UNLV associate professor Kathryn LaTour is another in a long list of social professionals that think it’s time to legalize online gambling. She has done a study that says the best option is to legalize online gambling and use the money to help problem gamblers and to stop underage players.

“It should be regulated,” LaTour said. “When you get deeper into it, it’s a battlefield. The integration of online gambling in the home can more easily turn gambling behavior into a component of a consumer’s everyday life, like watching television.”

Despite the negative results internet gambling can produce, the damage can be limited if regulations are put into place. The report is called “Blackjack in the Kitchen: Understanding Online Versus Casino Gambling,” and will be published in February in the Journal of Consumer Research. The funding for the study did not come from the gaming industry, but from a hotel school.

56 million people visited a U.S. casino last year and almost all of them placed some sort of wager. If your goal is to get the best risk-adjusted return, you need to place fewer, smarter and larger bets. This is a difficult strategy to take so here is a list of the best games to play that, mathematically, gives you the best shot of winning.

Blackjack
This is your safest bet at the casino with nearly a 50% chance of winning. As for the house edge however, casinos have a built-in advantage by paying less than the odds at about 2%.

Craps
A “pass line” bet has essentially 50-50 odds and betting on specific numbers boosts the house edge.

Roulette
You can rule this game with a 47.3% chance of winning. Betting on a specific number pays out 35 to 1 but will reduce your odds by 2.63%

No-Limit Texas Hold’em Poker
Of course this game requires plenty of skill so chance doesn’t play a factor here. Payouts very depending on how well you play the game, however if you’re unmatched you chances of winning will obviously lower dramatically.

Think you’re going to need some quick cash? You could try the roulette wheel and let it ride on “20” twice in a row. Or you could try any of these 10 compelling long shots in 2008. We’re looking here for the best combination of long odds and an actual possibility of getting paid. They’re not necessarily the sharpest bets in the world, but each is worth investigating.

Chelsea (6-1) to win English Premiership
Arsenal or Liverpool (each 11-2) to win FA Cup
Cleveland Indians to win World Series
Rafael Nadal (6-1) to win Australian Open
Phil Mickelson (10-1) to win 2008 U.S. Masters
Sultan Ibragimov (+300) to beat Wladimir Klitschko for IBF/WBO/IBO Heavyweight titles
Vancouver Canucks to win Stanley Cup
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (6-1) to win 2008 Sprint Cup
New Orleans Hornets to win NBA title
Paul McCartney’s Dance Tonight (9-2) to win Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance

A fool and his money are soon parted. The sports betting public is full of such fools. Don’t be shy about it; when you make a bet, you’re trying to take advantage of these people. You do it by being smarter about sports, and by being smarter about betting.

The second area is usually lost on the casual bettor. The Internet drops encyclopedias worth of sports information at our doorsteps every day. There is a huge demand for this; some Average Joes even become sports experts. But how many of them become money experts?

Every account in your name – savings, checking, credit card and betting bankroll alike – requires management. Even if you bet purely for entertainment, you presumably want to get the biggest bang for your buck. Tear yourself away from ESPN8 for a moment and acquaint yourself with the basics of risk and reward. And remember the Golden Rule: Never bet more than you can afford to lose.