A division of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety has instructed 11 ISPs to block access to nearly 200 gambling websites by Minnesota computers. Officials in the Department claim a 1961 law prohibiting phone companies from accepting bets over the telephone can be used in this manner to stop people from placing bets online.

The good news for those of us who enjoy placing bets online, and in general making decisions for ourselves, especially on the Internet, is that:

Twin Cities attorneys specializing in Internet law are skeptical about whether Minnesota could use that law to force the blocking of gambling websites.

"This is an old law put in place before the Internet, and there may be an argument that it doesn't cover Internet service providers," said David Axtell, an attorney at Leonard Street and Deinard in Minneapolis.

I will keep on top of this issue, but for now, everyone can continue placing bets online, even residents of Minnesota. Try Full Tilt for poker and Cherry Red or Golden Casino for casino games.

Poker players be sure to mark your calendars because the latest Full Tilt Online Poker Series is starting in just a few days. This is the twelfth series and the first event begins on May 5th. The series of 25 events, actually 50 this time because of the addition of Mini FTOPS events, will begin with a 6-max $200 NL Hold 'em tournament and from there players can start competing for huge prizes in Texas Hold 'em, Omaha, Stud, Razz, and HEROS (the new HORSE). Find the FTOPS tab in Tournaments in the Full Tilt software to see a complete list of the events.

The series ends on May 17th after the Main Event (with $2.5 Million in guaranteed prizes are given out), hosted by Jennifer Harman, is completed. Remember that the Mini FTOPS events are all 1/10th the buy-in as the main events, giving an opportunity for all players to win big, not just the ones with the biggest bankrolls.

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Back in late February Reuters reported that Representative Barney Frank was going to be introducing a new bill to stop the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act from being implemented some time in March. The date has already been pushed back once, and word is that the bill will now be introduced in early May. No one is entirely certain what specifics would be in the proposed legislation, but Representative Frank has been clear in his disdain for the UIGEA and now that he is chairman of the House Banking Committee the possibility of a bill at least getting out of committee and being voted on by the entire House of Representatives is much higher.

Congressman Frank has always taken the position that the UIGEA is a burden to the financial industry that was harmful to progress even before the current economic crisis. Several public European firms that handle bets had to pull out of the lucrative American market after the UIGEA was passed, angering European countries that saw tax revenues fall. Democrats hold a sizable lead in the Banking Committee and Republican Ron Paul has supported anti-UIGEA bills in the past so his support is assumed.

Let's all hope that the bill is well written and Americans will see common sense legislation come out of the House. I will update when the bill is released.

I've been told that Go Casino has a brand new promotion getting underway for all players. There's a free, no-deposit-required $20 bonus available, as well as entry into a free weekend tournament. The free $20 has the usual bonus rules tied to it (so that people don't simply withdraw a free $20), and the tournament will have a $10,000 first prize given out to one lucky player.

These are not the usual welcome bonuses so they won't be awarded automatically, but it's very easy to take advantage. Just call 1-866-321-6031 and tell customer support the code GO078 for the free $20 and GO078B for the free tournament entry. The representative on the phone will get the bonuses credited to your account right away.

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Jackpot Piñatas is an online slot with a huge progressive jackpot, 20 paylines, and 5 reels. You can find this slot machine, and it's huge jackpot, as of right now it's at $1.26 Million, at Rushmore Casino. The slot comes with a fun, Mexican theme as well as two bonus games.

The first bonus game is called the Jackpot Piñatas Feature, and unlocks when three or more scattered Dog Piñatas come up on the reels. The Jackpot Feature means winning prizes up to 200 times the initial bet. To make things even better, get a Rose during the bonus game and win another bonus round, when this round ends players receive up to 25 free games. Get 5 Bull Piñatas during the main game or during the free bonus games and win the Mega Jackpot worth $1.26 Million.

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The big tournament is just a few months away, on July 3rd the World Championship begins and thousands of poker players from all over the world will gather in Las Veas to see who is the best. Poker Stars is giving out a total of 45 seats for the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event to 45 lucky tournament winners. Simply click the Events button in the Poker Stars software and then go to the WSOP tab to see all of the available tournaments.

