Is Online Gambling Legal – A General Overview

Posted on August 21, 2010 by admin

The ever popular question “is online gambling legal,” well first things first this is not a yes or no question. See everyone has been focusing on the fast growing gaming industry, but no one has stopped to think, is
online gambling legal. Therefore in this article I would attempt to lay out all the facts and see if we can come to a conclusion on the subject.

First things first let’s list the types of gambling you can engage in online. There is the ever popular poker along with other card games, you can place bets on sports or you can play games of chance for instance, roulette, craps, etc. so I have listed them, now in order to answer my question of is online gambling legal, we need to take a deeper look into them. Firstly poker and cards basically it looks like a perfectly fair game to play over the internet, as it is impossible for a computer to deal winning cards to one player as opposed to another, besides cards games are based on mostly strategy and skill with a small element of chance, therefore each player is allowed to control the out of each game they participate in. in the instance of placing bets on sports this is also legitimate as the computer can not control the outcome of a game. However when it comes to games of chances we can all agree that these should be banned although, because these games can be set so the player would win enough money to want to keep playing but the house would always be the one which profits the most.

According to the Wire Wager Act betting on sports is the only form of online wagering that is illegal. Therefore a simplified version of this section in the Wire Wager Act is “it is illegal for companies based in the US to take bets from Americans, to use the internet to accept bets on sports or other contests.” However the majority of these companies have moved their businesses offshore thus making it easier for them to operate without being prosecuted by the US government. So we have a small part of the answer to our question of “is online gambling legal” which is as follows, it is illegal to place bets for sports online, according to the Wire Wager Act.

So in closing lets lay out all the points we have listed and see if we have answered our question of “is online gambling legal.” Firstly, it is legal to host online casino and card games although the Department of Justice wants this to be changed. However, it is hard to say that online casino and cards games are legal in the US as majority of them operate from offshore. Even though the Government is trying to protect individuals from being scammed, despite this though gambling online should be made legal. However only under the following conditions: the US government should be able to regulate the online casino industry, and they should make it mandatory for all of the details for each company to be presented and a license should only be granted to the companies that meet the necessary requirements.

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Great Market Place for Online Game Goods and Accounts

Posted on August 19, 2010 by admin

The Internet has been forging ahead with breakneck speed. Together with this phenomenal growth, many online games have also risen very quickly. Massive multi player role playing games (MMORPG) like Everquest have been immensely successful. Other popular games include World of Warcraft, Runescape, and many others.

One of the most interesting feature of such games is the currency used. A currency in an online game is actually just like scores in any ordinary game. However, these points can be used to acquire special items. In many games, special items are very important. They help the players gain new levels more quickly, and the success or failure of an adventure often depends on these special items. As a result, many players, especially those with new characters, choose to buy game currencies with real cash. But the problem is, where can they find reliable sellers? After all, the Internet is a huge place.

Fortunately, there are websites that serve this specific requirement. These websites are also known as marketplaces. Similar to any marketplace you find online, you will be able to carry out online transactions with other members of the website.

For instance, you will be able to buy or sell World of Warcraft gold. Sometimes, you may also be able to buy or sell full accounts. That means your account comes with everything you need in the game and you won’t need to start off as a beginner.

Of course, you will have to careful when dealing with anyone online. Usually, such marketplaces have some kind of feedback system, where members can leave either positive or negative feedback based on their trades. The more positive feedback a member has, the easier it is to get other members to trust him and trade with him. If you are going to trade with someone with no feedback (e.g. trading with a new member), then make sure that the transaction is a small one. Just in case the person on the other end fail to deliver, you don’t stand to lose much. Trade wisely and minimize your risk.

Once a transaction has been confirmed, further instructions on how to complete the transfer will be sent to you either via email or instant messenger. If it’s a currency transfer, you may need to fix a time to meet in the game so that the right amount of currency can be transferred to you. If it’s an account you are buying, the full account details can be sent to you directly via email.

In addition, online games marketplaces have evolved to serve the different needs of their members. You may even be able to buy or sell websites, domain names, scripts, ebooks, images, software and other digital files.

By visiting similar marketplaces regularly, you may be able to pick up some great deals. That is because most deals are conducted in auction style. Auction means a deal may start off with a really low bid, and the seller hopes that more people can bid on whatever he is selling. If there are few bidders to compete, you may find yourself buying something that you want at a really low price.

Most importantly, the bidding process is often fun, and may even be addictive. Get hooked if you will and enjoy yourself on these great game marketplaces.

