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In new attempts to reverse the UIGEA law banning online gambling, the US is excited about the prospects of collecting taxes on the huge sums of money spent on online gambling. In addition, regulation could help reduce some of negative effects on consumers, says a new study by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the University of Western Ontario. Understanding online casino gambling The study, entitled "Blackjack in the Kitchen: Understanding Online Versus Casino Gambling," is due to be published in the February 2009 issue of the Journal of Consumer Research. Kathryn LaTour, associate professor in the UNLV Harrah College of Hotel Administration, says that 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." "When online gambling becomes a routine daily behavior, it is easier for consumers to engage in mindless consumption of that activity, ultimately resulting in addiction and resultant financial losses." History lesson When you ban it, it simply moves underground. Remember the ban on alcohol and the devastating days of prohibition in the US? The mob was practically nurtured in those days and is still with us today. Look at the results of banning drugs and what it costs the world in trying to keep it down. The difference Gambling in a real casino is a whole different ballgame. It is a social activity. First of all there are other people around and then there are dealers and croupiers who, like an astute barman, can tell a customer that he's had enough. If the customer insists, there is security who can force him to leave the casino. There is the cashier who can refuse to cash more checks or accept the credit card. These are built-in slow-down or stop features. Online gambling, on the other hand, is a solitary activity. The gambler is involved in only one thing - gambling. A gambler sits by himself, grimly chasing after last week's or last month's losses, determined to win them back. If he 's addicted he will continue playing until all his money has gone and then he will resort to any means to raise more money to feed into his account. Legality not a concern Online gambling is currently illegal in the US. This is a joke. North American consumers can and do easily engage in online gambling via offshore Internet companies. Recent estimates of online gambling revenues range between ten and twelve billion dollars annually. The conclusion To best protect players, while not entirely ignoring the facts on the ground sort of speak, regulation seems the course to follow. When played as a form of entertainment, online gambling can provide safe and harmless fun for many hours. I say we regulate!
A 54-year-old limousine manager was booted out of a casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey last Tuesday because of his bad body odour. A manager at the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa followed Michael Wax into the men's room to tell him that other gamblers had complained about the smell and to ask him to leave the casino premises. Breaking a sweat Wax, who weighs 200 kilograms (440 pounds) had been at a table for 17 hours straight, and admitted to being aware of the smelly situation. "There's no question I stink," he stated bluntly. "I'm not denying it. I do have an odour. I've been playing for 17 hours," Wax said he told casino officials. Management refused to let Wax return to his seat when he attempted to do so, and reiterated their orders for him to leave in front of his fellow gamblers. Wax also says the casino managers refused to allow him to restore his personal hygiene on their facilities and then return to the table. Demand of an apology And while he is well aware of what caused the episode, Wax believes he is owed an apology because of the embarrassing manner in which casino management handled the situation. He has now filed a complaint about his treatment with the Casino Control Commission, which will be reviewed to determine whether the casino broke any state gambling laws. Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa spokesman Dave Coskey declined to comment. One thing's for certain: this whole embarrassing episode wouldn't have occurred had Wax stayed at home and gambled online instead.
Tim Donaghy, NBA referee for 13 seasons, was sentenced to 15 months in prison by a federal judge in Brooklyn on Tuesday for taking payoffs from a professional gambler for inside tips on games. The trial followed a year-long investigation. Donaghy's sentencing closes an ugly chapter in a scandal that rocked the National Basketball Association. Donaghy could have received up to 33 months at his sentencing. Worst ever Donaghy pleaded guilty last August to conspiracy to engage in wire fraud and transmitting betting information through interstate commerce. League commissioner David Stern called the affair "most serious situation and worst situation that I have ever experienced" during his decades overseeing basketball. Last week, two of Donaghy's former high school classmates were sentenced to over a year in prison for their roles in the scheme. Referee's admission Donaghy, 40, apologized to the court, saying, "I brought shame on myself and my family." Donaghy pleaded guilty to two felony charges in connection with illegal betting on NBA games, admitting that he fed inside information to gamblers, some of it regarding games he officiated. During a hearing before Judge Carol B. Amon at the United States District Court in Brooklyn, Donaghy also admitted to betting on games in which he officiated. He faces up to 25 years in prison, while the NBA faces months and perhaps years of suspicion regarding the integrity of its games. Damage control League Commissioner Stern called Donaghy's actions "an act of betrayal of what we know in sports as a sacred trust." He said that the league had conducted an investigation two years ago into allegations that Donaghy had a gambling problem, but that the probe did not turn up anything. "This is something that is the worst that could happen to a professional sports league," Stern said. A retired NBA referee said, "We are a badly wounded group. We call each other almost every day and say, 'How are you today? I had a bad one.' You have to understand that this cuts to the core of what we do. The people who referee at this level have a passion for the game that is beyond what anyone can imagine. Donaghy took that and degraded it."
