Daily News: new slot at Pragmatic Play and Macau started issuing tourist visas

Pragmatic Play introduced The Dog House Megaways slot

The software developer Pragmatic Play has released a new video slot The Dog House Megaways. The RTP is 96.55%, and volatility of the slot is high.

The slot has the Megaways function, thanks to which the number of ways to make winning combinations can reach 117 649. High-paying symbols are bones, collars and four dogs of different breeds. Wild is made in the form of a booth and replaces any symbols, except for the scatter which is a paw print.

If three or more scatter symbols appear on the playing field, a bonus round starts. The user is offered a choice of one of two free spins options: Sticky Wilds Free Spins or Raining Wilds Free Spins. In the first case, from 7 to 20 free spins with sticky wilds will be issued, in the second case - from 15 to 30 bonus spins with random wild symbols in each of them. The number of free spins depends on the number of scatters that triggered the prize round.

A player can buy a bonus function by paying an amount equal to one hundred bets from the balance. The maximum winning can be achieved by free spins with “sticky” wilds and amounts up to x12 305.

The Megaways feature is in demand from different providers. At the end of July, a new slot with a dynamic number of ways to make winning combinations was released by Red Tiger which announced the release of the Gonzo's Quest Megaways slot machine.

Macau resumes issuing tourist visas again

Authorities of Macao began issuing tourist visas on 12 August. Thanks to this, the Asian capital of the casino which turned into a ghost town during the quarantine period, hopes to return its players.

The issuance of visas will be restored in stages. At the first stage, the process will affect only the population of mainland China. There hasn't been announcement yet when foreign tourists would be able to come to Macau.

Due to the quarantine associated with the spreading of the Covid-19, Macau's casinos shut down for 15 days in February. But even after the gambling establishments opened their doors again, they were almost empty, since the entry for tourists was prohibited. Macau casino operators are estimated to lose $15 million daily.

In addition to resuming visa issuance, a two-week quarantine for those returning from Macau to mainland China was canceled on Wednesday. By the way, only 46 persons were infected with Covid-19 in this special administrative region, and not a single death was recorded.

Recall that at the end of May it became known about the death of the founder of the gambling business in Macau Stanley Ho who died in Hong Kong at the age of 98.

LeoVegas reported record revenue

Swedish online casino operator LeoVegas reported for the first half of 2020. According to the financial report, the company's revenues for the two quarters resulted in 200.2 million euros, which is 10.8% higher than in the last year.

Excluding minor expenses and €1.1 million in taxes, the operator's six-month profit was €17.2 million. This exceeds results for the first half of 2019 by 132.4%.

“I am very pleased with how LeoVegas copes with the difficult situation surrounding the COVID-19 coronavirus. In this hard time, we managed to run our business without noticeable disruptions," LeoVegas CEO Gustav Hagman said.

“Our industry is undergoing moving from offline to online. Thanks to effective management, partnerships with respected brands and our own technical platform, we have a strong position in an increasingly digital world,” he added.

Note that land-based gambling establishments are experiencing serious financial difficulties. Thus, the new company Caesars Entertainment Inc. formed as a result of the merger of Eldorado Resorts and Caesars Entertainment, announced a loss of over $1 billion in the first half of 2020.