the introduction of T20 leagues, but it has been intensified with the franchise of such leagues in the past few years.
At the moment the IPL – the most popular T20 league- has 10 franchises in India and this is not the only case. Franchised T20 leagues are continuously gaining ground, taking up more space in the cricket calendar of nations and slowly shortening the international cricket season year by year.
The growing popularity of T20 leagues resides in their format and the fact that they are more easily watched and followed by fans. They are shorter than the traditional matches, they are more intense and they are quicker.
So they offer condensed experience for the casual sports fans on the one hand, and more chances to get this experience on the other hand. Since there are many such leagues and they are shorter, then there can be more of them during the season. This comes in handy for the sports bettors as well, who want to have more action in cricket, just like they do when they are betting on football.
But what does ‘footballization’ mean in practice?
Having cricket being ‘footballized’ first of all means that there is more cricket going on all year round and so more audiences get to watch the sport. More of the sport and more of the audiences, also mean more revenues for the different leagues.
More revenues for the leagues, mean that the leagues’ clubs have more money to give for the contracts of players and thus more revenues for the cricketers. And this ultimately changes everything, because players get to be more tied to and consumed with the leagues and “less” available for international cricketing – which after all is the fundamental base value of cricket as a sport.
So, having cricket being ‘footballized’ simply means that leagues get to be on the top of priorities of all players and when this happens, by definition, international cricket games come second.
Leagues are getting stronger and they acquire more power in managing their players. When the cricket calendar is filled with league matches in between the international tournaments, then the leagues – and in fact the clubs – have a say in the players’ appearance in the national teams. They can release their players and make them available for the national teams, but they can also hinder their participation. It all becomes a matter of leagues and in this way, cricket is gradually losing its essence – which is deeply embedded in international competitions and bilateral series.
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Week 40/2024 slot games releases
Here are this weeks latest slots releases compiled by European Gaming
Amusnet has released 40 Bulky Dice – a classic video slot full of lucky dice symbols with a modern twist, which tempts with lots of entertainment and fantastic prizes. This 5-reel, 40 fixed paylines slot game offers vivid gameplay, epic sound effects and an easy-to-use interface. Watch out for the colourful Joker, which is the Wild symbol and appears on the second, third and fourth reels.
BGaming has teamed up with famous rapper and record producer Snoop Dogg to create an iconic new slot, Snoop Dogg Dollars. The themed game is BGaming’s first branded content in collaboration with a celebrity and was exclusively launched with Roobet on 25th September, before going live across the wider network on 30th October.
Relax Gaming has delivered a knockout blow with its latest release, Feather Fury. Fists are flying in this 3×2 boxing-themed slot, where players can win up to 5,000x their stake thanks to a truly unique mechanic that awards respins following dead spins. Every dead spin that is registered automatically adds a notch to the bar, with 10 dead spins being enough to trigger Feather Fury’s respin feature.
“Reel Rabbit” from Hölle Games is already live, a new entry in the Reel franchise. This 5×3, 25 payline slot continues in the footsteps of furry friends Fox, Tiger and Wolf, and while it might be the most mild-mannered mammal of the bunch, Reel Rabbit still packs a hefty punch!
Step into the vibrant world of Muertos Fortuna, an exciting slot game from Zillion Games, featuring 3D animation and engaging features. Muertos Fortuna, inspired by Día de los Muertos and Halloween, brings vibrant animations and the unique presence of Catrina Muerte, who may appear during gameplay to interact and cheer you on with fun phrases, adding an engaging element to the experience.
Play’n GO invites players to revisit the mystical world of the beyond in Lady of Fortune Remastered, where the future holds untold riches and mysterious revelations. Venture where the veil between our world and the unknown is thin, and fortunes await those who dare to look. This 5×3 video slot revisits the popular title, Lady of Fortune, now with enhanced visuals and enriched gameplay.
Belatra Games has released its latest hot shot, Lucky Bandits. This exhilarating escapade launches players into the lawless lands of the Wild West that are brought to life with stunning visuals, immersive soundscapes, and thrilling gameplay. The game is bursting with engaging features such as Free Games, Hot Mode, and the intense Shot and Dynamite Bonuses.
Intrepid players are being given the chance to venture back in time to a land ruled by the great Pharaohs where they can uncover relics, treasures and big wins in Gold of Egypt, the latest slot from Silverback Gaming. In Gold of Egypt, players find themselves in a hot and arid desert at the entrance to a secret tomb. As the reels spin, ancient symbols land on the reels including a Cat, Snake, Scorpion and Scarab, as well as different hieroglyphics.
They say Rome wasn’t built in a day, but in Swintt’s all-new slot sensation, Hidden Treasures of Rome, players’ fortunes can certainly be built up in seconds thanks to the presence of Free Spins, a rewarding tumble feature and random multipliers that offer a maximum payout of up to 5,000x the stated win.
On October 2nd Endorphina, released its newest slot game, Panda Strike, now available for play in most online casinos. Panda Strike is a 5-reel, 4-row oriental slot with 40 fixed paylines. Set in a small Chinese town, the slot encourages players to master concentration and self-discipline, leading them to face the legendary panda, a master of the martial arts.
