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Online Casino Freebies

The sudden rise in the popularity of online gambling sites, particularly online casinos, has led to a surge of attempts by the companies to keep their sites the most popular.

There are a number of ways that they have tried to do this, but the most recent of these is the giving away of free games and money. In a large number of cases, the customer does not even have to deposit funds in order to win money, which of course means that there is no way they can lose. There is also often no obligation to sign up to the online casinos in order to play on them, so customers are no longer tied to the site once they have started to play on it. Instead of requiring people to sign up, companies are now very commonly offering preview games, in which money can still be won. This essentially means that customers can try out games in any areas they like, and if they do not like the games offered or the site itself they have no obligation to continue receiving information from them.

These preview casino games are especially popular in that they are free, and the same amount of money can be won.

For customers who have signed up already, online casinos are now offering a very large number of free games, where large cash prizes can be won. This idea of 'free money' is becoming very popular, since customers essentially can win money without putting any down to gamble. The cash prizes are often large, too and winning two or three hundred pounds after gambling nothing is obviously very alluring to many people. It means that even if the game is lost there is no reason not to try again, because no money will have been put down.

Another option for those that have signed up to the websites and put money down is the potential for refunds on net loss. Companies are now offering an incentive, where a percent of the net loss and the calculated loss over a number of games– can be given back to the player.

The BBC Sports Personality of the year nominations have been announced and punters are certainly spoilt for choice. Olympic years usually provide plenty of deserving winners and the success of British athletes in Beijing means the shortlist of 10 includes seven Olympic gold medalists.

Chris Hoy, Bradley Wiggins and Rebecca Adlington were multiple medal winners and can count themselves unlucky to be successful in a year when their compatriots achieved so much.

Rebecca Romero, Christine Ohuruogu, Nicole Cooke and especially Ben Ainslie (three gold medals and a sliver in the last four Olympics) would have virtually been guaranteed success in years thinner on British sporting excellence – Greg Rusedski (1997), Michael Owen (1998) and David Beckham (2001) spring to mind.

However, an Olympic hero again looks set to be beaten to the trophy by a Formula One driver. Lewis Hamilton is one of the hottest favourites available in sports betting and will surely follow Nigel Mansell (1992) and Damon Hill (1996) in becoming a motor sports winner in an Olympic year.

Hamilton's success is all but guaranteed due to his agonising F1 championship defeat last year (and subsequent Sports Personality second prize), which will continue an admirable recognition of a wide range of sports (Owen and Beckham not withstanding) – in 2006, equestrian Zara Phillips, golfer Darren Clarke and gymnast Beth Twaddle made up the top three.

The dramatic nature of Hamilton’s F1 victory adds to his popularity, although punters expecting an upset will recall Joe Calzaghe's slightly surprising win last year and the Olympics effect should not be underestimated.

Hoy and Adlington embody the huge interest generated by this years games and I wouldn’t rule out one of these two edging Hamilton out.

The League Cup provides the first opportunity for silverware and all eight survivors have genuine aspirations to give themselves a mid-season lift by clinching the trophy in February.

In the truest spirit of the tournament there are three quarter finalists from outside the top flight, and although it would be a surprise if Burnley, Derby County or Watford claimed Wembley glory, backing one to do so would not be the craziest football bet of the season.

Burnley, riding high in the Championship and conquerors of Chelsea in the last 16, have the best chance of being the first second tier finalists since Birmingham City in 2001.

They are worth backing in the to reach the final market at the very least – Arsenal will hold no fears at Turf Moor after the stunning win at Stamford Bridge, despite the impressive displays Arsène Wenger’s young guns have put in so far.

The Burnley match will be the gunner understudies’ last chance to impress – contrary to public opinion they do not feature in the latter knockout stages and it will be similarly important for punters hoping for a winner outside of the ‘big four’ that Blackburn Rovers dispose of Manchester United at Old Trafford.

