Online Casinos Dir
Home Online Casino Reviews Casino Bonus US Casinos UK Casinos Gaming Blog Contact

Downtown Toronto Casino an Alleged Threat to Neighboring Gambling Resort

May 14th, 2013

Woodbine Entertainment is staying mum about the Toronto casino issue. The neutral stance of the gambling resort is however tainted when Woodbine officially disclosed their issue with the proposal and upcoming project. According to Woodbine authorities, state alternatives welcoming the gambling resort could highly endanger Ontario’s race track and horse racing industry. Online betting and bookmaking is definitely gaining grounds and popularity among punters and wagering enthusiasts. According to Woodbine’s chief executive Nick Eaves, there is an imminent danger to the bookmaking industry in Toronto with more access to internet gambling following the rise of the gambling resort in the area. The racetrack operation in Ontario is actually managed by a not for profit organization using the revenues garnered from the 3,000 slot machines. Moreover, they are lobbying the expansion of the gambling property with complete and full table games.

The C2 gaming zone is soon to have its own gambling resort and this is an essential and prominent investment according to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. There are various sites such as http://gamblingonlinecasinos.org where you could find feedback and reviews from bookmaking punters and players. Those who want to improve the online wagering world in Toronto lobby for the development and approval of the new casinos in the area. There are areas which would be affected by the rise of the new gambling resort including Brampton,Vaughan,Mississauga, and the northwest part of Etobicoke where Woodbine Entertainment is located.

The C1 zone will have other casinos dir or gambling resorts which are privately operated. These areas are those which include the waterfront of Mississauga, downtown Toronto, Vaughan and the areas of Richmond Hill and Markham. Woodbine’s survival is essential especially for those who are employed by the property with up to 7,500 people employed. There are foreseen downsides to having readily available wagering and bookmaking properties online near Ontario. Slots combined with other featured bookmaking games in gambling sites may definitely have adverse effects on the gaming community. Nevertheless, even with the expansion of Woodbine, the racetrack business would find it hard to compete with the increasing popularity of Internet wagering today.

Merge Sets $2M Guarantee for Maximus V

April 15th, 2013

Merge Gaming Network, one of the many online casinos and software providers, has announced the return of Poker Maximus tournament series this coming May. Considered as a major event on the Internet poker calendar, Poker Maximus, in its fifth run, is expected to draw a bigger number of online poker gladiators, especially since a total of $2M tournament guarantees for 52 events is offered by the network. The prize pool for this series is more than 50 percent higher compared to the $1.3M awarded during the Poker Maximus IV events held February this year.

From a marketing standpoint, Merge claims that its promotion is exceptionally appealing because it offers a broad range of buy ins. This will allow both recreational and professional online bettors who follow and visit sites like twitter.com/onlinecasinoco frequently to join and compete for the prize pool. The tourney’s $2M guarantee significantly exceeds the iPoker Online Poker Series’ $1.2M, which covers only eight events. Placing second in overall traffic, iPoker is about to hold its 4th series this month. Meanwhile, PokerStars, which tops the ranking, is reported to have its tournament series called Spring Championship of Online Poker by May right after Merge and iPoker’s series conclude. In the history of Internet poker tournament series, the biggest prize money ever given, amounting to $65M, was during the 2012 SCOOP. The same event filled 1.3 million seats, setting a record for the highest number of participants playing casinos online.

Merge Network, with Carbon Poker, Poker Host, Poker City, Optimus Poker and its many other skins, hopes that the Poker Maximus V tournament series and its promotion will be able to help improve the poker site’s traffic and reinvigorate the software platform. Earlier, in its attempt to solve issues of unfair competition between skins and move to a more entertaining model, Merger stopped rakeback deals and began presenting changes to the network’s poker product. The Bad Beat Jackpot feature was called off, and the highest stake games have been taken off from the poker site’s lobby, leaving No Limit Hold’em’s $3/$6 the richest cash game. Though it continuously serves the US market, it remains number three according to online directory PokerScout while Revolution and Bodog stay in the top two positions.

PokerRoom.com is Saying Goodbye Once More

March 1st, 2013

Although it is a bit disappointing, online gamers should accept the fact that one of their favorite gaming sites will soon be removed from online casinos dir. According to the onlinecasino.info, PokerRoom.com is going to be closed just a year after it was reopened. The site’s owner, bwin.party is encouraging its players to move over to its main site PartyPoker. The only perk of doing so is that players can take advantage of the standard new player sign up bonus. Despite this, players should not worry about their funds as they will be refunded. However, players have to log in and cash out their balances until March 19 only.

Unfortunately, all un-cleared bonuses have already been forfeited while all tickets that are unused are going to be converted into cash. Spectators are questioning whether or not the company has given early warning to all its players with the closure. Even the Pokah community forum has been shut down. They can no longer be accessed to online casinos dir. It could be remembered that the PokerRoom was one of the leaders and the first to market online poker in 1999. In 2005, ownership was transferred to bwin.party. When the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 was implemented, bwin.party opted to leave theUSmarket. Since then, there has been no news about the PokerRoom’s comeback.

