Preseason for the NFL starts tonight. That means that all of you sports betting nuts can start betting on all type of NFL action! There are 5 games on the schedule tonight and 5 more games for Friday and Saturday. There will also be a Monday Night to end the first week of the preseason.

If you are in the mood to watch some of these preseason games, a couple of these preseason games will be shown nationwide. Tonight at 8:00PM ET, ESPN will be showing the San Diego Chargers at home against the Seattle Seahawks. On Friday night at 8:00PM, Fox will be televising the Kansas City Chiefs at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; and on Monday night at 8:00PM, the Houston Texans will take on the New York Jets.

If you want to bet on your favorite NFL team, you can do so at Bovada’s sportsbook. If you wanted to bet on tonight’s game between the Seahawks and Chargers, you can choose to bet on either the Point Spread or the Total. San Diego is favored by 3 points while the total for the game is 35 points.

I know betting on preseason games may not be very appealing to you. However if you are going to bet on preseason games, I would suggest that you do so in weeks 1 through 3. The four preseason game mean virtually nothing to the starters on each team.

NFL Player and Team Props

If preseason betting isn’t your thing, maybe you would be interested on an NFL Prop bet. Propitiation bets are bets that will be placed before any action has taken place. Unlike a bet that you would make on a particular game, a prop bet will often not be won or lost for several weeks or months.

As an example, you can bet on one of 31 NFL players to win the 2011 NFL MVP award. Currently the favorite is Aaron Rodgers at 11/2. This means that if you place a $50 bet on Rodgers to win, you will receive $275 if he wins the award at the end of the year. You can also pick the rest of the field (not one of the top 31 players) for 10/1 odds.

You can also choose who you think will be the AP Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year. One of the more amusing prop bets offered is whether an NFL Player will test positive for HGH during the 2011 season (Yes is the heavy favorite). A secondary bet is what will be the position that the first player that test positive for HGH play.

As far as NFL Team Prop Bets go, these can be thought of more as the in-game types of bets. The bets shown will be for the preseason games that about to be played. Some prop bets include: Which team will score first in the game? Will the first score be a TD or FG? Will there be a score in the first 7:30 of the game? You can also bet on the over/under of the individual team scoring.

NFL Futures Betting

Futures betting is often one of the most popular bets before the season gets started. You can place a bet now for the current odds that a team will win the 2012 Super Bowl. The favorites are the New England Patriots at 13/2 followed closely by the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles at 7/1.

Not only can you bet on which team will win the Super Bowl, but also which team will win the AFC and NFC conferences in 2012. This represents which team from each conference will make it to the Super Bowl. Obviously the odds are a little bit more favorable with the Patriots getting 3/1 odds and the Eagles receiving 7/2 odds on winning.

If that wasn’t enough, you can also bet on which team will have the best record in their own division. If your favorite team’s odds aren’t very high for winning the Superbowl, maybe you can reach and bet for them to win their division. Obviously, if you are a fan of the Green Bay Packers, you probably won’t want to bet on the -190 for them to win the NFC North. You won’t win much if they do win and stand to lose more than it is worth if they make the playoffs but don’t win the division (like last year).

There have been a lot of changes in the world of online gambling and it can sometimes be pretty hard to keep up with it all.

The big news is the loss of one of my favorite online casinos, English Harbour, along with all of its sister sites. They will all be closed for business as of August 1st.

This means that Vegas Technology is a casino software without any casinos running on its platform. That’s a shame because they offered some of the best in all types of gambling games.

Online Poker

Of course the hardest hit was online poker as almost all of the poker room except the cake poker network have excluded deposits from U.S. poker players. This does seem like it is setting up for the legalization of online poker by punishing all of the offenders who ignored the law previously.

Many of the poker room websites have been taken over by a seized by ICE – Department of Justice webpage. This didn’t stop these poker sites as they will simply acquire a URL from a country that the United States can’t seize, like .eu .ag and etc.

