Online Gambling - in A Nutshell - Part I

Online casinos differ from their land-based counterparts in many obvious, and not so obvious ways. At on online casino there are no throngs of people, noise and excitement, nor can you see a show or dance the night away at some lavishly decorated casino club.

However, online casinos offer chat rooms where you can chat in real time with players from all over the world while gambling. And online casinos can offer a player a greater choice of games than can be found at any individual brick and mortar venue.

There are more types of casino games than most people can imagine, and it wouldn''t be possible, or even feasible for a land-based casino to host them all, yet virtually all of these games are available online.

HORSE AND DOG RACING
For the avid follower of horse or dog racing, betting via the Internet is a dream come true. Having access to a horse or dog track is no longer necessary. And off track betting parlors are limited to taking bets only with certain tracks with which they have contracts, but there are no such limitations on the Internet. The ability to bet on horse or dog races, not only in areas to which you have physical access, but anywhere in the world, is at your fingertips at home, and no further away then your computer. And to sweeten the experience even more, at home gamblers can watch and listen to many of the races via streaming video right on their computer home screens.

And what about pari-mutuel betting? Yes, that''s available online as well. There are specialty sites that can give you access to betting pools at tracks nationwide, with many sites now having expanded to include international tracks. Practically all of these venues allow the horse or dog player to experience the races via sophisticated audio and video streams, and often can offer multiple streams whereby two races can be watched and listened to simultaneously.

LOTTERIES
Just think of it, buying lottery tickets online offers you, the internet surfer, the opportunity to buy lottery tickets from everywhere and anywhere. Once again, having access to the web means you are not restricted to buying tickets at the local convenience store that are restricted to your home state.

Now there are sites offering the opportunity to buy lottery tickets from other states or even many countries that offer lottery games of chance.. However, most states and foreign countries require the winning lottery ticket owner to appear in person to claim the prize. Persons having trusted friends or relatives in the respected state or country are particularly well positioned to play interstate or international lotteries and can then transfer the ticket to their representative to claim the winnings.

A word of caution is necessary here; before purchasing lottery tickets online be sure the site is legitimately licensed as an agent or is an official state lottery website before sending any money. Legitimate sites will allow access to their license number or licensing agency which can be verified through the appropriate gaming regulators such as the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries, or the European Forum list of regulators.Bottom line, if you have any doubts about a lottery site''s legitimacy, don''t send them any money.

Kenneth Bateman writes numerous articles on the subject of online casinos. To read more of his articles on internet casinos.