The 2009 prize package includes your $10,000 Main Event buy-in, hotel accommodation at The Palms and $1,000 for expenses.

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It's called the Prankster Freeroll Tourney, and during the course of April Vic's Bingo will be gathering qualifiers to play in a May 6th tournament. The big event consists of three hours of free bingo and progressive games with fixed prizes and a $1,500 jackpot. The progressive is set so that it will be hit in 75 calls or less, meaning that someone will win it before the end of the tournament.

To qualify, a player must deposit at least $25 this month and win 3 special Jack in the Box games during April. As soon as both of these conditions are met, players are placed in the qualifiers list accessible from the promotions section of Vic's Bingo website. There are currently 53 qualifiers, join today and get busy Bingo'ing, there's only nine days left in April.

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Poker players get ready, the twelfth Full Tilt Online Poker Series is coming, and it's coming bigger and better than ever before. Starting on May 6th, Full Tilt players will be able to compete in 25 events with a guaranteed prize pool of more than $18 Million. Each tournament has a poker pro for a host, and the series features a wide variety of games, Texas Hold 'em, Omaha, and 7 Card Stud, as well as Knockout, Shootout, and Turbo events.

FTOPS XII comes with a new twist as well, this time there will be a MiniFTOPS so that players with smaller bankrolls can get in on the action. The MiniFTOPS will run every single tournament that the FTOPS is running, but at 1/10th the buy-in. Play for more than $2 Million in prize money.

There are hundreds of satellites running for these tournaments, just find the FTOPS event you'd like to enter in the Tournaments tab of the Full Tilt software, and look through the list that's in the bottom right of the screen. For most of the events, there are even satellites to the satellites. The tournament goes fairly quickly, the main event will be held on May 17th, so get ready now and pick the tournament you want to play in ahead of time.

Full Tilt Poker - FTOPS XII - 25 Events and $18 Million in Prize Money

...or lack thereof, as the case happens to be. The Harvard Crimson is reporting on a study recently put out by the Harvard Medical School suggesting that the availability of online gambling has not increased the likelihood of becoming addicted. People who are addicted to gambling exhibit the same signs wherever they are, but with Internet gambling players are more likely to show proper self control.

A recent study conducted by the Harvard Medical School Division on Addictions suggests that the widespread availability of Internet gambling has not led to an increase in the number of people addicted to gambling.

The study actually found that gamblers who visit gaming Web sites are more likely to self-regulate their betting behavior based on their pattern of wins and losses.

Following that other report released earlier in the month stating that Poker is a game of skill, the Harvard report adds steam to the idea that the UIGEA should be repealed. Poker, a game of skill, casino games, not addictive. In this day and age a person can gamble almost anywhere in the country, it's time that Internet gambling was regulated as well.

These reports simply confirm what has been obvious to everyone with common sense, this excludes at least half the members of the U.S. Congress, that gambling is a fun activity exercised almost exclusively by people with solid judgment who are looking for a fun thrill. The research continues to build that the UIGEA should be abolished, will Congress listen?

At Online Vegas, players can choose from a wide variety of slots and video poker tournaments to enter. There are regular freerolls and the entry fees go up to $20, with tens of thousands of dollars regularly given out in prize money.

As for freerolls, there will be a huge May Flowers freeroll tournament taking place on May 5th and running through May 19th. Entry is absolutely free, contestants start with a balance of $125 and rebuys are allowed for an extra $20 and this adds $350 in tournament chips. All of the tournaments are automated and a player simply has to click a button to be registered, there are 19,120 participants as of right now. This will be an enormous tournament, fans of slots tournaments should not miss out on this chance.

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A banking note for our friends in South Africa, you can now make deposits and withdrawals at Sloto' Cash Casino using Rand. Sloto' Cash has consistently been upgrading services to better meet its' players requirements since launching in 2007. With this new addition, South African players should feel more at home being able to deposit and withdraw in their own currency rather than having to convert to Dollars or Euros.

