Seems that Ireland has made the decision to begin taxing online gambling transactions to raise money for the country.  How will it work?  They will tax all foreign online casino operators who provide their services to residents of the country.  Which means what exactly?  If an online casino desires to make money from local citizens, they’ll have to pay an advertising tax.  Any international online casino sites will have to get a license to advertise to the Irish.

This is a new development, as offshore companies have not had to pay any kind of tax or get a license until now.  So will it work?  Not clear.  One online casino operator claims that residents will just use alternative sites that don’t have a license.  While it’s a step in the right direction to begin taxing and regulating the online gambling industry, there doesn’t seem to be any way to keep people from just going around it and using offshore casino games providers.

Still, I tip my hat to Ireland who seems to be one step ahead of certain countries like the US who still haven’t figured out that online gambling isn’t going anywhere.

Ever since the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) was passed by the United States Congress a few years back, the online casino industry’s been in a bit of a funk with literally billions of potential dollars frozen like a strawberry margarita at the Luxor (do they serve strawberry margaritas?  I’m on a  roll, let’s keep going….)  However, led by Congressman Barney Frank and a group of forward-thinking online casino fans, the crusade to repeal this ban has been gaining steam, leading casino games junkies to feel something changing on the horizon.

Just last year, online gambling software giant Microgaming shook things up with the option to customize your online casino experience and other companies like Betboo are following suit.  With ipods, Hulu, and video on demand, this is the “gimme what I want when I want it” generation and online casinos are following suit.

With Halloween having just passed, we saw many online gambling sites offer special Halloween themes and bonuses and each passing year brings more unique casino themes for every niche and interest, be it movies, cities, or music.

If….WHEN….the UIGEA is repealed, it’s certain that new online gambling sites will come out of the woodwork from the American market, unleashing tons of new themes and motifs.  It’s something to be excited about.  Are you listening, Fergie?

This just in:  the Wynn Casino on the famous Las Vegas Strip is being taken to court by one of its employees for overexposure to cigarette smoke.  To compensate her for allegedly being subjected to countless hours of secondhand smoke and not being moved to a non-smoking section, this woman is seeking millions of dollars.

That’s not all-apparently her employer threatened her with disciplinary consequences were she to make an issue of it.  I’ll give you a moment to start powering up your laptop.

Good times, right?   Not so much.  She was forced to offer gamblers complementary cigarettes and not complain when they blew smoke smack into her face.  The only smoke you might worry about from an online casino is your hard drive melting from overuse.  Nothing to sneeze at but that’s why computers have fans, right?

Hard to imagine brick-and-mortar casinos doing much about this as these places and cigarettes go together like, well, smokers and cigarettes.  Even while smoking bans are common in big cities, casinos aren’t exactly big cities. When you’re throwing down hundreds or thousands of dollars on casino games, you’re going to want to add the vices of drinking and smoking, and that won’t change anytime soon.

So have fun in Vegas if you must.  I’ll be playing online blackjack if anybody’s looking for me.  With my nicotine patch.

This is an online gambling blog, people, what did you expect?  Candy corns and an online “Thriller” impression?  You can watch me moonwalk another time, I’m here to talk about the scaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaariest holiday of the year and what’s happening online.

Even if you won’t be bobbing for apples while wearing a Bernie Madoff mask, there’s plenty of reasons to log in for some online poker.  Plenty of casinos out there are offering some scaaaaaaaaaaaaaary bonuses this week with anywhere between 50% and 200% bonuses on games like online blackjack, online slots, and more.

Other online casinos are offering tournaments with cash prizes in the neighborhood of $100,000. If that’s not enough to get you excited, then what is?  Perhaps, some classic costumes? Slutty nurse?  Slutty librarian?  Slutty pit boss?  Ok, maybe not.

Aaaaaaand, if you’re feeling really crazy and need to take a break from staring at your screen, Harrah’s Casino in New Orleans is celebrating its tenth anniversary on Halloween.  Only a few years after Hurricane Katrina brought destruction to the city, one of the most famous casinos in the world is thriving again and there’s no better reason that doesn’t rhyme with Shmardi Gras to head to the Big Easy.

