Last May a panel at the East Coast Gaming Congress said that internet gambling is the future of the gambling industry. The internet has had a profound effect on the way most people gather information, advertise, read news, shop and access entertainment. The internet has also changes the way people gamble. In the 90’s the first poker sites were launched and were an instant success. Today online poker generates billions in revenue every year. Online bingo has also been a great success. In the UK alone over three million people play at bingo sites on a regular basis and millions more are casual players. The conclusion was reached at the congress by a panel of online and brick-and-mortar casino executives.

A New Jersey legislator said that there will be a ballot question next year asking the state’s voters to amend the New Jersey constitution to allow online gambling. At the congress executives from two online betting organizations and Caesars Entertainment said that the internet will provide the gambling industry with its best opportunity for growth in the future. They also observed that at the present time the prospects for federal legislation to legalize online gambling are not good. Recently the US government seized four major poker sites and their assets. One bingo site has also been seized by the Department of Justice.

Some executives believe that despite the recent seizures US citizens will continue to gamble online. Jan Jones, senior vice president of government relations for Caesars Entertainment stated “You’re not going to stop the Internet. You can regulate it, you can put in protections, but it’s going to exist.” Melanie Brenner, president of the U.S. Online Gaming Association said that about ten million people currently play poker online. Brenner said “That’s what they look forward to. This is the path to growth for (the casino) industry.” Panel members estimated the annual revenue from legalized online gambling at $80 billion.

Richard Bronson, chairman of U.S. Digital Gaming, said that individual states will legalize online gambling soon and cash strapped states find the potential revenue attractive. Bronson stated “I believe strongly there will not be a national online gambling bill passed in the U.S. I’ve yet to find one governor, one legislator, one lottery director that tells me otherwise. They want this to be a state issue.” While the focus was on poker and online casinos the online bingo industry is following developments in the US very closely. Bingo sites are seen to enter the US market. Most believe that if most states legalize online gambling the federal government will follow.

The recent seizure of four major poker sites by US authorities sent shockwaves through the online gambling industry. Because so many industry observers had predicted that the US would legalize online gambling this year the move by the US Department of Justice was unexpected. The heavy handed action was roundly criticized by players and industry executives and workers. Players trying to access their funds were greeted by a message from the FBI when trying to log on at the four poker sites. This left many players without the ability to access their online accounts.

The DOJ has relented somewhat and is allowing American players to retrieve funds in their online poker accounts. The US Attorney for the Southern District of New York said that the domain names of PokerStars and fulltiltpoker are being restored so American players can withdraw funds from the sites. A statement released by the US Attorney’s office said “The government stands to enter the same agreement with Absolute Poker if it so chooses,”  adding, “This office expects the companies to return the money that US players entrusted to them, and we will work with the poker companies to facilitate the return of funds to players.” The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharra, said that players should be able to recover their funds without any problem. Some of the sites have reopened with .eu domain names and have banned players from the United States.

Ironically the heavy handed actions by the US left many European gaming companies in very good position. The stocks of several European gambling companies soared on global exchanges. Industry experts say that should the US legalize online gaming, and there are strong indications that the US will, European gaming companies would be able to obtain US licenses easily because they have not violated US online gambling laws.

So far most bingo sites remain unscathed by the recent actions. Bingo is regarded as a soft form of gambling and generally does not attract the attention of regulators. Because of its long association with churches and charities bingo is a socially acceptable form of gambling. Bingo sites operating in the US are usually low key and most go to great lengths to maintain a good reputation. In the US several states have announced plans to offer online gambling to residents so it is just a matter of time before online gambling, online bingo included, will once again be legal in the United States.

A recent gaming conference in Las Vegas has looked at whether internet gambling is a form of competition to land based gaming operations or a benefit. At the event several experts said that internet gambling has the potential to enhance land based gaming. They also suggested that online gaming operations are not a threat that could seriously harm the land based casinos. Three industry experts said that if the United States legalized online gambling it would provide land based casino operators with a much larger customer base.

In Great Britain the land based bingo industry has seen a recent increase in the number of players attending games at bingo halls. Many credit online bingo for the increase in the number of younger players at bingo halls. A majority of internet bingo players also attend live bingo games and many younger players were first introduced to the online bingo game. It is clear that in many cases online gaming can benefit live casino operations.

