Online Casino Gambling Directory. The latest free offers, promotions, news, and information about online poker, casinos, bingo, sports betting, and more.
As reported in yesterday’s The Wall Street Journal, the House Financial Services Committee voted 41-22 to approve legislation that would regulate many forms of online gambling, including poker and bingo, while specifically banning betting on major US sports leagues like the MLB, NFL, NBA, and others.
Other news articles point out that the legislation also would deny licenses to any online site that has allowed, or currently does allow, US players to gamble online. Looking ahead, this would appear to effect PokerStars, FullTilt, and other online poker rooms that have continued to serve US players despite the UIGEA of 2006.
Other key elements of the legislation include player loss limits, rigorous age verification systems and frequent testing thereof, and allowing states to opt out of this legislation and ban its citizens from online gambling.
And the legislation that was passed does not cover how the industry is to be taxed — that’s covered in a separate bill that hasn’t made it out of the House Ways and Means Committee.
It is unlikely that this legislation will be voted on before the current Congressional Session expires in September. The scheduling is simply too tight. If it is not voted on, the process will need to start again next session. Perhaps it will be attached to some other legislation, as was the UIGEA of 2006. Even so, if the legislation is approved, it still would need to be signed by Obama.
We are still years away from any comprehensive online gambling policy in the United States. Need proof? The UIGEA of 2006 took nearly 4 years before it actually went into effect this past June 1 — and there are still plenty of loopholes in that legislation that allow US players to fund and withdraw money from their online gambling accounts… or so I’ve heard.
In addition to maintaining The Online Casino Gambling Directory, I also answer online gambling questions at AllExperts.com, the oldest and largest free Q&A service on the internet. I thought that I would share with you a recent question about sportsbooks, as well as my response.
Question:
What sites are good for online sports betting? Is there a catch to placing bets? I understand money line bets i think just wanna know if there was max or minumum bets?
Answer:
If you’re a casual bettor, you really need just one sportsbook account. If you’re a more serious bettor, you’ll want to have five or more accounts. The reason for this is so that you can compare lines (often called “shopping lines”) offered at the sportsbooks, and get the best odds on the bet you’d like to place. Moneyline odds, for example, can vary by as much as 15 cents (e.g. a team may be +105 at one book and +120 at another) and you’ll want to be able to take advantage of that by having accounts at different sportsbooks.
As for if there is a “catch” to placing bets, I’d say not really. The only thing you need to be aware of is when you accept a bonus on your deposit, the types of bets that you can place with the bonus money are often limited to -110 bets (or worse, e.g. -105, -100, +105, etc.), and usually no parlays or props are allowed with the bonus. Also after accepting a bonus, you must place a minimum number of wagers before you can make a withdraw. These restrictions vary by sportsbook, so you’ll want to make sure that you understand their bonus when you make a deposit.
The minimum bet varies by sportsbook as well. Most sportsbooks accept bets of as little as $5 if you place the bet online; higher minimums are required when placing a bet by phone (where phone betting is offered, which is pretty rare). Maximum bets depend on the type of wager and your relationship with the sportsbook; generally speaking, more exotic wagers have lower maximums, which may be increased as you develop a relationship with a sportsbook.
Now to the meat of your question — which are the best sportsbooks? I’ve been betting online for years, and use a 5-star rating scale to rate sportsbooks. As of this writing, there are only two sportsbooks that I rate as 5-star and that accept US players. You can find them at this link, which you may need to copy and paste into the address bar of your browser: http://www.theonlinecasinogamblingdirectory.com/s.php?as_usa=2&as_rat=5&t=Sportsbook&SRC=AEJul2010Blog
Sloto’Cash Casino is a safe, reliable Rival-Powered online casino that has been around for over a year. They have recently enabled many of their online slot machines to be played in a browser with a minimal flash download, no credit card needed, and no registration required.
Two of my favorites are Scary Rich and Scary Rich 2, both of which are sinister-themed slots with a variety of special features.
