Last year, the online gambling world, especially American gamblers, celebrated. The District of Columbia, the capitol of the United States, passed regulation for the online gambling industry. Though it was only going to allow intra-district gambling, it was still the first of its kind in America, and was seen as a stepping stone for larger regulation. Now that regulation is no more.

After mounting controversy over the regulation, Washington, D.C. decided to look more closely at the matter. This afternoon, the D.C. Council voted 10-2 to repeal the law regulation online gambling in the district. Michael Brown, who sponsored and wrote the regulation, was only joined by a single councilmember in opposing the repeal.

Though the regulation was signed into law last year, it was never implemented. Once opposition caught wind of the law, it became a huge source of controversy. The regulation was never debated by the Council and was slipped by Brown into a supplemental budget bill. Concerns were later raised over whether Brown had a conflict of interest in authoring the bill. Public hearings were held and many in the public came out to oppose it, though the majority of D.C. residents were either ambivalent or supportive.

Still, the controversy got all over www.cnn.com and other major media outlets, with speculation of corruption by Brown. In the end, the Council decided that since they had not debated the bill and had not voted directly on regulation, that they should vote on whether or not to repeal it. Today ten of the 12 council members vote in support of repeal.

Opponents of online gambling have long said that the activity is dangerous because it can be addictive. Players who are addicted to online gambling can blow all of their money and ruin their lives. While that is true, it accounts for a small percentage of players and it ignores the fact that many things can be addictive but are available to people. Alcohol and cigarettes are the two most obvious examples, but what about the Internet. A recent study out of China suggests that people can become addicted to the Internet.

Recent studies have shown that those who have an addiction to gambling usually are addicted to some substance, such as drugs or alcohol, as well. It shows an addictive personality trait or mental disorder. The same can be said of the Internet. In an interesting article found at guardian.co.uk, it was stated that studies say approximately 5-10% of Internet users are thought to be addicted to using the Web. In the Chinese study, brain scans showed anomalies consistent with those who have substance addictions.

The study of Internet use and suggestion that it can be addictive is still controversial. Still, there is enough merit to it that the American Psychiatric Association is considering updating the DSM to include Internet addiction as a disorder. If the Internet can be addictive, what does that mean for online gambling? Some would suggest that it makes gambling online more dangerous, and more likely to lead to addiction, than gambling offline. Others say that if the players didn’t get hooked on playing at online casinos, they would get addicted to eBay, Facebook or something else on the Web. The study, which used MRI scanners on adolescents who spent many hours on the Internet daily, hopes to lead to better treatment of the disorder.

Blackjack is one of the most popular casino games. In fact, it ranks behind only slots in popularity. It is a game that can be profitable, but it also has a learning curve, though it is not as steep as with poker, craps and some other games. With that in mind, here are some tips for playing blackjack online.

The most important tip is to study basic strategy and know the right decisions to make. If you don’t know, don’t just guess. If you play online, there is no time limit, since you are playing against a computer program. If you don’t know what to do, take the time to consult a strategy chart. Don’t make a mistake simply because you don’t want to admit that you don’t have strategy down yet.

If you are new to blackjack, we recommend playing free blackjack games to get used to it. While playing the free blackjack game, you can get used to using basic strategy without risking any money. When playing the free game, when you get to a point where basic strategy becomes second nature, it’s time to play for real money.

With that in mind, remember that counting cards doesn’t work online. At land casinos, people count cards to gain an edge in the game of blackjack, increasing their bets when there are more high value cards left in the decks. However, when playing online the strategy won’t work, because a computer program (RNG) randomly chooses the cards that are dealt. Before playing any new blackjack game online, make sure that the casino and the software it uses are licensed and have a good reputation for fairness and safety.

According to some, the government of Penang is not doing a good enough job of blocking online gambling activity. A group in the Malaysian state said that the state government is not paying enough attention to cyber cafes that operate online gambling games.

, In Malaysia, land-based gambling is allowed for non-Muslims, but all online gambling is banned for both citizens and visitors. Throughout the year, the Malaysian government has conducted several raids to crack down on illegal online gambling activity. According to some opponents, though, the state of Penang is not doing enough.

A group called Pertiga (Pertubuhan Islam Gabungan Amal) is urging the government to take action against the cyber cafes. Pertiga President Sabaruddin Ahmad said that “based on our surveillance, there are about 300 such premises” operating in the state. He believes that allowing the businesses to operate will lead to the downfall of society, causing “robbery, divorce, suicides and cheating” to become rampant, according to CNN.

To urge action from the government, Pertiga launched a protest on Monday. The aim of the protest is simply to get the government’s attention so they will see that the illegal cyber cafes are a problem and will do what it takes to get rid of them.

