Put the patent leather pants in the circular file, said Bryan Adams, and with good reason. Not just because I can’t imagine being able to pull off patent leather pants, but also because the recurring ups and downs of fashion mean there’s a good chance they’ll be hot again one day (are they already? Have I missed it?)

I’ve been reading a few bingo blog sites lately and it seems that everyone’s talking about live bingo, the latest trend in the market. For years, bingo callers stood in halls shouting things like ‘Monkey In a Tree, Number Three’ and ‘Uncle Ben, Number Ten’ whilst the less mature of the players collapsed into fits of giggles at the numbers 69 and 87.

Then, of course,online bingo came along and revolutionised the game and everything substantially changed; not necessarily in spirit but most definitely in method. Gone were the single 25p cards and giant coloured daubers, instead we had free bingo and 1p games where you could play on fifteen cards simultaneously, thanks to that useful ‘autodauber’ function. In fact, I’m not entirely sure where you’d be if you had to mark your own cards. Read more…

I know a lot of players who haunt their local casino but who’ve never tried an online casino. That might not be unusual a few eras ago, but in this day and age, surely the Luddite is a dying breed?

Friends, since this casino blog is posted online I have mostly assumed that the majority of you play online. But judging by the emails I’ve been receiving lately, this assumption not only grossly inaccurate but apparently a little offensive as well.

Why would I want to visit a casino online? asked one player from Kent. I’m perfectly happy with the one on the high street, added another. And my favourite: This obsession with moving things online is just ridiculous.

To be honest, a few years ago I might have agreed. I love a good brick-and-mortar as much as the next player, and I only discovered online casinos when I couldn’t be bothered getting up and going to the local for my games. With this discovery came the realisation that there are in fact huge benefits to taking your game online. Read more…

It’s a great time of the year for online betting, with the Premiere League in full swing and the Rugby World Cup providing some spectacular matches, sports fans are spoilt for choice over what to watch. However, if watching sports isn’t exciting enough for you, why don’t you take advantage of the dozens of betting sites offering a free bet and put your money where your mouth is.
There is nothing more exciting than winning a bet on your favourite team, not only do you savour the success of the team you support winning, you also get a load of cash to celebrate with and buy your friends a drink! In the past I’ve won a few bets and the wins definitely have outlasted my losses in my memory but perhaps not in my pocket. With the incentive of a free bet you get all the thrill of a normal bet without the worry of losing any money; win or lose you’ve got nothing to worry about. Read more…

Statistically speaking, the house is more likely to win when you play at an offline versus an online casino. But are there other strategies you can use to win casino games?

If you’re a keen player, you’ve probably heard a lot about strategies to win, whether they’re time-based, game-based or superstition-based. Having a somewhat tempestuous relationship with Lady Luck, I’m all for things that make her more likely to smile upon me – so I hit my favourite casino blog sites to check out what the punters say.

You’re more likely to win money if you play for shorter sessions. Basically, it holds that the longer you expose your money, the more likely it is that the house will win, so it advocates frequent short sessions as opposed to the occasional marathon session. But in the end, the amount of time you spend at the online casino is the same, so does it really make a difference? The only thing I can think of is that when you play for shorter periods, you’re less likely to fall into the trap of believing that a win is overdue (otherwise known as ‘Gambler’s Fallacy’).

You’re more likely to win if you play late at night or on the weekends. This one is a bit of a puzzle. If you’re more tired, how can you make good decisions? Maybe this has something to do with the number of people playing at these times? Read more…

I know my green. I use recycled toilet paper, switch off the lights when I leave the building and use public transport. I even avoid using the air conditioning when I can.

But all of this should not make you think I’m some kind of long-haired tree-hugging hippy who’s writing this World Gamble blog to promote an environmentalist agenda (after all, I eat meat, occasionally take taxis and have secretly lusted after a Day Birger et Mikkelsen leather jacket for two weeks).

I only mention it because it just so happens that one of the many, many advantages of online scratch cards over their offline counterparts is the environmental gain. Think of the millions of trees you save by scratching cards online instead of buying them in a shop and discarding them minutes later! What a nice give back to the planet! Read more…

If you’re a fan of slot games, do you have superstitions?

