If you’re looking for slot machines to play on the Web, there are many options available. Depending on whether you want to strictly play for fun, for prizes, real money or in tournament form, the internet has it all. Here at Online Casino Suite, we like to think we have it all too, however, every now and then, our editors come across a niche site that we think our reader’s would benefit from checking out. Such a site is Lucky Free Slots.

For the newbie who is seeking to play online slots for real money in both tournament and solo form, there are many internet casinos willing to cater. If you want both free slots to play and a good recommendation for an online casino, visit the preceding link. Sites like this provide a chance to test out the slots before opening an account at an online casino and depositing real money. Secondly, fly-by-night online casinos do exist, so it’s very important to gather research from reputable resources and choose your online casinos carefully.

For the beginner’s out there who are looking to try out online slot machines for the first time, it is highly recommended to initially do so in fun-money mode. While it may be tempting to drop a few penny spins, it’s always a good idea to familiarize yourself with the structure and rules of the game first so as to better understand your winning opportunities and overall risk associated with each game. Furthermore, software glitches have been known to happen – So be sure to learn the paying symbol combinations. FYI, if a glitch and consequent non-payout were to happen to you, grab a screen shot of the rested reels and report the malfunction to your casino manager.

Another route for newbies seeking out the best real money internet slots is to read up on the various gaming software providers. By verifying the credentials and reputation of the software platform itself (through which the source code and RNG are developed), you are one step closer to ensuring you will be getting a fair bet. For the record, Microgaming is an outstanding platform for the UK/Euro online gambler, while Real Time Gaming provides top-quality slots for the U.S. player.

Beyond this, the hallmark differences between slot machines of different software provicers often lies in the actual entertainment experience. The most entertaining internet slots are programmed with realistic interactive elements and accompanying story lines corresponding to one’s amount of play, often drawing out many hours, even weeks of new and original entertainment. Rival Gaming’s iSlots, for example, are apropos to leading PC video games.

Again, the best way to gauge a slot machines entertainment factor is to test it out in fun-money mode. As mentioned earlier, a great destination to play free casino slots and launching pad for real money online casinos is luckyfreeslots.com. It’s been around a long time, has a nice Facebook following and actually offers free play at cutting-edge slot, which is why this site often gets recommended by players.

If you catch the bug and become a slots fanatic (not an addict, mind you), there are several internet communities worth joining, namely, player forums and free prize tournament sites. In other words, where there are slots, there are players!

Two individuals indicted on Black Friday are seeking a dismissal of the charges. Lawyers for John Campos and Chad Elie are asking for the charges to be dropped, partly on the grounds that poker does not constitute illegal gambling. The entire online gambling world will watch closely for an answer from the court.

Elie and Campos were charged for their role in processing the payments for online poker transactions between players and Full Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker and PokerStars. Both defendants pleaded not guilty to charges of violating UIGEA, operating an illegal gambling business, wire fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy to launder money. The lawyers say that their clients shouldn’t be charged for violating UIGEA because the law exempts financial transaction providers. They also say that that the defendants were not involved in an online gambling business. As for the wire fraud, the counsel says that the statute doesn’t apply because the banks actually made money off of the transactions.

A second challenge to the indictment would have farther reaching consequences. The lawyers are also laying out a case that online poker rooms are not gambling companies at all. They say that the poker sites only collect fees to allow individuals to play poker against each other. The house does not participate in the game and players use their own skills to determine who wins. It is not the first challenge stating that because poker is a game of skill it is not gambling, but it may end up being the biggest.

Just another measly beach in Ibiza...

If you haven’t heard by now about Bodog Casino’s Summer4Play promotion, well then, I suppose it’s never too late (assuming the promotion is still running ). And that, my friends, would be a correct assumption to make, as there is one week left in this exciting promo, which has hitherto given away three weeklong, luxury vacation trips to Miami, Las Vegas and Cancun.

Up next: Ibiza. Where else would you expect from the party central destination of U.S. friendly online casinos? Indeed, Bodog is all about the party lifestyle, catering to the large demographic of twenty and thirty-something males who love to play poker, casinos and pretty girls. Yes, you read that right. I suppose I could throw in the forty-something’s too, heck even Heffner-esque high rollers, like Bodog’s founder, Calvin Ayre, who just reached the five-o milestone.

Regarded as the party island of the Mediterranean sea, Ibiza is the place to go for the largest and most raucous club dance parties in the Summer season. But that’s not all there is to do in Ibiza. Renowned for its beautiful beaches and pristine weather, Ibiza is also home to several UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and thus attracts a wide range of tourists year-round.

