Fortune Lounge Group
definition - fortune lounge group
The Fortune Lounge group was founded in 1997, the company owns and operates 8 online casinos, 2 mobile casinos, 3 online bingo sites, and one online poker site. The first of their online casinos, 7 Sultans, was launched in 1999 and it has always been a great place to play. Fortune Lounge is a leading brand of world-renowned online casinos and poker rooms and has been endorsed by self regulatory body, eCommerce and Online Gaming, Regulation and Assurance (eCOGRA).
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| Type | Private Company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Gambling |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Headquarters | United Kingdom |
| Products | |
| Website | fortunelounge.com |
Fortune Lounge is one of the largest and oldest online gambling groups. [1] Eight online casinos, three online bingo sites and an online poker room operate under the Fortune Lounge banner. [2] The main casinos include Royal Vegas, Vegas Palms, 7Sultans and Platinum Play, the bingo sites are Giggle Bingo, Back2School Bingo [3] and True Blue Bingo,[4] and the online poker room is called PokerTime. All the Fortune Lounge casinos use Microgaming software.
Aside from the core Fortune Lounge-branded casinos, the company also owns Goldfishka casino, a Russian-language casino.[5]
The company holds a permit from the Lotteries and Gaming Authority of Malta for all of its casinos. Fortune Lounge's properties are accredited by eCOGRA, a Microgaming-founded online casino industry watchdog.
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History
The first of the Fortune Lounge casinos, 7Sultans, was launched in 1999 followed by Royal Vegas and Vegas Palms in 2000. These casino brands were grouped together under the Fortune Lounge banner in 2001. Vegas Villa and Fortune Room were launched the same year, Vegas Towers a year later in 2002, and Desert Dollar and Platinum Play in 2003. [6] In 2005, the Fortune Lounge group of online casinos branched out into the online poker industry, by launching its online poker site, PokerTime. In 2009, it included online bingo, with the launch of Giggle Bingo in September. It launched Back2School Bingo in 2010 and the Australian-based bingo room, True Blue Bingo in 2011.[7]
Accreditation
The Fortune Lounge casinos were among the first to be accredited by eCOGRA, an online-gambling industry watchdog, as well as one of the first to receive an operating licence from Microgaming Software Systems Ltd. [8]
The servers are located in Malta, making Fortune Lounge subject to the Lotteries and Gaming Authority of Malta (LGA).[9] The LGA issued Fortune Lounge with two licences, LGA/CL1/542/2008 and LGA/CL3/542/2008 in June 2010.[10]
In June 2011, Online Poker Sites commissioned a gambling expert to investigate the credibility of the LGA. It was found that, “There is no doubt that the LGA have taken great care in ensuring their validity, and that of those operations they license. A good number of the 500+ licenses they issue are held by some of the biggest and most reputable operators in the e-gaming industry. This obviously reflects well on the Maltese government, the LGA and the operators themselves. A well regulated environment is important to all parties, and the peace of mind provided to customers of these licensed operations is invaluable.”[11]
Member casinos
All Fortune Lounge casinos are very similar in structure, types of games and safety standards, but they differ in theme and their new player welcome bonuses (which are usually in the form of deposit match bonuses, a common online casino offer where the casino will match any amount the player deposits in varying percentages, up to a limited total). The Fortune Lounge casinos are: Platinum Play, Royal Vegas, Vegas Palms, 7Sultans, Desert Dollar, Vegas Villa, Fortune Room and Vegas Towers.[12]
Poker room
In 2004, Fortune Lounge launched its online poker room, PokerTime. Licensed in Malta, it offers regular tournaments, many of which are freerolls.[13] Players can download the software or choose the Instant Play option and play online. The website also has a “How to Play” section to cater for beginners.[14]
Bingo rooms
- Giggle Bingo – Launched in 2009, Giggle Bingo was the first of Fortune Lounge’s online bingo sites. The site has six bingo rooms: Snickers, Ice Breaker, Friendship, Sunshine, Harmony and Speed Bingo, offering both 75-ball bingo and 90-ball bingo. Each room offers its own chat games, and linked games.[15]
- Back2School Bingo – This bingo room has a quirky school theme, and offers its players a new 90-ball bingo game every six minutes, progressive jackpots and live chat.[16]
- True Blue – The newest of the Fortune Lounge bingo rooms is True Blue. It was launched in December 2011 and is aimed at, but not exclusive to the Australian market.[17]
Events
Fortune Lounge was one of the first online casino groups to host its players at land-based sporting and lifestyle events around the world, taking in the Monaco Grand Prix, the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Las Vegas and the Bahamas. These events often include additional giveaways, including cash, casino credits and cars. [18] Fortune Lounge has hosted five International Casino Games events, which is its biggest series of land-based promotions.