It is for this reason that Stoke City (home to Derby) and Tottenham Hotspur (away to Watford) should be the top flight outfits backed to win their quarter finals outright. Both Championship teams are some way off promotion form and Spurs and the Potters are in the mood to take the competition more seriously than anyone.

Tottenham are still just about in the Harry Redknapp honeymoon phase and have plenty of players keen to impress the new boss ahead of the January transfer window.

Progress to the semi finals should see them in even better form by January and Spurs stand out in the Carling Cup betting as good value to become the first team since Nottingham Forest in 1990 to retain the trophy.

It comes as no surprise that Branson's monolithic Virgin brand has stamped itself firmly on the world of online casino entertainment with Virgin Casino. Truly a global brand with a hip and hi-tech image, Virgin Casino represents yet another perfect strategic supercar in the world's greatest entertainments stable, Virgin.com.

What's the first thing a potential online casino player asks himself? Can i trust this outfit? What's their track record? Well you know that Virgin Casino is backed by one of the most heavily publicised entertainment moguls on the planet. Ask yourself why you buy branded goods of any kind. It's because you know they have invested heavily in product development and testing and will be backed up by stellar customer service and quality. It's no different in the world of online casinos.

So Virgin Casino has a household name head start over its less well known rivals but does it deliver the gaming experience that you want? Yes it does. This is a no download casino for a start. You don't have to clog up your drives with hefty software applications, something many of you are wary of doing from a security standpoint but it also means that you can play Virgin Casino anywhere, on any PC, instantly and without it leaving a mark.

Those of you bored with playing Freecell or Minesweeper in your lunch hour now have far more exciting options available to you! You don't even have to spend any money playing. Virgin Casino can be played totally free of charge with imaginary chips or credits for as long as you please.

They don't have a mind-boggling array of games like some online casinos do, around 70 compared to the 300 on offer elsewhere but this is a good thing, not a criticism. How many versions of Blackjack do you want to play? They've still catered for all your Blackjack needs with 9 different versions but haven't taken leave of their senses to offer 20 versions as some others do.

Their licensed online slots offerings are a huge draw, especially for UK players familiar with classics such as Monopoly, Cluedo and Wheel of Fortune. Other slots include some heavily Vegas-styled machines such as the Double Diamond 3-reel classic and Elvis - A Little More Action, so that all tastes are catered for.

The games load quickly in your browser, even with low speed broadband access, and you can be ready to spin the reels of the Roulette wheel in a matter of seconds. Depositing funds when you've tried and tested the games couldn't be easier using your credit or debit card, a convenience no longer afforded to our less fortunate online casino cousins in the USA!

Virgin Casino sits comfortably amongst some of the best online casinos out there. Remember always that gambling can result in the loss of shirts and many other things so please only play for pleasure and never with money you cannot afford to lose.

The UEFA Cup group stage kicks off tonight with some good looking ties.

The game that i am interested in is the clash between CSKA Moscow and Deportivo. CSKA are a quality side and it is surprising to see them only 2nd in the Russian premier league this season 7 points behind leaders Rubin Kazan as the season goes into the final stages.

They are on an unbeaten run of 16 games in all competitions stretching back to late July and have won their last 9 including a 3-1 win at Zenit St Petersburg in the league.

Deportivo on the other hand have had a sluggish start to their league campaign sitting 11th in La Liga already 10 points behind leaders Valencia, they have yet to win away in the league this season and their last away win in any competition came in the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Cup when they beat Hadjuk Split 2-1 back in August.

Deportivo only reached the knock out rounds after a penalty shoot out win against Norwegian side Brann , they lost the first leg in Norway 2-0 before reversing the score at home to finally edge the match on penalties.

The evens about a CSKA win will not in my opinion last long but even a shade of odds on is worth a punt given the tightness of so many of the other matches on show tonight.

So CSKA to beat Deportivo La Coruna, and a note that if you want a bet on the match the game kicks off at 5.00pm BST.

Good luck in your choices,

Silverfox.