The study was a joint result of work done by the Observatoire Français des Drogues et des Toxicomanies (Observatory of Drugs and Drug Addiction), and French Institut National de Prévention et D’éducation pour la Santé (National Institute of Prevention and Health Education), and it sought to find out what percentage of the French population had a problem with online poker and other forms of gaming.

This study used surveys and other factors to determine that 600,000 people had a “gambling problem,” which is only 1.3% of the French population. Furthermore, only 200 of the 600,000 problem punters were deemed to have a serious “gambling addiction.” Those who fell into the problem range spent €1,500 or more of their income on gaming, and their borderline addiction was usually accompanied by smoking, drinking and/or drug use.

Basically, the results of this study mean that 98.7% of the French population is able to control their online betting tendencies. In addition to this, the study participants were very good at balancing their spending habits between entertainment, online gaming and living expenses.

Interestingly enough, France still has some of the world’s highest traffic numbers at their segregated PokerStars and Party Poker sites. Seeing as how they have very few problem gamblers, they must be winning a whole lot of money. Of course, PartyPoker’s 50% rakeback deal probably helps out a lot with this since players are being paid back half of the money they spend in rake. And by taking advantage of the best rakeback deals, online poker players have a much better chance of winning money in the long run.

The first thing to remember is to always, always, play within the limits of your bankroll. Most successful online players agree that it is crucial to follow the rule of always having less than 5% of your online bankroll on the table at any given time. Some would even argue that 2% or 1% is a better margin to go by.

The second thing to always keep in mind is that you never want to be constantly checking your balance while you are playing. This can lead to some serious chasing of your losses which can become a race down a very dark tunnel. If you’re following rule number one there is no reason to keep checking your assets and be faced with the psychological ups and downs and the irresponsible gambling that can lead to.

The third rule is to take online gaming seriously. It’s true that you might be sitting in your own home, in your pajamas, playing a few online hands with the buddies; but, the bets are as real as if you were at the casino in your best suit and should be considered as so.

Rule number four, don’t zone in to the game so much that you start to zone out. It’s easy for poker lovers to get lost in the online poker world and go for hours without taking a break. This isn’t good for your body and it isn’t good for your game either.

The final rule to keeping your bankroll in good standing is to avoid tilt at all costs. If you feel you are starting to sway towards a frenzy of ridiculous raises, bets, or calls there is only one good choice to make- log off, immediately.

There are lots of ways to enjoy online gaming and keep a positive bankroll, follow these five tips and you can be well on your way to enjoying the world of online poker and gaming.

There are currently four jackpot levels that Mega Moolah can be played under, mega jackpot, major jackpot, maxi jackpot and mini jackpot. The big win at the top dog level, mega jackpot, has been pulled a total of five times since the introduction of the game and rolled out an accumulated total of 12.3 million Euros. That’s a lot of jackpots and a lot Euros. The highest payout to date of the mega jackpot selection reached an amazing 6.37 million Euros, certainly the kind of payout one doesn’t normally find themselves taking home. The statistics of the game of Mega Moolah however show that this particular online slot has sent gamers walking away with a heavy pocket on more than one occasion. Even at the maxi jackpot level alone, over 20 million Euros has been paid out and enjoyed by over a quarter million online gamers. The major jackpot option also recently sent a player home with 310,000 Euros in a single payment win.  The micro jackpot selection is ranking up there as well with a total of 276 million Euros paid out since the introduction of the game.

Online gamers pulling the lever of Mega Moolah can choose to be paid out in whatever currency they are playing in, a nice feature for the worldwide gaming community. Another feature of Mega Moolah that is unique to this game and one of the reasons behind the games popularity is the unique design behind the four jackpot levels. Each individual jackpot has a different maximum and minimum payout range. Mega Moolah is therefore in most respects four games in one. This means more options and a wide range of pay in pay out options for all the varying levels of online gamers. The mega jackpot pays out a top prize no less than 1,000,000 Euros, the smaller jackpots, major, maxi, and mini begin paying out at 10,000, 100, and 10 Euros respectively. As would be assumed, the smaller jackpots are taken home much more frequently which adds to the attractiveness of the game to small time gamers since you don’t have to play big to win. Mega Moolah therefore has a little something for everyone.

Regardless of the amount you decide to play for and the jackpot level you decide is best for you, Mega Moolah seems to be enjoyed by all levels of players. The man behind the face of Mega Moolah states that he can’t say for sure what has made Mega Moolah so popular amongst online gamers, but he is quite sure that the four levels of play and the other in-game features are likely the main reason behind the draw. At the time of Mega Moolah’s introduction it was really one of the first online slot machine games to offer such innovative features; due to the popularity amongst players it will most likely be joined by many other games of a similar design in the new future but for now when it comes to online slot machine game popularity Mega Moolah takes the cake and then some. Interested to see if you can take home a piece of the prize as well?

Party Poker’s parent company – PartyGaming – recently agreed to a merger with the Austrian gambling site Bwin that will take place in 2011.  The two companies finally agreed to terms on the merger this week, and Bwin will get 51.4% of the company while internet poker giant Party Poker will have a 48.36% stake in the company.

What’s most interesting about this merger is that the two companies will pull both their gambling and poker software resources together.  Party Poker is the third largest online poker room in the world while Bwin also has a pretty large poker site.  Together, the two sites could potentially become the biggest force in poker. 

More importantly, both poker sites might offer even better online poker deals than before!  Party Poker has a huge Million Dollar Guaranteed poker tournament while Bwin gives players the chance to participate in lots of freerolls and special sit and go tournaments.

