One of the fastest growing games on the internet is mahjong. Actually, that depends on where you reside. If you live in Asia, online mahjong has pretty much always been a popular game, since of course, mahjong has always been popular in Asia - before the internet. In the West, mahjong has been slowly catching on. It is here where real money stakes online versions of mahjong is experiencing a surge in popularity. It still may not be as popular as it is in the East, yet it is certainly catching on enough to be a worthwhile commodity to several online casinos and gaming sites.

The latest website to open the doors to mahjong is none other than the immensely popular community website, Facebook. The second chapter to MySpace, if you will, Facebook has over 61 million members, and these numbers seem to continue growing at a staggering rate day by day. So, with online mahjong being offered on such a large site, it is safe to say that mahjong is bound to get even more popular.

I should first clarify that it isn't Facebook itself who is making motions to offer online mahjong. Rather, it is World Mahjong Tour Inc. (fitting isn't it), who is ultimately responsible for bringing the game to Facebook users. The Facebook website will simply serve as a platform for the game. In other words, Facebook has agreed to offer another online gaming diversion to members while logged in their accounts.

The execs at World Mahjong Tour say they are very excited to expand their worldwide offering of online mahjong. They also alluded to an interest in bringing the game to other social community websites. The current offering on Facebook includes both online mahjong and Big Two - another popular game in Asia. Both games can be played in either English or Chinese.

If you've been around the online gambling industry or gambled at online casinos for any extended period of time, it's likely you are familiar with the Kahnawake Gaming Commission. One of the oldest and largest gambling commissions devoted entirely to internet betting, Kahnawake Gaming Commission has become somewhat of a household name in the gaming business.

That being the case, you might think that Kahnawake would have a place on the UK's online casino whitelist. Well, it appears that perhaps it is Kahnawake's size that has ended up keeping them from being put on the whitelist, which the UK government's Department of Culture Media and Sport recently announced. An apparent shock to the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, many others are not so surprised.

First off, let's give credit where credit is due. Kahnawake was the first online gaming commission to accept and implement the high regulatory standards of the non-profit eCommerce Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance, commonly known as eCOGRA. Helping to set the precedent which the UK Gambling Commission is now using, eCOGRA's reputability goes a long way. Secondly, there are many highly reputable online casinos licensed by Kahnawake, many of which are indeed eCOGRA certified.

Here is where things get a little rocky. As mentioned, Kahnawake licenses numerous online casinos. In fact more than any other commission besides Antigua and Barbuda. To say that a few Kahnawake licensed online casinos, sportsbooks and poker rooms have gotten out of hand in the past would not be stretching the truth one bit. Just take a look at the recent cheating scandal at Absolute Poker. That's right, they are licensed by Kahnawake. Oh, and did I mention they are owned by the Mohawk tribe (which operates the Kahnawake Gaming Commission as well).

To say that all Kahnawake online casinos are unsafe places to gamble is going overboard. However, veteran online gamblers will advise to not gamble at an online casino just because it is licensed by Kahnawake. Always be sure to do more research, especially regarding the software provider. If it's Microgaming powered and eCOGRA certified, you are in good hands.

The is plenty good reason why the online poker room, Poker Stars, is the largest poker site on the Web today. Sure, it has done a stellar job marketing itself and securing high profile, real life poker stars. But what has truly prompted players to continually go back to Poker Stars are the tournaments and, you guessed it, the money.

Certainly there are many poker players who play for and enjoy the excitement of the game. But we can all probably admit that the prospects of winning thousands, even hundreds of thousands of dollars is a primary incentive and motivation to play. The most recent quarterly "Sunday Million" tournament, which had a buy-in of $1,050 and a guaranteed jackpot of $1.8 million, helped attract at least 1,800 players.

What was most impressive about the recent attendance at Poker Stars, however, went down in late December. Two days after Christmas, the online poker room reported that over 20,000 players were simultaneously logged online to compete in real money poker gaming. And just when things didn't look like they could get busier, Poker Stars broke this record a few days later with over 22,200 real money players logged online at once.

If you thought these numbers sounded low for a top-tier online poker room or casino, keep in mind this does not count the number of players logged on to watch the tables, learn how to play, or, practice with fun money. On December 20th, Poker Stars broke its former world record of hosting 100,000 site visitors at once, with an unprecedented 150,000 visitors. At this rate, it appears there is no stopping the growth of Poker Stars, online poker and online casino gambling for that matter.

A player alert concerning Slots Alley Casino has gone out from several reputable sources this week, including the popular forum, Arnold Snyder's Blackjack Forum Online. Following a string of unsolicited emails sent by an undisclosed, unscrupulous affiliate using the Trump Casino Group name in a ploy to legitimize spam, players are being cautioned to frequent Slots Alley.

Most veteran online gamblers would not bother to frequent Slots Alley in the first place. Using the questionable Casinova Software platform, Slots Alley is by no means a transparent and properly regulated online casino. The casino claims to offer payout percentages near the 98% mark, but does not have these payouts verified by an outside, third party testing facility. Furthermore, the casino has not responded in an adequate manner following this most recent spam wave.

According to statements made by the Lucky Trump casino group, a spammer and affiliate of Slots Alley has been fraudulently titling spam emails with the Lucky Trump name, only to drive players to Slots Alley through url redirects. Going by appearances, the spam appears to originate from the Lucky Trump online casino group. However, this simply is not the case. Lucky Trump's credibility and sound reputation should not be made to suffer from one unethical affiliates attempt to make a quick buck.

What is most concerning, however, has been Slots Alley's response to the matter. Rather than taking a strong action against the affiliate, Slots Alley has done nothing but continue to proclaim unverified payout percentages for its online casino games. As for the Trump Casino Group, they have already alerted the reputable Gibraltar Gaming Authority (where Lucky Trump Online Casino is licensed) and have issued warnings to players and its customer base across the boards.