Newcomers to the online gambling world usually start their gaming careers with many questions. Which gambling games can I find online? How do I open an account and how will I receive my winnings? These are important points to consider when you’re setting yourself up for gambling online. However, one question seems to take precedence with most players and that is how one finds the safest online casinos to play at.The internet gambling industry was first developed in the late 1990′s. Because it was a new market, there were few regulatory bodies or organizations that protected players from unscrupulous gambling firms. As a result, many fly by night gaming sites were established. These offered little security or guarantee that players could expect to receive their winnings in a timely and professional manner. Unfortunately, some internet gaming fans lost money at these sites.However, thanks to the rapid development of the industry and the demand for safe and secure gaming, it is far more difficult to play at a questionable site today than it is to play at a reputable one. Most internet casino firms pride themselves on their professionalism and work hard to provide a stress-free environment for their valued customers.So how do you know you’re playing at a casino online that is 100 percent safe, secure and trustworthy? The first thing to do is ensure the casino is licensed. Before you create an account to sign for online casino games, check the site’s licensing information. This should be prominently displayed on its website. You will find that some licenses are awarded by governments, such as the British Government and the Government of Antigua. Other licenses are from recognized state authorities such as the Kahnawake Gambling Commission.You can also make sure you give yourself the best possible protection by only playing at sites that are eCOGRA members. eCOGRA is the online gaming industry’s top watchdog organization and upholds the values of fair play, security and honesty that its member sites are associated with. Check your online casino to see if it sports the eCOGRA Seal of Approval. If your casino has this seal, you can rest assured you’re in good hands. To become a member, online casino firms must meet strict criteria set out by eCOGRA and submit to regular third party auditing to ensure fairness.eCOGRA also offers a player dispute service, so you can be assured of its professional support if any issues arise at your site. A liaison service will listen to your issues and work to resolve them with your online casino. eCOGRA packs a powerful punch in the industry and resolves most of the disputes it involves itself with. This offers valuable peace of mind to many online casino players, especially if you’re new and about to try online gambling for the first time.So if your site is fully licensed and an eCOGRA member, you’re ready to get started. Simply download your online casino software and get ready for a fun, secure and worry-free gaming experience.

Lately, a lot of people have begun to question the honesty of several internet poker sites, due in part to recent scandals involving players on particular sites. Many have gone so far as to claim that online poker is rigged and that a winning player is penalized for making withdrawals. This is known in the online-poker community as the ‘cash out curse.’Typically, a player that has won a large sum of money or has consistently played well and won several big cashes, goes to withdraw a portion of their winnings. Suddenly they are attacked by a seemingly inevitable curse that causes them to constantly lose game after game, forcing them to reload their account with more money.Is it Real?Many claim that pokersites, to keep people from cashing out their winnings, perpetrate this cash out curse. No matter how hard one would try to convince someone that this is just a fable, the losing player can not be convinced, as they continue to complain that online poker is rigged and that when they cash out they go on a losing streak because the pokersite wants them to keep their money online.Although the notion of a ‘cash out curse’ may seem ridiculous, it is entirely possible that a pokersite can (and often does) control the cards of a particular player. This is accomplished by the fact that everything in an online casino is regulated by computer-generated codes and poker algorithms under the direct control of the owners of the site. The accurate question here should not be, is it real, rather Is it possible for pokersites to do this?Is it Possible?For example, all player details, stats, and personal information are contained in a database by the site. In addition to the information that the site collects from players voluntarily, they are able to acquire extra information about a player. By virtue of the fact that when you installed the poker-client on your computer, you gave permissions to the site to ‘see’ programs you are running.The majority of the client spying is accomplished through the registry of your computer, which permits them to know additional software you are running as well as if you have certain applications active such as messenger, poker-odds calculators or other software they may deem inappropriate.The Omniscient PokerSiteOn top of that, the software also is able to restrict you from playing by blocking you directly through a registry entry on your computer. All because you gave permission to the pokersite’s client to do so. Because of the power you have surrendered when you installed their software, combined with the fact that they are able to control that software may lend credence to the fact that there is some truth to the cash out curse.On the other hand, it is possible the cash out curse is a psychological influence. A player may believe he is a victim of something sinister perpetrated by online-poker sites. They begin to blame their bad beats and losing hands to the fact that they have recently cashed out. The true measure may never be known to what extent the poker sites are manipulating our online experience, however, the possibility certainly does exist.