We’ve heard some wacky things around the office over the years, not least of which included a fight eventuating in a casino chat room, bingo stalkers and a guy who ate his scratchcard, but the biggest laughs and ‘what-the?’ expressions come from when we talk about the quirks our friends – the slot games players – exhibit when they play.

Being – in general – a free slot machines player myself, I’ve been missing out on some of the craziness as the rituals don’t seem to matter when you’ve got nothing at stake. After talking to the crew, here are some of our favourites: Read more…

How can a casino be free? You might well ask. Surely there must be some kind of catch, some thing in the small print which means you have to pay. Well online casinos can be extremely slippery customers, wriggling out of your grasp just when you think you’ve have hooked the catch of the day. After all we all want to be the big fry and not the little fish at the end of the bait.  So when you see the phrase free casino, is there something fishy afoot? Read more…

Have you ever wondered who created the first online casino in the world? Who had that great idea to take casino games out of their original environment in a real world casino and allow you to gamble in the comfort of your own home sat at your computer?  It began with Microgaming. Microgaming had the foresight to create the first online gambling software, which they released in 1994. However it wasn’t until three years later, a company based in South Africa recognized the inherent potential that lay dormant in this technology. Read more…

I was never very good at maths. Like any average kid, I paid more attention to celebrities than sums; I was more interested in discussing whether ‘NSYNC could kick Backstreet Boy butt than quadratic equations. How, I demanded of my long-suffering maths teacher, could I be using maths in the real world?

Dear World Gamble blog readers, I’m sure you can appreciate the irony of my having landed in an industry heavy with – of all things – statistics. Oh yes. But I’m pleased to say that betting is the thrill that maths lessons will never be – that somehow, talking about odds and how to best place the free bet they give you is far more interesting than a calculus class. Read more…

I’m not going to beat around the bush, online bingo is big business. With hundreds of sites competing for your hard earned cash, it can be hard to know which sites are the most reliable, have the largest pay outs and perhaps most importantly, are the most sociable. Big Gains No Pains is the number one resource on the web for people who are interested in online gambling; whether it’s poker, scratchcards or you want to play online bingo, we have trawled the web, to bring you the most recent,  impartial and entertaining reviews out there.

For anyone who is interested in online bingo and understanding why the market for players is so competitive, let’s take a look at the current UK market. A recent survey  has revealed there are over 3.5 million players in the UK alone, that works out to be over 5% of the entire population! Based on these figures can  you guess how much the annual turn over for the online bingo industry is? Any idea? The total gross profit stands at £ 600 Million. That’s about £10 for every single person alive in the UK at this point in time. Incredible, when you think about.  Now you can see why there are so many bingo sites out there, desperate for you to deposit money with them and play online bingo. Read more…

Players looking for an online casino these days are spoilt for choice and it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the plethora of options available. Is it necessary to download the casino software, or can you simply play in-browser? Should you look for a no deposit casino or play for real money? Is it better to choose one with the most games, or the best graphics?

Those who read world gamble blog are probably regular gamblers and you’ve likely got your own criteria for evaluating where you’d like to play. But in our humble opinion, the major things you’ve got to look for are bonus, games, ease of payment and customer support.

We’ve written hundreds of reviews and have evaluated the sites on precisely those terms. Every player has their own preferences, of course, but in general, you should be looking for a nice free money or free spins bonus from a no deposit casino that will allow you to play a few games before heading into real money territory. A deposit match of at least 100% (with a generous limit) is an excellent second step. You also need to have a look at their loyalty and VIP programs – some casinos have excellent points systems where the points you earn whilst you play can be traded for extra casino credits. Read more…

Just when you thought Online bingo might be on the downhill after a few years of healthy growth, things just seem to continue to get better for UK bingo players. So far in 2011 a handful of new bingo sites have launched, but two brands stand out from the crowd of new sites and if you’re on the hunt for a new online destination to play, we think you’re going to love the following sites.

XBingo – Bingo out of this world

XBingo launched in August 2011 and have made huge splash with their unique online bingo experience and with their full range of gorgeous bingo promos.

For starters, very few bingo sites offer no deposit bingo, which are perfect for players who like to take a new site for a test run without risking their own money. Lucky for you, Bingo HQ the bingo review site, highlights why you’ll love XBingo and their £5 exclusive no deposit bingo trial offer. Read more…