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In the prevailing years the online industry has broadened its spectrum into a more available and convenient way to do it all .It increasingly proves its egalitarian and democratic essence of being by enabling the people of the world to do as they please under any government's regime. Certainly, such freedom and spurted growth of an ungoverned "power- tool enabler" to some, seems to be an infringement on society's normalcy agenda, cropping up at the seams and ultimately bringing up fearful and worrisome feelings. Those who personalize the issue of free surfing and find it to be personally troublesome to them, have gone to full lengths legally and politically to see that regulatory measures are taken on such a "free-will" activity. One may detect from an "anti-web" person a number of obvious characteristics that would stand out on such an issue as democratic principles as the Internet. who has oppositional regards to this matter. Hedonism, national and individual voracity, supremacy struggles, and surely any criminal and menace activities that impose upon the nations security stake. An "anti-web" person may exhibit some obvious negative vibe tendencies when it comes to such a democratic idea as the internet. He might spew Hedonistic, nationalistic and individual voracity coupled with a supremacy struggle and yet on the flip side maybe right on about criminal and menacing activities including terrorism that could pose a national security threat. Among one of the issues that have surfaced as a problematic attachment to the web is the online gaming industry. Technological revamping has enabled this industry to present a virtual portfolio of gaming venues and casinos as true to real life as we know it. The World Wide Web, with its tremendous connecting aptitude, has cushioned and helped make for an explosive breakthrough. Many "gaming goers" have switched gears in their habitual trips to land based casinos to find themselves experiencing the same time spent right from their own PC's. In fact, many seem to be enjoying the convenient "right from their own home" idea even more. However, the idea of this instantaneous playtime seems to disturb certain political organizations and a number of personnel. They believe that this easy and fast access gaming zone tyrannizes authoritative law implementations as well as bowdlerization attainment. Anti- internet gambling advocates have been working hard to ban outright any gambling activity online. The US and Australia are but two of the countries that seem to standout more in their determination and actions that have been publicly announced every so often. One should note that this opposing sector does not seem to be concerned about land based casinos. They are focused mainly on Internet gambling functions. Congress has been subject to many new law proposals banning internet gambling brought forth by a number of US senators. Though these proposals did not pass the Senate, many savvy industry forecasters deem that it is only a matter of time that online gambling will be seen as a lawful and permissible activity. This is not to say that there shouldn't be any kind of regulatory measure to be taken regarding criminal and illicit activities, especially if the nation's security is at risk. All in all, the fact is that people will always find a way to get around the system and thus no one really knows what the future may hold. In the end, we, the people, will ultimately determine the outcome. Stay tuned
IDC, a market research company, predicts that online gambling will soar in the Pacific area of Asia due to broadband internet access. Broadband activity is sure to increase tremendously due to lower cost and the nature of competition in this arena. South Korea is a good example of the strong and growing connection being made between broadband and gaming. Computer usage in this region is expected to grow vastly and predictions suggest that at least 100 million PC computers and 400 million cell phones will be in use by the end of 2003. Because of the upbeat outlook for the telecommunications industry, which had a dismal down turn last year, the industry anticipates strong growth going forward as the industry upgrades its infrastructure with the support of investments. An 11% growth spurt in the Asia Pacific and Communication technology market (ICT) is expected according to IDC, which would amount to $81 billion for the year 2003.
A Bush proposal that "could act as an incentive for companies to start paying dividends and that would attract a whole new class of investors, those looking for dividend income," was announced by Joe Greff, a gaming analyst for Fulcrum Global Partners, a Wall Street based investment research company. A reporter for the Las Vegas Wire said that the proposal at hand by the Bush administration to eliminate federal tax on stock dividends sparked Wall Street analysts, suggesting a big positive injection into gaming stocks. Stock dividends are becoming more of a reality for Mandalay Resort Group, Harrah's Entertainment, MGM Mirage and Park Place Entertainment Corporation, who hold solid financial positions.
Within the next two years Washington State and its localities stand to gain approximately $500 million in revenues from online gambling by expanding the market beyond the tribal sector. Currently, the law allows for gambling activities owned by Indian tribes. The expansion would allow for video gambling machines in other locations, such as in "restaurants, lounges, taverns, bars, mini-casinos, private clubs, and charitable organizations. The Entertainment Industry Coalition, an umbrella for several advocacy groups, proposes a 25% tax on the net revenues from the expansion. They want the majority of revenues, approximately $206 million/yr. from gambling machines to go to the state, and the remainder of approx. $51 million to be allocated to local governments. State legislators for the most part seem to be in support of this expansion. The proposal, if passed as is, would allow for the operation of mini-casinos and other gambling activities along with tribal gambling operations. An estimated 19,000 new video slot machines are expected to crop up as well.
