Let the madness begin

March Madness is upon us, as the conference tournaments have concluded and the brackets for both the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball national championships tournaments have been revealed. I was sweating it out, as my school, the University of Virginia, was the second-to-last one in the field, but for loads of other schools, it was just an evening of looking forward to finding out who they were playing.

And with March Madness comes betting. The American Gaming Association estimates that people will wager $2.7bn on legal betting platforms and much, much more when one takes into account bracket pools and illegal sportsbooks.

So who are the favorites this year? Let’s take a look at who the bookmakers have installed as the ones to beat. We won’t be offering up any betting advice, as this writer is a terrible bettor – lucky for me it’s not legal in my state…yet – but just examining which schools are the favorites and if it’s all just chalk down the board.

Top four seeds aren’t the top four favorites

It probably comes as no surprise that the top seeds are also the favorites to win the whole kit and kaboodle. While the selection committee sometimes throws some curveballs, they didn’t bounce one in the dirt here (baseball reference in a basketball article). Defending champ Connecticut is both the top overall seed and easily the favorite to cut down the nets at +375, according to ESPN BET.

UConn’s East Region includes 2-seed Iowa State, 3-seed Illinois, and 4-seed Auburn

And that’s even with what experts consider to be the toughest region. UConn’s East Region includes 2-seed Iowa State, 3-seed Illinois, and 4-seed Auburn, all of whom are not just really good, but also won their conference tournaments.

After Connecticut, South Region top seed Houston comes in at +550 and Midwest Region 1-seed Purdue is +700 in what many think is the weakest region.

The other 1-seed, North Carolina, is interestingly NOT the fourth-favorite on ESPN Bet. That slot goes to Arizona, who is the 2-seed in the West, North Carolina’s region. Arizona is at +1,110, while UNC is +1,300. Why is that? Could be a combination of oddsmakers thinking Arizona is better, the regional being out west and therefore favoring Arizona geographically, and perhaps (though I’m not saying this is the case) that Arizona’s side of the bracket is perceived as easier.

Best of the rest

Arizona, though having better odds than North Carolina, was not the selection committee’s top 2-seed. That was Tennessee, which is in Purdue’s bracket and looks to have a favorable path to the Elite Eight, with 3-seed Creighton being the only real threat (of course, anything can happen, just look at Purdue falling to a 16-seed last year).

sportsbooks really like Auburn’s metrics

Tennessee is +1,600 to win the national championship. That ties them with the first real eyebrow raiser in Auburn, which is just a 4-seed in the East and was just 15th on the selection committee’s overall seeding list. Sportsbooks really like Auburn’s metrics, which have them in the top ten in many computer rankings. The committee may have looked at their weak nonconference schedule, favorable conference schedule, and lack of marquee wins to knock them down the bracket a bit.

Iowa State, another 2-seed, is next at +1,700. Kentucky, a 3-seed, is at +2,000, as is 2-seed Marquette. Kentucky has two possible top-five NBA draft picks and crushed some really good teams this year, while Marquette’s star Tyler Kolek is battling an injury, which could explain the parity in odds. They are also in the same region, so if things go to par, they will meet in the Elite Eight.

Rounding out the teams on the four-line or better are 4-seed Alabama and 3-seeds Illinois and Creighton at +2,500, 4-seed Duke at +3,000, and 3-seed Baylor and 4-seed Kansas at +4,000. Kansas is the most intriguing one of the group, as when healthy, they can beat anyone, but the Jayhawks are really banged up going into the tourney. Leading scorer Kevin McCullar Jr. and leading rebounder Hunter Dickinson are both hurt – Coach Bill Self says they will be good for the tournament, but who knows?

The post 2024 March Madness Betting: Connecticut, Houston Favorites in NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament appeared first on Vegas Slots Online News.

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By Louis Wheeler

Most iGaming players are familiar with traditional online casinos. Licensed online gaming platforms require real money deposits for real money gaming, with real money rewards. However, there are alternative options available to players in the form of sweepstakes casinos and social casinos. There are clear distinctions between various online casinos, which we will examine in this blog post.

Many folks use the terms sweepstakes, lotteries and contests interchangeably. There are nuanced differences between them. Traditionally, sweepstakes refer to a giveaway with a randomly selected winner. With sweepstakes, no money needs to be spent directly upfront – no purchase is necessary for winning – and no skills or strategies are needed to win sweepstakes. But that’s the traditional sense of the word, and it’s slightly different with sweepstakes casinos.

