We are actually not sure exactly how many online casinos are available to the Irish public but here at casinos.ie we have looked at quite a lot to come up with a short list of six (possibly seven in the near future as we are studying closely a possible new entrant) and those that we list on our site at www.casinos.ie are trusted and reputable online casinos so if you decide to venture outside our recommendations then please do your homework as we have done. With all those online casinos out there it can be quite difficult to decide what is a good one and what is not but there are several clues; firstly look at whether the online casino uses its own created software or whether they use one of the major providers such as Netent or Playtech or other well known brands. A well known brand of software will almost certainly provide a safe casino environment with a good chance of winning; secondly look out for correct certification and licensing from one of the known online casino hotspots such as Alderney, Isle of Man, Malta and Gibraltar; these governments will only issue licenses to bone fide companies. Casinos.ie will also look for voluntary codes of conduct or membership of voluntary organizations of which there are a number and if the company is listed on one or more stock exchanges it adds a little to know that corporate governance is probably under control. If you cannot be bothered to check all these things don’t worry, simply play your online casino at any one of those recommended and listed here at casinos.ie; we list a top three based on our opinion of offering and graphics but any of the six online casinos should be perfectly safe and secure which enhances your online casino enjoyment.

It is quite surprising to us here at casinos.ie that some of the smaller less well known online casinos still try to write their own casino software when in fact all the major online casino companies who you might think have the ability to write casino software actually use specialised companies of which there are only a handful. The reason is probably that the cost of buying or leasing casino software can be quite high and online casinos without a certain level of customers can probably not afford it but for you the customer, using home grown casino software must come with a health warning even if the graphics and sound are to your liking. In truth there is a very good chance that you have never even considered whose software your chosen online casino uses and if you use one of the online casinos that we list here at casinos.ie you don’t need to worry as we have already checked that it comes from a reputable source; the important thing is that you enjoy the range of games available and the graphics that that particular casino software provides. Just occasionally an online casino will change casino software provider as happened last October with Paddy Power casino which it might do for a variety of reasons but this will give the appearance of a completely new online casino; the other thing to look out for is the casino slots that are being offered and the level of the progressive jackpots. Several online casinos may show the same casino slots and this is an indication of them using the same casino software provider and in terms of jackpots this is a good thing as all users of that software will contribute to the jackpots which means they will build up much faster than would otherwise be the case. Online casinos can also sometimes use several different pieces of casino software in the range such as using one for the slots offering and a different one for the games section which again is not a problem at all and is quite common practise. The major players in the casino software market are Playtech, Netent, Microgaming, Cryptologic and Wagerworks.

Not strictly Irish casino news but still of interest to Irish casino players who often also like other forms of gambling is the press surrounding the betting exchange firm Betfair who have apparently cancelled winning bets on an in play market on a horse race in Leopardstown; we know how difficult it is to find a winner but then to have your bet cancelled is a bit tough.  Our Irish casino news people report that the problem arose in the Christmas Hurdle event when a horse named Voler La Vedette was offered at 28 to 1 during a race in which it was already leading which would have cost one player millions of Euro. This type of betting exchange is supposed to offer better odds than at a traditional bookmaker by arranging bets between two individuals but most people will be aware and we have previously reported in our casino news that this type of betting exchange is often used by professional bookmakers using automated systems and indeed some would suggest it is only this type of system that would have picked up the anomaly in the in running betting of the race, however if at the end of the day you don’t get paid it is not satisfactory and we know where we would sooner be placing our wagers. The exchange in question is reported in the casino news as putting it down to a technical computer problem that allowed a player to exceed their exposure limit but others such as the William Hill Chief Executive is also in the casino news by questioning whether in fact that is the truth or whether the exchange is protecting a substantial customer who made a big mistake. With all the news about corruption in the sport it is not hard to believe that maybe the horse was supposed to fall at the last or similar making a huge profit for the layer and maybe the horse was having too much fun.

One of the least understood things about online casinos is that it matters how you choose to fund your enjoyment and today we shall look at Maestro casino or the use of a Maestro card to pay into an online casino account. Maestro is as most people will know the debit card associated with the credit card MasterCard and many people will carry both in their pockets but there is a world of difference especially when considering deposit methods for an online casino account. Casino deposits using either the maestro debit card or any credit card are instantaneous but the methods of the funds disappearing from your account are quite different and so are the charges that are made. Using any credit card to deposit into an online casino will cost you a transaction charge as well as having interest charged from the day of the transaction in the same way as a cash withdrawal; depositing with maestro debit card however has no such charges and therefore is a much preferred method. To use a Maestro debit card for a casino deposit however you do need to have the money in your account which is of course not the case when using a credit card but as we would never suggest playing at an online casino with money that you do not have available this should not present a problem. Maestro casino deposits are indeed a very good way of funding your online casino entertainment as there should be no charges incurred and the money is available instantly 24 hours per day but there are also other deposit methods which include using an e-wallet of some sort, and there are plenty available, plus of course the possibility to use cash deposits at those online casinos that also have high street shops in Ireland such as Paddy Power and Ladbrokes. Details of these methods can also be found on our casino deposit pages.

It only seems like 5 minutes ago that we were celebrating New Year and hopefully making some new resolutions about making more money at your chosen online casino whether that be by playing roulette, blackjack or slots and here we are already nearly at the end of January. We thought this might be a good time to take a look around a few online casinos and see what sort of strange games are now available and as Paddy Power casino is an all new online casino we decided to start there in the leisure section where you can find such games as “Penalty Shoot Out” where you have a choice of 5 directions in which you can shoot the ball to beat the keeper paying odds of up to 12 to 1; we must be honest and say that we have not yet quite worked out how a 12:1 shot will be more frequently saved than a 3:1 shot but it is. Not all leisure games on the online casino are available in the instant casino version so if you have not already done so you should download the casino to give you more choice but one that is available is “Dice Twister” which is a form of Sic Bo where you try to predict the outcome of three dice. In this online casino game you can bet on individual numbers coming up or on a total of the three dice together and by combining bets such as betting on 5s and 6s and also on a low total you can hedge your bets. All these online casino games are very simple and quick to play but probably none more so than “Spin a win” which is a cross between Big Wheel and a 24 number version of roulette. This is a fun online casino games where you can again bet on individual numbers or a combination and is much faster than roulette. Try some of these leisure games for a change your chosen online casino.