The Interactive Gambling Act of 2001 is the main legislative protection in force to prevent Australian players from falling foul of the dangers of online gambling. The act prohibits almost all forms of ‘interactive’ gambling – that pretty much means online gambling.

This law makes it an offense for the online casino or poker room to allow Australians to play in their online gambling site. Some betting is exempted though, such as sports betting, although it specifically prohibits ‘in play’ betting for some reason.

The onus is on the online casino to abide by the law, and there is no provision in this law to make it an offense for the player to gamble online. Australian players can gamble online in any poker site or online casino that will take them.

This law also allows gambling operators to operate from within Australia so long as they are offering their services only to players that are outside the country.

This situation has led a lot of the more well know online casinos and especially poker rooms to prohibit Australian players from accessing their sites. While in a strange twist one of the bigger poker rooms that continues to accept players from the United States of America is actually located in Australia.

Anyway, that is the situation as it stands today, but the whole internet gambling phenomenon has caused the minister in charge of internet regulation to review this legislation with a view to updating it to allow for the changes in online gaming in the last decade. While this review could see Australian lawmakers accept the reality of the internet age and relax their laws, it could also go the other way and tighten things up a whole lot more.

Of course many lawmakers, especially in the U.S., are now looking to online gambling as a solution to their economic woes in the form of the taxes that are to be had, and so it may happen that the Australian Government comes into line with most of the rest of the world and allows their players to have the full benefits of the internet gambling revolution.

We will wait with anticipation. The report is due in June 2012.

Poker has been an extremely popular game for quite some time now and, with its growing advancements in the software and technology behind the online versions, more and more people are beginning to play the game of poker online at sites like www.onlinecasinoking.com.

However, it isn’t an easy game to embark on, it’s not all just luck and planned strategies and skills are very much a part of the game. A good poker face is a bonus but skills are also needed and trying to play with just one or the other may work sometimes but won’t on all occasions.

Whether you play online or in a land based casino, it is extremely important that you first understand the rules of poker. Running in head first and betting an extortionate amount will probably only end in tears.

The best way to learn the rules and regulations of the game is to actually play it but instead of betting money, practice playing on any one of the available online free games. This way you won’t risk losing big sums of cash but will still be able to play alongside others or the computer, which will in turn allow you to learn the aims and rules.

The volume of people playing poker now is astonishing and it’s not just the older generation, the young are also taking part in the game of poker. This is most likely because of all the readily accessible versions available, which in turn cater for a wider audience.

Poker may be difficult but it’s also extremely intriguing and once you know how to play properly you could find yourself winning vast sums of money. Understanding the rules is in act more crucial than understanding the strategies of the game, which is why reading up on tips and information prior to play is always a great idea!

Go to http://www.costabingo.com/ for more information

Costa Bingo Dazzles Players with Slot Magic

Costa Bingo has long been a leader in the world of online bingo. Pioneers of free bingo, the site offers a selection of free bingo games 24/7 with real cash prizes up for grabs. Though many sites have tried to follow Costa’s lead, the sunshine bingo room continues to push boundaries when it comes to choice of games, number of rooms, jackpot prizes, bonuses and promotions.

One of the areas where Costa Bingo excels is in the number of slot games available at the site. These games are often available to play as side games alongside regular bingo games – for double the fun. One of the most exciting and popular slot games is Cleopatra Slots. This classic slot game has an Ancient Egyptian theme and features a range of attractive options, bright graphics, atmospheric sound effects and great winning opportunities.

There is of course a huge range of other slot games to choose from with various themes such as retro style games, adventure-themed slots, superhero slots and lots more. All of these slots have great potential winnings and some have a progressive jackpot for even bigger winnings.

Costa Bingo offers players a selection of great 90 ball and 75 ball bingo games with jackpots every day in their paid rooms of up to a massive £3000 for just 25p. Other games offer 10p tickets and jackpots up to £1500. Smaller prizes include regular £200 jackpots and many games cost just 1p to enter.

New players at Costa can enjoy a 200% welcome bonus on their first deposits as well as 50% extra on all re-deposits at the site. Once players have made their first deposits, they can enjoy 24 hours free entry into the First Time Depositor Freebie game where there is a £20 jackpot available to win every 15 minutes. Re-depositing players can also enjoy the chance to win £15 every 30 minutes in their own Daily Deposit Reload Freebie game.