That said, whether you like to party until the sun comes up or are geared for a slower pace, who wouldn’t want a free trip to a sunny Mediterranean island? As for Bodog Casino, it’s really a place for all manner of gamblers – not just the young guns. And if you happen to be from the States, it’s actually one of the few, reliable betting destinations offering a fair and safe bet. Read our Bodog Casino Review for more information.

So, if a $200 free bonus (with no play-through restrictions on video poker), and a free trip to Ibiza sound like your cup of tea, open a free money account at Bodog today. Starting tomorrow, August 22nd, and running through the end of the month, Bodog Casino is giving away 1 free Ibiza vacation sweepstakes entry for every $100 wagered in real money online casino chips. Earn 25 entry’s – and besides the fact that your odds of winning will be that much greater – Bodog will give you a free $25 cash prize.

The winner of the trip will be notified by telephone within 24 hours of the end of Week 4, and will be offered a week long trip for two to Ibiza with up to $1,500 in plane tickets per person, $1,000 in spending cash and accommodations at a luxury hotel chosen by Bodog.

While nothing is concrete, we here at onlinecasinosuite.com have done some discussing and poking around looking for information about what happened to all of the Vegas Technology powered online casinos. So far all that has shown up in the news has been the recent announcement that the English Harbour online casino group will be shutting down all of their online casinos on August 1st. But English Harbour does not own every single Vegas Technology powered casino. So where are all of them going?

After doing some digging it may be that the root of all the Vegas Technology casinos are closing as a result of the closure of the English Harbour online casinos. Again, this is not a definite statement, just some guesswork and connecting of the dots on the part of us here at onlinecasinosuite.com.

First a little bit of background information. Vegas Technology was formally known as Odds On who entered the online casino industry scene in either 1997 or 1998. English Harbour New Ventures Gaming Inc., the formal name of the English Harbour online casino group, signed on for a partnership to have their online casinos powered by Vegas Technology, who was really Odds On. Then in 2003, entered into an agreement and merged with EHNVG. This is the key.

This merger back in 2003 meant that EHNVG was, essentially, the owner of not only their own online casinos but also of the software used to power them. Furthermore, this put EHNVG in the driver’s seat of any partnerships which would result in other online casino groups using Vegas Technology/Odds On software.

So it follows that if English Harbour were to close their doors on their operations, it would also mean that they are closing the doors the software as well. This line of logic would explain where all other non-English Harbour owned online casinos have gone. Again, this being the reason behind the closing of the other Vegas Technology online casinos is just a guess on our part. But it is a viable reason as to where some of the top online casinos of the industry have gone.

English Harbour recently announced that they were shutting their doors and bowing out of the online casino industry, saying it had gotten too sticky for them and that they were worried that their payment processors would encounter problems that would result in difficulties for their players.

Things continue to go downhill for the folks at Full Tilt Poker. Back in April, they were one of the online poker companies targeted and seized in the U.S. Department of Justice indictments unsealed on Black Friday. Last week, it was learned that their own regulating body, the Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC), suspended their license. Prompted by the Black Friday indictments, the commission launched an investigation into the company and found that they were not in compliance with some of Alderney’s laws and regulations. The suspending of their license effectively shuts down Full Tilt Poker, possibly for good. Now another jurisdiction has added insult to injury.

Sources are reporting that ARJEL, the gambling regulatory body in France, has also suspended the license for Full Tilt Poker and shut down the French version of their website, fulltiltpoker.fr. According to ARJEL, the regulators asked Full Tilt to provide proof that they have sufficient funds to pay French players. Recent reports of their financial status suggest that they do not have those funds. When Full Tilt did not respond to the notice, ARJEL shut down the French website and suspended the license.

It is not known how long the suspension will last. If Full Tilt is able to satisfy ARJEL’s concerns, the suspension should be lifted. Even if that happens soon, this could be the death knell for Full Tilt Poker’s French operations. Even if their gambling license is reinstated, few French players would want to play at a site this controversial that has had its license yanked by their regulator. With Alderney, the United States and France shutting down Full Tilt, other jurisdictions may follow. Still, PokerStars, the other company that was part of Black Friday, was not disciplined by their regulator or France. That is important to note because it shows that not all online casinos and online poker sites are bad apples that are being punished. PokerStars has given out needed refunds and is still considered a safe place to play.

