Now, it’s been announced that more than $1 million in prize money will be given away in the next year, courtesy of the firm, a joint venture between Branson and Canadian startup WorldGaming.com.

“The video game market is extremely competitive and overcrowded, but we see a big opportunity,” Branson told Game Industry TV, explaining his decision to enter the skill-based gaming business rather than publish software for PC, console or mobile platforms.

The new Virgin Gaming Web site, to be announced on Tuesday at the E3 video game industry show here, gives console video game players the chance to win large cash prizes for beating others at well-known PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 games like Halo 3 and FIFA 10.

Visitors to Virgin can play free, or wager as little as $1. But if they bet, the winner receives twice the bet, minus Virgin’s commission.

To deter cheating, Virgin Gaming will determine the winner of each game automatically. The company has agreements with multiple game publishers to gain direct access to game results stored on the publishers’ servers.

“This joint venture agreement with GamerSaloon.com illustrates H3′s dedication and commitment to growing its online video gaming business,” said Jordan Edelson, H3′s Chief Technology Officer and Digital Entertainment Director. “Our developmental efforts will be fully supported by a unique and comprehensive marketing and advertising campaign strategy. Video Gaming is a multi-billion dollar business and H3 is excited to be a part of it.”

Advance registration for the initial beta service will begin the week of August 4th. Individuals who sign up for one of the limited beta spots will be eligible to win a HipHopSodaShop prize bundle. Winners of the contest will be announced at the exclusive H3GameLine.com launch party hosted by the HipHopSodaShop in Tampa, Florida. More information on the beta sign up will be available at H3GameLine.com in the coming days.

About GamerSaloon.com: GamerSaloon.com is the world’s largest video game tournament network that lets adults compete for real cash prizes in head-to-head and multi-player tournaments. GamerSaloon.com members can chat live with each other and view a potential opponent’s profile containing history and other player comments. Over 100,000 members are registered (free) with the website and more than $1.3 million in cash prizes have been awarded since GamerSaloon.com was launched in November, 2006.

“Barack Obama strongly supports the principle of network neutrality to preserve the benefits of open competition on the Internet. Users must be free to access content, to use applications, and to attach personal devices.”

Perhaps with Barack Obama in the oval office the UIGEA will be repealed sooner rather than later. He will also need quiet a revenue stream to finance many of his campaign promises so legalizing, (and than taxing) online gambling could be coming soon!

In the online multi player first-person shooter called “Kwari,” players go can head-to-head to win jackpots of cash.

Launched in early January in Europe, “Kwari” is a free game — but you have to spend money to make money. The ammo will cost you $5 for 5,000 bullets, and that’s the only cut that publisher gets. The money for the jackpots is pooled together from real money spent on in-game goods — weapons, health upgrades and self-inflicted injuries — and it stays strictly in-game. With Visa, Mastercard and PayPal on board, “Kwari” looks to set its sights beyond Europe.

For those of you who would rather play in cash tournaments on your XBox or PS3, we present the video game tournaments directory.

Marketing Director Al King expects we’ll be seeing “Kwari” in the U.S. in June, despite strict U.S. gambling laws, which vary from state to state. Apart from the notorious 14 states which are known to be completely intolerant of any type of gambling or skill-based gaming, Kwari is not officially not gambling. It’s skill-based.”

In the European version, one player is raking in the dough. At the top of the leader board is the Dublin-based “Sinister,” who’s won $32,610.81 to date; the second place player behind him hovers around only $2,200. I wondered why the disparity between the players’ earnings was so large. “The difference in his ability is not as big as the difference in his monetary earnings,” King explained. “He’s had one $20,000 jackpot and one $5,000 jackpot. So if you take that out, then that’s more of an accurate reflection of his difference in ability. There’s no doubt that he is very, very good. But he’s only slightly better than the rest of the people at the top end of the spectrum.”

Source: MTV News