Sloto' Cash currently has two welcome bonuses for new players, the first is a no deposit required bonus worth R70 ($7), simply create an account and claim your bonus immediately. The second bonus is a three tiered deposit bonus worth a total of R5770 ($577).

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Bodog is having a little fun with the NBA Championship about to get underway. Place a bet against the Lakers for the NBA Championship before the end of Friday and if the Lakers win the Championship, you will get your money back up to $50. Pick any other team in the playoffs to win and Bodog will give you back your money if the Lakers win.

"Do you have what it takes to bet against the force that is Kobe Bryant?" So Bodog teases its' sports bettors, but if anyone out there is interested in hedging their bets when it comes to the NBA then take advantage of this great offer from Bodog. A few conditions; this must be your first wager made during the last two weeks, the wager must be placed on the "Odds to Win - 2009 NBA Championships" line, the maximum refund is $50, and this offer is only valid once per person.

Bodog Sportsbook - Bet Against the Lakers

Poker Stars is always hosting hundreds of thousands of poker players at their tables, making them the largest online poker room on the Internet. Players are also treated to a larger variety of games at Poker Stars than at any other online poker room.

Fans of Draw poker will enjoy Poker Stars, as they have several forms of the game available; sit down for a game of 5 Card Draw, 2-7 Triple Draw, or 2-7 Single Draw. The stakes are in line with the more popular games at Poker Stars, starting at the bottom with fun money games for new users, and going up to $30/$60 fixed for 5 Card Draw, $10/$20 NL for 2-7 Single Draw, and all the way up to $1000/$2000 Fixed for 2-7 Triple Draw. There is even a Badugi section for fans of that Draw game, and the mixed games include HORSE, HOSE, Hold'em Mixed, Omaha Hi/Lo Mixed, and an 8-Game section.

This doesn't mean that the usual games like Texas Hold'em, Omaha, and 7 Card Stud are neglected, it just means that Poker Stars is committed to giving players all the poker variations they could possibly want. Texas Hold'em and Omaha have thouands of tables between them and if a game fills up at the current stakes, a fresh table will open immediately. The Stud section has 7 Card Stud, 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo, and Razz games all available.

If any of the more unique games interest you, or you are simply interested in joining a very active poker room, download Poker Stars for free and join the biggest online poker room in minutes.

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Usually known as Let It Ride, Golden Casino has a game called Let Them Ride. Pretty much identical to the original, this is a poker table game in which the player is up against a set of odds (i.e. the house) rather than another player or group of players. The money paid out starts at 1:1 for a pair of 10s or better, and go up to 1000:1 for a Royal Flush. There's also a bonus table that pays out set amount of cash for hands of three of a kind and up, it's one extra dollar per hand to enter the bonus pay table.

Like all table games, there are a few simple rules players can use in order to minimize the house's advantage. In Let Them Ride, a player should never place the second bet unless the first three cards contain any paying hand, three cards to a flush, three cards to a straight, or a straight flush possibility. Never put down the third bet unless the four cards contain a paying hand, are four cards to a flush, or are four cards to a straight. Staying patient and following these simple rules will give player's the biggest possible edge while playing Let Them Ride.

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BetUS has been taking bets since 1994 and lists a core set of principles they say is what drives their business. Among the principles are delivering the most up to date odds and analysis, providing complete, rapid response customer support, and providing accurate and complete content for their users.

It's not all about sports at BetUS though, they also have a full Vegas style casino offering games of blackjack, poker, video poker, roulette, baccarat, craps and more. New players can receive a matching bonus worth up to $500 on the house. BetUS players can also look forward to a series of blackjack tournaments, weekly freerolls, and jackpots. Some of the new games include Pai Gow Poker, Let it Ride, and Double Exposure Blackjack.

If you're not interested in casino games, take a look at the poker section. BetUS has Texas Hold 'em, Omaha Hi, and Omaha Hi/Lo games in both ring games and tournaments. There are also a wide variety of satellite and freeroll tournaments for everyone to choose from, in addition to the sit and go's. The poker bonus is a 110% deposit bonus good for up to $600 in extra chips. These chips are earned automatically while a player puts in time playing ring games and tournaments.