In 2009, Bwin merged with PartyGaming. The PokerRoom.com brand was totally closed at that time. The newly merged companies decided to reopen the site on its Ongame Network three years later. Although the site remained down for many years, the brand has been very memorable to its players as it was the very first to open its doors to online poker and be found on online casinos dir. However, its reopening came at the time when the parent company was on its way to selling the Ongame Network. The move is seen to be a part of its corporate strategy to make the network more attractive to potential investors. Also, it could have been a way for the bwin.party execs to take out some profits from the depreciating as yet unused asset. Now, players may have to say goodbye to PokerRoom.com for good.

Casinover Online Casino is Really Over

January 15th, 2013

The most challenging and perhaps devastating event that could happen to any casino player is when their favorite online casino closes down without further notice. Even worse is when they still have money left in their accounts, and now have no way of getting it. This is exactly what happened to Casinover Online Casino. The site is relatively new in the virtual gambling world as it began its operations in 2011. The site offered no download requirements and just instant play. In a short period of time, the site has had gained a number of players. Most of them are those who love shorter games that come from instant plays. Unfortunately, the casino officially announced that it will be closing down and the shutdown process has already started. If this event happened at a major gambling company, it could have been announced at all the leading news channels.

Good thing though that Casinover Online Casino was able to inform all players with real money accounts about their reimbursement process. Those who have the account may have already received this notice along with the amount left in their accounts, specifically players who have remaining funds greater than 10 pounds. They have until February 10th to claim their refund. All they have to do is contact Casinover’s customer support. However, those who have less than this amount may not be able to get their refund as it will be donated to a responsible gambling charity.

Casinover players need not worry about where to continue playing their favorite online games. There are plenty of sites to choose from through places like online casinos dir. There are many sites that have been around for many years now. Most of them already have thousands of dedicated players as apparently, they are the best picks. Also, there are dozens of new casinos online opening almost every month and many of them are worth the try. In the meantime, Casinover players have to contact customer service to get their refunds. Ten pounds will suffice many sites’ initial deposit requirements. Those with less than 10 pounds though really don’t have to feel bad about not getting their money back as it will be spent for a good cause.

Learn Craps

May 30th, 2012

Craps is one of the iconic casino games. It is played in virtually every full casino resort across the world, from Vegas to Macau and elsewhere. It is played online, in James Bond movies, and more. Still, it is a game that few people understand. When people visit a casino for the first time, they always know how to play slots and roulette and often know how to play blackjack, but are usually clueless on the game of craps. Often they play anyway, with the expected result: losing lots of money. Before playing craps, you need to learn how to play the game, which can be done online.

Even looking at the Wikipedia page for craps can give you a good overview, which is better than nothing. Some people think that because craps is a game of chance, there is nothing they can do to influence the outcome, so they can just go with their gut, place bets however they want and do fine. That isn’t true.

It is true that craps is a game of chance, so no skill can change where the dice will land. You can’t control what numbers are rolled, but you can control on what you place your bet. You can control what kind of risk you take. That is the strategy in craps. There are a large number of bets you can place. Some are high risk-high reward, some are low risk-low reward, and many are somewhere in between. Combined with many rules of etiquette that should be observed, and it becomes clear that craps is a game best played by someone with experience. Slots can be played by the ignorant just as well as the experts. For craps, though, experience and knowledge lead to better games.

Confusing Online Gambling Laws

March 16th, 2012

The online gambling industry is still relatively new, only having been around since the early 1990’s. Compared to most of the industries in which people participate and governments regulate, online gambling is still in a fledgling phase. For that reason, a lot of people aren’t clear on what the laws are regarding gambling over the Internet. That certainly isn’t helped by the fact that the laws can be rather confusing. Take the federal laws in Australia and the United States as just two excellent examples.

If you try to look up the Australian gambling laws on the books using australia.gov.au, you’ll find that gambling online is illegal. That is only partially true, though. Currently the Australian government does not regulate the online gambling industry and it does not allow any online gambling companies to be run in the country. As for the overseas online casinos, they violate Australian law if they accept Australian customers or advertise in the country. However, the gambling ban does not apply to the players – only the businesses. It is not illegal for Australian customers to play on the offshore online casinos. There are currently lawmakers trying to change that, though, by amending the law to make it illegal on the player’s side as well. For now, though, the players are not breaking the law.

And then there is the United States. There is no federal law regulating or banning online gambling. The Wire Act bans electronic (phone or Internet) gambling on sporting events. However, as stated on onlinecasinosinusa.net, neither the Wire Act nor UIGEA bans online casinos or online poker rooms. Players can wager there legally and it is not illegal for the offshore casino operators to accept American customers. This has been confusing because the Department of Justice was confused and until recently was of the opinion that the Wire Act banned all online gambling. In December 2011, they admitted they were wrong. Some U.S. states, such as Washington and Utah, do not allow online gambling. For the rest, online gambling is legal if the company is located offshore. If the company is located in America, though, it would be illegal, because they would require a gambling license to operate and the U.S. does not issue online gambling licenses. Still confused?

