Signs of Addiction to Online Bingo

October 27th, 2010 | Bingo Hints and Tips, Gambling, Online Bingo, Online Gambling

While online bingo is intended as a fun leisure activity to be enjoyed in moderation, it also has the potential to become a problem for some people who, over time, will find themselves drawn to spend more and more time and money playing online bingo on one of the many internet bingo sites on offer.

When an addiction to online bingo emerges, it is usual for the player to deny that they have a problem, even to themselves. However, the following are signs that perhaps online bingo playing is getting out of control and becoming unhealthy.

Players who are addicted to online bingo may have feelings of guilt while playing which they feel they can only push aside by the adrenaline rush provided by another bingo game. Addicted players to online bingo may find themselves attempting to stop playing or limit the amount of time they spend on online bingo sites without success.

Players with an addiction to online bingo will often lose track of time when taking part in bingo games, and will find they have spent more time than they thought playing.

Those who are addicted to online bingo may begin to place bingo games above the needs of their family and friends and may shun other responsibilities in order to be available to play bingo online.

Addicted online bingo players may begin to lie about how much time they spend on bingo sites and will start to feel worried and upset when unable to play bingo online.

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Underage Gambling and Casinos Online

October 25th, 2010 | Casino Hints and Tips, Online Casino, Online Gambling

A worry for many parents who have noticed the rise in online casinos is that their underage children might get caught up with playing these games and develop a gambling addiction or obsession. For all legitimate online casino sites, this is not possible.

Yes, more and more of these sites are springing up everywhere, banners and pop ups try to encourage people to register and hand over their hard earned cash and gamble against a computer in the hope of winning some fabulous jackpot prize. But the reputable sites operate under a responsible gaming policy.

This ensures no person under the legal age of 18 is allowed to register with these sites, although in some countries this age limit is different and it is the responsibility of the potential gamer to know what the laws are in their own country. For example, if the site has a strict ‘no under 18’s’ policy but the country of the gamers residence has laws to say gambling is prohibited completely (as some Middle Eastern countries state), then the laws of the country take precedence.  If caught the gamer could be fined or jailed for breaking the law.

Parents may find blocking these sites using the internet parental controls option is one way to stop a child from registering, although a valid credit card or bank account is necessary for playing live games and many minors do not have access to such things.

For a parent who is still concerned contacting the site in question and explaining that there may be an underage child accessing the games will quickly bring about a block on any relevant account that may have managed to slip through their net.

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Top Online Poker Pros Now Being Sued For Alleged Cheating

October 24th, 2010 | Online Poker, Poker, Poker Players

A Florida resident by the name of Scott Crespo has made the headlines recently, this occurred after he filed a complaint against six well-known online poker pros in the US Northern District Court of Illinois on the 12th October 2010. In his lawsuit he is attempting to recover “illegal poker gambling losses” while accusing the players, amongst other things, of colluding with each other and cheating opponents on the internet.

Crespo is claiming three times the amount that he is alleged to have lost to the group incurred over approximately 700 tournaments on major US sites, and the names of the players cited in his filing have raised a few eye-brows as it includes a talented group of pros. As this bizarre case gets going, apparently the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) is already considering throwing their weight behind the accused players.

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Online Chat Rooms and Bingo Networks

October 21st, 2010 | Bingo Hints and Tips, Online Bingo

Bingo Chat Rooms 

One of the main attractions of online bingo is the possibility of interacting with other players, as opposed to traditional clubs and halls where conversation among participants is strictly prohibited.  This social aspect of the online gaming experience is mainly, but not exclusively, targeted at the female segment of the player community and generally takes place in the online chat rooms that are currently featured on almost all bingo sites. 

Chat rooms are monitored by a ‘chat moderator’ who is responsible for welcoming new members, congratulating players when they win a game, playing chat games between bingo games and generally making sure all members follow the chat protocol, also known as ‘chat etiquette’ or ‘chatiquette’.  One rule of chat etiquette, which is simply basic courtesy, requires players to avoid writing in upper case, because it looks as if they are shouting. 

Much like instant messaging, chat room communities have their own language, which often abounds in acronyms and abbreviations.  Thus, as members are encouraged to socialise and since it is customary for them to congratulate each other when one of them wins a game, WTG, which stands for ‘way to go’, will often appear in chat conversations.  CM, for ‘chat moderator’ or ‘chat monitor’ and CH for ‘chat host’ are also very common. 

Bingo Networks 

A network is made up of multiple bingo sites governed by the same game provider.  All websites in the network will have similar graphics, the same promotions, the same chat rooms and the same chat moderator.  They all play the same game, which means neither the numbers nor the jackpot vary from one website to the other.  The purpose of this sort of arrangement, also known as ‘White Label Gaming’, is to increase the pool of players and therefore offer larger prizes.

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The National Lottery

October 19th, 2010 | Gambling

The National Lottery remains one of the nation’s favourite ways to gamble.  Not everyone who plays the lottery sees it as gambling.  Some people prefer to think of it as giving money to good causes.  Nevertheless the National Lottery is the one way in which thousands if not millions of people gamble who would never dream of going to a casino, playing poker or placing a bet on sports.

There are many reasons why the lottery is such a popular way to gamble, but the most important is that an enormous amount of money can be won for a very small stake – for many people who just play one line of numbers a week, only £1.  Although the chances of winning any money on the lottery, let alone getting all six numbers for a big win, are miniscule, people cannot resist the thought that this week it might be their turn to win.

