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Online Casino
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Are you one of the 2 million players who ante up each week to one of the more
than 1,800 virtual casinos? Have you helped make internet gambling one of the
web's fastest-growing areas? If you have, it's easy to understand why. Any hour
of the day, from work, home or vacation, you can click a mouse and bet the
house.
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While internet casinos' operations are illegal in the United States, other
countries are up and running; offering gamblers plenty of opportunities to
place their bets. The online casino sites raked in $5.7 billion last year, with
projections of $11.6 billion in 2006. Online gamblers bet an average of $185
per month, online and off-line, and 7 percent of online consumers gamble on the
internet, according to Forrester Research, a Cambridge, Mass., firm. But be
careful - don't try gambling using your credit or debit card. About 50 to 60
percent of internet gambling transactions made with a credit card are denied by
banks or credit-card companies.
The goal of these websites for gamblers is to replicate the experience of a Las
Vegas venue. The sites offer the same games -blackjack, baccarat, roulette,
craps and slot machines -with the same odds and similar promotions and loyalty
programs.
Which sites are drawing gamblers? Here are some of the more notable ones:
GoldenPalace.com, betonsports.com, playmgmmirage.com – a virtual casino
operated by MGM Mirage (which does not accept bets from Americans), and
Crowngames.com.
So if you are one of the 27% of all adults over the age of 21 who gambles there
are plenty of online opportunities for you to place a bet.
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