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Online Gambling – Galloping Around the World

Posted on August 18, 2010 by admin

Online gambling casinos have been in existence now for 10 years, and their business is growing. In 2005, $8 billion was wagered – but in 2006, this figure is growing to $12 billion. That’s 50% growth in one year. Clearly, a lot of people are enjoying their time online.

The choices are vast, perhaps as many as 3,000 gaming sites. The most popular choices are online casino games and online Texas Holdem poker. When you play at an online casino, you are playing against the “House” – in other words, the online casino loses the money that you may win and vice versa. In online Texas Holdem poker, however, you are playing against other “real players” from around the world – the House only takes in a small “rake” for each hand played. (Typically, the rake averages about $0.45 per hand played, spread across as many as 10 players.) If you win money in poker, the other players have lost that amount to you.

Why do many players prefer to play at an online casino? For many who enjoy gambling online, their preference is for games of chance – roulette, slots, and many other games. For new players, their lack of experience does not matter as much.

The other group of players is seeking games of skill – poker primarily. Online Texas Holdem poker has taken over as “the rage of the Internet” due to many factors:

• It is played in “ring games” with real players from around the world, and has a true poker-game feel, including the ability to “chat” with other players.

• There has been a recent surge in popularity of poker on television, especially Texas Holdem, with extensive coverage of tournaments.

• A number of Hollywood celebrities have shown their love for online Texas Holdem poker – James Woods, Ben Affleck and others.

• Even in at-home play, Texas Holdem has become “the poker game of the 21st century”, replacing 7- and 5-card stud, draw and other poker variations.

How do you find the best online casinos? There are many “affiliate websites” that list leading gamesites, and these should be your first stop. Just enter “online casino” or “online poker” (or whatever your preference) into Google, Yahoo! or MSN, and these sites will appear.

Hesitant about gambling your money without any experience? Nearly all gaming sites provide free or “fun” games, and you can register there and play as much as you want. This will give you a chance to see the online casino games and to decide if the site is to your liking. If it is, you can later convert to a “real money player” by depositing as little as $20. At this point, you will select an online payment method to transfer funds from you to the gamesite. In most cases, this is a simple process to complete.

Another way to select a casino game online is to look at the online casino bonus for “real money” play. For new players, there are nearly always special bonuses available. Typic-ally, they give you “virtual money” to play with, depending on how much you deposit. The different bonuses will vary in the percent of your deposit that is matched (sometimes in the 100% or higher range), the maximum amount of the bonus (some in the $500 – $900 range), and the number of times the bonus must be wagered before it becomes “real”. Real money is money that you can withdraw; a bonus usually has to be wagered 10 – 15 times to achieve that status. Remember that you can’t just get a bonus and withdraw it as real money – this is money to be used in extending your play. As you play more and more hands, the bonus eventually becomes real money to be played or withdrawn.

Is there one, single best online casino? That’s like asking for the best recipe for chocolate cake – every casino is different, and every player is different. No one casino is “the best” – you just have to find the one that suits your tastes best. For example, if you just love online casino slot machines, there are many online casinos that cater to this taste. In fact, you can find almost every variation of gambling you want – almost as if the entire Internet were one, big Las Vegas online casino.

What are the typical games offered in a casino online? Many online casinos offer 90-100 different games. Since we can’t handle so many games in a single article, expect to see these future articles on specific games available in online casino gambling:

• online casino blackjack

• online casino slots

• roulette online

• online sports gambling

Is there a single “online-casino.com” that offers the best online gambling? We haven’t seen that one yet, but maybe you will. If you do, just contact us so we can spread the word. But I’m sure you’ll have a lot of fun looking for it.

Author: Richard Taymor, www.casinotropez.com

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Online Games Cure your Boredom!

Posted on August 16, 2010 by admin

As summer vacations approach around the globe, countless students will begin to sense an overwhelming degree of boredom. Whether you’re bored during holidays, school or work – playing free online games is your cure for boredom! As a parent, you should ensure that your offspring are accessing websites with owners who are actually concerned about their wellbeing, rather than being profit-driven. On several websites, such as Arcade Temple, everyone can make new friends by interacting with other members and/or players. Whether you want to compete for the highest score, or simply make new friends – socializing is a breeze with online games’ websites. Realizing safe lifetime friendships is effortless with properly moderated online games’ communities.

