Overall, the United States lottery has been quite successful in the states that have allowed the game of chance. As society is constantly changing, lotteries must also do so to remain fresh and entertaining while still providing the chance to win. State lotteries have many new ideas for the direction they would like to head.

Video Lottery Terminals

One idea they plan to implement is through video lottery terminals available around the U.S. as well as betting at home via phone or through the cable box. Utilizing technology will help them market to the younger generation and improve the convenience of playing the lottery.

Sports Betting

Another direction they have considered is sports betting which is the most popular form of wagering, although most of it is illegal. Four states that have integrated sports betting into their lotteries will succeed. However, Congress has since outlawed this on behalf of professional athletic organizations who were concerned that state-run sports betting could result in players worrying more about the bet than the game.

Quickdraw Keno

Many state lotteries have opted to use the Quickdraw Keno format which has been successful. Monitors are placed in bars and restaurants with drawings every five minutes. In the future, more of these will be implemented in public places. California made the most of any state on Quickdraw Keno. However, this was ruled by the state Supreme Court to be a game of banking and is thus illegal.

National Lottery

The Coeur D’Alene Indian Tribe of Idaho has proposed the implementation of a national lottery which would be available in all states. This would allow customers to use their credit cards over the phone to purchase a ticket. The player could purchase on credit and not have to leave their home. This version of the lottery would not have to earmark money which could prove too advantageous.

Selling To Private Investors

Many states are proposing the sale of a portion of their state lottery to private investors to quickly raise funds for the respective states. This would not have a significant impact on the regular lottery since only 6% would be sold.
Many exciting and innovative ideas have been proposed that utilize technology and the law to advance the progress of the United States lottery. Combining these proposals with making money for the state is a win-win combination for all parties involved and will hopefully be passed by the proper legislative parties.

Bet365 Poker is one of the leading titles on Playtech’s iPoker Network. Bet365 has been providing quality real-money online poker action for nearly a decade and for much of that time has been the top dog in the U.K. market. This poker room could survive on reputation alone, which is a good thing since the site is looking a little dated lately. Read on to see how Bet365 measures up when it comes to what’s important.

Bet365 Poker Bonuses And Promotions

If you’re a poker novice, then you’ll find Bet365 especially friendly with their big new player bonus and beginners-only cash tables. Not only are new players automatically eligible for the site’s 100% first deposit match bonus worth up to $500, but they also occasionally receive free entry to the site’s $500 freeroll and additional entries to the $1500 casino game freerolls at Bet365 Poker’s sister casino.

While some poker rooms offer double points days or weekend freerolls, Bet365 has its weekend event known as Rake Free Fridays. When you play cash games on Friday, you’ll receive a bonus on Saturday that’s worth the total amount of tournament fees and table rakes you paid the day before.

Speaking of tournament fees, Bet365 recently introduced a new tournament series known as the Monthly Million. Once a month the site will offer a mega-tournament with a guaranteed prize pool of $1 million-plus. The player that comes out on top is guaranteed a cash prize of at least $200,000. You can grind your way to the big event or buy-in at the end for $500+$35. This event is in addition to the site’s preexisting weekly $250,000 Guaranteed tournaments.

Like any self-respecting online poker room, Bet365 also offers a loyalty points program they call the “VIP Scheme.” Also, like most other poker rooms, the VIP rewards are merit-based meaning that what you earn is directly related to how much you play. While some poker rooms only exchange these points for prizes and free play, Bet365 steps up and also offers cashback.

Banking

While the deposit options available to individual players will depend upon their home country and currency, Bet365 offers over a dozen reliable funds transfer services in total. All of their depositing services are free, and everything but a check or bank wire is instant. They are also one of the few remaining poker rooms that accept PayPal, and across the board, they’ve secured some of the lowest transfer minimums in the industry.

Bet365 Poker’s withdrawal options are slightly more limited but are nonetheless still free and fast (though not instant by any means). You can cash out a big win via credit card, Neteller, Moneybookers, Paypal, Click2Pay, bank wire, FastBank transfer, or check.

Software

The Bet365 site is easy to navigate, as is the lobby though it leaves a little to be desired in design and filter features. Naturally, as a member of the iPoker network Bet365 features some of Playtech’s best online poker software, and it shows. The site offers a nice array of both ring game and tournament options and supports the steady flow of traffic without a single glitch. In other words, the software won’t ever wow you, but it won’t drop you either.

Whereas many poker sites focus exclusively on Texas Hold’em, Bet365 Poker offers a satisfying array of games including Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, Seven Card Stud, and Five Card Stud. The turbo tables and tournaments are popular here, which is good news for players that are high on ambition but short on time. A mini-view option makes multi-tabling possible, but the actual game screens are not resizable.