But if you’re not feeling crazy, log in to your favorite online casino and have some scary fun.  But as they say in a classic horror film, “Whatever you do, DON’T GO TO SLEEP.”  (At least not until you hit “log out”.)

Just yesterday morning, Governor Ed Rendell announced that his plans to lay the smack down, vetoing any bill planning to legalize table games at casinos which fail to produce a minimum of $200 million in new revenue this year. This means that every casino must pay fifteen million dollars up front. (Think Dr. Evil: “Fifteen MIIIIIIIIIIIILLION DOLLARS!”) It’s a lot of cash and it doesn’t stop there. These casinos would also need to pay a tax rate of at least 16% on casino games such as blackjack, roulette, poker, and other games. I said AT LEAST….legislators will decide, that’s just the starting point.

Dude, your Phillies just went up 3-1 over the Dodgers. Why so serious???

The need to find the right balance will help raise revenue from casino games while still allowing casinos to make money from adding table games.

“It has to produce enough revenue… the same amount of revenue that we put into the budget. Absent that, I will veto a bill that comes in with license fees and taxes at a figure that’s too low to produce that revenue. Basically, it’s $15 million in license fees and 16 percent in taxes.”

Thanks, Ed. Unbelievably, the House of Representatives is proposing a 34% tax rate with the Senate only 14%. Let’s give it up for the Senate!

Wherever the number falls, the writing is on the wall. More and more aspiring online gambling moguls will be setting up online casino sites as opposed to brick-and-mortar. It’s just too expensive. Even if it doesn’t matter to the average casino games junkie, this is more about the casino owners. Stay tuned. And go, Phillies.

Long before the phrases “online casino” or “casino games” had even been conceived, Sega was a big player in the gaming world with their well-known mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog. As it works however in the fast-moving world of technology, things changed and they lost their market share to Nintendo. After shifting to software development, they’re back and could potentially be bigger if the popularity of online gambling is any indication.

So here’s the short of it: having partnered with Playtech, one of the top online gambling software companies, they’re positioned nicely to achieve big success with their Sega Casino and Sega Poker sites which in addition to online poker, will surely feature online blackjack, online slots, and a bevy of other games.

And if you miss Sonic, he’ll make an appearance as well in the various casino games with other famous characters like Virtual Fighter. I’m no Sega loyalist, I’m an Atari kid. Here are the top 3 video game characters I’m holding my breath for:

1) Pac-Man: Everybody’s favorite yelling near-circle runs around the casino as fast as possible, guzzling drinks before the pit bosses in pursuit kick his ass.

2) Pitfall: The safari dude runs through a casino, dodging passed-out college kids in order to reach the end of the casino to collect his winnings.

3) Missile command: The object of the game is to protect your pile of chips by shooting oncoming gangsters who are getting faster and faster while attempting to grab from your winnings.

A gamer can dream, can’t he? In the meantime, online casino games just got a little more fun.

And this wasn’t the first raid on the online gambling world either. Raids like this happened nine times…NINE TIMES (intentional Ferris Bueller reference)…over the summer alone. Sources at Wachovia claim that they’re not the only target; apparently accounts have also been frozen at other banks including Bank of America, First Premier, and Interstate Net Bank.

What’s all the fuss about? Once again, it’s the online casino/online gambling ban in the US, thanks to the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA), otherwise known as the act that is a big waste of time and takes away $59.9 bajillion of potential tax monies from the country. I was hoping that under a new administration, the government might loosen up a little bit but it looks like my hopes will not be realized any time soon.

Still, it’s not stopping people like Barney Frank, US congressman from Massachusetts, from drumming up supporters for his online gambling legislation. With the Democrats now in power in Congress, perhaps Mr. Frank can finally make some change, giving all of us online casino buffs a bit of a break.

5. Swingers

Mikey and Double Down Trent are two swinging singles in need of some fun. When Mikey doesn’t get a call back from his girlfriend who he met chatting at Casino Tropez, the two decide they’re in need of some action. Vegas, baby, Vegas! They log onto Vegas Red Casino and play a few hands of online blackjack hoping to meet some beautiful babies. In the end, Trent gets the girl while Mikey loses for being too timid.

