With several hundred tipster and betting system sites in the UK, the online gambler searching for a good horse racing tipster service or betting system is faced with a bewildering array of sites, many claiming they can make huge profits if the visitor only signs up to their service or buys their particular betting system.

The reality, of course, is that they can't all be profitable all of the time, all tipsters and betting systems will have losing periods. The problem is to try and identify those tipster services and betting systems which can sustain losing periods whilst still being profitable for their clients, and, more importantly, is run in an ethical and professional manner - which is no easy task.

Some of you may not be surprised to hear that the world of internet tipsters and betting systems is a totally unregulated sector of the gambling industry, unlike casinos and betting organisations, such as Betfair etc - have to adhere to strict regulations. Even the adverts for many internet tipping and betting system sites do not currently conform to the Advertising Standard Authority (ASA) guidelines.

However, that is not to say that some internet tipster services and betting system sites have not been fined or penalized for misleading advertising when a complaint has been received by the ASA from a dissatisfied client of one of these sites. For example, Brimardon Systems were subject to a ASA adjudication of February 2006, and were unable to provide adequate proof to support three claims made for their system: "EXCEPTIONAL PROFITS" - "CONSISTENT SUCCESS" and "EVERY YEAR A WINNING YEAR", which the complainant challenged. How many tipster services or betting system sites have you visited and been informed that their site conforms to ASA guidelines, none, I bet? One would think that any tipster or betting system site whose advertising did conform to the ASA's guidelines would have a significant advantage over the opposition.

One enterprising individual who was disillusioned with paying for horse racing tips and getting a poor service in return, thought he could do a better job. So he has set himself up as a tipster on Ebay! If you are familiar with Ebay, you will know that the buyer, in this case the subscriber, has the opportunity to give feedback on the service he has paid for. And the feedback is available for anyone to read. So I would imagine if he was not a good tipster this would be reflected in the feedback he receives, and he would soon go out of business. However, this particular tipster has been getting positive feedback on his service.

In conclusion I would like to say that until government introduces legislation which forces online tipster and betting system sites to conform to the same regulations that apply to casinos and betting organisations, or at least, conform to ASA guidelines in respect of their advertising I do not see the situation improving for the online gambler.