Gambling has such an immoral reputation, it's hardly surprising that online bookmakers and casinos are springing up at a furious rate.
The latest Forrester Research figures show that 5% of the UK's population has already visited gambling web sites. Yahoo's directory of web-based gambling lists more than 500 online casinos. The vast majority of these, however, are based in the US and will be unfamiliar to most people in this country. You need to be sure the casino is regulated, the games are honest and your credit card details are safe.
So the safest route into online gambling is to pick an established name that you already know and trust. Alternatively, the 0-Casino Guide claims to have a comprehensive directory of legal sites that have been checked for trustworthiness. Which is fine, assuming you trust the 0-Casino guide...
With most online casinos, you need to download a piece of software in order to play the games and lose your hard-earned cash. Once the software is in place, it provides a much more interesting experience than the internet alone can supply, with flashy graphics and sound that do not take an age to download. The William Hill Casino www.williamhillcasino.com will send you a free CD if you don't fancy waiting an hour to download the full version of the software.
William Hill runs 25 different casino games, including poker, blackjack, baccarat, roulette, craps and a number of slot machines. The software is very easy to use; perhaps a little too easy, considering the minimum stake of $5 (about £3) and Lady Luck's desertion of me on the blackjack table. To keep you coming back for more, William Hill also offers a free daily Break the Bank game, where you can win $100,000 if you guess the combination to the vault.
One of the more interesting facets of an online casino is that it allows you to play unfamiliar games for low stakes, at your own pace. No impatient glares from the dealer, no tut-tutting from fellow players and no free brightly coloured drinks to addle the brain. My blackjack skills have long been a source of concern for my bank manager, but a few minutes of free online practice, trying out different tactics, improved my game immensely.
Despite knowing the games, most people have never been inside a casino. Bookmakers, on the other hand, are almost a national institution, with the Grand National turning thousands of otherwise normal folk into avaricious turf pundits. However, many people regard the shops as off-putting, not least because of the cigarette smoke, impenetrable jargon and the lingering stench of financial desperation.
The best online bookmakers have solved the first two problems by designing their sites to be friendly, secure and a doddle to use, even for the beginner. The third problem can only be avoided by betting within your means, whether it's online or on the high street.
All the big names are now online, including Ladbrokes www.ladbrokes.com and William Hill. Ladbrokes offers straightforward tax-free betting on most sports, although the site is a little slow and uses decimal odds (such as 2.35), which can be a bit confusing. At the moment, new customers receive a free bet of up to £20 when they make their first wager on the site. William Hill beats this offer by five pounds, using the traditional method of displaying odds (for example, 13/8) and is slightly faster. Another big name to make it online is the Tote, appearing as Totalbet at www.totalbet.com. It's a well-designed site, with plenty of different sports to choose from, but it's not quite as friendly as the other two.
If traditional betting doesn't take your fancy, perhaps you should consider spread betting, where the potential winnings - and losses - are dramatically increased. Sporting Index is the most famous name in spread betting but most of the big bookmakers also offer it. If you want something even less traditional, check out www.flutter.com. Flutter is a new concept in organised gambling: it offers you the chance to bet directly against other individuals. To create a bet, you choose the event, set the odds and specify how much you want to wager. If the odds are attractive enough, another punter will take you up on it.
Recently, the popularity of Big Brother has been reflected in a massive rise in flutters about Channel 4's hit show. It's fun, simple and the selection of bets ranges from world-shaking events such as the US Presidency race, to the ludicrously banal, such as the hair colour of the Sun's page three girl on a particular day. I'll have forty on the ginger.