International Casino Games
In 2005 (into 2006), Fortune Lounge launched International Casino Games, a three month online tournament with 100 spots aboard the Caribbean Princess cruise ship as the main prize. One hundred players and their partners were taken on the cruise, visiting San Juan, Puerto Rico; St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands; Tortola, British Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, St Lucia and Barbados. On board, the players competed in a slot tournament using real slot machines, with $250 000 being given away as the main prize.[19]
Since then, Fortune Lounge has hosted a cruise almost every year, with similar structures for entry, across all its online casinos. In 2006/2007, the prize was a Mediterranean cruise on the Costa Fortuna. One hundred players and their partners were hosted on a 7 day trip along the coasts of Spain, Italy and France. Again, there was a competition on board, using real slots, with the main prize being $250 000.
Lounge Group Inc
In April 2008, 50 players won double tickets on a seven day cruise which visited Toulon in France, Tunis (Tunisia), Valletta in Malta and Sicily’s Medina before returning to Rome. Four players won €50,000 each, and another six won €40,000 in the on-board slots tournament.[20]
The fourth installment of the International Casino Games ran from August 2008 to February 2009, with a seven day cruise aboard the Grand Princess along the Spanish coast. The main prize was again split into four prizes of €50,000.[21]
The most recent International Casino Games competition ran from October 2010 to February 2011. Fifty double tickets to a cruise on the Caribbean were given away. The onboard competition had a main prize of €50,000, and three consolation prizes of €25,000 each.[22]
Tournaments
The International Slots League allows players to compete against each other in real time to win a prize from the central prize pool. [23] The tournaments start and end at set times, with the aim being to maximize the points in the Win Box. These Win Boxes are ranked on a Leaderboard, and the players with the highest rankings win prizes. The International Slots League tournaments are available on 7Sultans, Royal Vegas, Platinum Play and Vegas Palms.
The International Blackjack League is similar to the slots league in that players can compete online in real time. There are two types of tournaments: Scheduled (where the players need to sign up beforehand) and Sit ‘n Go (where no sign-up is required). Some tournaments require a buy-in, and prizes vary. The tournament has a set amount of time and at the end of it, the player with the most chips wins.[24]
Service
VIP management
Fortune Lounge offers hosting services, gifts and promotions, and individual care to top-level players. Each VIP player has a dedicated Casino Host, and their VIP status means they get invited to dinners, taken on holidays and to events at the casino’s expense. Selected VIPs were invited to events at the Icehotel in Sweden, the Atlantis Paradise Island resort in the Bahamas, as well as the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the Monaco Grand Prix and the 2009-10 UEFA Champions League final in Madrid.[25]
Rewards programme
Every time players place a bet at Fortune Lounge casinos, they earn loyalty points. One thousand loyalty points can be redeemed for one cash credit. Depositing players will also receive a 2,500 loyalty point bonus. The Rewards programme is tiered, starting at the Silver level, with the highest being the Diamond level. The higher the player’s level, the bigger the rewards.[26]
Customer support
All the Fortune Lounge brands have a customer-support system in place. Its call centre is available is 24/7/365, as is the email, chat and call-back service. Multiple languages are supported.[27] The call centre won Gambling Magazine’s Top Casino Customer Service Award in 2003.[28]
Player security
Fortune Lounge has these security measures in place:
- All the Fortune Lounge casinos use 128-bit encryption technology, the same used to protect online banking facilities, and currently the highest level available commercially.
- Fortune Lounge has a dedicated fraud department, with a 24/7 risk team.
- Players can lodge complaints with eCOGRA, which will mediate in any dispute. The Fortune Lounge casinos are subject to both eCOGRA and LGA rules and regulations, and any transgressions by the casinos can result in a loss of their accreditation and the revoking of their licences.
- Although Fortune Lounge has players’ account details, it does not have access to the players’ accounts as the passwords are not archived and the casinos have no way of discovering them. The casinos can reset the passwords, but cannot use them to access any player’s account. [29]
Fortune Affiliates
Fortune Affiliates is the affiliate marketing programme representing Fortune Lounge’s eight online casinos, as well as the poker and bingo rooms. It offers an above average commission [30] to its members, as well as the tools, resources and content to recruit new players. A reporting and tracking system keeps track of which players visit the casino sites, and through which channels, and the affiliates are paid accordingly.