As is the case in most places where online gambling is outlawed, Malaysia over the years has seen a large number of cyber cafes spring up. Operating in a legal gray area, the cafes usually charge customers for time on the Internet, rather than directly taking wagers. Legally, in many cases this allows them to not be considered gambling businesses.

An interesting debate has crept into the issue of regulating online gambling in the United States. Previously most of the opposition to federal online gambling regulation has been from those morally opposed to gambling. There has also been opposition from owners of tribal casinos and, for a time, from the brick and mortar casinos in Las Vegas (though they have changed their position). Now there is a debate about whether federal regulation would help or hurt the states.

Martin O’Malley, the governor of Maryland, sent a letter to the House of Representatives saying that federal online gambling would hurt his state. He says that gambling is Maryland’s fourth-largest source of revenue, at $519 million annually, and federal online gambling would put all of that revenue at risk. In the letter, Governor O’Malley said that regulation would not only cost that revenue, but also “jeopardize the jobs and survival of lottery retailers, many of whom are small businesses.” Politicians in some other states have echoed O’Malley’s sentiment. So is there truth to it?

Absolutely. Innovation always puts lesser competition at risk. Amazon hurt brick and mortar bookstores and Netflix buried Blockbuster. In each case, the lesser business was hurt because they didn’t adapt. For that reason, the gambling industries in each state need to adapt to remain lucrative. People will spend less money at local casinos and buying state lottery tickets if it is easier to play casino games online. The states have to adapt to regain a piece of that pie.

One suggestion is to regulate it at the intrastate level, but that has problems. Intrastate online casinos can only accept customers within that state’s borders if they don’t want to be subject to federal regulation (and taxes). If the state opts to keep the market inside the state, they will lose business, not only from customers in other states, but also in their own. Players would rather be at a casino or poker room that is bigger and has more players, which would make the national online casinos more popular than the state casinos.

It is a complex issue, but the states need to get a place at the bargaining table and make sure that when federal regulation happens, their interests are taken into consideration. Trying to block the legislation out of protectionism won’t work, because most believe the regulation will happen at some point anyway. Instead of opposing, it’s time to get onboard and make sure you get something out of it.

There are many factors that go into evaluating an online casino’s quality. It is important that they have good software, are tightly regulated and monitored, have a good selection of games, offer generous bonuses and more. Aside from safety concerns, though, the most important thing is how much money they pay out.

All regulated online casinos (and you should never play at unregulated casinos) have payout standards to which they must adhere. The regulators will set a minimum payout rate and the casino must have a payout rate, on average, that meets or exceeds that rate. There is still room for a pretty big difference between casinos, though.

You should never play at an online casino where the payout rate is below 90%, because that is simply not a good deal. To be considered among the best online casino companies, a website should do even better than that. Of the casinos recommended here at Gambling Review, the lowest payout rate is 95.83%. The highest is a rate of 98.28%.

It’s important to know what a casino’s payout percentage is and what it isn’t. A payout rate of 96% does not mean that you will win back 96% of everything you wager on casino games. It doesn’t even mean that you are ever guaranteed to recoup 96% of your wagered money. The rate is an average payout percentage for every player on every game at the casino. Some games have better odds than others, so your personal rate can be better or worse based on that. Your personal rate can also be impacted by bad luck or using poor strategy. The payout rate for an online casino is the average rate that will be returned to the average player, taking all of the players and games into consideration. The rate will also fluctuate slightly, as some huge jackpot wins can increase the rate and some bad losing streaks can decrease it.

The Black Friday indictments sent reverberations across the online gambling world. It impacted the industry across the globe, not just in the United States. Since the indictment, the companies involved have come under more scrutiny and as a result, we have learned that Full Tilt Poker wasn’t engaging in the best business practices (to put it lightly).

At worst, Full Tilt was running a Ponzi scheme to defraud its customers. At best, they mismanaged their funds and ran out of money to cover what is owed to players. In either case, the customers are kind of out of luck, unless they can win a lawsuit (assuming Full Tilt is ever able to pay the suit). Alderney has stripped Full Tilt of their licenses and is reviewing their own practices.

Full Tilt was part of the UK’s White List, which allowed it to operate there without any regulation from the UK government. Now because of the problems with the poker room, there is a major push to do away with the White List, which essentially has the UK trusting other government regulators to do their job, and oversee the industry on their own. But is it a good idea?

Most online gambling operators oppose the idea for the simple reason that it will cost them money. They are currently able to operate in the UK tax-free, but are taxed and regulated wherever they are located. If the UK regulates them as well, they are being taxed again while not gaining any new business. If the casinos lose money, it might hurt the players. Businesses usually pass new costs on to the consumer. In this case, they might do it by getting rid of some of their best bonuses and promotions. Deals like allowing customers to use casino play slots for free could become a thing of the past.