The middle class sector and women as a group are considered to be a potentially hot market to tap so says current researchers. VIP's general manager, Alistair Assheton, the leader of this online gambling concern, says that "we believe that people put off by the atmosphere of bricks and mortar bookmakers, such as women, will come to us for an enjoyable and straightforward experience." In Great Britain, 70% of the people play the lottery while only 11% of adults there currently bet online. This suggests a potentially huge online market still to be tapped. A survey of Britain's revealed that 1 in 7 Britain's find online betting appetizing because it remains a private affair where there's little room for embarrassment. Also international online access is a big draw.
Two and a half million people in Singapore game online and out of that number 30% are considered to be addicted to the "sport". Dr. Winslow, who heads CAMP, the Community Additions Management Program, said," We get many calls from people who tell us that they are losing control of their lives because of these addictions." A study of gaming addiction claims that except for children who are usually restricted by parents from heavy PC playing, all other ages are vulnerable to this addiction. In particular, the study revealed that online porno is prevalent amongst male teens and males in their 20's and 30's. The same was true for online gaming. Females in their 30's and 40's and also female teens were considered "chat" happy. According to Dr.Winslow, "In Singapore, people see us for help as the last resort because of the stigma attached." Further research is planned by CAMP to find the cause to this addiction and to possibly finding an answer to this problem as well as to why it is so prevalent.
The competition stems from online hotel discount reservations and not from online gambling itself. According to a Bear, Stearns and Company analyst, Jason Ader, the casino market is facing stiff competition in that low cost vacation packages of different types are being offered, forcing Las Vegas to cut prices to woo customers back. Ader said, "At the mid-tier and low-end levels, we believe hotels particularly in Las Vegas, are in a price war." A further problem at hand says Micahel Tew of Bear, Stearns, is that no new Las Vegas resorts have been established. Some hotel facilities such as Bellagio, Mandalay Bay and Venetian have added rooms but slashed prices because they have nothing new to add to their package. In the more popular area of Las Vegas according to Bears, a 10% price cut to $135 a night during the week was reported for the Chinese New Year season and weekend rates were cut 20% to $195 as opposed to last year. From February 17-23 rates were down by 3% from last year. The overriding problem is that fewer requests are being made to book reservations which lead analysts to question what is in store for the near future.
There are moments of exuberance and moments of great need. To illustrate this, a story surfaced over the web about a woman named Darlene who happened to be online the day she collapsed. She suffers from lupus and is confined to a wheelchair. While in the chat room she suffered a relapse and somehow was able to send a 911 signal to her chat mates. Although she was far away in Canada, her U.S. mates were able to locate the source of her signal and in turn were able to notify the local police in her area for them to respond. Fellow chat mates were aware of Darlene's illness. She had been complaining of headaches and blurry vision. Darlene said after this episode, "There's a whole group of friends you don't even know coming together to help." Police responded to the "chat" callers immediately. They found Darlene half conscious on her living room floor. They had forced their way into her house by breaking the front door. Instead of having to wait for her roommate to arrive the next morning as was her normal habit, the online connection proved to be a "lifesaver" for Darlene.
Think of being able to place a bet or buy a lottery ticket via a mobile outlet. On February 6th, an OEM/VAR agreement to put forth a lottery system by Diversenet Corp., a top ranking producer of Secured mobile solutions and ESL, Effective Solution Ltd., a producer of lottery and pari-mutuel software systems, enabling users to buy lottery tickets and place bets. Dr. Lee Keng Ho, CEO of Effective Solution Ltd. says," Mobile wagering has the promise of being an enormous channel for gaming operators as it allows them to reach users anytime, anywhere." iLottery System currently allows for wagering on the internet, fixed point of sales terminals, and terminals to accommodate mobile selling. There are 157 million wireless gamers around the world according to a report put out by Datamonitor in July of 2002. The figures according to Datamonitor will rise to 500 million in 2006 with an expected $17.5 billion in revenues to wireless gaming.
That's after a similar bill of Rep. Leach failed. The HR 21 bill is soon to go to the House of Rep. for a vote. This bill would prohibit the use of all credit cards and other payment methods for funding internet gambling. Rep. Michael Oxley, Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee wants to put the bill on a "suspension calendar", according to an inside source who reported this to Interactive Gaming News. If this happens the bill would go directly to the House of Rep. for a quick debate and a vote that would require a two-thirds majority. Rep.Barney Frank and Rep. John Conyers who oppose the Leach bill are expected to hold up the suspension calendar idea. Instead, Conyers is expected to introduce a bill calling for a committee to review internet gambling in hopes to legalize it in the U.S.
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