The fourth CasinoAffiliatePrograms European Conference will take place in Barcelona from September 25 - September 28. More than 1000 people are expected to attend the conference, which will build on the success of the previous gathering, which took place in London last January. Event organizers promise four days of internationally-renowned speakers, networking parties, topic-driven panels, information on online gambling advertising, and an Affiliate Series of Poker tournament between attendees. The Barcelona conference has drawn a number of sponsors, including Affiliate network website PartyPartners, and UK bookmaker Ladbrokes. The conference is free of charge for all affiliates. The January event drew 1000 visitors and 45 exhibitors, in what CAP Euro claims was the largest-ever gathering of affiliates in the iGaming sector. Online Casino Reports is media partners with CasinoAffiliatePrograms and will attend the conference to bring you the news, videos and interviews from the conference discussion panels, exhibition booths and gala dinners.
The Summer Olympics are starting in just a few days, and regular sports bettors are getting ready to place their wagers. This year's Games promises to be an exciting event, and not just for the wagering; from the American 'Redeem Team' basketball favorites, to the rain-seeding Chinese cannons, there'll be something for everyone. If you're looking to place bets on the Games, in any fashion, you'll find that it's easy enough. All of the major online sports betting sites have dedicated Olympic sections, and have subdivided their categories to satisfy anyone interested in placing a bet. There may be only 50 ways to leave your lover, but there were 300 ways to bet on the last Super Bowl; there will be at least as many ways to bet on the Summer Olympics. You'll be able to place bets by category (Do you like to follow track and field? Swimming? Football?), by individual event (Maybe you want to predict the point spread on the gold medal baseball game?), by individual athlete (How many boards will Kobe grab? Will 42 year old, new mom Dara Torres win the 50 meter freestyle?), or even just by country (Will the US take home the most gold?). Betting categories are clearly marked, and well organized, making the wagering decisions easier. As with any financial decision, however, make sure to do your homework before you do any Olympic wagering. The games are large, and are full of sports, events, and athletes that you may never have heard of before; someone might perform well in a qualifying heat, but only because better rivals are scheduled for a different race. Also, some bets are just not good ones; don't bother wagering on the American basketball team because the odds are too high in their favor to permit any return. Instead, put your money on the silver medal games. The best strategy for wagering on the Olympics is to pick a sport, event, or athlete that you know something about, and to bet strategically on those few outcomes. As for the rest of the Games, just sit back and watch some world class competition.
If you think it should be easier for a computer to win at poker than at the highly intellectual game of chess, think again. The human element makes poker a much more complex challenge. "Poker is a completely different game," said computer scientist Michael Bowling, the leader of a Computer Poker Research Group at the University of Alberta, Canada. "In chess or checkers, you have perfect information. There are no secrets on the board," Bowling said. "But in poker you don't know the other person's cards. The basic computer techniques used in chess can't help you in poker." Useful poker skills The poker computer project may have practical applications beyond the card room. For example, Bowling said poker-like skills might be useful in bidding auctions where multiple companies are competing for government contracts or buyers are hunting deals on eBay. "There is a lot of uncertainty there," he said. "Should you wait or bid? The same things apply in poker." Artificial Intelligence Bowling's team launched Polaris five years ago as a project in artificial intelligence. At first it did well against amateur players but couldn't beat professionals. Last year, it narrowly lost a match against two poker pros in Vancouver, British Columbia. This year, a stronger version of Polaris - one that learns how to adapt to an opponent's strategy in midgame - triumphed over seven top-ranked humans. One on one So far, the system plays a relatively simple game of two-person Texas Hold'em. The next goal is to take on games of three or more players. That will be a new challenge for the programmers behind the computer. As it is, there is no ideal strategy for such games. A poker-faced laptop was sufficient to manage the system. During the game, Polaris analyzed its human opponent's style of play and adjusted its strategy accordingly. For example, the system plays more aggressively to get the human to 'fold'. It does so by challenging the human competitor to make more decisions, thus err more often. "Now that we've lost, I'm itching for a rematch," said Jay Palansky, one of Polaris' opponents. It seems that people are not willing to accept that a computer can beat them. Surely a few more tournaments and the poker world will realize it has a challenger.