Gaming experts at the conference included Jan Jones of Caesars Entertainment, Doug Dalton of Bellagio and Art Manteris of Station Casinos. The trio addressed the 300 delegates attending the iGaming North America conference. Jones said that the average gambling customer is about 50 years old and that the new generation of gamblers makes all of their gaming decisions on the internet. Jones went on to say that most younger players congregate online and make most of their entertainment choices on the internet. Jones said that if the gaming industry does not establish an internet presence they will lose potential players to other forms of entertainment.

Jones pointed out the newspaper industry, record stores and bookstores are examples of businesses that failed to take advantage of the internet and suffered financial losses as a result. Mark Tenner, the president of the Consultants Concept Development Group, pointed out that 11 years ago about 250,000 people played online poker and that today there are about 65 million online poker players. Steve Rittvo, the chairman of The Innovation Group said that the poker market would double in five years if the US legalized online gambling. Vahe Baloulian the CEO of Red Planet Marketing in Austria said that European gambling markets had grown as a result of television instructing potential players how to play various gambling games.

In the UK internet bingo has not had an adverse effect on live bingo clubs. In fact internet bingo has created a whole new generation of younger players. UK bingo clubs are starting to recover from the disastrous effects of the national smoking ban and some experts suggest that internet bingo may be partially responsible for the recent surge in players.

After the recent shutdown of several online poker sites in the US many online bingo players are wondering if their favorite bingo sites will be the next to feel the wrath of the US government. The recent actions by the US government are seen as heavy handed by many in the online gaming industry. Players with thousands of dollars in their accounts now have no way to check on the status of their poker accounts because the FBI seized the domains of the poker sites. Ironically the seizures have benefitted the stocks of online gaming companies that do not operate in the United States. Gaming giant Rank saw share prices rise by an astounding 30% shortly after the seizures were announced.

Many players are wondering how many bingo sites will pull the plug on American players. At least one bingo network has already announced that they will withdraw from the US market. The Bingo Entertainment network said that it is closing A1 Bingo, Bingo Plex, Bingo Beez, Bingo Mega and Paramount Bingo to American players. The announcements were a surprise to both players and the internet bingo industry. So far there have been no other similar announcements from other bingo sites and networks.  The Bingo Entertainment Network announced that as of April 18th no American players will be accepted. Fortunately there are other bingo sites willing to take the players who are now banned from playing at any of the sites in the network.

It is difficult to predict what future hardships American bingo players will face because of the actions of the US government. When the United States passed anti online gaming legislation in 2006 many bingo sites and online casinos banned American players immediately. The US government then went after online payment processors such as Neteller and PayPal. The move had a chilling effect on the online gaming industry and it took months for American players to retrieve the funds in their accounts. The nation of Antigua, where many bingo sites are licensed, filed a complaint against the United States with the World Trade Association. The WTO ruled in favor of Antigua but so far the United States has ignored the ruling. The dispute continues to this day.

Many online gaming experts believe that the US will legalize online gaming sometime this year or early next year. Should this happen many European and UK bingo sites will be well poised to enter the US market.  The actions of the US government have caused uncertainty in the online gaming industry and it is anybody’s guess what will happen next.

Many factors have been cited as responsible for the decline of live bingo in the United Kingdom. High taxation, the national smoking ban, increased local licensing fees and the poor economic climate have all been cited by many sources as reasons for the decline. Many also blamed the rise of online bingo for the decline of live bingo halls. Some analysts believed that online bingo was less expensive and more accessible to players and also said that online bingo was the chief factor contributing to the demise of live bingo. Last year about two bingo halls closed each month in the UK but today many land based operators are reporting increased game attendance and many believe that the worst may be over for live bingo halls.

Many believe that the immense popularity of online bingo has sent a whole new generation of bingo players to live bingo halls. Many younger players first learned the game at free bingo sites and decided to try the live version of the game. Some have compared the live bingo industry with the online poker boom which has sent thousands of new players flocking to card rooms across the UK. Online poker has made the game more popular than ever before and the Word Series of Poker now attracts record numbers of players despite the high buyins.