Costa always has great promotions running every month, offering seasonal games with special prizes and offers. Currently the site is running its Mamma Mia promotion in celebration of Mothering Sunday. Players can enter this game every Sunday for the chance to win a slice of the £500 jackpot each time – and cards cost just1p.

In addition to this offer, Costa Bingo is also running its Comic Relief promotion, where players can enter a special game running on 20th March. There is a jackpot of £250 up for grabs with a 1TG jackpot on offer too for even more chances to win a prize. Cards are available now to pre-buy for just 1p and for every card sold to the game, Costa will donate 20p to Comic Relief.

With more top games running every week, with prizes available on instant games, chat games and more – with loads of cash prizes and Costa points up for grabs, in addition to a great range of slots, there is more reason than ever to hop over to Costa Bingo and put some sunshine into your gaming!

There will be many times when you look to open raise from position to maybe steal the blinds in either six max or full-ring no-limit Texas Hold em cash games and you get three bet. If these three bets are infrequent then you can put them down to what they are which is basically a re-raise by a stronger hand. However many really aggressive players become too active from the button or cut-off when they get anything remotely decent. Position is an advantage in poker as is aggression but it does need to be used wisely. If it has been folded around to the cut-off who open raises then you do not have the green light to three bet with anything. Continue Reading »

Who Are The Best Celebrity Poker Players?

Poker appeals to everyone from the rich members of society looking to enjoy the new phenomenon to young students seeking fame and fortune. On television there are regularly celebrity poker tournaments where we see famous actors, sportsman and society figures squaring off on the green felt. The competitive nature of Poker appeals to sportsman perhaps after their sporting retirement looking for a new pursuit and actors enjoy meeting their fans and gaining exposure for their charitable causes and in the case of our profiled players, their own pockets!

One thing in common with celebrities and sports people alike is their desire to win. Whilst I cringe at some of the weak plays on TV by some of the celebrities particularly in the heats leading to the finals some of the well-known poker players are becoming very good at the game and are posting some big results on the circuits around the world. So the biggest question is who is the best celebrity poker player?

I will give you three well-known players and you decide who the best player really is.

Ben Affleck – Actor

Ben received tuition from Annie Duke and won a $10,000 buy-in event at the WPT California State Poker Championship winning $356,400 in 2004. Ben still plays in most World Series of Poker events and plays in big money cash games with friends from Hollywood including Matt Damon and Jack Black. Bankroll is not a major problem for this Hollywood actor and Ben is one of the few superstars from a none poker background to hold a major championship title.

Michael Greco – Actor

Michael is better known as “Beppe” from Eastenders in the 1990’s. Michael has had lots of excellent results in Poker. A good all round player he has won a leg of the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour for $10,000 and has made two final tables at the World Series of Poker. This year, in 2009, he finished third in the $1500 No Limit Holdem event for $248,855. He also has high finishes in the EPT events finishing 71st in the grand final event for $32,871. Michael is considered by UK Poker experts to be on the of the finest UK poker players, not just of the celebrity community and is one of the more active players known as a celebrity.

Tony Cascarino – Ex-Footballer

After finishing his career scoring goals he turned to acquiring chips for a living. Tony immediately took to poker like a duck to water and is a regular feature of British poker events. He won the 7th leg of the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour in 2008 for $99,078 and followed that up with 6th place in the grand final for another hefty prize of $54,795. In 2006 he won the Caribbean Poker Classic for $28,400. Tony is considered, like Michael Greco, an excellent all round poker player not just a good celebrity player.

Teddy Sheringham – Footballer

Teddy spent years partnering Alan Shearer for England and playing for teams such as Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur until his career started winding down at the age of 42. He is known as a bit of a playboy and has been sponsored by large poker sites in the past. Teddy regularly appears in the big poker tournaments posting deep runs in many of them. He won $20,000 in 2006 finishing 9th in the UK Poker Open.

It seems everyone loves poker including the celebrities. Model Leilani is also a keen poker player so you never know who you might end up sitting with at a poker tournament. It may be a famous Sports person, beautiful model, or a well-known poker professional. Who is the best celebrity poker player? It is hard to say but I would prefer none of the four players stated above on my table.

By Malcolm Clarke