With the Hockey and Basketball playoffs about to get underway, it's important for bettors to have a reliable sportsbook they can place bets at. BetUS has odds and statistics on the popular bets updated in realtime, 24/7. Players can also bet on Soccer, Baseball, Football, Nascar, Horse Racing, and roughly a dozen sports.

BetUS has the full suite of gambling options, including a Racebook and even a Girls section to provide some eyecandy. While not as big as some of the other gambling sites out there, it still has an active following with packed poker tables and casino tournaments, a full array of sports betting options, and dozens of casino games.

BetUS - Online Casino, Poker Room, and Sportsbook

People who are new to online casinos usually have a few questions bouncing around in their mind, and understandably so. We're all looking for a place to enjoy the same things - whether it's Blackjack, a few pulls of the slots, or maybe a couple hours at the poker tables, we want to put down money and go for the big bucks. It's important to us online gamblers that we feel like we're being taken care of.

Is this safe? Aside from the gambling aspect of what it is that we do, putting money into a place like Full Tilt or Rushmore Casino is as safe as making a purchase on Amazon. When you buy a book, DVD, or anything else from Amazon, you know that the order went through and your purchase will be honored. The same thing happens at the online casinos I cover here at OGP, when you make a deposit your money will be in the cashier section of your account within seconds.

Where to play? There are literally hundreds of online casinos, poker rooms, bingo halls, and sportsbooks out there. Finding the right place for you, a place where you feel you can have some fun and be comfortable at the same time, can seem like a challenge. The most important thing a player can do do is to find a website that gives you detailed information needed to make an informed decision on where to play. This is a step you've already taken by being here at Online Gambling Press. Search for a keyword in the top right or look through the categories on the right and find a casino that interests you.

Banking methods? For International players, there are several payment methods, some have fees involved and some don't. But really, for Americans and everyone else, I say just use your credit card to make a deposit. There are no fees, and it goes through in seconds. When withdrawing your winnings, it is quicker for non-Americans to use some of those other money transferring services, such as Ecocard, Moneybookers, or NETeller. For now, Americans have to receive their winnings in the form of a check.

By coming to OGP, you've already made a friend in the business. I have contacts at these online casinos, so if you have any other questions or run into any problems, e-mail me.

In the Slots Oasis Lobby, there's always a list of the most popular games, and at the moment the game on top is Crystal Waters. Crystal Waters is a 5-reel, 20-payline slot machine that comes with a random progressive jackpot attached. While playing, players will want to keep an eye out for the scattered yachts, dolphins, and bonus fish, as those are the three symbols that give out the big prizes.

The people behind Slots Oasis Casino obviously place a lot of emphasis on the number and quality of available slot machines, and after playing Crystal Waters for a while I was pleasantly impressed. The game is smooth, with several bonus features and a progressive jackpot will make any casino game more exciting. If you are a fan of online slots, and 5-reel slots in particular, don't pass up Crystal Waters.

Slots Oasis Casino - Play the Crystal Waters Slot Machine

Caribbean Hold 'em Poker is a fun new variation on that classic casino game, Caribbean Stud Poker. Introducing the game was a smart move by Cherry Red, as Texas Hold 'em Poker has been popular for decades, and with that popularity really exploding about six years ago now casino gamblers can get in on the fun as well.

In Caribbean Hold 'em, after anteing up, players will first see the flop and their hole cards. Afterwards, a decision must be made whether to fold or to call the bet, which will be worth twice the original ante. Folding forfeits the ante and sets up the player for the next hand, whereas if the bet is called the turn and river are shown and either the player wins or loses to the dealer, who needs a pair of 4's or better in order to qualify. As in Caribbean Stud, the winnings are paid out on an odds system, with a flush or better required to win more than 1:1.

