There are more gambling opportunities to take advantage of now than ever before.  Some of the most fossilised gaming legislation in the world was recently dragged into the new millennium.  This has enabled bookmakers and other gambling outlets to stand proud in the high street and be treated less as pariahs and more as providers of respected and valued services.  No more blacked out windows for them, only gleaming glass façades and plush interiors deploying the latest in satellite and cable technologies to bring sporting results as and when they happen.

On the internet, gambling has undergone a virtual revolution as old names from the high street have opened up substantial global online operations and hundreds of new gambling websites have flung open their portals to admit a new generation of players.

Whether your favourite game is bingo, blackjack or anything in between the internet now offers it all.  Even the most complicated games can be played in real time against multiple players across the world.  Multi-player roulette and blackjack are now as commonplace as online slots.

The typical procedure is to find websites that suit you and your tastes.  Most offer some good freebies for new members such as free bets and other rewards. You can then poke around a bit by playing a few free games to get a feel for things.  Then it is simply a matter of opening an account, making a deposit and away you go.  

Jul 07 2011

Years ago, it may have seemed an alien concept, but online bingo games are now thriving.  New sites are popping up all the time, offering sign-up bonuses, and other rewards for new customers.  The game stays the same, classic eyes-down action, with numbers pulled out by the bingo caller, only now, it’s all electronic.  However, the traditional community aspect of bingo is maintained, with in-game chat functions where players can meet new friends or catch up with old ones, all from the comfort of their home.

This is one advantage over live, land-based bingo, as usually players are required to stay silent during playing time.  It also gives players a chance to play with friends and family hundreds of miles away. 

To brush up on the chat lingo, WTG means ‘way to go’, and is commonly used to congratulate lucky winners.  CM stands for ‘chat monitor’ or ‘chat moderator’ – these are the friendly bingo staff, who open the door for you and welcome you with a smile.  They work for the site, and try to create a warm atmosphere for all players.

In between rounds, the CM will also organise chat games, such as Odds and Evens, Dodgeball, Roulette, At the Races, Birthday Bingo, Lucky Gem, Keno and Bullseye, all in order to give the player an enjoyable bingo experience.  The game has become particularly popular among women, both young and old, but of course, men are also more than welcome.  A quick browse around the net will soon find many virtual bingo halls, waiting for that call of ‘eyes down’.

Jul 05 2011

A huge majority of people gamble in a bid to win big money, in hope that their lives could be changed for ever in a mere moment.

It is easy to drop into the fantasy of what it would be like to win thousands, or even millions, of pounds and how you would spend it.  The Gambling Commission, in a recent survey, said 83 per cent of people gambled to make ‘big money’, while 78 per cent said they did because it is fun, 59 per cent said they did it to make money and 51 per cent said because it is ‘exciting’.

The survey also showed that older gamblers are more likely to gamble for monetary or recreational reasons than younger gamblers.

Gambling can often create images of old men in betting shops or youths whiling away hours on pub fruit machines.  But, in fact, it includes everything from playing bingo or the lottery to betting on horses in the Grand National or visiting casinos.

Perhaps, unsurprisingly, the lottery is the most popular form of gambling with 59 per cent of the adult population is the UK admitting to playing the game last year.

People who play online are often enticed by the offers of free cash to get started.  That, combined with the chance to win thousands of pounds, can be a big pull.  Most websites offer virtual casino games where people can even play against each other and exchange tips in chat rooms.

Aside from the winnings for punters, gambling also makes a lot of money for the British economy.  In fact, in 2009/10, the British gambling industry, as regulated by the Commission, generated a gross gambling yield of £5.7billion.

Jul 03 2011

Casinos across the world operate a broadly similar structure although legislation varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. In particular, the minimum age of players varies. In the UK, players must be over 18, while in many other countries, the minimum age is 21. Some countries have a lower age limit of 16.

Whatever the minimum age of customer, casinos have a similar business model where their clients gamble on games where chance is a large factor, and an element of skill is also involved. Games which involve skill such as poker, roulette, blackjack, craps or baccarat have reams of literature about them, focusing on how to beat the odds.

There are a few locations globally which are particularly well known for their casinos.

Monte Carlo is probably the best known. While there are a number of casinos in Monaco, the Casino de Monte Carlo is one of the most famous sites for gambling in the world, attracting wealthy patrons from around the globe. Such is the city’s pre-eminence in gambling circles that the mathematical methods for calculating odds are known as Monte Carlo methods. Interestingly, Monaco’s residents are forbidden from entering the casino.

In the United States, Las Vegas is probably the best known venue for gambling and has the highest concentration of casinos per square metre than anywhere else in the country, with the Las Vegas Strip being an eye-popping road of ever more extravagant casino-hotels.

Jul 01 2011

It is common knowledge that the old bingo halls have been replaced by glossy, comfortable, clean and smooth-running operations.  These are more like modern sports centres than their forebears, which were often located in cold and unwelcoming church halls. Nowadays, satellite connections allow for inter-hall games that deliver huge cash prizes for the lucky winners, and you’re as likely to find bright young things trying their luck on an evening out as the older, more familiar crowd.

Betting shops in every high street have been similarly transformed, especially since the outdated laws relating to gambling were brought kicking and screaming into the new millennium. People from all walks of life now enjoy placing bets and playing casino games for money, and gambling has become as natural as shopping for the weekly groceries.

Online too there has been a sea change, with gambling and betting sites proliferating, and all the high street big names now have an online presence, virtual equivalents of their bricks-and-mortar setups. In addition there are many new gambling websites going live every day, based purely on the internet. There are so many to choose from that it is largely a matter of using aids such as comparison websites to provide a shortlist of the sites that offer what you are most interested in.