On the contrary, if you desperately need to waste some time at your tiresome job, treating yourself to online games can help accelerate your day. Now, you can enjoy yourself at work, while getting paid for it! Better yet, websites serving online games such as Arcade Temple offer monthly competitions for players that can help you pocket some change. Rather than simply playing online games, why not earn money for the time you invest?

Most importantly, online games can reduce your stress ten-folds, while energizing and stirring your mind. If you’re overwhelmed with assignments from school, online games can be your occasional retreat. If you’re plagued with anxiety over work, playing online games can similarly better your day. Rather than falling asleep from sheer boredom, fuelling mental stimulation with online games can increase your productivity ten-folds. In addition to helping you stay awake, it will indeed refresh your mind for the more vital tasks at hand. With online games that cater to every genre, you can always find something that strikes your liking. Treat yourself to a free online game right now; you truly do deserve it!

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Playing card games just to entertain

Posted on August 16, 2010 by admin

Would you like to gamble? gambling is very entertaining and fun, but here is a form of gambling online. Gambling games that do not use money and aims to entertain just for the entertainment of the players could feel inside her. Today is indeed a lot of entertainment such as nightclubs, games and other entertainment fantasy world that makes the heart happy but entertainment all tired and it makes us even feel the entertainment is not so. I have other ways to make yourself entertained by performing or playing online gambling games named slot games. These online games are old and lots of people who play them. you can see for themselves the state of Internet cafes in About a you, certainly everybody was doing the game online. slot games are very different entertainment. Entertainment is a different entertainment with other entertainment that waste time, cost and effort. You definitely do not want to spend all the entertainment.

You definitely want a satisfying and enjoyable entertainment of course. I am confident with online gambling games, you’ll be very entertained. Are you interested in doing these online games? you do not need to worry because the game is very easy to obtain and you can certainly play it. variety of ways you may have to do to make your heart entertained, but have not succeeded. I am sure this time if you dare to try the game, you can be very satisfied with the entertainment I provide. You can provide information about these online games to everyone around you to your liking so that they too can play with you because of playing together more fun and exciting. You’ll have to agree and disagree with me, hopefully you can be interested and you can always play it to replace your other entertainment with amusement that I offer it to you all.

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Online Gambling: Legal or Illegal?

Posted on August 15, 2010 by admin

Internet casinos and sportsbooks have grown immensely in popularity over the past several years. From playing cards to betting on the Super Bowl to playing roulette, you can literally have Las Vegas in the comfort of your own home. However, is it legal to gamble online?


The answer is, yes and no. Currently, the law stipulates that online gambling is illegal, but given the fact that most online casinos continue to operate unfettered, it might seem that it is in fact legal to run an online betting or casino business.


What forms of gambling are available online? Well, you can play poker and other card games, you can bet on sports, or you can play games of chance, such as roulette, craps, etc.


Betting on sports seems like a perfectly legitimate form of online betting – the computer does not control who wins a pro football game. Games of chance should probably be prohibited. A computerized roulette wheel can easily be fixed, resulting in a few winning bets, but enough losing spins to insure the house wins.


So, of these activities, which ones are legal? According to the Wire Wager Act, betting on sports is the only form of online wagering that is illegal. The Wire Wager Act reads as follows:


“Whoever being engaged in the business of betting or wagering knowingly uses a wire communication facility for the transmission in interstate or foreign commerce of bets or wagers, or information assisting in the placement of bets or wagers on any sporting event or contest, or for the transmission of a wire communication which entitles the recipient to receive money or credit as a result of bets or wagers, or for information assisting in the placing of bets or wagers, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years or both.”


This means that it is illegal for American based internet companies to accept bets on sports or other “contests.” However, most online gambling enterprises have moved their operations offshore to countries in Central America and other countries around the world. It is common for most of these companies to be incorporated in places like Antigua or the Caribbean islands. PartyPoker, the most popular website for playing poker for money online, is licensed and regulated by the Government of Gibraltar.


Online sportsbooks, often run by Americans offshore, still accept bets from Americans, and this is where the problem arises. Americans are the biggest betters, and most of the income stream for online sports betting comes from American wagers. These companies usually provide wire instructions to the gamblers so that the player can wire money into a pre-funded betting account before they can begin wagering.


So, the question is, is it legal for an offshore company to run their business offshore but still accept bets from the United States, where online sports betting is technically illegal? Yes and no. Theoretically it is illegal, but it is very difficult to compel an online sports betting service to shut itself down if they operate under the laws of a foreign government where it is legal.