To continue reading this article, please visit: https://www.888casino.com/blog/sweepstakes-casinos

LeoVegas, the international operator of online casinos and sports betting websites, has been ordered by the United Kingdom Advertising Standards Authority to withdraw one of its radio advertisements for BetUK, an online sports betting brand.

The Advertising Standards Authority ruled that the respective advert was “irresponsible” and that it could appeal to children. The advert aired in September 2023 and it featured Adebayo Akinfenwa, a retired football player, who spoke about his role as a brand ambassador for BetUK.

However, in the advert in question Akinfenwa encouraged players to gamble responsibly and also made them aware of the various safer gambling tools available on BetUK, including deposit limits, the possibility of setting time-outs and scheduling reality checks.

The Advertising Standards Authority received just one complaint regarding the advertisement’s possible appeal to children. The respective complaint underlined that the presence of a former football player in the advert could present a strong appeal to children and that would put the advert in breach of the BCAP Code.

LeoVegas Rejects Complaint

The online casino and sports betting operator responded to the complaint by saying that it doesn’t believe the advert appeals to children. LeoVegas and BetUK underlined that Adebayo Akinfenwa is now aged 41 and has retired from football for some time, so it is quite unlikely that he is popular with today’s children.

Moreover, LeoVegas and BetUK pointed out that Akinfenwa was not a huge football star back in the day, he spent most of his career in the lower leagues of English football and not in the Premier League. That makes any potential for appeal to children even lower.

Adebayo Akinfenwa does have a clothing range which made him known outside of the world of football but BetUK underlined that it does not include any products for children, so there shouldn’t be any problem there either.

When looking at the social media accounts associated with Akinfenwa, BetUK pointed out that just 8 percent of his total followers on Instagram were under the age of 18, while on Snapchat the percentage went up to 18 percent.

The sports betting operator also underlined that the advert did not feature any content that would normally be associated with children or a childish tone. Moreover, it was played during a radio show that is targeting an adult audience. Radiocentre, the commercial body for United Kingdom radio stations, decided to support BetUK in this case.

Despite the response, the Advertising Standards Authority decided to uphold the complaint because it was found in breach of the BCAP Code, which states that adverts for gambling products must not be likely to be of strong appeal to children or young persons.

Source: “LeoVegas ordered to withdraw “irresponsible” BetUK radio advert“. iGaming Business. March 13, 2024.

The post LeoVegas Ordered to Withdraw Radio Advert for BetUK Sportsbook appeared first on Casino News Daily.

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Get ready for another mythological adventure with Play’n GO as you play its new hit Chamber of Ancients!

However, this time the provider invites players to join a mythological adventure that is definitely unique as it involves gods from many different religions around the world.

Mystical visual:

This exquisite slot with a mixed mythology theme beckons players to try to enter a hidden vault, which is rumored to contain an abundance of riches. However, many have tried and failed because the gods who protect it, Thor, Athena, Ganesha, Eset and Caishen, permit entry only to those who demonstrate a worthy set of skills.

To make a winning combination, players must form a combination of at least 3 matching symbols on adjacent reels beginning from the reel located furthest to the left. In addition, this 5×3 game has high volatility, a default RTP of 96.31% and a maximum win of 20,000x a player’s wager.

In terms of features, since each god has a specific key connected to them which, if players reach it, unlocks the Chamber of that particular god and is located above the reels, there is a Hold & Spin feature, which unlocks one of the Chambers and is activated when players get at least 3 matching Key Symbols throughout the same spin in the Free Spins and Base Game.

Then there is the popular Free Spins bonus round, which may be triggered if players land a minimum of 3 Scatter Symbols, i.e. image of the golden mask, throughout the Base Game. As soon as it’s activated, players are automatically rewarded with 8, 10 or 12 free spins, individually, which further depends on the number of Scatters used to activate the round.

Said bonus round may be reactivated if players land at least 3 Scatters on the reels, which further gives them up to 50 free spins.

And finally, there is the Wild Symbol, in the form of a star-shaped golden coin, whose main task is to replace every symbol, except the Key Symbols and the Scatter. Additionally, each time a Wild lands on the reels, it extends to cover the whole reel, which increases the chances of landing multiple winning paylines.

The globally-loved mythology franchise:

This new hit Chamber of Ancients isn’t the only title from Play’n GO, which is based on the popular mythological theme. There are also other hits such as Odin: Protector of the Realms and Scroll of Seth.

