It’s a new month and a new year, and with it comes a brand new collection of slot games by Microgaming and its network of exclusive studios.
In the coming days, we’ll bring you a more in-depth look at each of the games being released to Microgaming-powered online casinos this month, but for now, we’ll give you a summary of the new titles so that you have something to look forward to.
These are the new January 2021 slots by Microgaming:
- Shamrock Holmes Megaways – This six reel slot was created in partnership with the independent games studio, All41 Studios and went live on January 5th.
- The Bounty – Snowborn Games created this Wild West-themed title for Microgaming, and released it to online casinos on January 7th.
- Foxpot – Foxium lent its hand to this classic 3 reel, one active line slot, which goes live at Microgaming casinos on January 12th.
- Golden Stallion Ultraways – This debut release from Northern Lights Gaming, follows the adventures of wild horses in the Old West, and goes live on January 14th.
- Hyper Strike – This frenetic, explosive 20 pay line game boasts glorious technicolor and a pop soundtrack. Gameburger Studios and Microgaming will take this game live on January 19th.
- Pachinko – Neko Games and Microgaming partnered up to create a fun video bingo game based on the pachinko parlors of Japan. Watch out for this at gaming platforms from January 20th.
- Forgotten Island Megaways – Another game by All41 Studios, Forgotten Island uses Megaways technology and a ‘king of the apes’ theme. The game goes live on January 26th.
The player interaction network provider, Fast Track, formally welcomed Jean-Luc Ferriere on as its new chief commercial officer, after he served as brand ambassador for the company since October last year.
What promises to make Ferriere a good fit for this job is the fact that he served as CCO for the Isle of Man-based online casino software provider, Microgaming in the past. Experience with one of the best software companies in the industry prepared Ferriere very well for his new position.
“Jean-Luc has proved that he is able to get the best out of teams through a focus on both people and technology,” said Fast Track’s chief executive officer, Simon Lidzen.
“We have seen over the last few months that we are very aligned in terms of how we work and how we see the future of this industry, and we are absolutely delighted that he will now be playing a larger role at Fast Track.”
Prior to being appointed to the position of COO at Microgaming in 2018, Ferriere served in the business for a long time, guiding a number of departments along the way. At the time of being named COO of Microgaming, Ferriere called “the people and culture at Microgaming … incredibly strong,” and added that he was “thrilled to have to opportunity to guide” the teams at the highest levels.
Blueprint Gaming premiered its first slot game of the year: the 5 reel, 40 pay-line Eye of Horus: Power 4 Slots game. The new slot is completely mobile friendly and is the fifth game in the Eye of Horus series by Blueprint.
In 2017, Blueprint Gaming successfully transitioned RTG’s Eye of Horus retail slots to the world of online gambling. Eye of Horus is Blueprint’s most popular series and the new version promises to be a big hit among players.
“We are really starting 2021 with a bang and giving players a new variant of Eye of Horus, one of the standout brands from our portfolio over the previous year,” noted the director of marketing and relationships at Blueprint Gaming, Jo Purvis. “Players have really resonated with our Power 4 slots™ concept and introducing four reel windows to the Eye of Horus family of titles will help drive even more interest in this hugely popular brand.”
Purvis added that as Blueprint steps into the New Year, the company’s aim for the next 12 months is to maintain the great momentum which it created throughout 2020 and develop entertaining games for operators and players alike.
Eye of Horus: Power 4 Slots carries multiple bonus features, including the chance to play across four sets of reels at the same time, as well as a Super Games feature where players spin the wheel for a chance to win free games and more.
Online sports betting could be up and running in the state of Virginia by the time the Super Bowl kicks off this year on February 7th. The state lottery said the first online sports betting licenses could be approved within a fortnight.
The Executive Director of the Virginia Lottery, Kevin Hall said this week: “If a licensee is ready to go, some of them could be up and running by the Super Bowl. That’s a good opportunity. It’s the biggest thing on the sports calendar all year, so we might be able to launch with a bang.”
Last year, the Virginia General Assembly approved the introduction of online betting from 2021. Out of 12 available licenses, the lottery received 25 applications. The lottery will regulate Virginia’s online sports betting industry.
Some of the laws pertaining to Virginia’s new online sports betting industry:
- Players need to be at least 21 years of age.
- Players need to physically located in Virginia.
- No betting on Virginia college teams.
- No betting on the Olympics.
- Pregame and in-game bets can be placed on professional sports games, but only pregame game bets on college team games.
- 15% of the revenues will be taxed.
- Some of the taxes will be used to fund problem gambling programs.
Analysts predict that around $400 million will be spent on sports betting in Virginia this year.
Pragmatic Play, the popular online casino software group, has added another potentially great title to its ever-growing games lobby. Voodoo Magic is a 5 x 4, 40 pay line video slot where the voodoo witch weaves her magic across the reels.
“With the nights darker than ever in the middle of winter, we’ve offered a creepy adventure in our latest title, Voodoo Magic, to keep players on the edge of their seats,” noted Yossi Barzely, the Chief Business Development Officer at Pragmatic Play.
What are the bonus features we can expect to find on Voodoo Magic slot?
- Look out for the modifiers during the base game, including the Fortune Hex where all the low paying symbols are removed from the reels.
- Wild Curses can appear randomly on any spin. This feature sees all scatters turn wild on the reels.
- Land three Potion scatter symbols on any spin to unlock the Voodoo Mystery free spin feature. Players are presented with a scary looking card which reveals if they’re the winners of Free Spins, Super Free Spins or Mega Free Spins.
- Multipliers of up to 50 x and mystery cards which can transform into matching symbols on the reels during the free spins feature.
“Packed full of modifiers and features, players will enter the world of Voodoo in the hopes of leaving with plenty of enchanted riches,” added Barzely.