Amusnet has released its new online slot game, 10 Vampire Bites. The game has 11 symbols scattered across 5 reels and 10 paylines. The video slot game also showcases a hauntingly beautiful gothic design that immerses players in a world of mystery, while the atmospheric soundtrack further enhances the eerie experience, drawing players deeper into the chilling narrative.
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How Do Casinos Detect Fake Chips and Cheat Devices?
One of the biggest challenges that brick-and-mortar casinos must deal with to run their business efficiently, is fraud. For as long as gambling establishments have been around, people have been trying to cheat at the games they provide.
So how do casinos keep themselves ahead of the game? There is a tremendous amount of unseen security that happens in a casino establishment, so much so that people may not even notice its sheer volume.
All casinos, be it digital platforms or land-based establishments, deal with money. Any low deposit Czech online casino, an online casino no minimum deposit Philippines platform or a Canadian casino site has security to protect digital payment transactions. And physical casinos have to work hard to stay one step ahead of the game. Here are some of the methods they use to protect themselves.
Fake Chips
Chips are currency in the casino, which makes them a big target for counterfeiters, but making them is no easy process. That’s down to the security measures embedded in real chips, which makes them very hard to replicate.
Making this even tougher for would-be scammers, is the fact that all casinos use different designs for their chips, and the variations between them can be in the form of marking, colours, style and even weight.
This is a very important aspect because if a counterfeiter went through all the effort and expense to make chips for just one casino, there’s a greater chance of them being caught than if they were spreading the chips around at various establishments.
But casinos take a lot of other steps to protect themselves against fake chips.
RFID Technology
At the top end of casino play, it’s common for higher-value chips to have RFID technology built into them. These signals can be detected by the casino’s systems and tracked at any moment. So if a chip turns up at a table or a cashier’s cage and an RFID signal is not received, that’s a problem.
Ultraviolet
Chips also have hidden UV markings on them, making it difficult for them to be replicated. Standard practice for casino workers is to go through the floats that hold the chips and scan them with a UV light. If a chip’s missing a marker, it’s flagged.
The Trained Eye
Casino workers are trained to know their chips, so sometimes a visual inspection can be enough to catch a fraudster if a slight difference in the shade of green on a $25 chip is spotted, for example, or the weight feels a little off in the hand. This is naturally a little more difficult to reveal, but it’s part of the security along with random audits and chip counting on a shift.
Chip Fingerprinting
Chips come from a mould, and this makes forensic fingerprinting of chips possible as well. That means at a microscopic level, the chips are going to have the same flaws as that mould. If a suspect chip doesn’t match the mould as it should, then it’s not going to be a genuine casino product.
Personal Checks
Another rule that casinos follow for protection against fake chips is undergoing checks on players. Wherever a player tries to buy into a game with a high-value chip of at least $500 a security check on the person will be performed. If the player refuses to give their ID or have their photo taken, well that just makes them look extremely suspicious.
Part of money laundering laws also means that players can’t buy in at a certain level (typically $10K) without validating their ID. Casinos also have phenomenal surveillance systems that can track individual high-value chips, so they can account for where they are at any time. Trying to introduce fake high-value chips is, therefore, high-risk stuff.
That’s also part of the reason anyone who attempts this will typically go for lower denomination chips, with the $100 being the most frequently faked.
Cheat Devices
Cheat devices that are taken onto the casino floor to try and manipulate games are another thing that casinos have to deal with. These are electronic devices that can send signals to players at a poker table from spotters or ones that can be inserted into slot machines to manipulate the mechanics.
How do casinos detect these? Metal and radio signal detectors can help scope these out. But again, the “big eye in the sky”, the surveillance systems play a large part in this. It watches everything and tracks everything, and even the slightest suspicion about something will raise a red flag.
There are also consequences for trying to use fake chips, as it can lead to casino bans, criminal charges being pressed against you and prosecution.
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Blask expands coverage with new European and Asian markets
Blask, the AI-driven market analytics ecosystem, continues its rapid expansion towards the goal of providing high-quality iGaming data for the entire world, with the addition of 10 major new markets.
All Blask users now have access to real-time data, including estimates of GGR, FTDs, Blask Index, and Relative market share by brand, for the new markets, which include the Philippines, the Netherlands, Poland, Serbia, Bulgaria, Malaysia, and North Macedonia.
“As we onboard more users to Blask, we are listening to them closely and adding new markets based on demand,” said Blask CEO and co-founder Max Tesla. “This latest Europe and Asia-focused update provides the most accurate, real-time data available for some of the most important iGaming jurisdictions in the world. Blask is already providing a data-driven edge to users, and we’ll continue to deliver on our roadmap to make it a must-have for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of our industry.”
Blask now offers data from a total of 34 global iGaming jurisdictions. In August, the team rolled out several new Latin American and African markets to meet the demand for accurate data in emerging regions.
As well as new markets, additional functionality is also being added to Blask. This includes a recent update that brings comprehensive customer profiling to the platform.
The company recently announced the appointment of Greg Penkov as Chief Revenue Officer to help bring Blask to new customers.
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