4. Rounders

Matt Damon stars as law student Mike McDermott who loses thirty thousand dollars playing online poker against Teddy KGB, a Russian mobster who made his money running an illegal online casino. With the help of his friend Worm, Mike McD starts hitting every online poker game he can find to win back his lost money. In the end, they two return to the scene of the crime, taking on KGB and figuring out his tell from the way he types in the chat room. Mike wins back his money and goes on to become an online gambling champion, taking 1^st place in the World Series of Poker.

3. The Sting

Johnny Hooker and Henry Gondorf try to exact revenge on a big-time con man Doyle Lonnegan through an online gambling sting. After Gondorf engages Lonnegan in online poker, Hooker hacks into his payment processor and takes his money. Once Lonnegan finds Hooker, he uses him to bring down Gondorf, only to lose millions of dollars at the end in a horse racing sting. Gondorf and Hooker cash in through their offshore payment processor.

2. Rain Man

Dustin Hoffman stars as a man with autism. Tom Cruise, after befriending his long-lost brother, realizes the potential and decides to set up an account at Europa Casino. The two play online blackjack all night long as Hoffman figures out the Playtech software behind the game. They win lots of money and go shopping on Ebay with their newfound money.

1. Oceans 11

George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, and other good looking people come up with the ultimate con complete with disguises. Once they realize that their disguises are meaningless without webcams, they decide to go offline and go to Atlantic City. They then make two sequels and give up online gambling forever.

Since 2006, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) has created an effective ban on online gambling for customers within the United States. While it’s not actually against the law for individuals, most major credit cards and payment processors have decided to not make transactions between gamblers and online casinos. American Express….Visa….you name it. If you want to transfer $100 to your favorite online poker site using Paypal, you’re out of luck. What’s an aspiring World Series of Poker champion to do?

Well….here’s a great new development in the online casino world. 900Pay is a service which allows you to transfer money to an online gambling site through your land line. That’s right, I said land line. (Teenagers, once upon a time, there were no cell phones. I know, it’s shocking. I’ll give you a moment to resume breathing.) The transaction doesn’t even involved a credit card or bank account, it simply requires a phone call to a 900 number and puts the the transaction charge on your phone bill. Somewhere up above, Alexander Graham Bell is smiling.

Thanks to payment processor eWalletXpress, the company pulling the strings from behind the scenes, this feature is already available on a handful of online casino sites and, as it goes without saying, is both safe and secure for customers.

No hidden fees, no long-distance charges, totally free, aside from the $25-50 deposit into your account of course. When you want to withdraw your winnings, you’re issued a bank draft. It’s that simple.

So there you go. Easy as pie. So if you still have a land line, let the fun begin. Unless it’s a rotary phone with a dial. Then we really need to talk.

Following a recent British survey on online casinos, previous findings from well-respected organizations come into question, leading us back to square one. Sponsored by the UK Gambling Commission, this study used figures from the British Gambling Prevalence Study to conclude that problem gambling is more prominent among online casino users than brick-and-mortar gamblers by a factor of ten. Ten! Pretty significant finding, right?

Not so fast. Harvard Medical School’s Dr. Howard Shaffer came to another conclusion. After a lengthy two-year study, he discovered that problem gambling occurs less often in online casino gamblers. What’s that about?

Not clear. Shaffer isn’t the only one to come to this conclusion. Professor Dan Rose of South Africa’s National Responsible Gambling Program did as well. However, Keith Whyte, a representative of the United States National Council on Problem Gambling found no difference between online casino gamblers and land-based.

Here’s a possible explanation: some suspect that the scientists behind the recent study coming out of Britain was influenced by bias. One of the professors is known to have been seeking for partners to stop the loosening up of gambling laws in the UK. If this is the case, clearly further investigation needs to be done before accepting these findings as conclusive.

Until then, back to the online casino for me! Or didn’t you hear? Online blackjack helps to reverse hair loss.