Online Sports Betting

But, not only poker was affected as online sportsbooks had to drastically change their business models for fears of reprisal. Many of these sites will no longer accept new customers; but behind the scenes, they are accepting deposits from trusted customers.

Sports gambling is the most closely associated with illegal betting because it is mentioned in the original law that forbade placing bets over state lines. This is what the U.S. tried to lump the internet gambling under to try to make it illegal before UIGEA. Because of that, online sports betting will probably be the last betting activity to become fully legal in the States.

Online Casinos

Many online casinos decided to keep a low profile by excluding U.S. customers from playing, at least temporarily. Some, like BetUS, decided to tell people that they are no longer accepting deposits only to lie and continue to accept deposits while cutting out all advertising. Casinos like this are shady at best. If they can’t afford to pay their advertisers anymore, what makes you think that they won’t pull a Full Tilt Poker and start to not pay players.

Other online casinos decided to stop accepting US customers and have held true to their promises. These include all online casinos that use Microgaming, Cryptologic and Playtech casino software. Not accepting real money bets from U.S. players is part of the software provider’s agreement with the online casino. Other software providers have not cared as much and turn a blind eye to what the online casino does with the software.

Some online casinos have dropped out of the US market because of their processor for accepting deposits was no longer available. This was the case for almost all of the Rival casinos that dropped out back in April. If you would like to see a current list of casinos, click here for online gambling sites.

I think that the legalization of online casinos in the U.S. is closer than you think. That is, of course, unless you think it will happen within the next two years. The government is consumed by other issues and a looming presidential race before any talk of legalizing anything will occur.

The reason that I think it will happen is because Las Vegas is hurting, mainly because of the extended recession. The casinos on the strip have never been able to access any of the billions of dollars that is currently going to overseas countries. If they were allowed to enter the online casino market, it would be a game changer. Las Vegas would have millions of more dollars coming in and there would be a mad rush on casino customers. Not only that, but all of the shady online casinos would instantly disappear because they won’t be able to match a quality casino at any level.

It’s that time of year again. I did a post last year about all of the different contests that are offered in correlation to the NCAA tournament. Most of the information is still relevant so take a look if you would like.

The NCAA College Basketball Tournament is about to start tomorrow and that means that all of the sportsbooks out there are offering a lot of NCAA bracket contests and special promotions for betting on the tournament games. The tournament starts every year on the third Thursday in March and encompasses the rest of the month, leading to the moniker “March Madness”.

The first weekend of the tournament is when a lot of the actual madness happens. There are a total of 32 games on Thursday and Friday and another 16 games on Saturday and Sunday as the teams lose in this single-game elimination format. These are the heaviest days of betting at the sportsbooks for college basketball games.

In this post, I’m going to highlight a couple of the March Madness promotions that I think are the best for bettors to accept.

Bookmaker Exclusive Bonus

Here is a very interesting promotion that I found for March Madness from Bookmaker. You can get an exclusive 20% sign up bonus that can get you up to $500 free to make bets on any of the upcoming NCAA tournament games!

In order to receive this bonus, use the link above to go to Bookmaker. Then, just register an account and use the bonus code my1229 when you make a deposit. You can receive up to $500 free (maximum bonus amount) when you make a deposit of $2500.

You can use this free play bonus to bet on any sporting event, not just the March Madness games. You can even bet on the NIT (National Invitation Tournament) games. This tournament started yesterday along with the First Four games, which are the four preliminary games played for the right to enter into the field of 64 in the NCAA tournament.

Bookmaker also offers sports betting office pools like the bracket contests that you might have played in an office/personal setting. These pools are just as easy to play in. Simply choose the amount you wish to bet on your bracket ($5/$10/$20) and enter into a pool of like-minded players who think that they will have the lucky winning bracket. There are many different pools to join; and because they are relatively small, these pools are usually winner-take-all.

Intertops Sportsbook

Here is another sports betting site that I haven’t covered much on this website. Intertops is one of the best in the business. They are offering a limited time only March Madness Bonus that last from now until Friday, March 18th at 6:00PM ET!

