Way James

The legality of online casino gambling is hotly debated. Before you start playing at online casinos you should make sure that you understand the basics of this topic. As a general rule, it is legal for everyone over the age of 18 to play at online casinos unless the legislation in your country/state or the Casino T&C’s explicitly says otherwise.

Over the years many lawmakers in the United States and other Western societies have tried to ban online casino gambling and its operators. In many countries, they have been successful at keeping the operators of online casinos away from their countries with legislation and threats of prosecution. For instance, today there are no online casinos operating out of the United States even though the majority of online gamblers are Americans. The current US administration will not hand out licenses to online casinos and neither will many European countries. Most online casinos, therefore, operate out of the likes of Antigua, Gibraltar, and the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake. Countries or territories where online casino gambling is legal and where gambling licenses are issued by the local governments.

If online casinos have a valid gambling license in say Antigua, then United States authorities (or authorities in any other country) cannot deny its citizens the right to gamble at these casinos even though they want to. Many governments consider online casino gambling to be illegal, but they cannot prosecute players for gambling at online casinos operating out a country where gambling is legal. It is illegal to operate online casinos out of many Western societies, but it is not illegal for players from the same countries to gamble online.

How legislation on online casino gambling is likely to develop in the future is very difficult to predict. There are signs of more restrictive legislation in some countries. Most notably the United States where the current Republican Administration is strongly against online gambling and where Republican congressmen have put forward several anti-gambling proposals in the last decade. The most important of these is the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) which was signed into law on October 13th, 2006 making it illegal for financial institutions and electronic payment services to broker transactions to and from online gambling sites.

There are also many countries that have become more friendly towards online casino gambling in recent years. Most notable is the United Kingdom where the Gambling Act of 2005 allows companies to operate online casinos, poker, and lotteries on licenses from the British Government. Then there are the many European countries where state-driven companies have monopoly on offering online gambling to its citizens. These state monopolies are under pressure from the European Union because their existence clash with the EU legislation that should secure free movement of labor, goods and services across member state borders. The years to come will show whether the EU or the national governments who oppose the liberalization of online gambling will win this power struggle.

In my opinion, it is naive to believe that the fight against online casino gambling can be won in the long run. The desire to gamble is part of human nature. People have gambled in different ways for thousands of years and in thousands of years we will still be doing it. I think that governments around the world should accept that online casino gambling is here to stay and focus their attention on making legislation that regulates the industry instead of fighting its presence. That will be a much more constructive approach than just saying no.

Instead of focusing so much on banning an activity that for most people is nothing more than fun and enjoyment, governments should focus more on information on the dangers of online casino gambling, measures to keep underage players away and helping compulsive gamblers. If governments around the world took a constructive approach it might even be possible to establish an international governing body that issues licenses and overlooks the industry. Or maybe it would be possible to make some sort of international agreement on common standards for getting an online casino license, keeping the license, control efforts and so on. Initiatives like these would benefit both the serious online casino operators and the players.

Online casino players come from many different backgrounds and play for many different reasons. Therefore they value different things at online casinos. Some players are only interested in playing at the casinos that offer the highest bonuses. Others want to play with a specific brand of software while some value casinos with innovative competitions above anything else. In fact, there might be about as many reasons for choosing casinos as there are players. None the less I have taken it upon myself to point out what I believe is the most important criteria when choosing between online casinos. Before I sign up at an online casino I make sure that it does well-judged on the following criteria:

Bonuses/Player Benefits: Online casinos can improve their player’s chances of winning by awarding substantial bonuses when they deposit money at the casino. All online casinos offer new players a welcome bonus, but the quality of the offer is different from casino to casino. Good casinos offer a large bonus that enables you to try the casino’s games with low wagering requirements and few restrictions on games. Some casinos also offer some sort of bonus on subsequent deposits and a VIP club where loyal players receive extra bonuses or privileges.

Games Selection And Software: All online casinos offer BlackJack, VideoPoker and Slot games, but the best casinos offer far more games than these and they offer them in a large number of variations. The Recommended Casinos offer more than 200 games or game variations ranging from a simple game of BlackJack against the dealer to sophisticated 5-reel slot machines. Choice matters. It is also extremely important that online casinos use quality software. Casino software should randomly produce the outcomes so that neither the casino or player receives an unfair advantage. The best casinos use software from well-known suppliers, offer lots of information about the software and explain which efforts they undertake in order to secure fair play for their players. The casino software should provide a gaming experience similar to the one you get at a brick-and-mortar casino and it should be functional and easy to use.