True high rollers won’t be impressed by the room’s top stakes of $100/$200, but the site nevertheless does a good job of offering a nice spread of games and stakes, plus their 5-10 daily freerolls give penny pinchers plenty to look forward to.

Drawbacks? Bet365 Poker’s software platform isn’t Mac accessible, and they offer no flash version of their site to remedy the situation. American players are also out of luck if they’re hoping to play at Bet365. That said, few of the rest of the world’s poker players will be turned away, as the site offers an impressive 16 different languages to accommodate them. They pull good traffic during peak international hours – above 20,000+ on weekend nights – but only 10-20% of the traffic is at the ring game tables, which means that many of the less common games offer weak action at off-peak hours.

Summary

There are certainly faster, flashier, and more U.S. player-friendly poker rooms out there, but few other online gambling sites are as reliable as Bet365. If you can do without the bells and whistles then this site performs well in all the areas that count.

This year marks William Hill Poker’s seventh in operation, and since the site is pulling in more players than ever before, the number has no doubt been lucky for them. Of course, establishing a reputation as stellar as William Hill’s requires more than luck – this European member of the increasingly popular iPoker Network has worked hard to earn and keep a top position in the unforgiving online poker industry.

William Hill Poker Bonuses And Promotions

William Hill Poker hits all the right notes with their diverse bonus and promotions programs. They get off on the right foot with a healthy 100% first deposit match worth up to $600 and also pitch in four $1000 new depositor freeroll entries plus a single prize freeroll entry. As is the case with many online poker rooms, William Hill Poker is reluctant to offer reloads, though occasionally you can snatch a small preferred payment method match. They also offer the standard $50 refer-a-friend bonus, a solid loyalty points program, and any number of special tournaments and events.

William Hill Poker’s loyalty points program – called WH Points – offers one of the best award ratios on the web, making it easy for the room’s regulars to earn free money and buy-ins. Additionally, the site offers an on-again/off-again bad beat jackpot, an increasingly popular jackpot sit-n-go program, a whole slew of daily and weekly freerolls, and monthly satellites toward major live events like the Irish Open.

The room’s newly revamped Super Series offers added cash to nightly tournaments, but it’s their heavy schedule of guarantees that impress. There is a $100,000 guaranteed every Friday; a $50,000 guaranteed every Saturday; and a $250,000 guaranteed every Sunday. Mondays through Fridays you can also participate in $20-40,000 guarantees for a total of at least $12 million in guaranteed tournament money every month – a number that no doubt explains the site’s consistent and overwhelmingly deep tournament traffic.

Banking

William Hill has also got streamlined its cashier services. They offer nearly two dozen different ways to deposit and accept four different currencies (though Americans are excluded). Nearly all of the depositing options are instant, and the room has a special service department assigned specifically to depositing issues.

Whereas some poker rooms seem reluctant to let you cash your money out, William Hill makes this often stressful process simple and easy. The abbreviated list of approved withdrawal methods still includes more than ten reliable funds transfer options. Some of the options are instant, and the rest promise a respectably fast turnaround time with low minimums, high maximums, and no added fees.

Software

William Hill Poker recently unveiled a new Playtech software package whose expansion and improvement was directly inspired by player feedback. If you tried the site in the past and were unimpressed, maybe it’s time to give this poker room another chance. Improvements include a new favorites tab, revamped tables, the introduction of a tournament hand-for-hand mode, and newly streamlined site navigation including a complete overhaul of the lobby design and filtering features.

Not only can players choose from a wide range of avatars and table/room designs, but they can now also choose how to view the lobby. Multi-tabling is still somewhat cumbersome, though the addition of tile and cascade views at least makes it possible.

Though Texas Hold’em tables still reign supreme when it comes to overall traffic, during peak hours you can find active tables in the Omaha, Five Card Stud, and Seven Card Stud areas. It’s not uncommon to see 20,000 or more players at William Hill Poker, and the numbers and competition are pretty evenly spread across both the ring games and the tournaments.

The site plays host to well over 100 tournaments a day which includes a fair mix of popular staples like sitting and go, guarantees, freerolls, and satellites as well as some less common options like Stud and Omaha freezeouts.

Hold’em stakes range from the lowest of low ($.01/$.02) to the moderately high ($300/$600). Tournament fans can also find a buy-in suitable for the smallest or largest of budgets with regular buy-ins starting at $1 and satellite qualifiers starting at $.50.

When it comes to less play-oriented characteristics like security and customer support, the William Hill Poker site sets the bar. Their customer service department is truly 24/7 and their level of reliability and safety is unparalleled in online poker.

Summary

Several different factors are required to provide an overall excellent online poker experience, but William Hill Poker does an exemplary job of juggling the task. This room is pretty hard to fault, making it an ideal recommendation for poker players of every level and intent.