This bonus is a 20% sports betting bonus that is worth up to $100 free. In order to receive the full bonus, you must deposit $500 into your account. You can use this bonus to bet on any of the NCAA tournament games.

And that is only the start of things as Intertops is offering a total of $60,000 in other promotions during March! Here is what else you can win:

Would you like to have a chance to win $5,000? If you bet at least $500 on games during the 2011 March Madness Tournament, you will be automatically qualified to be entered in a random draw for $5,000 cash with no betting restrictions!

There is also a unique bracket contest offered annually at Intertops. The prize pool for this contest is $25,000. If a contestant correctly picks all of the games, they will win the entire $25K. If not, the prize is split up 25 ways. Each player who submits a bracket in the top 25 will receive $1000 cash. You will get 1 point for each correct pick you make in the tournament.

Intertops is also giving away a dream package to the NCAA Final Four weekend in 2012. This includes hotel accommodations, expenses for flights and 2 great tickets to the Semi-Finals and Final Game. Every dollar wagered will get you a ticket in this draw.

There are many benefits that come with playing at an online casino or a sports betting site. One of the great things about choosing to play at one of these online gambling sites is players will be in more control of their gaming environment.

Another one of the great tips for success at online casinos is for a player to be sure they get as much as possible at the online casino they choose has to offer.

They want to take a look at the bonuses and the promotions it has to offer and be sure to participate in as many as they can. The first bonus a new player should try to take advantage of will be the new player welcome bonus.

By getting a welcome bonus the new player will be able to look forward to extra money or credits in their online casino account which can then be used to enjoy even more of the games. This means they will have more chances to win and be successful.

BetUS

One of my favorite sites to play at is Betus. Not only are they one of the top sports betting sites, but you can also play poker as well. Betus also has a full online casino and a great $500 bonus that you can acquire. The best thing is that you can do any and all of this with just one account.

There will also be more things the players can do which will help them to see success at the online casino they have chosen to play at. The great thing about being able to play online is that players will be able to make all of the choices they need in order to have a great time and be successful; and you can do this all from the convenience of your own home.

Online Gambling Tips

Here are some tips for success at online casinos or sportsbooks:

The first thing a player can do to see more success when they play at an online casino is to be sure that they take a realistic look at their current finances and come up with a good money management system.

Its very important that players are disciplined when it comes to sticking to the budget they have made for themselves.

If a player starts to see their bankroll dwindle down, it is always better for them to turn to playing the free games rather than dipping into money they weren’t supposed to use for their online casino account.

Playing Gambling Games for Free

Some of the online casinos allow players to enjoy gambling games for free and some of these online casinos will even offer you a the chance to win real cash.

I know what you are thinking, “How do they do this and what is the catch?” Well, there isn’t a whole lot of a catch; but there are certain things you will have to know. You can get a no deposit bonus from certain casinos.

The no deposit bonus is basically a way that you can try a casino’s product out for free while still gambling for real. A lot of these bonuses will have a limit on the amount that you can win if you try to withdraw without ever making a deposit, usually $50 or so.

The other way that you can win free money at a casino is via the casino’s freeroll casino tournaments. You will find that most of these are going to be slot tournaments. But you will still have a chance to win up to a couple hundreds of dollars for free if you are lucky.

Finding the best gambling sites

When it comes to choosing the best place for an online casino player to play; there are more tips which can help them make decisions which will lead them toward more success. There are certain things to consider when choosing an online casino.

Players will want to take a look at the payout percentages an online casino has posted. The casino payout percentages will give the players a good idea of how much the casino pays out.

Also, players want to look for online casinos that have some great progressive jackpots to offer. Winning a very large progressive jackpot can be a life changing event and it’s good for players to have the option of trying for those progressive jackpots.

When a player wants to see more success at an online casino they will want to learn as much as possible about the games they have chosen to play.

Luckily, the Internet is full of information on casino games which allows players to learn all about them for free. Players can also practice playing the games in free mode so they can get some experience before they play for real money.