Whether your favourite game is poker, slot machines, bingo, roulette, baccarat, or any other game you will find sites that specialise in it, with lots of offers such as cash bonuses and free bets once you have become a member.

Jun 29 2011

Fruit machines and slot machines have been a focal part of British pub life for many years.

They do not require a huge amount of investment but the winnings could pay for the next round of drinks, or for the taxi home.

However, a recent study has shown the number of people using slot machines in Britain has decreased slightly.  The Gambling Commission has recorded that only 13% of people used slot machines in 2010, compared to 14% in 2007.

Despite this small drop in use, slot machines remain the fourth most popular form of gambling, after lotteries, scratch cards, and horseracing.

However, more and more websites are offering people the chance to play on slot machines online – and many of these sites offer free spins or free cash to play with initially.  There has been an increase in the number of people playing casino-style games online – it rose from 3% of the population in 2007 to 5% in 2010.

Some people argue that slot machines are purely down to luck while others claim that there are tricks and ways of manipulation the machines.  There are also more quiz machines in pubs these days, which could be partly responsible for the decline in slot machine usage.

About 73% of the UK population gambled last year and the Gambling Commission discovered it was most popular among 44 to 64 year olds. 

Jun 27 2011

In tournament poker, your playing style may leave you short-stacked if the cards just are not coming your way.  The big blinds are starting to add up, and soon you are left with a stack about ten times the size of the big blind.  Now, it is time to start thinking about stealing blinds.  Stealing blinds is when a player deliberately raises pre-flop to try and force the other players to fold, therefore surrendering their blinds.  If you do this in every round of the table, then you are covering the time when you will have to put in blinds, thus alleviating the pressure on those occasions.

When is the best time to steal blinds?  As in bluffing, one of the best occasions to perform this sneaky trick is when you are in position.  This means you are to the right of the button, and the only players left to act are those that have posted the blinds.  As these chips are automatically forced into the pot the players could have any hand.  More often than not, the hand will be poor and an all-in bet will force the players to fold.  This can be dangerous, as there is a chance you are walking into a monster hand, but as your chip stack dwindles, and lady luck has deserted you, there are few options left.

In order to somewhat combat the danger, it is best to try to steal blinds when you have a fairly good hand – for example, one face card – so that if you do get a call, it is not a complete disaster, and with any luck, you will double up.

Jun 24 2011

Although the main emphasis of online bingo websites such as Gala Bingo and 888Ladies Bingo is obviously the game of bingo – with most services offering a huge variety of bingo games for a wide range of different stakes – there are also a large amount of side games available for players who occasionally like to try something different.

The most common forms of side games offered by online bingo services are slots, blackjack and roulette. These games can generally be played at the same time as bingo and usually share the same balance, so bingo site members won’t have to sign up to a new service, create a new account and deposit more money if they fancy playing slots or roulette as a quick change from bingo. Along with casino games and slots, other common side games offered by online bingo rooms are instant win games such as scratch cards and lotteries. Conversely, as online bingo becomes a much larger part of the online gambling industry, many online casinos and poker services have begun to offer bingo games to their members.

Other common side games in online bingo are the ones run by chat hosts and moderators in the chat rooms attached to bingo games. These games range from simple trivia quizzes to games involving the numbers drawn, such as guessing whether the next number be even or odd, or higher or lower than the last. There are sometimes even small versions of the popular casino game Keno.

Jun 19 2011

With any typical online bingo website you can play free games as well as pay-games, the latter usually offering bigger prize money. Either way, the first thing to do is register as a member by supplying your details and obtaining a username and a password, so that on subsequent visits you can simply log straight on to the site.

Usually the players receive up to three cards each and these will be displayed in a pop-up window with various links to chat rooms and other amenities, as well as a running a display of the current calls and previous numbers.

The pattern of numbers which has to be matched in order to win a game will also appear in this window, and the numbers will be ‘called’ randomly by the site. The familiar daubing of the cards is performed by mouse clicks and if you find yourself matching the pattern you click the ‘Bingo!’ button to claim your prize.

Online bingo can be very sociable with the chat room element but you can ignore players’ comments if you find them becoming obtrusive by clicking the ‘Ignore’ icon. The amount of chat you are interested in can help you decide on your choice of site, as some sites are chattier than others.

Prizes in online bingo are not astronomical but they can be substantial, so search round before settling on a particular site to play your online game.

Jun 16 2011

Gambling is constantly changing and with the introduction of the internet, it has been able to truly revolutionise.  However, slot machines have remained one of the most popular forms of gambling.  This is because, through the ages, they have been shown to pay better winnings than any of the other gaming tables.

There is no difference in terms of play between online and traditional slot machines.  The game functions in the same way and the odds are the same.  In addition, the graphics used online today tends to be very realistic so that it gives the impression of really being in a casino.

However, there are a number of differences that are apparent.  If you play online, then it is possible to play in the comfort of your home.  In fact, with the recent introduction of mobile gaming you can potentially play anywhere.  Either way, if you want to have a break at any point you do not need to be anxious that you will return to find that someone has taken your machine.

Many of the traditional casinos offer more money or more hours if you play for a certain amount of time.  However, this is usually offered by online casinos too.  Generally, you can even receive bonuses for deposits or friend referrals.  The payouts are also faster and easier.

Online slot machines provide more flexibility and certain added bonuses but, of course, the feeling of being in a casino is lost.

Jun 13 2011