You can find more Rival-Powered online slot machines to play from my online slot machine page.
Casino Titan has one of the snazziest websites around. The graphics are sleek, stylish, and modern. I also like that visitors can play some of the table games (like blackjack) right in their web browser without registering.
Here’s what they have to say about their online casino.
“Casino Titan is well known in the online casino industry and offers top notch service in a sophisticated manner. We accept all U.S. and Canadian players and strive to build a trustful relationship with all our online casino gambling players. Our mission is to provide a fantastic, secure and fair online casino gambling experience.
With over 100 traditional casino games including over 80 exciting slot machines games, playing at Casino Titan gets you better odds than at a land based casino. Massive Jackpots and bonus are offered at winning various progressive games.
Casino Titan provides exciting online promotions and casino bonus offers for its wide variety of games, ranging from slot machine games, to video poker, high rollers, baccarat, European roulette and 12 progressive jackpots. The amazing promotions includes: a Free Signup Bonus, a Welcome Package, Highrollers Bonus, a VIP club, Free Cash just by playing and 10% Cashback.
At Casino Titan, you’ll find the most advanced security measures available in any online casinos and we are continually auditing our games and processes to ensure a totally safe and fair online casino gambling experience to our customers. At Casino Titan, you will find everything that you have been looking for in an online casino.
Casino Titan is powered by Real Time Gaming (RTG) and offers some of the best casino games in the industry. We have a great customer support team available 24/7 to help casino players.”
I don’t need to tell you how big of a legend Doyle Brunson is. It’s everyone’s dream to play against the Godfather of Poker. This Wednesday, your dream comes true. Join Doyle Brunson and his friends for a colossal Bounty Tournament that could put up to $50,000 in your wallet. If it is your first time playing in the Bounty, you play for free. After playing the tournament on Wednesday at 9:30pm ET, request your Bounty Rebate, and they will pay you $27.50 back in cash!
You cannot beat this value:
Bounty Rebate
First time players get a full refund win or lose!
$50,000 Bounty Multiplier
Knock out 1 Bounty get $1,000, Knock out 2 for $10,000, Get $50,000 for 3!*
$5,000 10/2 Challenge
Doyle won the WSOP twice with 10/2. K.O. him with 10/2 and we’ll pay you $5,000
$500 Casino Chip
The rich get richer! The Bounty tournament winner also gets $500 in DoylesCasino chips
Doyles Room Poker 110% bonus on initial deposits between $30 and $500!
You won’t be able to find another poker room where you can participate in tournaments, ring games and heads up matches with Doyle Brunson — author of SUPER SYSTEM (the bible of poker), winner of 10 WSOP Bracelets and player in every single WSOP since 1970. If you’re making your very first real money deposit at DoylesRoom, you will automatically begin earning our 110% Initial Deposit Bonus up to $550. Your Deposit Bonus is rewarded in $5 increments for each 83.33 FPP you earn.
Ten of the sixteen most popular online gambling software vendors deal Tens or Better Online Video Poker. The house percentage on these games ranges from a worse of 3.74% at Parlay Entertainment sites to a best of 0.87% at Microgaming, Rival, Vegas Tech, Grand Virtual, Boss, and Playsafe sites. (I prefer Rival online casinos over the others, because it also offers the best odds on other varieties of video poker.)
Full Tilt Poker’s Big Little Tournament series returns this July, with eight $100,000 guaranteed tournaments featuring buy-ins of $2 + $0.20. With a guaranteed first-place prize of $9,000, the Big Little Tournament is your chance to turn a small buy-in into a huge score.
$2 Buy-in – $100,000 Guaranteed
Play for a piece of $100K for just $2 + $0.20 every other Sunday beginning this July and win your share of $800,000 in total guaranteed prize money. Each of these Turbo No-Limit Hold ‘em tournaments will be held on the following Sundays:
July 18th
August 1st
August 15th
August 29th
September 12th
September 26th
October 10th
October 24th
Each Big Little Tournament begins at 12:30 ET. Please note that there will be a 30 minute seating period and play will begin at 13:00 ET. Buy in directly to any Big Little Tournament for $2 + $0.20, or satellite your way in for as little as $0.10 or 10 Full Tilt Points.
