Online Casinos: More than just grabbing the bucks

Online casinos. Often thought as a place where people gamble taking out all their money and try their luck to double it. People would think that online casinos are places of temptation and sin that could lead to further destruction. People judge it in just what they see outside not knowing that for these poker players, it is something more.

For casino players, they see online casinos as an avenue wherein they could break free from the stresses of work and other things that they are busy about. Yes, it could be for the money and all, but there are really just players who play for the sake of playing. Money might still be at risk but these players don’t really place all their bets in. They probably are the wisest players when it comes to financial risk involving online casinos.

Celebrate Christmas in Online Casinos

No, no, no. I don’t mean spend your holidays facing the computer and play online poker and the likes. I don’t think your family would like that thought (they might hunt me down if I’ll say so!). What I meant is just probably feeling the spirit of Christmas when you log in to your favorite online casinos.

If people are jumping up and down in decorating their homes, offices, vehicles, and even their gadgets, then why can’t online games software developers and online casino operators have the same Christmassy look and feel in gaming?

Probably by now, an online casino or two is designing their sites to make their constant gamers feel that it is Christmas. Poker tables, online slots, and other online games can be designed as such to give a little scent of Christmas in their scene.

It’s not much on sensationalizing Christmas. It’s more on giving people a tinge of the Christmas season so that win or lose, they would still leave the online casino happy and satisfied.

Doyle's Room is switching to a more US friendly casino software

Doyle's Room may be at the lead of a new trend in online gambling, as the Internet poker room has decided to switch online poker software providers to allow a return to the US market. Doyle's Room sent e-mails to patrons this week alerting them to massive change on the site, expected to focus on a shift from Microgaming to Cake Poker.

Microgaming decided in November to withdraw from the US market to avoid further legal hassles like the Kentucky online casino domain name case. At that time, all sites powered by Microgaming were required to follow suit and stop accepting new US players. But studies have shown that as much as half of all online gambling involves US players, and a fledgling site like Doyle's needs that base to draw upon.

Therefore, Doyle's will become a member of the Cake Poker network. While Cake has blocked Kentucky players in a protective response to the ongoing court case, players from other states are still welcome. No word has been released about potential returns to prior service by either Microgaming or Cake in light of the appellate victory in Kentucky by online gambling sites.

Meanwhile, rumors persist that other online casinos may choose, or be forced economically, to follow Doyle's move to switch software providers that are still accepting US players. Playboy Casino, which expected to exploit the brand name so well-known in the US, has announced it will shut down next week after two years of struggling to survive following software provider Cryptologic's dropping of US players after the passing of the UIGEA.

More Internet casinos are sure to conclude their best path for survival and growth may lie in placing their companies with software companies still serving the US. With the arrival of new gambling solutions from Rival Gaming and Wizard Gaming, there are a growing number of high-quality, innovative programs to choose from.

News Clippings: Norway Now Bans Online Gambling

I was actually on my way to bed when I saw this news at OnlineCasinoTopic. It seems that Norway is now on the same page on US' stand against online gambling and casinos. So far the enactment of the law has caused an indignation of the several sectors.

It looks like the country of Norway has decided to take a page from the United States’ book on online casinos and banning them. In 2006 the United States passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). The bill was cleverly concealed inside a bill that supported port security against terrorist acts and it was never debated or investigated by the members of Congress before it was passed. The law has since caused havoc with online casinos and poker rooms, causing legitimate businesses in the online casino community to withdraw from the American market and depriving American citizens of the joy of playing. Instead a black market online casino industry has emerged and it is preying on American citizens and growing by leaps and bounds.

Norway has decided to pass a similar law to the UIGEA that makes assisting any online gambling sites a violation of the law, including processing transactions. So far the reaction to the new law has been met with outrage from every sector regarding the way the program has been implemented. The Norwegian financial institutions have stated that the law is ‘unworkable’ and a ‘competitive disadvantage’. Civil libertarians are completely horrified by it.

Additionally, global law experts feel that the law may be violating or conflicting with the national obligations as set by the European Union. Already a complaint about the law has been filed with the European Free Trade Association by the Remote Gambling Alliance. The measure as it currently stands makes any assistance to the online gambling sites illegal and says that the only ‘legal’ online gambling in the country are through sites that are state owned which includes the lottery.

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