Everyone who pays attention to online gambling is familiar with the Black Friday scandal by now. PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker were targeted by the U.S. Department of Justice for bank fraud, money laundering and other crimes in connection with their gambling business. But does that mean the companies are shady? Not at all. In fact, their alleged crimes are the direct result of improper and possibly illegal activity by the Justice Department.

There have not been any allegations that PokerStars or Full Tilt Poker have ripped off their customers. There have been no allegations that it was unsafe for players to spend money playing online poker at those websites. In fact, the only wrongdoing was allegedly circumventing UIGEA, a poorly written, toothless and possibly unconstitutional piece of legislation passed in 2006.

There are only a few states, such as Maryland and Washington, where online gambling is banned by law. In most of the states in America, online casinos are perfectly legal. In most cases, that is simply because the activity is never mentioned in any law. But here’s the thing: In the United States, something is legal by default. It is only banned if there is a law that specifically bans it. Everything else is allowed, since America is supposed to be a free country.

Fascist Attorney General Eric Holder said that the DOJ is cracking down on online poker to give UIGEA some teeth. But that is not the Justice Department’s job. It was the job of the legislative branch to give UIGEA teeth, and they didn’t. UIGEA did not ban online poker, online casinos or any kind of online gambling. It only banned the processing of transactions related to “unlawful Internet gambling.”

Now let’s go back to what was covered earlier: In America, every activity is legal by default. It is only banned when a law specifically bans it. UIGEA bans processing of transactions related to online gambling that is made illegal by other laws. The Wire Act bans online sports betting, but none of the Black Friday companies are involved in that. Some states, such as Maryland and Washington, ban online gambling, so UIGEA could be used to crack down on companies that allow residents of those states to gamble online. If PokerStars or Full Tilt did that, they could be guilty of violating UIGEA. Otherwise, their business model was totally clean, except that they needed a way to get their payments processed.

You see, banks were unwilling to process online poker transactions for PokerStars and other companies. That is because, even though it would be legal, they were worried about getting unwanted attention from the Justice Department. That’s because the DOJ doesn’t believe that whole “actions are legal by default” thing, and they are of the “opinion” that online poker and online gambling are illegal, despite lack of a federal law banning them. Because banks were worried that when doing something legal, they would be accused of breaking the law, they wouldn’t accept transactions from PokerStars, who were operating legally. Therefore, they had to trick the banks by laundering money and committing bank fraud – activities that are illegal (due to laws banning them) in order to keep their legal business running.

See how insane all of this is? The Justice Department didn’t sit back and watch these alleged crimes happen, as some have said. They have caused them to happen. In my mind, the Justice Department is an accomplice. At the very least, they’re guilty of entrapment.

We at OnlineCasinoSuite.com are pleased to announce a new member on our white list: Bodog Casino. One of the biggest and most respected names in the business, Calvin Ayre’s company has its own unique brand of awesomeness. They have a great collection of casino games, good bonuses and tournament action, a popular sportsbook (unless you live in the U.S., where online sports betting is illegal) and of course, the Bodog Girls. The Girls make every appearance by the company a little more exciting, though a female coworker of mine calls Ayre and his girls “smarmy.”

If you are new to Bodog, there are some good bonuses that you will want to know about. First, of course, there is the signup bonus. No online gambling website worth its bandwidth doesn’t offer a bonus for joining the site. At Bodog, whether you sign up at the casino, poker room or whatever, you get a 10% deposit bonus, which is worth up to $50.

If you play Bodog Poker, there is another great bonus. You can get up to $1,100 in bonus money. Bodog gives you a 10% match bonus up front, but then you get an addition bonus of up to 100% based on your play over the next 60 days in the poker room. Bodog also rewards you for being a frequent player by giving you extra for winning a lot. If you earn 2,000 or more points in a month, Bodog Casino will double your cash rewards. There are also a number of situational bonuses, such as the Bad Beat Bonus and the Royal Flush Bonus for poker players. Referring a friend will also earn you the $100 Friends with Benefits bonus.

Bodog has made a name for themselves through reliability and constant media exposure (the Bodog Girls help with that). They are licensed in the UK – through the Kahnawake Gaming Commission – and in Costa Rica. The company used software developed by Realtime Gaming. And now they’re officially approved by Suite. What more could you ask for?

You’re probably wondering what’s with bat boy. I know I couldn’t believe it too – that something so innocent as a bat boy was helping operate the largest poker room in the world. And to think he wasn’t allowed to play on the World Poker Tour!