Registration for each $100K tournament is limited to 100,000 players – register now to play for your share of $100,000 in each Big Little Tournament.
Full Tilt Poker 100% bonus on initial deposits between $10 and $600!
Welcome to FullTiltPoker.com, the online home of some of the most respected poker players in the world. Here at Full Tilt Poker, we’d like you to have fun, while helping you learn the tricks and tips of the game that’s sweeping the globe.
Merge Poker Rooms offer the easiest way that I know of to play Backgammon cash games — both head-to-head cash games and cash tourneys. Every time that I have played, I’ve found several dozen — at times a hundred or so — players playing/waiting for a game.
The thing that I liked most is the rule variants that are offered around doubling, Jacoby, Crawford, beavers, and others. I’m sure that you’ll be able to find an opponent at the variety of backgammon that you are most experienced with.
Read more about all the rules of the backgammon games at a leading Merge Poker Room, OddsMaker Poker. The initial deposit bonus at OddsMaker Pokercan be earned by playing backgammon, and the 5% maximum backgammon rake is more than reasonable.
Merge Poker Rooms accept players from all 50 states!
OddsMaker.com Poker 100% bonus on initial deposits between $20 and $1000!
Our online poker card games test your mettle and challenge your preconceived notions of playing caliber. As a leading source of poker tournaments and rooms, Odds Maker has countless return customers who depend on our betting systems to keep their sk …[Full Description]
Languages: Currencies:
The Poker Player’s Alliance (PPA), the leading poker grassroots advocacy group with more than one million members nationwide, seeks to raise additional funds leading up to a crucial vote this summer on legislation to license and regulate online poker. On July 1, their goal is to raise $50K.
Featuring lucky symbols from around the world, such as horseshoes, lucky pennies, wishbones and rabbit’s feet, this slot embodies the essence of good fortune. But, it does much more than that. Best of Luck introduces a new feature which has the potential for some incredibly huge wins. Rather than awarding plain old free spins, Best of Luck awards one of 6 different bonus rounds on each free spin. Win the same bonus round 3 times during a set of free spins and you’ll be awarded an additional 3 free spins. Hit 4 or 5 triggering icons to increase the multiplier and number of free spins, for even bigger payouts and a greater chance of winning more spins.
The recommended sites for Best of Luck are listed below.
Slots of Fortune Casino $15 FREE + 700% bonus on initial deposits between $25 and $111! No-download version available!
Can you hear the reels spinning, jackpot bells hitting, coins spilling? Join Slots of Fortune today and we will double your first three deposits for a total of 777 in bonuses! Please note that this is a “SLOTS ONLY” bonus and can only be used for wagering on Slots, Keno and Scratch card games only.
Languages: Currencies:
Paradise 8 $10 FREE + 300% bonus on initial deposits between $25 and $100!
Enjoy the longest running Rival-based casino on the net! SECURE cashier and FAST payments. Personal and reliable 24/7 customer support. Weekly promotions, contests and daily jackpots. Secure gaming, licensed and regulated in Curacao.
Languages: Currencies:
Vegas Sky Casino $38 FREE + 150% bonus on initial deposits between $25 and $135!
There are over 70 games at Vegas Sky Online Casino! Our iSlots are one of a kind that can’t be found at any other casino. Enjoy playing our Video and Three Reel Slots, Table games like BlackJack, Craps, Roulette and even a large selection of Video Poker games like Jacks or Better and Deuces Wild.
Languages: Currencies:
Simon Says Casino $20 FREE + 100% bonus on initial deposits between $20 and $100!
You can try all the games at Simon Says absolutely free. Try our table games, 3-reel slots, video slots and the animated adventure of i-Slots all in one easy, safe and free download.
Languages: Currencies: