Regulated online gambling is growing by leaps and bounds in many countries. For example, Manx Telecom plans a £20 million investment to expand its market share on the Isle of Man. Tabcorp plans to invest $20 million in upgrades to its Internet gaming sites in Australia where online gambling is currently unregulated but also unrestricted and open for business. Not to be surpassed, Full Tilt Poker, the world’s second-largest poker website, plans to introduce 100 new jobs in Ireland.

Denmark has sided in favor of regulating online gambling while France and Italy have legislation in place regulating certain types of online gambling sites. Greece hopes to confirm a bill regulating and legalizing online gambling by the end of 2011. Conferences aimed at reviewing arguments to legalize online gambling and standards to regulate the industry are also scheduled to take place in Spain and Russia in the not too distant future.

The common thread for these countries is a progressive outlook on the future of online gambling at home and internationally. A regulated industry can offer remedies to their distinct economies toughened by a worldwide recession by providing lucrative tax revenues and job creation as well as providing safe and secure online gambling sites for all players.

According to the Independent Study for Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), approximately one million people in Britain regularly gamble online. This statistic represents almost one third of the entire European population and of this estimate, women represent a growing percentage of the gambling population estimating up to 30% of hits to UK gambling sites during the World Cup matches alone.

Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell seems to be picking up on this trend. She recently entered the fray by calling the UK the hallmark for standards for online gambling and saying that she hoped more companies considered the move to that nation to set up shop. Although she did concede there would be some benefits to the governments regulating online gambling games, Jowell insisted the fundamental driver behind the new government push was protection of the public from unscrupulous behavior from offshore online gambling casinos.

Under the proposed government regulations, online gambling websites would not be allowed to target children with their advertising and customers would need to be informed on a constant basis about how much money they had spent on any of the games including online poker and online slots.

Other government ministers have conceded that the project is both ambitious and complicated but the government has presented a united front that regulating online gambling in this way will be well worth it and in the best interest of the public in the end.

Last year, Greece was one of the few European countries to ban online gambling, but it seems now that the country’s government is changing its tune. Seeing how profitable online gambling legislation has been for other countries in the European Union, Greece has now drafted its own bill that would legalize and regulate the online gambling industry in the country.

Currently, residents of Greece spend more than $4 billion each year at online gambling websites that are running illegally in the country. With the new bill, the government hopes to recover some of that lost income, using it to help recover from its current financial situation.

Despite having been bailed out last year and avoiding bankruptcy, Greece is still having a hard time repaying its loans. So, the prospect of regulating an activity that its citizens already take part in seems more than fair, as well as being a beneficial solution to the problem.

The draft bill that has been drawn up for the legislation states that 15 to 50 operators will received licenses to operate within the country. There has been no word yet on whether or not it will be passed.

The online gambling industry is still a bit rocky, as operators continue to struggle to recover from the global economic crisis. PlayTech is one of the few operators that is seeing improved profits in the online gambling sector, thanks to the company’s expansion into the American online gambling market.

According to a recent report, PlayTech saw an impressive profit increase over the last quarter of 2010, as revenue increased from 14% to 21%. The biggest contributors to this growth seemed to be PlayTech’s online poker and online bingo divisions. These two markets have become increasingly popular over the past year, and PlayTech is certainly taking advantage of the plentiful opportunities within them.

PlayTech’s profits seem to have also been helped by its expansion into the American market. The company has been careful not to violate any current laws in the country, but it has managed to maintain a profitable presence by helping run state lotteries.

Because of this, PlayTech is likely to be favoured when the American online gambling market is legalized (which many politicians are hoping will happen this year). Once this happens, PlayTech will continue on its financial upswing into 2012 and beyond.

Reports state that with the phenomenal growth of online bingo recently in the Atlantic and the UK, online poker and other online games in the United States are following a distant second and can learn a few things from meteoric rise of this particular game.

There are some interesting findings for online casinos in general and online poker specifically in a recent article about online bingo. For example the article states that one of the most important aspects of any online bingo casino is the kind of promotions that they do to make sure they attract the target audience.

As well any online gambling site hopes to satisfy numerous player’s needs by having excellent promotions and good security for the player’s money. Of course the article also states that it’s important to have a section that deals with the news when it comes to online poker and other online games as they do in online bingo promotions websites.

There’s a phenomenal interest in United States in online poker and although many bills do not pass pertaining to this form of recreation, it’s clear there is a demand among the public that needs to be satisfied.

888 online casino is one of the biggest names in the online gambling industry. For years, the operator has remained one of the top players in the game, a reputation that has been helped by the casino’s willingness to offer players amazing promotions and bonuses.

This month, 888 online casino is offering players free spins for a year, a completely unique type of bonus in the online gambling world. As part of the new promotions, each player will be given seven free spins per week that can be used on a variety of games, which will cycle every week. This is a great way to get players to try a wide variety of the amazing and exciting games that 888 has to offer.

The idea for this promotion is hot off the heels of 888’s 24 Free Spins of Christmas promotion. The bonus was so popular that 888 decided to offer the promotion all year ‘round!

According to a spokesperson at 888.com, there are no strings attached to your free spins. You must simply use them on the game designated, and your wins are yours to keep. Sounds too good to be true, but it isn’t! So, head on over to 888 online casino and pick up your free spins today!

In the online casino world, bonuses are normally reserved for new players in order to encourage them to spend a bit more cash. But, what about those players that are already raring to go, with loads of cash already in hand? Virgin Casino has the solution, with all new bonuses for High Rollers.

High Roller players at Virgin Casino can choose from one of three options. The first bonuses gives players the chance to earn an extra £350. All you have to do is enter the bonus code and deposit £500. The next bonus available is available to players who deposit £1000; they will be awarded with an extra £600. Finally, there’s the £1200 bonus for players who deposit £3000.

There are a few requirements for these bonuses, but they are not nearly as strict as many other online casinos. Rather than requiring a playthrough of 40x, Virgin Casino requires that the recipients spend only playthrough their bonus cash 25 times. This makes it much easier for players to spend their bonus cash, rather than having to wait months before being able to withdraw any of it.

Virgin Casino is one of most popular new casinos on the web. Offering up popular versions of blackjack, roulette and unique slots variations, you’ll certainly find a game that you’ll love to spend your bonus cash on.

In the online gambling industry, mergers are becoming an increasingly popular trend. After PartyGaming announced its merger with Bwin, online casino operators have been inspired to team up with others in the industry to produce their own online gaming mega powers.

Now, PlayTech is showing interest in acquiring the 888 Holdings, an online gambling brand that has been entertaining offers for the past couple of years. 888 has seen a difficult time over the last half of the decade, and the company is looking for a little help from a generous company that wants to acquire its assets.

PlayTech, which is currently worth about £1 billion, is looking at purchasing 888 for £200 million. Currently, financial analysts believe that 888 is worth just over £150 million, despite seeing some growth this year.

Unfortunately, 888 has refused the offer from PlayTech. 888 has yet to give a reason why, but we have been led to believe that they are hoping for a bit more money. Ladbrokes has also shown interest in the online gambling operator, but the company’s bids have also been refused.

Imagine selling a domain name for $10 million? Well, when the owners of www.gambling.com put that domain name up for sale that just how much money they hope to make. Media Corp. is the company that owns the rights there and they hope they’ve come up with the right asking price. According to published reports several private-equity firms and online gambling companies have already expressed interest.

In other news…In these tough economic times its good to know that there are still people looking to hire and not fire or lay off . Internet online gambling professionals Caspian One are looking to recruit for the ever expanding world on online gambling. They need to find the kind of forward thinking individuals that are a good fit for the fast paced world of Internet online gambling, and it’s good to know that online casinos are looking forward while many other industries are upon hard times.

Finally….There might be some infighting in the world of online gambling if several recent reports from the online wires are to be believed. It seems that Malta and the UK have been trying to stop Cyprus from banning most forms of online gambling and that’s why a bill has been delayed there. However, theCypriot Finance Ministry insists the bill needed more work and that’s the real reason it hasn’t moved forward.

Gibraltar is a popular destination for online gambling operators, as it presents some of the lowest tax requirements of any country. Large companies like Ladbrokes and William Hill have already made the move from the UK to Gibraltar because of this, but now the country has decided to raise its taxes.

Currently, Gibraltar charges online gambling operators only 1% on their gross profits and the amount is capped at £425,000 per year. This has been a very attractive prospect for many online casino owners, causing many to relocate to this area.

Beginning in January 2011, Gibraltar’s tax regulations will be increased to 10%. While it is a significant jump, this tax requirement is far less than many other countries in Europe. For example, the UK charges well over 20% to its online gambling operators.

Online casino owners also agree. Victor Chandler, owner of Victor Chandler online casino, was quoted as saying that the new taxes are not likely to affect the online gambling industry. Operators in Gibraltar are still paying far less than they would be in other locations, and it is unlikely that many operators will be leaving the country.