The first advantage of an online casino is that it allows you to get the best gaming pleasure without having to even step out of home. This is of great utility to people who cannot afford to go all the way to an on-land casino like the ones at Vegas or Macau. There are also so many offshore casinos where people can enjoy a luxury cruise which also offers casino and gaming opportunities. It is amazing as to the amount of money you can save by opting to play online. For one, you do not have to travel all the way to these exotic locations or run up huge stay and food expenses that come with it. After all, playing at casinos is not only about placing the bets or the wager but also all the attendant expenses and costs that go with it. These costs are certainly not a trifle and can dent deep into your pockets.

One of the amazing things about the online casinos is that you can easily get a lot of free trials as well as chances thrown in. this is a feature that is not present in the case of on land casinos as you have to pay for each of the chances that you choose to play, whether you win or not. There is no option of getting a feel of the game and then going ahead to play the game. Once the wager is placed, you will have to live with the consequences in the case of an on land casino. This might be a bit of a dampener when it comes to using the on land casinos.

Online casinos take special care to take software from reliable companies so that the process of taking a wager or placing a bet is transparent and the odds of winning are evenly placed.

With the amount of online casinos being cropped everywhere, however with the appearance of 3G mobile casinos, online casinos may possibly be a thing of the past. We all know that with the passage of time, technology eventually becomes pretty redundant. But mobile technology has emerged in a strong way, just after the initial WAP flop.

Mobile gambling has reached a different height altogether, also because of 3G phones like Nokia N96, Apple’s iPhone and many more. Mobile gaming is run through an advanced remote gaming system and would encourage loads of gambling enthusiasts to play their favourite games including mobile roulette, without having to log into the computer. The mobile casino software could be easily linked to the major online casinos and interactive television, ensuring the best gaming experience to the gamblers.

When the WAP version was originally launched, the games were slow and sluggish. The whole interface did not contain a lot of major mobile video poker games. The technology actually failed miserably due to the quality and effects of the interface. However, the recent times have led to the innovative java platforms that offer life-like resolution for all the game. On the other hand, the total number of games being offered has also increased greatly.

With the increasing popularity of mobile games, some of the major online casinos also provide an alternative for mobile gambling to all its existing subscribers. With the amount of people joining the 3G bandwagon, mobile gambling is definitely going to succeed.

To start, a beginner should think about what skills they have what they’re good at and have experience in already, and what they want to play. If you’re good at blackjack, then play that. Remember that slots all depend mostly on luck. Try out online poker if you’re new to it, but remember to follow the basics and any tips you get from other players.
Some games are harder to learn than others, especially some poker games. Other games, craps for instance, can just be hard to learn period. Online poker is more of a beginner friendly game, but the important thing is to remember what you’re good at, and keep at it – avid gamblers will have their ups and downs, but if you work hard, then you’ll win.

So keep it simple, don’t bet too much if you don’t know enough, and try to learn all of the games that you have at your finger tips. It’ll help you in the long run and you’ll become a better gambler because of it.

But especially, don’t spend too much if you’re not savvy in a particular game. That’s how losers stay losers. Start out small – and then work your way up, that’s how the pros do it. You don’t want to lose it all just when you’re starting out, do you?

The company operates two key brands: Casino on Net and Pacific Poker. Both brands share the company’s attitude, which is to be as open with customers as possible – so if you want to know how the dealer works, or see independent audits confirming payout rates, you’ll find them on the 888.com website. As chief exec Gigi Levy says: “At 888 we’re all about customer service and satisfaction. We believe that people respond positively when treated fairly and respectfully; especially when you offer them the very finest and most entertaining gaming products available online.”

If casinos are your thing, you can get a 100% sign-up bonus – of up to £100 – on your very first deposit, while bingo players should check out GameOn Bingo, which offers 20 free bingo cards and a £150 bonus on your first deposit.

Those aren’t the only deals available from the sites. Littlewoods Casino offers points for playing, prize draws and stacks of other enticements, while GameOn Bingo gives you the chance to win luxury holidays, flat-screen TVs and other exciting prizes.