A flush will also win players $75 from the progressive jackpot, as long as an extra dollar was paid before the hand started. A royal flush will win the entire jackpot and a straight flush nets gamers 10%, with four of a kind and a full house giving flat amounts. This progressive is a joint jackpot between Hold 'em and Stud. As of right now, the jackpot stands at $15,094.

Cherry Red Casino - Play Caribbean Hold 'em Poker

Lucky 18 is a very professional online casino, hosting a large number of casino games using Realtime Gaming software and a three stage welcome bonus for new players. First off, when a new user creates an account they will receive double their initial deposit up to $1,000, on the house. The second bonus is good for 50% of the deposit up to $500 on the house, and the third is 75% good for up to $300. If you are interested in receiving the bonus, be sure to get the extra chips in your account after making a deposit but before making any wagers.

Among the many games at Lucky 18 are the Blackjack tournaments, these multiplayer tournaments are constantly ongoing and proving to be very popular among players. Access the detailed schedule straight from the front page of Lucky 18's website. If Blackjack doesn't interest you, there are also dozens of slot machines, video poker games, and table games to keep gamblers happy for hours and hours.

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New research finds that Poker is a game of skill. Yes, I know, simply amazing. While this has been obvious to everyone who plays the game even semi-regularly, it has been especially difficult for researchers to pin down in a scientific format. This lack of professional research and testimony has not helped our case in Washington D.C. or many state courts and capitals.

The study was only made possible due to the huge database of played hands available from online Poker Rooms. Two factors were to be measured.

Firstly, they measured how much each player's winnings and losses fluctuated: the higher this variance, the greater the role of chance. Secondly, they measured the average value of a player's winnings or losses: highly skilled or terrible players would do noticeably better or worse than would be expected by chance alone.

Based on these factors, they found that the threshold at which the effects of skill start to dominate over chance is typically about 1000 hands, equivalent to about 33 hours of playing in person or 13 hours online, where the rate of play is brisker.

I can't see how this will have any effect on Poker players while they sit at tables, but it's possible legislators could be swayed by the new research. There are of course many biases and pre-made conceptions in Congress, but if enough representatives can remain open minded then we have a chance at common sense legislation coming out of the Capitol. The new study won't influence the larger debate about the UIGEA, but a big step forward for truly legalizing online Poker is still progress for our community.

Test your skills at these online Poker sites.
Full Tilt Poker
Bodog Poker

Tonight's the big night, in about three hours, at 9PM EST, UNC and Michigan State will face off to see who is the NCAA Basketball Champion. Time's running out if you are interested in making a wager on who will be the big winner. Accounts at Bodog are free and very easy to create. Also, be sure to look into the Bodog Live feature for a ton of interesting bets as the game is played.

Bodog Sportsbook

Progressive Jackpots are one of the few ways in which a casino player can walk out of an establishment (or log off an online casino) truly rich. Plenty of people make a few bucks here and there, or manage to break even, but people don't truly beat the house until they win a progressive jackpot. Most of these jackpots are tied to slot machines, but not all of them, Caribbean Stud is a popular table game that comes with jackpots, and Golden Casino is bringing players Progressive Blackjack.

The game itself is mostly like Vegas Blackjack, Insurance pays 2 to 1, Blackjack pays 3 to 2, but the dealer stands on all 17's. Everyone can play up to five hands at a time. Looking at the picture, you can see the various ways in which it's possible to win big. It's all about the aces, nothing else matters as far as the jackpot goes.

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Readers are often asking about good depositing and withdrawal methods for online casinos and the security of these methods. I can assure everyone that only reliable casinos are listed on this site, so security concerns are not an issue, but the methods vary from site to site. Some accept checks, various credit cards, or third-party online payment services. Today I'm highlighting American Express, a popular credit card that is accepted at some online casinos.

American Express has an excellent reputation and it is to an online casino's credit if they decide to accept deposits from a credit card like this.

Three of the online casinos worth mentioning that accept American Express as a deposit method are Rushmore Casino, Cherry Red, and Slots Oasis. All three are high quality casinos with great reputations, casino gamers should enjoy themselves at any of the three.

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