Introduction to Online Gambling
As the name indicates, online gambling is gambling on the Internet. There are several types of online gambling games and there are gamblers who play just for fun, while others have them as profession to make a living.
Different Types of Online Gambling
Online poker comprises of several games such as; seven card stud, Omaha, razz, HORSE, Texas hold ‘em, etc. Ring games and tournament are the two main structures of these games. Here, the players are against one another with the money being made by the card room through tournament fees and ‘rake’.
Online casinos offer a wide range of games to play for money. There are hundreds of casino games such as; pachinko, blackjack, roulette, baccarat, etc. These online gambling games normally offer payback percentages that can be compared to the land-based casinos. There are several casinos online, which purchase or lease software from big companies such as Realtime Gaming, International Game Technology, CryptoLogic Inc., etc. Some of the casino games are download-based online casinos.
Online bingo is exactly bingo game played online. These online gambling games use something called random number generator. The essential feature of this game is the chat function that enables interaction with other players, which in turn helps in retaining customers.
Online lotteries are online gambling, which is protected from competitiveness, as it is run by the government and generates cash flows through taxes. Earlier these were run by private and licensed companies and later taken over by the governments.
Online sports betting involves betting on the results of various sports events. Many firms offer these bets over the Internet. ‘Fixed odds gambling’ is the most popular in this category of online gambling.
Online horse racing betting involves betting on horse racing and the online gambling wagers offer a significant percentage to the gamblers. Betting exchanges, sports books, and majority of Internet bookmakers offer these betting markets online.
Mobile gambling is a way online gambling through remote devices such as; smartphone, mobile phone, tablet computer, etc, which have wireless Internet connection.
Is it Legal to Use Online Gambling?
This entirely depends on the place of your residence. In the United States, online gambling is not considered legal in many states. You may have to make sure before you get into any such gambling activities.
Fund Transfer and Money Laundering
Usually, money from the gambler is transferred to the online gambling company through debit cards or credit cards and when they win, the amount is credited to the card or banks based on the rules of the individual company. Since countries such as U.S. reject credit cards for online gambling, gamblers use the other electronic services such as PayPal etc.
Money laundering is the concealing of excess money illegally. Normally, it is believed that most of the gamblers tend to do money laundering due to the unsupervised fund transfers done online. However, these are subjected to the relative limits of transactions and hence are not proved.
Bet responsibly!
Some of the top online gambling sites are www.Betonline.com, www.Bet365.com, www.PartyPoker.com, etc. There are thousands of websites classified based on the games, sports, county, software, currencies, political gambling sites, etc. Get into the appropriate site of your choice and have fun responsibly!