The recent surge in the number of players at live bingo halls has prompted several bingo operators to invest millions to bring bingo halls up to date and make them more attractive to younger players. Just five years ago most players at land based bingo halls were over 50 years old but today the average age of the typical live bingo player is about 30. Some in the industry say that even before the online bingo boom many land based halls had become stale and antiquated. While there can be no doubt that the smoking ban hit bingo halls hard bad management was also responsible for the decline in players. The fact that many players at bingo sites are now attending live games is good news for land based bingo providers such as Gala and Rank.

The online bingo boom is expected to continue well into the future which should be very good news for live bingo operators. As bingo sites consolidate land based operators should be in a very good position as the industry recovers from past problems.

In 2006 the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act caused chaos in the internet gaming industry. Players were locked out of their accounts and many major gaming sites banned American players. Gaming stocks plummeted on global stock exchanges and thousands were thrown out of work just before the worst recession since World War 2. Eventually things cooled down and American players continued to gamble at websites that still accepted American players. Many thought the madness would end with the election of Obama who has a reputation as a skilled poker player. Unfortunately this was a miscalculation.

Last Friday the entire gaming industry was shocked by the seizure of three domains owned by major internet poker providers. 11 indictments were issued charging defendants with fraud, money laundering and other offenses. Players were stunned when trying to access their accounts and thousands of players found themselves with no way to access their accounts. Bank accounts connected with the online poker operations were also seized. Many industry observers believe that players may never see their funds again. A US district court issued an order restraining approximately 76 bank accounts in 14countries and the DOJ is seeking $3 billion from the operators of the poker sites. Several defendants have been arrested but fortunately many defendants are located outside of the US. Despite the fact that a clear majority of Americans support online gaming the government continues its heavy handed actions.

Currently there are several online bingo sites that accept players from the US. It remains to be seen whether more bingo sites will exit the US bingo market.  Making online gambling illegal has had some unintended consequences. Keith Furlong of the Interactive Gaming Council (IGC) stated “In the guise of protecting vulnerable Americans- minors who want to gamble and adults who can’t control their gambling – Congress has actually heightened the risk to these groups. It has driven away the operators who followed the most socially responsible practices. It has also increased the possibility of online gambling being used for money laundering, because it has outlawed the most easily tracked methods of payment.”

So far there have been no reports of problems at bingo sites accepting US players. Ironically the District of Columbia has just implemented legal online gaming for residents and several states are considering similar measures. At the present time online poker players have no options but to wait patiently and see what develops.

It’s official; according to a study done by egaming research firm H2 Gambling Capital, online bingo is the fastest growing sector of the egaming industry. The study also points out that the current recession seems to have bypassed the online gambling industry and that in 2010 the industry grew by 12.5%. The online gambling industry has performed much better than most sectors of the general economy. In 2010 the gross win by generated by online gaming topped $29.95 billion worldwide.

The highest growth rate was achieved by the internet bingo industry which in 2010 grew by 28.4% generating $2.67 billion dollars in 2010. Previous industry predictions said that online bingo industry revenues would not hit the $2 billion dollar mark until 2012 putting the industry well ahead of previous estimates. Online casinos followed bingo sites as the fastest growing egambling sector. Online casinos grew by 13..3% and revenues hit $2.67 billion. Sports betting had a banner year and produced $12.06 billion dollars in gross wins for 2010. The figures included betting on the World Cup football matches.

Surprisingly online poker had the slowest growth rate of just 7.1% still ahead of other sectors of the economy. Online bingo sites are expecting record fourth quarter profits thanks to the severe winter weather that has plagued the UK and parts of Europe since late November. The H2 Gambling Capital report also said that mobile gambling was a major driver of industry growth. Many bingo sites like BingoHouse now offer mobile bingo and players using mobile devices with internet access can play at their favorite bingo site anywhere they happen to be. The report echoes the sentiments of many in the industry that mobile bingo and gaming will be a major factor in future industry growth.

