Don't make the same mistake I made.

#41
I just lost 8 in a row on the Free Game

Like I said, I am practicing to play the Bodog online game. Opened it up this morning and WHAM!, lost the first 8 hands. A 1 in 246 occurrence. It happens! Mind you, this was the free demo game designed to entice you in.
 
#42
as far as i know all online casinos are to be licensed by gaming authorities. do you think there is any way they could make the games for free and real money games different?
 
#43
Yes, the free game is different to the real one. Exactly the same thing happens on online Roulette. Play the free game and employ a Martingale strategy and you will make thousands in free chips, make some really stupid bets (25% of BR) and see how difficult it is too lose! Try the same thing with real money and you will quickly lose everything.

Free games are not regulated as they don't involve money. How could they be regulated? What if I put a free BJ game on the web? Do I need a licence? No, because it's just a game, it's not gambling. Similarly, the gaming authorities will not be monitoring the results of free-play as it doesn't involve gambling and therefore isn't under their jurisdiction.
 

Caesar

Well-Known Member
#45
Regulated?

as far as i know all online casinos are to be licensed by gaming authorities. do you think there is any way they could make the games for free and real money games different?
Casino games offered to Americans are not regulated like brick-and-mortar games. State gaming authorities monitor the games in real buildings. Who regulates sites like Bodog? The notion that casinos don't have to cheat because the odds are in their favor is both naive and ludicrous. In the absence of regulation, casinos have always cheated. It's a historical fact. Mississippi riverboat games and Wild West casinos were rigged. Why? Because there were no regulatory bodies.
I am referring only to sites that are open to Americans. Some other nations, like the UK, do have some kind of regulatory authority.
 

UK-21

Well-Known Member
#46
There's a big difference between regulatory authority and active policing of regulations (via audits, pro-actively interrogating returns etc) - the two don't always go hand in hand. Regulation of the banking industry is a great example.

Most online casinos have a licence of some sort, which obliges them to observe the licensing regulations that go with it. Wheather the said regs are policed for compliance or not is open to question - as is whether the licensing authority has any clout to direct licencees into any particular course of action? I think most of the UK casino chains who have an online presence have licenses issued in the Isle of Alderney (Channel Islands). What that's worth as an assurance to players is anybody's guess.
 
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Caesar

Well-Known Member
#47
Online casinos in the US lack both!

Good point. Online casinos that take wagers from Americans lack BOTH a regulatory authority and active enforcement of regulations.
The only way to be certain that online blackjack games are fair and random is proper regulation AND penalties for violators. This is certainly not the case in the US.
As for the UK, online companies are publicly-traded and I have no idea how London regulates them.
 
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