All sarcasm aside, I think we can safely say that the recent takedown of Poker Stars, Full Tilt and Absolute Poker is all the talk in the online gambling world of late. I think we can also safely say that this debacle is far from over, and that the repercussions from this shocking, yet unsurprising, turn of events is yet to be seen.

Indeed, every major news outlet from USA Today to CBS News has reported on this story, many of which are op-ed reports on what the shutting down of three of the largest poker rooms in the world might mean for the online gambling industry as a whole. While I personally agree with most of everything I’ve read thus far, i.e., some big depositors stand a chance to lose deposits, Euro poker rooms will see a flux in business, and U.S. poker players will be less inclined to play online, the one thing I find myself having a hard time agreeing with is that federal legislation regulating online gambling will be passed any time soon, which on the contrary, is what some legal analysts are saying still stands a good chance of happening.

I just find it hard to wrap my mind around that even if this was a show of power and martyrdom on the part of the U.S. government, not to mention a quick way for New York State to get a whole lot of money in a short period of time, I think it would be nigh impossible to pass a bill through both the House and Senate at this time. There would simply be too much hypocrisy and contradictions to overcome.

However, I wouldn’t throw it past State governments like New Jersey and California to pass some kind of legislation to regulate online gambling – especially now that it’s clear New York is going to take the pot without going all-in. Some U.S. poker players will indeed be deterred by the FBI warning now posted on the websites of Poker Stars, Full Tilt and Absolute, stating “For persons engaged in the business of betting or wagering, it is also a federal crime to knowingly accept, in connection with the participation of another person in unlawful Internet gambling, credit, electronic fund transfers, or checks. (31 U.S.C.§ §5363 & 5366). Violations of these laws carry criminal penalties of up to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000.” Can’t necessarily blame them, although I find it unlikely that the U.S. government will go after players. However, the FBI may go after one or two high profile players to use as martyr’s.

It will be interesting to see what becomes of the execs that already are and will continue to be brought into custody. As reported by The Independent, the U.S. Attorney’s Office is working with “foreign law enforcement” to track down several more individuals behind the scenes at the poker rooms, as well as the middlemen who were helping Poker Stars process funds in bank accounts that were disguised to be other businesses, including golf ball and flower merchants.

It’s also going to be interesting to see what becomes of Isle of Man – a UK whitelisted gambling jurisdiction that is/was home to Poker Stars. Under Isle of Man’s regulatory laws, licensees are not permitted to do business in jurisdictions where online gambling is considered illegal. Not sure just how clear the wording is on this, but to say that Isle of Man’s Gambling Supervision Commission was not aware of Poker Stars doing business in the U.S. amounts to some serious oversight. I know Isle of Man is an island an all, but come on, this is Poker Stars we’re talking about – the world’s largest online poker room and home to the majority of U.S. real money online poker players.

The thing about Poker Stars is that they also operate a popular Euro poker room under the same name and licensed to do business under Isle of Man regulations – essentially, the same poker room with a different domain extension – .eu, naturally. The FBI was only permitted to seize PokerStars.com, thus explaining why PokerStars.eu is still live and open for business. Whether or not Poker Stars funds were all tied up into the 70+ bank accounts that were frozen (including those of Full Tilt and Absolute Poker, will likely play a large factor in keeping Poker Stars open for business in other areas of the world.

No doubt U.S. players are scrambling to withdraw their funds. But even if they can get into their accounts through PokerStars.eu, there’s a good chance any withdrawal request will not be honored. It’s probably going to be some time before players get their money back, some of whom stand to get back far less, especially big spending players with large winnings (lest we not forget when Neteller went down).

As for Full Tilt and Absolute, I’m personally glad to see them go. Or at least I won’t miss them. My trust for them was completely shattered following the multi-million dollar cheating scandals that went down at these two rooms. But they’ll  no doubt find a way back.

In short, I don’t believe the FBI shakeup is going to be life altering for the online gambling industry. If anything, all it will do is funnel more business to the other big poker rooms in the U.S. market – like Doyle’s Room and Bodog, for example. And of course, there’s the score of U.S. friendly online casino sites ever-so-able and willing to keep doing business in America. When Microgaming Software dropped out of the U.S. market, there was a lot of panic. But everything said and told, the U.S. industry continued on then, and will keep continuing on. If it has to go deeper underground in order to do so, it will. And when that happens, you better find yourself a website you can trust. Needless to say, OCS is here for all players. Sign up on our forum and stay in the loop. Oh, and bat boy, play on cutie pie. We’ll set you free one of these days.