Bodog Indicted

March 2nd, 2012

If you recently tried to log into Bodog’s website to do some sports betting or online gambling, you may have encountered a problem. The domain has been seized by the United States Department of Justice, along with indictments against the company’s founder, Calvin Ayre, and three of his website operators.

Ayre and the other defendants are charged with running an illegal gambling business and money laundering. If convicted of both charges, they each face up to 25 years in prison. Arrest warrants have been issued for the defendants.

According to the Justice Department, federal investigators opened accounts at Bodog using Maryland addresses. In the state of Maryland, sports betting is illegal. Online sports betting is illegal throughout the entire United States. According to an affidavit, the investigators were able to play at Bodog and had winnings mailed to them in the form of checks. Calvin Ayre denies any wrongdoing and says that his company has not accepted bets from Americans. The prosecutors say that more than $100 million has been paid out to American customers by Bodog from 2005 to 2011.

According to news found on Google, the Bodog domain was seized on Monday and the indictments were released on Tuesday. No arrests have been made of yet. Calvin Ayre and the other three indicted parties are Canadian citizens and Bodog is based in Canada. In December 2011, Bodog.com changed its name to Bodog.eu and at that point, the company said that it would no longer accept customers from America. On his personal website, Ayre said that the indictments are without merit and are done to protect the interests or large U.S. companies that view Bodog as competition.

EU Makes Online Gambling Ruling

February 17th, 2012

The European Union told Italy the same thing they have told several other European countries: They are not allowed to discriminate against overseas online gambling operators. The ruling by the European Court of Justice is in keeping with previous rulings on the subject when other nations have drawn the ire of the industry and the EU.

In the ruling, the European Court of Justice stated that it is a violation of EU law for member nations to pass legislation that protects the local market by discriminating against foreign operators. Many countries, most recently Italy, have done so in the name of protecting the players or preventing fraud. The Court recently clarified that it is not an acceptable excuse. All online casinos located in or regulated by other EU member states have to be afforded the same access as those within Italy (or whatever country we’re talking about at the time).

According to Yahoo News, the European Court of Justice said that because of the discrimination, the local operators have been given an unlawful and unfair competitive advantage. Such unfairness in the competition is not beneficial to the industry or to consumers. Italian regulators are disappointed with the ruling and will have to change their policies. With a more level playing field, there should be more competition and more options for players. More options is always a good thing. To find some of the best in the industry, read up on online casino reviews and check into the names that we recommend – casinos that are tightly regulated, licensed, and have respected software.

FTC Warning About Online Gambling

February 3rd, 2012

You may remember the warning that the FTC gave about online gambling back in 2002. If not, here is the FTC warning. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission conducted a study of the online gambling industry and came to the conclusion that it is unsafe because there isn’t adequate protection against underage gambling. So how does this 2002 report stand up today?

In 2002, the FTC said that many online gambling sites didn’t have any warnings about underage gambling and those that did often didn’t feature them prominently. That is still the case. I think many online casinos assume that because their software is designed to prevent minors from gambling, and because everyone seems to know that underage gambling is illegal, it’s not necessary to advertise it. That may not be true, but it seems to be a common belief within the industry.

The truth is that online casinos have software that verifies the age of those who attempt to join and log into the site. Is it perfect? Of course not, but neither is the security barrier to buying cigarettes or alcohol, which is a bored and disinterested worker making minimum wage.

The point is that all security systems can be beaten. Underage gamblers manage to spend money at brick and mortar casinos, but trying to shut them down because of it is throwing the baby out with the bathwater. It’s best to work on solutions and find the best ways to minimize underage gambling. The same goes for those playing online. For a list of the safest online casinos, check out http://internetcasinogamblingonline.net.

Online Casinos for Real Money

January 20th, 2012

If you are going to play at an online casino for real money, you need to be sure you are playing at a casino that is safe. The word safe means many things in this case, each of which will be explained. Safety is the most important issue when you are shopping for online casinos to frequent.

The first type of safety is to make sure that the casino is a legitimate business. The Internet is full of fake businesses that are nothing more than scams. They pretend to be a legitimate site but they only use your personal information to either steal money from you or sell your information to someone else. You can be sure of this by looking at customer feedback.

You also need to make sure that the online casino has adequate security to protect you from outsiders. People like to hack into websites where people share their personal information, especially financial information, which makes casinos a prime target for such hackers. The best online casinos have cyber security that rivals the biggest banks. The casinos use the latest in encryption technology to secure your data and keep your information safe.

Another form of safety that you need is protection from other players, if you are competing against others, such as with online poker. Players can sometimes create bots to allow them to play from more than one location, giving them a better chance of winning. Good casino security can prevent fraud like this.

The other form of safety is assurance that you’re getting fair games. All casino games may favor the house, but there are certain odds that are considered acceptable and odds worse than that are considered rip-offs. The best casinos have competitive odds and payout rates and the games are tested to ensure that they are fair to the players.