Also, fans of the Wilde series and Dead series will certainly have fun playing this game, as it’s also a treasure-seeking adventure.

Expressing pride for this new release, Magnus Wallentin, Games Ambassador at Play’n GO, commented: “We’re very excited for players to try out Chambers of Ancients and experience this mixed-mythology narrative. We have lots of IPs focused on specific mythologies, but combining the iconic characters from these tales is something we’ve really enjoyed doing. Along with the game’s exciting selection of bonus features, this is sure to be a hit!”

The Ontario iGaming market, which includes online casino and poker sites, is making a push to expand outside of the province’s borders. There is a Court of Appeal hearing scheduled for November to determine whether is legal to allow international players to sign up at Ontario online poker sites.

The move, if approved, would allow online poker sites (where you can win real money) including GGPoker and PokerStars to share its liquidity with international markets. What’s interesting is that this move could also play a factor in Quebec and Alberta overhauling their current iGaming setups.

The Key Takeaways

Ontario broke ground when it became the first (and only) province in Canada with a regulated online casino gaming and sports betting marketplace. Now, it is looking to expand its reach but not within Canada.

A hearing in November will determine whether online poker sites in Ontario will be allowed to accept registered users from around the world. The move would appeal to licensed online poker sites in Ontario, but there is one interesting note.

Sites would need to be legally recognized in any country in which it accepts players. For international sites like PokerStars, that will be less of an issue. For others, its international reach will be severely limited.

The goal is to grow the player pool and drive revenues (and taxes) for both operators and the province. Perhaps the most interesting part of this is the potential future impact it could have. It has been speculated that Quebec and Alberta could completely overhaul their iGaming setups, especially if this measure passes.

Hearing Scheduled for November

Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) is going through an affair related to its sports betting platform, Proline. As per Carl Zhou, one of the bettors, he hasn’t been able to claim any of his winnings for four weeks now.

Win without reward:

Zhou registered on the platform in November when the company was running a promotion. According to the residents of Mississauga, he was betting on basketball, hockey, and football games, and his bets were successful. After he tried to claim his winnings, it was unsuccessful, despite all of the paperwork and chats with customer service he submitted.

He commented: “I’m a little bit disappointed at the lack of response that I’ve been getting. Usually … if you have a problem with this type of issue, you report it to some like, government entity. But in this case, this is the government.”

Zhou isn’t the only customer who hasn’t received its rewards yet. Since February, a lot of players haven’t received their winnings. OLG commented on this, saying that the issue occurred because of the huge number of players that registered and the platform hasn’t been able to verify their accounts, since the interest prior to the Super Bowl was enormously increased. The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario is supposed to verify the bank accounts of potential players, and the Commission is running late.

However, according to an industry expert, the company hasn’t been able to adapt and compete with other operators.

As CBC News reports, OLG didn’t want to share the number of people who were affected by the crisis, as well as the number of people who registered before the Super Bowl.

An issue with verification:

Tony Bitonti, OLG’s spokesperson, said: “We appreciate the patience and understanding of our customers while we work diligently to review and subsequently verify bank accounts as quickly as possible. OLG prides itself on always paying its winners and also carefully complying with regulatory standards.”

The company was running various deals in the previous few months, and one of them invited the players to register because they could potentially win more than $500 in bonuses if they placed a bet worth $50.

Val Strambu from Waterloo, decided to make a Super Bowl bet after the promotion was announced. He won more than $1.000, but he still hasn’t received the money. He claimed that the company hasn’t had any issues with taking his money, and added: “You took my money. You should be able to pay me back the same way.”

According to Michael Naraine, a sports management professor at Brock University, the verification of banking information is required in order to prevent the funds being used to supply organized crime and criminals. He explains that the verification isn’t required when the deposits are placed, since there’s no concern that the money would be used for anything besides placing the bets.

He added: “The probability is the consumer’s going to lose that money and the money’s going to stay within the ecosystem. It’s once they’re trying to withdraw that money out of the ecosystem … the operators have to dot their I’s and cross their T’s as it relates to where’s this money going.”

It is known that OGL, a Crown’s corporation, has fewer resources than other private operators. However, this move will affect the image of the brand and might drive customers away.

Naraine thinks that OLG can’t keep up with the current market, despite its profit going back to funding the community.

While waiting for his money, Zhou hopes to see a more transparent approach and regular updates on the issue. He claims that he won’t be using any of the OLG’s services until he receives what he won.