The simplicity of the main game in the lottery is also a factor in its popularity.  There are 49 numbers to pick from.  The punter chooses any six of these numbers.  When the six numbers plus one bonus ball are drawn, if three of your numbers are drawn you win £10.  You win far more for four numbers, five numbers, or five numbers and the bonus ball.  And if you get all 6 numbers drawn, you win or share the jackpot.

The lottery has massively expanded over the years.  At its inception it was just one game. Now there are many different draws including Euro Millions and Thunderball.  A large range of scratchcard games are also widely played.  These offer smaller prizes but much more chance of winning.

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Has the mystery Swede signed up?

October 18th, 2010 | Online Poker, Poker

Rumours are rife that an elusive Swedish online poker star is on the verge of being signed to a sponsorship deal by a major poker room. Such a deal would be a great coup for whichever room signed the elusive player, and would also likely end any question as to who the player is.

All of the clues that can be found seem to suggest fit the profile of Isildur1 a 20 year old online poker player who has during the end of 2009 and the whole of 2010 become one of the poker world’s hottest topics. Some say he is the best heads-up player in the world, and that he will soon take over the throne from Phil Ivey. There are a number of major online casinos that would jump at the chance to sign Isildur1, but we will have to wait awhile to see who the winner in these stakes is.

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William Hill sports betting and casino

October 15th, 2010 | Online Casino, Online Gambling, Sports Betting

William Hill is one of the world’s biggest bookmakers; all the worldwide sporting events that you can bet on at their shops can also be bet on online.

Traditional casino games are also available with William Hill as part of their online casino site. There are several variations of bingo that all have good jackpots. Playing poker with William Hill gives you nine ways of getting a seat at the World Series of Poker as well as other equally exciting promotions.

There are plenty of slot games in the ‘Vegas Games’ section and there is such a wide choice of games there is sure to be something for everyone. In the ‘live’ casino you can play roulette, baccarat and blackjack. Under the heading of games of skill are card games such as Brag and Rummy as well as Deuces Wild and 3 Card Brag.

In ‘Virtual World’ there are races with both horses and cars, and it is possible to bet on and watch virtual races. There is a constant supply of races to watch and gamble on.

Betting on lotteries in Spain, Ireland and New York as well as the SIS lotteries is available. As with all online gaming sites it is relatively simple to join and begin playing. Making the first payment usually means that you can begin playing games and there are excellent support systems in place should the player need help in any way either through the FAQ page or by phone or email.

The site is only available to persons over the age of 18.

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Great weekend at Ladies888

October 14th, 2010 | Bingo Hints and Tips, Online Bingo

Play bingo online this weekend for top bonuses, top jackpots and top value at top gaming site Ladies888. Players can start the weekend with a nice little earner of a 60% deposit match bonus. Once a day on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday deposits made of between £10 and £100 will earn this bonus by quoting GET60 when the deposit is made.

An extra bonus is available on Saturday and Sunday on deposits of between £20 and £100 – this time 75%. Players need to quote GET75 at the time the deposit is made to ensure the bonus is credited. This weekend there are some great coverall jackpots to use some of that bonus money on. There is £50,000 up for grabs with £2,500 guaranteed at 10pm every Friday. Tickets are £1 each and the minimum purchase is five tickets. The prize drops to £20,000 for the Saturday 10pm game, with a £1,000 payout guaranteed, but tickets are just 50p each. Grab yourself a game this weekend.

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Selling in Sports Spread Betting

October 13th, 2010 | Gambling, Online Gambling, Sports Betting

Those individuals who are novices to sports betting believe that it is only important to continually buy into bets, but this is absolutely not the case. Contrary to popular belief, if you are participating in spread betting as it relates to sports betting you can actually make a profit selling just as often as you can buying, and given the fact that the markets suddenly drop quite rapidly – in most cases faster than they rose in the first place – you can often times make more money on selling during a fall than you can on purchasing. There has always been a tendency for a higher volume of purchasing rather than selling in sports betting arenas, mostly because individuals tend to prefer purchasing because they believe they will see a lot of action, as well as the fact that many bettors want to buy for a team that they support. Not to mention, bettors tend to back the big names of the industry rather than the underdogs.

The spread betting sites are aware of this, and as professional sports betting companies they have set their prices accordingly one or two points higher than they would otherwise. As more and more professionals enter into the sports betting scene the disparity is becoming less pronounced, but there is still the potential to make plenty of profits being a seller as long as the circumstances are in your favour. It is more difficult than buying into a game, but it has the potential for significant profit as long as you pay attention to details and stick to teams you know.

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Where Did the Four Card Suits Originate

October 11th, 2010 | Casino Hints and Tips

The four card suits that we use today – diamonds, hearts, clubs and spades – are of French design and date back to the 15th century.  However, the idea of card suits is a much older one.  It was in 10th century Asia that the written history of card playing begins as gambling.  Cards found their way to the ancient Muslim world just before the 14th century, and the oldest known deck of Muslim playing cards had four suits, just like the cards of today.  These suits were coins, swords, cups and polo sticks.  When these cards arrived in Southern Europe and polo sticks were not familiar, they altered them to sceptres, batons or cudgels.

As playing cards grew in popularity, the different cultures created their own suits as well as their own royalty cards.  Most decks were hand painted and very expensive to make.  It was in France that card makers settled on the suits that we know today.  Spades, hearts and clubs were taken from the German suits of leaves, hearts and hawking bells.  The fourth German suit was an acorn and, as most cards were made for the upper classes, you can see why it was changed to the more expensive diamonds.

It was the French who advanced the making of these cards with the images being created using simple stencils, which made their manufacture quicker and much cheaper.  In the 15th century these cards flooded the market and travelled to Great Britain, where they were a huge hit.  From here they travelled to America where they are still much in demand even now.

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