Party Poker CEO Jim Ryan commented on the big merger by saying, “This is a transformational opportunity for both our companies to create the world’s largest listed online gaming business.  The Enlarged Group will have a winning formula to exploit the growing online gaming market, supported by a strong balance sheet, significant cash flow generation and a highly experienced management team.”

If you’d like to be a part of this revamped site, you should complete the poker download of Party Poker and take advantage of their huge deals.  Once you’ve done this, you’ll be able to play poker at this huge room when the merger is completed in 2011.

Ryan believes that the United States is serious about overturning the UIGEA because the game actually involves lots of poker strategy and skill when compared to other forms of gambling.  He spoke on the matter by saying, “We are seeing increased momentum towards regulating online poker. It’s possible that it could happen this year and we’re prepared if it does.”

And these aren’t just empty words that Ryan is speaking either since Party Poker has actually started to set up operations in America.  He commented on this by saying, “We’ve got many number of U.S. operators who we’re talking to right now about providing them with online gaming services and software.  That gives us good reason to think that regulation isn’t that far away.” 

Party Gaming already has 40 people living near Los Angeles and working on the poker software.  In addition to this, they are also establishing relationships with the US government and others who have an impact on poker sites.

The return of Party Poker into the US gaming market would be extremely interesting.  The site is already one of the world’s largest poker tournament and poker games providers; entering the US market could put them right up with Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars in terms of customers.  And the aforementioned fact that Party Poker provides an astounding 40% in rakeback will be another factor that could make them the world’s most popular online poker room.

The story is set in Asia and is the tale of two poker playing rivals that are competing in the same competition for the crown. 

The movie was filmed in the world famous Asian casino capital of Macau and has already caused a stir when hundreds of players arrived at the city during the APT Macau Festival last August while the film was being shot. The film was not short of willing extras as poker players arrived and flocked to get a place on set to be in the movie. 

Texas Hold ‘em has already seen an increase in popularity thanks to the world of online gaming where players can compete from all over the globe. Now it looks like it is about to have a huge impact on the poker scene in Hong Kong and other Asian cities. 

 The Film premiered with a star studded audience and the stars Louis Koo and Lau Ching-Wan also attended. Actor Louis Koo said, “This game is very popular in the West. Perhaps it has just started to develop in Asia. I had to learn mannerisms and skills from players outside Hong Kong.” 

We can’t wait to see this movie and hope that it will soon be on release in the West. It will certainly be interesting to see how the game is handled by the eastern players as it is such a relatively new game to them!

For the highest rates of rakeback and best online poker promotions join RakeTheRake.

CryptoLogic have been chosen over other competing companies due to their innovative and creative slot games. Securing this contract with Rank is a massive success for the company that already has more than 280 games released. A unique aspect of CryptoLogic designs is the incorporation of famous film genres and having action characters as part of the design. 

One of the company’s advantages other than its variety and novel games is that it has always prided itself on regulation compliance and the stability of its software.

Justin Thouin, Vice-President of CryptoLogic, said, ‘Demand for our games remains strong as illustrated by this agreement with Rank Interactive, a well respected UK brand.’

This is certainly true, as being associated with Rank will mean a big boost for the CryptoLogic image. 

Rank Group will be integrating the games over the next 6 months into several of their online gambling websites. The contract extends past the six months, as it is a multi year contract. Angus Nisbet is the Gaming Director at Rank Interactive and feels that this contract is really going to make a difference with online customers.

He has said ‘By striking this deal with CryptoLogic our customers are gaining access to the very best and most innovative betting games on the market.’ 

Any good businessman knows that innovation and variety is key to success and this bold new partnership is sure to bring not only a great deal of excitement and fun to the players, but also a great boost in visitors to the Rank website slots.

Benefit from some massive poker promotions this month, from the King of innovation and variety in poker cashback – RakeTheRake.

It seems that this regulation has finally been recognised as unfair and a bill has been proposed to the French government that would mean more access to foreign casinos and tournaments for French players. This news will certainly make a lot of our French poker playing friends very happy but what has prompted this change of heart? It seems like the French government has realised that by forbidding legal companies from the UK and elsewhere outside of France has just resulted in a feeding frenzy by the less than savory casinos.

These foreign casinos that have been catering to the French online poker market have been operating illegally and so, in most cases, are not regulated by any governing body. The result of this is that players have been given, at best, bad service and have, at worst, been swindled by these illegally operating websites.

By re-evaluating their stance on overseas casinos they will be opening up the legal online gaming world to residents of France. This means better games, better websites and fair treatment for French poker players. This is definitely a step in the right direction for competitive gaming online, but the whole process of getting this bill passed and implemented is a long battle.

This is great news for the French but also for the rest of us as this move by France to clean up online gaming has come at a time when trust in online gaming is low. A study done by PayPoint.net has come back with some shocking results. It seems that 81 percent of us are concerned about security risks and 61 percent surveyed worry about what to do if they have a problem regarding their account. We are most concerned when it comes to revealing our banking details online in the sign up process. These figures don’t really surprise us here as, unfortunately, there are unscrupulous people out there.

All the more reason for us to take care when signing up to play poker online and to make sure that the online betting companies we deal with have adequate online help for members. The most efficient way to ensure safety is to research the betting sites you are looking at playing with and to check that they have good security, and are legal.

When you sign up for games and tournaments with companies such as Betfair Poker or Cake Poker you can be sure of the highest level of security regarding your account and 24 hour online help. All that and a chance to profit from playing with rakeback!

Source: news.bbc.co.uk