Rogue status
In March 2007, Fortune Lounge was labeled by the Casinomeister watchdog site as a rogue casino. According to the Casinomeister site, Fortune Lounge seized the winnings of a large number of players who had played and won at the casino.[31] The players had signed up for the casino and claimed the signup bonus that the casino offered. The players then played games with a low house edge in order to cash out as much of the signup bonus as possible. The casino confiscated the winnings of these advantage players.
After the Fortune Lounge Group investigated the claims by players, all casino accounts that had been previously closed for bonus abuse were re-instated. Monies were refunded and the group took on the losses for releasing an offer that could be abused within their own terms and conditions.[32]
Awards
In 2011 a website created to help protect online gamblers from being scammed, held their first Annual “Best of the Best” Approved Online Casinos Awards. Two of Fortune Lounge’s casinos were in the Top 10: Platinum Play at Number 1 and Royal Vegas at Number 9. [33] Platinum Play is listed as one of the top casinos on Casinomeister’s Picks. [34]
The Fortune Lounge Group has also won the following awards:
- Casinomeister's Fall From Grace Award, 2005[35]
- Gambling Online Magazine's Readers Poll Top Casino Group 2005
- Casinomeister's Best Casino Group, 2003[36]
- Gambling Online Magazine's Top Rewards Program 2003
- Gambling Online Magazine's Top Casino Customer Service 2003
World Player Magazine
From August 2005 to early 2007, Fortune Lounge Group released a physical magazine, World Player Magazine to document events run by the Fortune Lounge Group.
Notes
- ^http://www.148casinos.com/fortune-lounge/
- ^http://www.fortunelounge.eu/online-casinos/
- ^http://www.bestinonlinebingo.com/Online-Bingo-Reviews/Back2SchoolBingo.htm
- ^http://www.latestbingobonuses.com/bingo-news/2011-12-22/fortune-lounge-group-launches-true-blue-bingo/
- ^Goldfishka Casino
- ^http://www.fortunelounge.eu/online-casinos/
- ^http://www.theopenpress.com/index.php?a=press&id=124648
- ^http://www.jackpotfinder.com/gambling-guide/groups/fortune-lounge
- ^http://www.lga.org.mt/lga/home.aspx
- ^http://www.platinumplay.eu/licensingandreviews/
- ^http://www.onlinepokersites.co.uk/regulation/malta
- ^http://www.fortunelounge.eu/online-casinos/
- ^http://www.casinoaffiliateprograms.com/blog/valentines-online-poker-freeroll-from-pokertime/
- ^http://www.pokertime.eu/
- ^http://www.ballsupbingo.co.uk/bingo-reviews/giggle-bingo.asp
- ^http://www.onlinebingofriends.com/reviews/back2school-bingo
- ^http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/new-online-bingo-site-true-blue-bingo-launching-in-december-248131.php
- ^http://www.gpwa.org/article.asp?id=194181
- ^http://blog.royalvegas.com/international-casino-games/
- ^http://www.internationalcasinogames.com/PreviousEvents/Prevents2007-8/
- ^http://www.winnerstrategy.com/International-Casino-Games-2009-Winners-Announced.htm
- ^http://www.casinopeople.com/news/fortune-loungle-group-hosts-international-casino-games.html
- ^http://www.internationalslotsleague.com/getting-started/#tournaments
- ^http://www.internationalblackjackleague.com/howtotakepart/
- ^http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/topclass-events-for-vip-players-at-fortune-lounge-online-casino-158529.php
- ^http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/fortune-lounge-launches-its-new-online-casino-rewards-loyalty-program-120262.php
- ^http://www.fortunelounge.eu/Online-Gambling-Support/
- ^http://www.gamblingonlinemagazine.com/gambling-readers-poll-view.php
- ^http://www.fortunelounge.eu/about-fortune-lounge/fortune-lounge-legal-information/security-and-privacy/
- ^http://www.igamingaffiliateprograms.com/affiliate-program/fortune-affiliates/
- ^Casinomeister: Fortune Lounge - advantage players beware
- ^Casinomeister Post
- ^http://www.casinoscamreport.com/2011/12/20/csrs-1st-annual-awards-our-top-approved-online-casinos-of-2011/
- ^http://www.casinomeister.com/
- ^Casinomeister: Best and Worst of 2005
- ^Casinomeister: Best and Worst of 2003
Fortune Lounge Group Newport Beach
External links
Fortune Lounge Group
Fortune Lounge Group
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