Update – Tuesday December 14, 2010

Looks like all three of the sportsbooks sites listed below are going to have contests and promotions for the NCAA college football bowl season. Let me quickly highlight these football bowl contests and promotions.

BetUS has a special promotion on New Year’s Day. They are offering a special parlay bet – a $100 six-team parlay that pays $4000 if you hit. This is what I like to call the small monetary gamble with the chance a getting a big reward. If you correctly guess the spread on six straight New Year’s Day bowl games, you win $4000!

Parlay basically means that you are doubling down six times. Either you get all six point spreads correct or you lose the $100. Are your chances good at getting all six correct? Not really, but it’s definitely a good risk/reward bet.

Also, Bovada is offering the Bowl Bonanza promotion that is worth up to $100 in bonus money. You earn this money through betting on the college bowl games. You must bet $20 per game and you will get the $100 free if you bet on 25 or more bowl games. If you can’t bet that many, you can still get bonuses of $50, $25, $20 or $10.

Finally, 5dimes sportsbook offers college football bowl game office pools that cost only $10 to enter. All you have to do is sign up for one of the 26 pools that start on December 18 and progressively goes until the last pool starts on January 3rd.

These office pools are winner take all and you can enter into as many of these pools as you would like. Half of these contests are picking against the spread and the other half are just picking the winners.

Here is a good source for all of the other college bowl contests that you will find online. Some of these are free to enter and some of the contests cost money.

Sports gambling websites are sites which provide players with the ability to make their sports bets over their computer. These websites are also referred to as online sportsbooks and each of them will bring something a little different to the table. This allows players to be able to look around and find one that gives them an environment they feel good about and feel secure and comfortable on.

Online sportsbooks will offer players to place bets on just about any sport they want. However, it is important for the players to do a little looking around to make sure they are joining one which will allow them to take care of all of their sports betting needs.

Some of the online sportsbooks are very popular due to their ability to offer an excellent environment. Here are some great online sportsbooks for players to check out when they are looking for a good one:

BetUS Sportsbook

BetUS is the place to go if you want to find a sportsbook leader. This very popular online sportsbook is known as being a leader in the industry due to its ability to take care of its players and offer them everything they could ask for. They will offer you some of the best sportsbook bonuses around so you will place your bets there for life.

One thing players like is the fact that it also has a lot of gaming sections, such as a casino section and a poker section. This allows them to place their bets and then go play their favorite games without the need to leave the site.

BetUS has a clean design and a user friendly layout. One thing that I like is the Last Minute Bets and Most Popular Bets section. This is located on the homepage of the sportsbook section.

There are an abundance of sports players can bet on including NFL, NASCAR, baseball, basketball, soccer, tennis, boxing, football, ice hockey, and many others. BetUS also offers free contests like the $25,000 NFL Pick’em that has $1K, $500 and $250 prizes weekly.

Bovada Sportsbook

This is another well known online sportsbook with a steady following of very loyal players. Bovada provides its players with options, as well as plenty of information. There is a lot of helpful information which is well written and explains things to the players.

Bovada has more than 15 years of experience which provides players with an online sportsbook they can trust to give them the ultimate online sports betting experience. Players will find the articles section very informative and a good read.

Bovada has earned an excellent name with online players and is the first place of choice for many players looking for the perfect place to place their sports bets at. Some of the sports players can bet on at Bovada include basketball, baseball, ice hockey, MMA, soccer, golf, darts, and a large selection of others.

You can also find wagering on some of your favorite TV shows like Dancing With the Stars and American Idol. Bovada also has other entertainment betting such as political, business and celebrity based wagers from time to time.

5Dimes Sportsbook

Players looking for a good online sportsbook will also want to take a look at 5Dimes. It provides them with the ability to bet on many sports including football, baseball, ice hockey, handball, basketball, boxing, tennis, and many more.

One thing which is impressive about this online sportsbook is the fact that it goes into great detail and explains everything to players. This is a good choice for those who are new to the world of online sports betting. They will find is very easy to navigate and full of all of the information they need to get started.