A bonus of free money is usually offered to players as an incentive for downloading their casino software and making a deposit. Each casino has a different bonus program established with its own policies butthere are a few rules that apply to virtually every online casino. First, bonus money cannot be applied when playing certain games like craps, and roulette. Second, minimum rollover requirements mean that in order to withdraw your bonus money, you must wager your initial deposit plus your bonus a certain number of times. Generally this number falls somewhere in between two to five times and rollover is only counted on certain games like: slots, keno, craps, baccarat, blackjack and video poker.

Online players shopping for a new online casino to play in should always take the time to review the deposit bonuses offered by the most reputable online casinos, because a good bonus will put more cash in your account to play with and increase your odds of winning that jackpot. In addition to free software, free downloads and free games; the online casinos offer free Customer Service phone numbers and emails. Before registering a new online casino account we recommend contacting customer service to ask for their best deposit bonus.

If online casino players use the bonus programs correctly they can maximize their chances to win a big jackpot without leaving the comfort of your own home. That is certainly the biggest advantage afforded to online casino players. After all, where else on earth can you do that but online?

Many players don’t really think about the options or their choice that much but for those online casino players out there that are confused about whether to download casino software or not, read on. This article will help you select the right kind of gaming software for an ideal online gambling experience.

First, to help choose, players need to understand the differences between download and non-download software. The basic differences are that download software, installs a version of the online casino onto your hard disk. When players want to play online casino games, they start the casino application from their desktop, much the same as every other piece of installed software. Once running the download casino will connect with the host casino to perform all of the gameplay plus also check for updates to the software. If you want to use instant play casino games rather than download software, the main difference is that images and such will be stored in your computer’s temporary memory, while all of the game program functions will occur on the casino’s web server. Instant play is therefore better for those with sufficient memory and quality internet connections.

Downloading the free casino software is most advantageous for players who mainly use one computer. Download casino software generally has better gameplay with fancier graphics and more sounds, and often the games run faster. You may also enjoy more features, like being able to turn on and off sounds, use different graphics, or play more than one game at a time. If you use several computers on a regular basis, it’s easier to use a web-based casino, and not to be troubled with downloading the software to each individual computer.

Both download and instant-play versions will offer all of the classic casino games like: blackjack, video poker, craps, roulette and slots; but some of the instant play online casinos might not offer as full a game selection as the download casino. To make the best choice for your needs be sure to take the time and read a reputable casino review website.

Pretty much all of Europe has been licensed and regulated, including Ireland, the United Kingdom, and France. All of these countries have governmental agencies that regulate and tax online casinos. There are still some countries that are dragging their heels such as Spain or Italy, but they are in the process of launching legal online casinos.

For years Canada has remained truly Canadian and not passed any laws or legislation prohibiting online gambling or the use of Macs or PCs to play online casino games. We’re not even sure if the question has even come up in the Canadian parliament before. Several online casinos advertise in, and operate from Canada, so the online gambling landscape there is quite open.

This brings us to the United States – is it legal to place bets online if you live in the U.S.? The answer is…..cloudy. The UIGEA was a bill that was passed in the United States senate that prohibited banks and processors from processing online gambling transactions. It was snuck into legislation as part of an anti-terrorism bill and few law makers knew what they were voting for. In any event, the main point to take away from this is that it is illegal to PROCESS a financial transaction when the company is aware that the funds will be used to gamble online. It is NOT illegal for anyone to play casino games online, download free casino software, or place bets online.

However, some individual states have passed their own online gambling laws that prohibit placing wagers online. The responsibility is on the player to know what jurisdiction they are in, and the legalities of playing casino games online. The reality of the situation is quite funny – what’s stopping someone from Portland playing in an online casino through a proxy server on their friend’s computer in San Diego? Not much, we would say.

The one thing to remember is that no one in the United States has ever been arrested for gambling online. The District Attorney that brings that case to court will probably spend the rest of their career locked in a D.A. office broom closet. As Joe Strummer once sang, “Know your rights!”

First of all, any online casino that is publically traded undergoes tremendous scrutiny. They are constantly audited by government authorities and 3rd parties to ensure that all their online casino games are fair, and that all of their random number generators are in fact that – random. All of these online casinos are forever dealing with government agencies to ensure compliance with the rules and regulations of operating a white listed casino.

If you are in the UK, France, Germany or any other European country you can play online casino games without worry. All of their internal numbers are disclosed to revenue and regulatory bodies.

Things get a little murkier when examining online casinos for U.S. players. Over the years there have been casinos that come online and made outrageous claims. Things such as they are the best online casino, they’re the safest online casino for U.S. players, or that they have the biggest slots payout around.

Over time these claims were proven to be false and the casinos were run off the internet. Therefore, any online casino that is still online today and accepts players from the United States are fine to play in – such as Bodog, Manhattan Slots, or USA Casino. All of the online casinos for U.S. players that we have reviewed on Mac Casino are reputable. They undergo independent testing for game fairness and random number generation.

In addition, we have personally met with representatives from all of our online casinos and we speak to them all on a regular basis. We have even toured the offices of some and been allowed to examine their backend casino software. Lastly, one has to realize that it is actually in the best interest of these online casinos to have big winners. It gives them great PR and word of mouth advertising. If someone has a big slots win at Bodog, chances are they’re going to tell 10 friends, and those friends will tell 10 friends, etc. So, as long you’re playing in an online casino that is reviewed on Mac Casino, you’re covered.

Bodog has given away 21 cash prizes of $1,000 per milestone hand leading up to the billionth hand. To put this into perspective, Bodog has been in business since 1994 so it took 17 years to deal that many hands. 6 of the 21 hands were won by people playing on Macs in their flash casino.

This is further proof that if you choose to play in established online casinos you will reap the rewards. Most of the newer casinos will brag about having great promotions, but usually hide behind impossible rollover requirements when it comes to paying players out.

Neither Full Tilt nor Pokerstars offered poker players casino games and their actions were clearly designed to send a message. To be clear, online gambling is absolutely legal for most people in the United States – it’s just that certain financial transactions by banks have been blocked. Also, Antigua has twice won in international courts that offering gambling services online to Americans is fully legal. The U.S. has chosen to ignore the ruling and are still trying to figure out what their next steps should be.

Some people argue that you should always double down on 11, (any combination of two cards), regardless of what the dealer is showing. We agree with this strategy as we love to gamble! Others would argue that you should always take the dealer’s hand into consideration before doubling down on an 11 – we say those people are way too conservative with their gambling. There are so many cards in that deck that are equal to 10, chances are you will hit your blackjack and maximize your profits over time.

Any blackjack expert will agree that if you always play the percentages, and play by the standard rules of blackjack, over time you should make money. Players will always run dry from time to time, but that’s why they call it gambling.

The proposed Hard Rock Casino and Hotel in Hungary

Hungary has finally caved to pressure from the EU and are moving forward with a plan to liberalize online gaming to be in line with other European countries. Currently the state has a monopoly on all online gaming services which is in violation of EU trade laws. Online gambling companies are now lining up to apply for a gaming license through the Hungarian government.

One of the issues at the heart of the matter was that the tax rates in Hungary are very complicated and they feel that gambling should be heavily taxed. Therefore any online gaming operations need to be meticulously monitored, tracked and reported to government officials.

This is a major step forward for Hungary especially when one considers that Greece is trying to go in the opposite direction. Why the Greek government feels that it has to protect its adult citizens from a pastime that most enjoy all over the world is troubling to many European observers.