At around 10p per bingo card, it’s easy to see why punters are hitting the virtual bingo halls in their droves, particularly given the bonuses and introductory deals all the main players are offering you to sign up. Free money, it seems, is everywhere, in the form of introductory free-plays and other too-good-to-be-true offers. So what’s the catch? Well, aside from the usual data capture – pretty much all the sites require you to give your email address, credit card details, postal address, and the name of the last person you played tennis with – the small print is, as ever, worth reading. Often you have to match any ‘free money’ yourself and, in most cases, should you make your fortune playing with your freebies, you won’t be able to take out your loot until you’ve spent a minimum amount from your own pocket on bingo cards. Sneaky, sneaky.

The industry standard offers are free game cards to new customers, with free-play offers usually in the region of £5 – £15. In most cases you won’t be able to cash out any winnings from this until you’ve chipped in thirty quid or so of your own hard-earned. Deposit bonuses are also rife, with bingo sites matching, and in some cases more than matching, the first cash deposit you make into your account. Some sites will even continue to add credit to your deposits after your first time, though naturally at a vastly reduced rate. Needless to say, all of this donated credit must be spent on bingo cards and can’t be cashed out. Usually you won’t even be able to take any of your winnings out until you’ve met minimum deposit levels. But as long as you’ve got a calculator close at hand to work out what the hell’s going on, most of the offers are pretty good. With only slight variations between sites in offers and corresponding conditions, the jackpot levels may be your deciding factor and there’s much more variation here. At the time of writing, jackpots at Gala were in excess of thirty grand while other ‘rooms’ on other sites might have relative pennies up for grabs. This is, of course, subject to constant change, so keep your eyes peeled.

Here’s a quick guide to some of the current offers. All details were correct at the time of writing, and there are of course more bingo sites that we couldn’t be bothered/ didn’t have time to check.

888 Ladies (www.888ladies.com)
-    Free £10 introductory offer
-    150% first deposit bonus
-    50% bonus on cash deposits thereafter

Foxy Bingo (www.foxybingo.com)
-    £10 welcome bonus, no deposit required
-    100% (like for like) first deposit bonus, up to £150 (forfeited unless you bet at least twice the sum total of your initial deposit and the subsequent match funding combined before cashing out the deposit).
-    50% deposit bonus on every deposit up to £100

Wink Bingo (www.winkbingo.com)
-    £15 sign-up bonus
-    200% first deposit bonus up to £100
-    50% bonus on subsequent deposits from £10 – £100

Gala (www.GalaBingo.co.uk)
-    Free £10 introductory offer; £5 initial deposit required
-    200% first deposit bonus
-    Too many promotions to list individually, changing monthly.

Ladbrokes (www.bingo.ladbrokes.com)
-    £20 welcome bonus (requires £10 deposit)

Crown Bingo (www.crownbingo.com)
-    200% welcome bonus up to £250
-    £1 sign-up bonus, no deposit required

Sun Bingo (www.sunbingo.co.uk)
- £25 welcome bonus

Dream Bingo (www.dreambingo.co.uk)
-    £5 sign-up bonus
-    100% first deposit match
-    25% match on further deposits

Why? It’s about people. Fall down in a casino and you’ll get instant attention, but if you have a heart attack in hospital you might not be seen until the nurses make their next round. Airports are pretty good too, it seems, although of course the best policy is not to have a heart attack at all.

Supporters of a regulated internet gambling environment testified before Congress yesterday, offering evidence that many of the alleged social ills associated with the industry are already being adequately addressed in jurisdictions that offer regulated gaming environments.

“It was made clear at today’s hearing that online gambling can be effectively regulated,” said Jeffrey Sandman, spokesman for the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative. “Instead of prohibiting Internet gambling, which is futile, the government should regulate and tax Internet gambling to ensure proven and effective security controls are implemented to protect consumers and capture billions in revenue that is needed for critical government programs.”

We don’t have any good Vegas tips apart from this one, though: don’t pay to see the Pussycat Dolls at Caesar’s Palace. They’re not the real Pussycat Dolls.

Our designer’s busily hammering away at the new design, and we’ll have something seriously excellent for you to see Real Soon Now – and we mean days, not months.