It is been very difficult for the Department of Justice to enforce the Wire Wager Act when it comes to offshore companies, and the offshore betting business continues to get bigger and bigger. In 1998, the sum total of all internet wagers was estimated at $600 million, and has grown by 10 or more times that between then and the year 2006.


The Wire Wager Act was upheld when the U.S. Supreme Court, during 2001 and 2002, refused to review the conviction of Jay Cohen, who had been running an internet sportsbook based in Antigua. And, even though the Department of Justice has said in recent years that that the Wire Wager Act also declares online casino games, not just sports betting, to be illegal, the Federal Appeals Court has ruled that that interpretation is not correct.


However, in July of 2006, everything changed. On a vote of 317-93, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to ban financial payments to offshore casinos as part of the The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 H.R. 4411. The legislation also compels banks and credit card companies to cut off payments to the estimated 2,300 gambling sites located outside of U.S. jurisdiction. This legislation bans all forms of internet gambling, including card games and sportsbetting.


Ultimately, the U.S. Government is just trying to protect betters from getting screwed by online casinos that accept bets over the internet but do not pay out when someone wins. However, it does not seem fair to allow major casinos that operate in Las Vegas and Atlantic City to have a monopoly on the betting industry.


Online casinos and sports betting over the internet should be permitted. The United States simply needs to implement a system whereby the online casino industry is regulated, making it mandatory for these companies to disclose the details of their operations and apply for a casino or sportsbook license.

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How to Fidelize Users Throughout Online Games

Posted on August 13, 2010 by admin

Which are the questions every webmaster is asking himself everyday? How can I get new users? How can I make them come back to my site? How can I make them stay longer?

According to the last rumors, time spent on a site will become the real criterion to understand which are successful sites or not. Nilesen/NetRatings will begin tracking how long visitors spend at the sites. The move by Nielsen/NetRatings comes as online video and new technologies increasingly make page views less meaningful. Very soon “time parameter” will be much more important than page views or unique visitors to award the most popular sites on web.

This new parameter will make necessary users to be entertained as longer as possible on the site. In this article, I’d like to suggest to webmasters one of the most convincing method to increase time spent on a site (and also make them constant users of the site).

The secret lies on contents since content is king: you should give users funny and high quality contents that will be able to involve users on the community of the site, of which he/she will become an important part.

Generally speaking, webmasters should try to give substance to their site: many webmasters take for granted that this is the way to follow, but looking at many online sites, everyone can understand that it is not so clear for everyone. There are thousands of sites without any kind of communicative target or aim, without coherence or essence.

Good webmasters know the great value of community tool used till now: newsletter, chat and forum are the mainly used tools to fidelize users. But now, the same goal can be achieved with less time and in a more effective way using new tools which are having a great develop in the last period.

And what is better than giving users the possibility to play, have fun and challenge many other people directly online?

Online games are extremely good contents to increase widely time spent on a site and, if they are multiplayer games, they are able to create a real community: users play, challenge each other, save their scores and climb charts. Daily online “rendezvous” will become a necessity for them.

There are many and many online games that can be inserted on a site, but today I’d like to suggest to every webmaster a high quality platform with a simple affiliation system, that allows everyone to display many different games on the site.

This affiliation program is offered by the online game site www.popyeah.com. With the program “Popyeah on your site”, you could insert easily and freely (…very good!) all the archive of singleplayer and multiplayer games on your site. Popyeah online games are free, extremely funny, involving and easy to play: there are a hundred of online games divided into different categories – from Word Games to Board Games, from Arcade to Billiards.

Popyeah is a very good example of what I’m sayong above: users needs a gaming experience integrated into a wide and vivid community. They want to become part of a real community that plays, talks, has fun and meets throoughout the games.

On Popyeah, users can have their own players profile, they can insert their photos, search for other players, insert them to their friends list to follow on their favourite games, communicate through the chat, the personal blog and even through Skype. These advanced community features make Popyeah platform really suitable to every site that wants to offer real entertainment to users and build a strong community.

Thanks to this affiliation program, everything is available for those site that want to host new contents dedicated to online entertainment.

Browsing this page you can choose between the different available graphical options. Clicking on the link “Code”, you will go to a page where you can set up some parameters: language, colours, other plaiyng options and then generate the code to insert into your site.

Such a simple system that allows webmaster to have an additional content with a strong impact to make your site a funny place to come and return and where users can spent their saper time enjoying themselves.

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