Gambling has exploded online within the last few years especially in countries with stricter regulations with their selection varying from online casinos, sports booking to even online stock trading. Consumers can now gamble from the comfort of their homes or even on their mobile phones giving rise to a new breed of addicts. The online gaming industry has been under tremendous pressure with laws being passed trying to restrict its operations and activists protesting about it being unethical which has given rise to many debates. Nonetheless the online gambling scene is thriving.
Types of Online Gaming Websites
1.Online Casino
An online casino is an online counterpart of the typical land based casino found in Las Vegas, Macao or anywhere else in the world. These online casinos offer basic casino games such as blackjack, Baccarat, roulette and slot machines. Online casinos in general usually offer bonuses and special packages to attract new players. Players buy chips online like in a real casino and have the option of playing against the house or against other online casinos. Virtual online casinos are the latest form of entertainment, enhance the users experience by offering real time games against real players.
2. Online Sports Betting
Online sports betting is also a big hit apart from conventional online casinos, especially in the US and Europe. Online sports betting involves making bets on sporting events such as for example a popular upcoming football match with bets ranging from who will win to how many fouls a certain player will commit. Online sports betting sites will provide information about the event together with what bets can be placed and the returns if one wins.
3) A combination of both
Some gaming sites only offer online casino games such as blackjack, barracat, roulette and more. The online gaming sites that offer mainly sports betting usually have a small section with popular casino games, too. Players can switch to the casino games while waiting for their sports match to begin. This keeps the client occupied and keeps him spending on the same page.
Types of Online Games
Lottery
The most popular method of gambling is buying lottery tickets with ones lucky four or six digit number. This type of gambling has also moved online and one can buy his/ her lottery tickets from the comfort of home. It also allows customers around the world now to try their luck with some of the biggest lotteries in Europe and US instead of having to stick to their smaller state run lotteries.
Poker
Poker is a gambling card game with few variants. All variants involve betting and determine the winner of each round by their hand according to the combination of players card. Some of the cards are open and some remain hidden until the end of the round which player will speculate on. In standard poker each player bets as much as he believes his hand is worth compared to other players. Players may chose to chose to either match or raise the bet, or “call”, the maximum previous bet or fold which would result in losing the amount bet so far. If more than one player remain after the final betting round, the player with the best hand and wins.
Blackjack
Blackjack or 21 is the most popular table game offered in casinos. Blackjack is played with a standard 52-card deck with each card assigned a point value. The cards 2-10 are worth their face value. Kings, queens and jacks are each worth 10 points and aces may be used as either 1 or 11 points. The objective of the game is to draw cards closest to 21 (without going over) than the dealer’s cards. The best total of all is a two card 21, also called a blackjack.
Bingo
This is a game of chance where in return for a stake, players receive a set of numbers, which he/she has not chosen. The player then marks off the numbers in his set against numbers, which are selected randomly and announced by a caller. Players can win by completing a line of numbers, multiple lines or all numbers in their set (full house), more quickly than other players. The length and speed of the game is determined by the caller, number of players, proportion of numbers that make a win and range of numbers in the selection.
Baccarat
Baccarat traces its origins back to as early as 1498 and is quite popular among hard gamers. It’s a game of pure chance, as your moves will be determined by the cards you are dealt. It is a simple game, which only has three possible outcomes being ‘Player’, ‘Banker’ and ‘Tie’.
Roulette
This popular game in French literally means “small wheel”. Players can place a bet or multiple bets on any number, color or combination of numbers. If the ball lands on the number you have bet on or covered in your bet, you win. Betting on all even or all odd numbers will only double up your money in a win. Betting on a single number will multiply your bet by 35 in a win.
Craps
Craps is a dice game, which is easily the most intimidating game with dozens of different bets that can be made. Bets are made on the outcome of a roll, or a series of rolls, of a pair of dice. Players may bet against each other or against the bank.
Slots
The most famous classic slot machine is three reels spinning and in order for you to win you need to get three identical symbols in a row. Online slot machines are also called video slots and are slightly more complex than the old classic ones. Most modern online slots have five reels and the row of symbols does not have to be in the center row and could appear in the top or bottom row. It could also appear diagonally or in zigzag. The location of the winning streak changes, too depending on the slot.
The Different Types of Sports Betting
In play betting
Most sports betting sites offer in play betting, as it’s one of the most popular ways to bet on sporting events. Although it is something of a new development, in a few years it has had a huge impact on the way people place their bets. It’s incredibly straightforward and easy for beginners. It’s all about placing bets while a sporting event is taking place rather than before it starts. It’s also known as live betting and it opens up a whole new range of betting opportunities compared to conventional betting options. There are all kinds of different bets you can place ranging from which player or which team will score next to how many yellow cards a team may get. The reason its so popular is because it allows players to bet during the game, too and not only before the game.
Exchange betting
Exchange betting is a relatively new development in the world of sports betting which has proved to be incredibly popular. The bets you can place are essentially the same as in traditional sports betting but the fundamental difference is the way it works. Compared to using the services of a bookmaker, players are now betting against other players who are taking the opposite side.
Fantasy Sports Betting
Fantasy sports betting is not about betting directly on the outcome of an event. Instead it’s about trying to make money out of your knowledge of the game played. In this form of betting players create a fantasy team by picking your own players and then challenging that team against teams created by other players. Bets are placed on your team or various results and the outcome of the “fantasy” match will decide the winner. Fantasy sports has become very popular among football fanatics and is a great way to combine knowledge and fun together with trying to win some money.
Spread Betting
There are two forms of spread betting. One of it is betting on the point spread, which is the most common way of betting on sports especially in America. The other form of spread betting is not as straightforward and common as it involves high risk and high returns. The risk of money won or lost is not fixed and varies depending on how accurate a bet is. In some ways it is similar to total betting where one tries to predict the specific value to be greater or lower than the amount set by the bookmaker. Bets however are settled based on how much higher or lower the value is.