Customers Support: Nobody is perfect. Neither are any casinos in the online gambling industry. Something unexpected can happen. The player might have problems getting the casino software to work properly or maybe the player needs to get a urgent question answered. Therefore it is extremely important that online casinos have fast, friendly and competent customers support available to players 24/7. A quality casino will do everything they can to help solve your problems and they will do so through a variety of ways such as live chat, telephone and e-mail.

Competitions And Jackpots: A good online casino has regular competitions with extraordinary prizes as a supplement to everything else the casino has to offer. It could be competitions where players can win a trip to Las Vegas or the Caribbean. The prize could also be tickets to large sporting events or the like. Large progressive jackpots is another characteristic of the best online casinos. The best casinos have many progressive jackpots on many different games where hundreds of thousands of dollars or even millions can be won.

Reputation: Over time an online casino will get a reputation as a result of the good and bad experiences players have had with the casino. In the information age these experiences are shared on the Internet and therefore available for everyone to read. Searches on important gambling sites and on the major search engines will give you a good idea of the opinions other players have about a particular casino. With so many online casinos available there is no reason whatsoever to play at the casinos other players have bad experiences with. You should only play at the ones that get good reviews from players and those casinos that receive awards for their excellence.

Deposit And Withdrawals: The number of ways you can fund your casino account differs a lot from casino to casino. The best casinos allow depositing via various Credit/Debit Cards like Visa, MasterCard and Maestro, various E-Wallets like NETeller, Moneybookers and Click2Pay as well as Bank/Wire Transfer. When you withdraw money from an online casino you would like to receive your winnings fast. The first withdrawal from an online casino will take longer to arrive than subsequent withdrawals because of identity checks, but it should take no more than a few days. Subsequent withdrawals should arrive within hours. It is also important that online casinos have up-to-date money processing systems so that your act in a secure environment when you transfer money to and from your gambling account.

Clear T&C’s: There should be no confusion about what rules the player must adhere to while playing at the casino. The best casinos have clearly written and easy-to-understand Terms and Conditions under which to play. Especially concerning central topics such as bonus terms and when accounts can be terminated by the casino. The T&C section should be easy to find on a casino’s website. If the T&C section is hidden away on a distant page then alarm bells should be going off in your head.

Uniqueness: When you look past minor differences in the design online casinos can seem alike. Many online casinos have similar software packages, games, bonus offers, competitions and jackpots. None the less some casinos manage to stand out from the rest because they have something unique to offer to online casino players. Something that cannot be found anywhere else. Quality casinos have unique features or an x-factor which makes you want to play there instead of somewhere else.

Internet casino players will be interested in the website Online Casino Rank. This casinos site has a lot of information for gambling players. It provides the best casino reviews of online casinos with criteria for the review. This is good because the casino player needs to know what the basis is for the rating system.

Players who are checking out various online casinos will be interested in these casino gambling reviews. They are rather lengthy and extensive providing information about the different internet casinos. Offer fantastic casino gaming overviews and the latest casinos information for gambling enthusiasts.

In addition, there is a section with a short review and information on exciting casino bonuses. Reviews may help online casino players to find out the best casino playing website on the Internet. They have a list of the top casino sites for the last four years that are available on their website.

There is a rather extensive gambling section on matching and other bonuses. Top casino gambling site offers exciting bonuses for their casino players. Also offers a free instant bonus on new sign-up and cash deposit bonuses. Offer special bonuses and gifts to players on their birthday. Find the best casino promotion and gambling strategy.

The visitor can look at these and see what the various online casino games are offering. There is also a section on high rollers casinos. There is also a link to another high rollers page at a different website for those who are interested in joining a high rollers casino. Still another section provides information about UK casinos.

There is great Information provide in different ways for the interested players. They can find information on casinos by the software manufacturer. They can also lookup casinos based on language for those who do not read English.

The Online Casino Rank website has a lot of valuable casino information for gambling players, especially the casino’s reviews. It is a good casino gambling information website because it provides the criteria for online casino ratings and internet gambling reviews. The Online Casino Rank site won’t mention the online casinos if they don’t live up to their requirements.