Educated Anonymous has this to say:
American here, thus I recognize religion is a legitimate topic of conversation on this blog.A breath of fresh air. That's an excellent point that there are other factors at work in trying to suppress Internet gambling. Las Vegas has lobbied hard against it, although its stance has softened in the past few months - probably because they are accepting that Internet gambling is a reality and is here to stay, and with an "estimated $5.9 billion wagered by U.S. residents with offshore online gambling companies in 2008", that's a lot of action they are missing out on.
Cassini is correct, liquidity would be greatly improved if the religious right here in America would stop legislating their religious beliefs (not facts) onto others.
In fairness, religious zealots are only part of our problem, as governments trying to protect their own gambling monopolies and southerners trying to protect their horse industry are also holding us back here in the "land of the free".
One irony (of many) is in much of the USA, govt run lotteries, keno, scratch tickets, casinos, bingo, pickle cards, horses etc which have odds stacked against the consumer are legal, while games of skill such as on-line sports betting/trading, poker are not legitimized.
But Cassini is correct, religion is a legitimate topic in this forum as they have and continue to legislate their "values" onto us.
Ridicule needs to be used as it is hard to discuss logic with people who believe Noah built an ark, Jonah lived in a fish and Jack climbed a beanstalk to heaven.
When you considering that in 2006, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act made it a crime for banks and other financial institutions to process transactions used in online gaming, it seems that many people have found a way around this pointless roadblock. It also means that a number of unregulated, and less than honest offshore sportsbooks have sprung up, something that could be avoided by regulating the industry with appropriate law-enforcement oversight and consumer protections for individuals gambling online.
Interesting times could be around the corner. Betfair floating. The USA allowed to join in trading. Competition from sportsbooks in the USA.
The government in the Republic of Ireland is considering taxing all online betting, ostensibly to help the horse racing industry. Personally I reckon it's because the economy is screwed but it will be interesting to see how this affects BF's business there and the effect on the pre-race Irish markets which can be thin at the best of times...
ReplyDeleteWhat's the definition used for the amount wagered by US residents? Seems to me like 5.9B turnover wagered isn't much for the US. For instance I personally must have wagered between 10M and 20M in a single year if you take a broad definition. If you take a somewhat more narrow definition (just wagers on sportsbooks and casinos for instance), 5.9 billion is still relatively low, considering it is turnover, not profit. Seems to me like those roadblocks do have a large impact.
ReplyDeleteThose figures are from the American Gaming Association, and undoubtedly on the low side. Remember though that Americans are mostly unaware of the trading concept except perhaps when the line moves enough to present a middling opportunity.
ReplyDeleteThe July 8, 2010 "Economist" has a great special feature on internet gambling. http://www.economist.com/node/16539402
ReplyDelete