On the other hand, if UK gambling customers feel safer with their own government doing the regulation, it could be a good thing. While the overseas regulators have been trusted so far, Alderney clearly dropped the ball by not noticing Full Tilt’s problems. So what do you think?

Football betting has been a popular activity across the world and it has just recently started catching on in the United States. By football, I mean the sport that most Americans call soccer but almost everyone else calls football (though it was the English that first used the term soccer as a nickname for Association Football).

Not long ago, the world, and even some in America, was enthralled with the FIFA World Cup. The World Cup is also the largest sports betting event in the world. In other years, that betting didn’t really cross over to the United States, but this year it had its biggest year ever in the States. If you are an American and want to engage in football betting and other sports betting, there are some things you need to know.

The most important thing you need to know is whether or not it is legal. In America, it is illegal to place sports bets online, over the phone or through any other electronic means (like with a smartphone app). This isn’t some gray area like some types of online gambling. The Wire Act expressly prohibits electronic sports betting.

So where can do you bet on sports in America? In betting shops or casinos that are licensed and regulated by the government. The biggest spot to do that in is Las Vegas, where any casino has bookies on hand to take your sports wagers. Aside from in Nevada, there are three other U.S. states where you can legally bet on sports offline. You can also place sports bets in Oregon, Montana and Delaware. If you are not physically located in one of those states and place a bet on sports you are breaking the law. Possible exceptions include office pools and other small-time bets (like those squares for the Super Bowl), which some states allow and others don’t directly address.

Just because you can’t bet online doesn’t mean the Internet can’t help you with your betting. It is recommended that you use the vast resources at your disposal — everything from Google to sports betting sites to players’ Twitter accounts — to research the teams, players and all other factors that could impact the outcome of the game.

Here at Gambling Review we cover a lot of gambling and casino news. News on regulation, politics, casino bonuses and other timely information makes up the bulk of what we cover here in the “news” section. It is important to remember that we cover a lot more than that, though.

Following industry news, events and promotions is important, but it means nothing if you don’t know where to play or how to play. In those areas, we have you covered. You can find online casino reviews, software reviews, game tips and more here on the website. Each online casino reviewed and recommended by Gambling Review has a solid reputation for player safety and customer satisfaction. Each is licensed and regulated by a respected regulatory body and uses established and trusted casino software.

Though there are a number of good software providers out there, we recommend Microgaming, Playtech and Realtime Gaming (RTG). Anything by those companies has the experience and reputation to make you feel at ease when betting large amount of real money. For example, the wiki page of RTG shows that the company was established in Atlanta, Georgia in 1998, back when your average person was just getting used to the Internet. In 2007, the company moved its development to Costa Rica. Realtime Gaming’s software has been tested for safety, fairness and encryption by TST Global.

Another thing to look for is our review of eCOGRA. The respected private regulatory agency tests the software of various casinos to ensure that they are safe and fair. In addition, the company will mediate and help resolve disputes that arise between players and the online casinos, if necessary.

Before joining an online casino, do more than read up on the news. Read up on the casino, its software, its licenses and anything else that can determine how safe it is. All of that can conveniently be done right here at Gambling Review.

Sometimes here at Gambling Review we like to step back and look at the different online casinos and software developers out there. For this blog, we are focusing on Realtime Gaming and their related casinos.

Realtime Gaming, often called RTG, is one of the pioneers of the online gambling industry. The company was developing gambling software back when most people never even considered the possibility of playing casino games over the Internet. If you look at our page on Realtime Gaming or check out the wiki page about Realtime Gaming, you will see that the company was established in 1998 in Atlanta, Georgia (United States). It is now based in both Atlanta and Costa Rica.

Realtime Gaming has a good selection of games that are small in file size, making them easier to download and less space-eating on your computer. They also have over 100 games to play, including slots, blackjack, poker, roulette and all of the popular casino games. They are one of the most respected software developers in the industry and are used by some of the best online casinos in the business, including Aladdin’s Gold Casino and Lucky Red Casino.

As you would learn from following the news here on Gambling Review or by reading some other gambling blog, RTG casinos are good about offering new promotions on a regular basis. In addition, they are well known for periodically launching new casino games, particularly newly branded slots.

One difference about Realtime Gaming software is that they give more responsibility to the casinos that use their software. Some of their competitors dictate the rules, regulations, payouts, and everything else for the casinos and those casinos are basically just a place to locate the software. With Realtime Gaming, the casinos have more control, for better or worse, to run their operation.