Gambling seems to have started when man started his tryst with money and had plenty of spare time on his hands. No one for sure knows when it all started but the tradition to gamble has never grown tiresome. It has on the other hand become more popular with more people wanting to gamble at places like casinos, sporting events and now over the internet through virtual casinos.
Anyone new to gambling is in for a lot of surprise. So many online websites allow their customers to gamble at virtually any sport or game. The temptation to take a risk is what propels many people to gamble. Others gamble because they just take a fancy to it. They indulge in gambling just for fun and some amount of excitement. They do not become perturbed even if they loose their bets. These days people gamble on anything like cricket, horseracing, football, soccer and even motorcar racing.While there are some people who gamble because they just fancy it, others do it because they are addicted to it and are compulsive gamblers. These people gamble away everything they have hoping that they are going to win something big one day.
You can now gamble without having to leave the security and comforts of your home. It is all available through the internet. Many virtual casinos on the internet offer hundreds of games that players can try their hand at by the click of the button. You can now gamble sitting at home with your favorite drink in hand anytime that you feel like it. They are open for play 24/7. The payouts too are much faster than in land-based casinos. If you have that itch to gamble then log on to your internet and sign up immediately at any of the listed virtual casinos.
A Denver entrepreneur has devised a system for online poker that answers all questions of authenticity, accountability, and transparency. Gene Gioia wondered about the implausible hands he saw online, and wanted to find a way to verify that software flaws were not causing hands that would not occur at live tables.Gioia came from a professional background as a consultant in charge of auditing software installations for nationwide companies. He decided the way to assure players the game and system were legitimate was to deal actual cards.
Gioia and his brother created a machine, which they call the “Real Deal”, to continuously shuffle and deal cards at very high speed. The results can be transmitted to computers running hundreds of simultaneous games. This should give true results, unlike the random number generators currently used, Gioia believes.
All hands dealt are recorded and available for future auditing.Gioia will open the site realdealpoker.com to give free demonstrations of his product.
After the AbsolutePoker and UltimateBet cheating scandals, players are more suspicious than ever of online poker rooms. One poll showed over two-thirds of online players do not trust the deal, and many players aviod Internet play for reasons of trust.
Gioia doesn’t accuse sites of cheating, but he notes they can’t prove they don’t, and his method can. He hopes that the demo website will bring him the financing necessary to get his own online poker room running, and then the natural draw of an auditable site will bring customers flocking.
For the first time in over ten years the Republican Party Platform does not include language stating that online gambling should be restricted in the United States. Earlier in the month it was discovered that the Platform did include such language, but a loud outcry by the Poker Players Alliance, along with the rest of the online poker community, has forced the party to remove the nanny-esque language.
On the Republican Party platform site there was a spot for members to leave messages to the party who wanted to comment on issues. Much to the party’s surprise, a majority of the comments came from online poker players.
“I don’t think the Republican party leaders realized how many of their members are online poker players,” said one irate Republican from Florida. “With the language in their platform about banning online poker and gambling they were losing thousands of voters that otherwise would vote Republican without a second thought.”
Another online poker player had this to say: “Taking away online poker may seem like something insignificant to Republicans, but when you take away someone’s hobby that is very significant. I work all week, I don’t go to bars, I don’t do drugs, I hardly have any social life; but on Friday and Saturday night I enjoy playing poker online with the new friends I have made. Although I believe in the majority of Republican party principals, if you take away my only hobby I will not vote for you.”Greg Raymer, a professional player who won the 2004 World Series of Poker commented as well: “Why has this party, that used to protect my rights, now become the party that wants to create a Nanny-state?”
Although the language was removed the Republican party is still held responsible for adding pork to a must pass Port Security Bill that forced legitimate publicly traded companies out of the US market.
“This is a very small move on their part, but they have quite a bit to make up for before poker players forgive them,” said Joe Granger from West Palm Beach.
International investors are looking carefully at online casino stocks as a new and potentially rewarding market sector.
The current global capitalization of the online gambling market sector is around 10 billion USD. Conservative estimates have provided a projection of 100 billion USD for this sector within the next ten years. These companies normally trade at around 15 to 20 times their earnings. This suggests that this market sector, excluding others that will come to the market in that time, could end up valued at around 2 trillion USD. This represents a 200 times increase in market share compared to today’s levels.
Stocks of online gambling companies and their associated businesses such as online gambling software companies fell dramatically at the end of 2006. This market decline saw most companies drop to around 50% of their original pre-2006 capitalized values. This collapse was specifically due to an American witch hunt against companies and in particular against online payment systems that were associated with Internet gambliSince 2006, stocks in online gambling companies have recovered and continue to climb even during the dramatic stock market declines seen in 2008.
This suggests that online gambling stocks should be considered as an investment oasis, and a sector that will continue to benefit those looking for long-term visionary investment.
With the double blow to the economy of a housing crisis and credit crunch, wily investors should consider the online gambling sector as a safe haven for their cash.
The ongoing petition to regulate online gaming in the US achieved its first legislative victory since the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) when “The House Financial Services Committee” passed the Payment Systems Protection Act (PSPA) yesterday. The victory was especially remarkable due to the fact that a similar measure failed to make it out of committee two months ago after a 32-32 vote.
This new bill, sponsored by Committee Chairman Barney Frank, calls on the Treasury Department to begin formulating and implementing regulations that prevent sports betting transactions from being processed – thus ensuring the government can regulate the system. However, the bill is limited to only sports betting transactions at present.
“Under this bill, at least the banks will know what is and isn’t illegal… We’re asking the Treasury Department to give them a list,” clarified Frank at the press conference discussing the new bill yesterday.
Rep. Spencer Bachus led the opposition to the bill, and said yesterday that “I’m disappointed that we’re marking up another bill designed to impede the enforcement of the UIGEA… This legislation (UIGEA) is necessary because Internet gambling regulations can not work like casino regulations.” Bachus also stated that “professional sports leagues continue to oppose the delay in implementing UIGEA regulations”, but this angered some others present at the vote – for example, one representative said that he was “puzzled by pro sports opposition” to the bill.
The passage of the bill by the House Financial Services Committee was applauded from the Poker Players Alliance (PPA). “The PPA is pleased that the House Financial Services Committee today recognized the need to provide necessary clarification to what constitutes ‘unlawful Internet gambling’ under the UIGEA” said PPA chairman and former Senator Alfonse D’Amato. “Even those who oppose internet gambling should applaud the passage of this legislation as it provides the most realistic opportunity to block truly unlawful internet gambling transactions.”