The H2 report pointed out that bingo has been the most resilient form of gambling even as the worst recession since the postwar years pares consumer spending. One H2 executive told Bloomberg news that online bingo is the ‘least mature’ online gaming sector. Simon Holliday, Director for H2 stated, “Online bingo is in such an early growth phase that any recessionary impacts are outweighed by its newness. This is often supply-driven demand. It relates to availability and how heavily things are marketed.” Many new bingo sites have been launched by investors who want to take advantage of this rapidly growing industry. Several online bingo operators have reported incomes in the millions of dollars range in 2010.

The rapid growth of the online bingo industry has provided jobs for many. Game developers are busy creating new bingo and side games, writers are busy banging out new content, online payment processors are gaining new customers and many have started their own bingo reviews and comparison websites. Review and comparison sites have been used successfully by several industries. Insurance rate comparison sites are just one example of these ventures and some comparison sites are even advertised on television. The internet bingo industry has jumped on board and now there are hundreds of bingo review and comparison sites. In addition to these there are also many casino comparison sites rating the services of the many online poker sites and casinos.

Some online bingo review sites have been set up for marketing purposes and may promote a specific bingo site or network. These are usually easy to spot but even these can contain valuable information in the form of articles and tips for players. There are also many internet bingo portals that provide impartial information and players should look for these whenever possible. Many operate forums where players can share their experiences with bingo sites and the services they provide. Reputable bingo forums will usually ban blatant promotions or will have a specific thread for posting promotions. Bingo review sites and forums can help new players to avoid unpleasant experiences with less than honest bingo operators.

Anyone who has tried to find bingo review and comparison sites has probably run across review sites that make no sense at all. The articles are usually little more than gibberish or are written by writers with a minimal knowledge of the English language. These sites are usually set up for search engine optimization purposes and have no value for users. They are easy to spot and can be annoying time wasters for people searching for real news and information about online bingo.

Since according to Google the most popular bingo related search term is ‘free bingo’ there are several bingo review sites that specialize in providing information about free bingo games. Most bingo sites provide players with some sort of free bingo option and there are also bingo sites that provide totally free bingo games. There are also bingo review and comparison aimed at American players. Many UK bingo sites do not accept US based players because of federal law. These portals can point US players in the right direction when searching for a reputable bingo site that accepts American players.

Some bingo review and comparison sites have been financially successful and are supported through advertising and affiliate marketing. One of the most popular bingo portals reported income in excess of $400,000 just a few years ago. With money like that at stake it is no wonder so many bingo portals have been launched.

Video poker is one of the most popular casino games in the world, and more and more people are starting to play it online these days.  Since it can be played against a computer rather than real people, it’s less intimidating and thus a preferable option for those who enjoy playing games by themselves.

While video poker is a relatively simple game to play, it still has more rules than slots.  It also requires a bit of strategy, much like regular poker does.  If you know how to play it, then you can gain an edge over the house!  It’s not entirely a game of chance like some other casino games are.

Some variations of video poker will require you to play with one hand while others allow three or more.  At Bingo House, you can choose from over thirty different versions of the game!  You can try each game out for free if you want, or you can buy credits for a chance to win real money.

Some popular variations of video poker at Bingo House include:  Jacks or Better, Joker Poker, Deuces Wild, Bonus Deuces Wild, Double Jackpot Poker, and Bonus Poker Deluxe.  Carefully look over each game and read all the rules before you begin playing.  If you find that you’re good at some games, then stick with them until you win big.

It’s always a good idea to get some practice in before playing for real money.  Even if you’re already somewhat familiar with online video poker, you should always work on improving your skills.  After all, the better you are at playing, the better your odds will be.  There’s always something to learn at this game, no matter what version you choose to play.

Always take a look at the return table before playing with cash.  You’ll probably notice that if you play a full game with 5 coins, you’ll have a chance of winning the most money.  In most games, if you get a royal flush, you can win a great deal of money if you play the full pay!  It can cost anywhere from 1 cent to 50 cents to play.  If you go all out and risk $0.50, then you’ll increase your return a great deal if you end up winning.

If you get tired of video poker, you can always go back to the exciting game of bingo at one of the many bingo sites on the web.  Read a bingo review or two before you start playing, to ensure you are choosing the best site for you!