A United States Congressman has introduced a bill designed to clarify the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which effectively banned Internet gambling by outlawing the transfer of funds from a financial institution to Internet gambling sites. Bill HR 6663, introduced by Republican Congressman Pete Sessions (Texas) specifically defines illegal online gambling as only gambling involving sports betting. It also grants amnesty to companies who willingly left the US market, and might even allow their re-entry into the US market. Why sports betting? According to the bill, "No provision of this Act, or any amendment made by this Act, shall be construed as clarifying or implying that Internet bets or wagers, other than sports bets or wagers, which were accepted subsequent to October 13, 2006, are in violation of Federal law." Sessions said he singled out sports betting because it is already outlawed in 49 of the 50 states (with the exception of Nevada), that it provides potential for corruption of sporting events, and the fact that all federal prosecutions involving illegal gambling thus far have involved sports betting. UIGEA problematic bill The UIGEA's ambiguity has caused major problems for those attempting to enforce it. The US Treasury and Reserve Board are still revising the rules, made difficult by the lack of precedent in cases involving online gambling. The UIGEA has also seen law-abiding UK companies voluntarily exit the US market, while non-complying companies who remained in the US gained an unfair advantage and benefited financially.
A Scottsdale, Arizona based company has launched an online gaming website but it is different enough to avoid the wrath of the anti-gambling lobby. You have to be a member to play at Charity Stakes and you then elect to support other charitable organizations. Those are the 2 main differences. Your own retirement fund doesn't count. How it works A Charity Stakes member pays $19.95 a month for unlimited access to four online casino games and to pools for various sporting events. Of the fee, $5 goes to a charity and $5 to winners' pools. Examples of worthy and popular charities are the American Cancer Society and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. As a member you are guaranteed "countless hours per month (24/7) of fun and exciting games, tournaments, contests", boasts the website. Additionally, members have the chance of winning large jackpots. An alternative to gambling CEO Barbara Bucca says that Charity Stakes is not a gambling website because members do not gamble and cannot lose their money. The site was launched by Bucca and a partner as a fundraising vehicle for charities and as an alternative to online gambling, she says. The monthly subscription allows users of the site unlimited monthly access to play against other members in any of the four localized games, and the opportunity to participate in pools for seven different sporting events. The Arizona connection "Texas-Holdem and other poker tournaments, including casino and Las Vegas nights, have surpassed golf as the No. 1 fundraiser in America today," the website advises. And fundraising is legal in the USA, even under the current gambling ban. And even though Senator Jon Kyl, that most virulent and vociferous personality in the anti-gambling lobby, also from Arizona, cannot argue with that.
Hollywood director Gil Cates Jr. is working on a documentary film about the 2005 World Series of Poker (WSOP) which will be titled 'Pass the Sugar.' The 2005 WSOP was won by Joe Hachem, a Lebanese poker player who moved to Australia and famously shouted 'Aussie, Aussie, Aussie' at the top of his lungs when he won the crown. The 2005 WSOP made its mark in poker history. The conclusion of the Main Event on July 15 marked the close of play, and the largest prize in sports and/or television history at the time, $7,500,000, was awarded to the winner. There were 5,619 entrants to the main event. Each paid $10,000 to enter what was the largest poker tournament ever played in a brick and mortar casino at the time. Post-flop Cates is having a poker run with another feature film about poker titled 'Deal' released earlier this year. 'Deal' bombed at the box office. 'Pass the Sugar' will be Cates' sixth directorial effort in film. Cates is the son of film producer Gil Cates Sr. and the brother of actress Phoebe Cates. 'Pass the Sugar' is being produced by Tony Hachem, a pro poker player and the brother of Joe Hachem and Caitlin Murney, and is being financed by an Australia production company called Stack Exchange. Big shoes to fill Coming only a few years after 'Casino Royale', the blockbuster James Bond movie which features a game of Texas Hold'em Poker where Bond and his rival, Le Chiffre, battle it out head to head at the poker table, Pass the Sugar will have to be good. 'Casino Royale' contained two nail-biting sequences, the car chase and the Hold'em Poker game, a period update of the original game of Baccarat. After calls of 'all-in' by a total of four players at the table, Le Chiffre's hand is the superior, up until Bond reveals his. Le Chiffre's holds a Full House of Aces and Sixes and it seems to be the best hand. Then Bond reveals that he has Le Chiffre beaten with a straight flush! Bond's 4-5-6-7-8 in Spades finishes Le Chiffre and wins Bond a cool $120 million.
It's been a busy year for the UK Gambling Commission. In a report released recently they detail their activities over the past twelve months. The report shows that 3,428 operators with 4,199 operating licenses were approved in the 12 month period. This included operators who had been granted with both remote and non-remote licenses. Those are staggering numbers but this is their first year of operation and many of the approvals were probably rubber stamp affairs. The GC also reported that it had published its License Conditions and Codes of Practice in June and that these had come into force in September. These conditions establish the regulatory framework within which licensed operators must provide facilities for gambling. A prevalence survey was also published in September covering the incidence of gambling and problem gambling. This study will be repeated every three years, and the Commission is to provide a benchmark against which the effectiveness of any new regulations will be judged. The Commission also stated that its focus had moved from re-licensing the industry towards working to ensure that operators understood and complied with the new requirements placed on them under its license conditions and codes of practice.
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