[tag]Omakase[/tag] [tag]Links[/tag] from [tag]Amazon[/tag] [tag]Associates[/tag] for [tag]gambling[/tag] content

This information does not purport to be the alpha and omega of online gaming laws. Please in accordance to your local laws:

United States

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled^[2] in November 2002 that the [tag]Federal Wire Act[/tag] prohibits electronic transmission of information for sports betting across state lines but affirmed a lower court ruling^[3] that the Wire Act “‘in plain language’ does not prohibit Internet gambling on a game of chance.”

Some states have specific laws against online gambling of any kind. Also, owning an online gaming operation without proper licensing would be illegal, and no states are currently granting online gaming licenses.

In March 2003, Deputy Assistant Attorney General John G. Malcolm testified before the Senate Banking Committee regarding the special problems presented by online gambling. A major concern of the United States Department of Justice is online money laundering. The anonymous nature of the Internet and the use of encryption make it especially difficult to trace online money laundering transactions.

In April 2004 [tag]Google[/tag] and [tag]Yahoo![/tag], the two largest internet search engines, announced that they were removing online gambling advertising from their sites. The move followed a United States Department of Justice announcement that, in what some say is a contradiction of the Appeals Court ruling, the Wire Act relating to telephone betting applies to all forms of Internet gambling, and that any advertising of such gambling “may” be deemed as aiding and abetting. Critics of the Justice Department’s move say^{[citation needed]} that it has no legal basis for pressuring companies to remove advertisements and that the advertisements are protected by the First Amendment. As of April 2005, Yahoo! has provided advertising for “play money” online gaming.

In August 2004, Casino City, an online portal for internet gambling sites, sued the US Department of Justice. The complaint alleged, inter alia, that the websites business—promoting internet gambling—was legal, and requested a declaration from the court that its business was protected by the First Amendment. The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana dismissed the case in February of 2005.

In its opinion, the District Court wrote,

It is well-established that the First Amendment does not protect the right to advertise illegal activity… The government’s interest is specifically directed towards the advertising of illegal activity, namely Internet gambling… Furthermore, the speech in which the plaintiff wishes to engage is misleading because it falsely portrays the image that Internet gambling is legal… Because plaintiff’s speech concerns misleading information and illegal activities, it does not fall within the speech that is protected by the First Amendment.^[5]

The US Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit, dismissed [tag]Casino City[/tag]‘s appeal in January, 2006.

In February 2005 the North Dakota House of Representatives passed a bill to legalize and regulate online poker and online poker cardroom operators in the State. Testifying before the State Senate, Nigel Payne, CEO of Paradise Poker, pledged to relocate to the state if the bill became law. However, the measure was defeated by the State Senate in March 2005. Rep. Jim Kasper, who sponsored the 2005 legislation, plans to introduce similar bills in the 2007 North Dakota legislative session.

In July 2006, David Carruthers, the CEO of BetonSports, a company publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange was detained in Texas while changing planes on his way from London to Costa Rica. He and ten other individuals had been previously charged in a sealed indictment with violations of US Federal laws relating to illegal gambling. While as noted above, a United States Appeals court has stated that the Wire Act does not apply to non-sports betting, the Supreme Court of the United States previously refused to hear an appeal of the conviction of Jay Cohen, where lower courts held that the Wire Act does make it illegal to own a sports betting operation that offers such betting to United States citizens.

The BetOnSports indictment alleged violations of at least 9 different Federal statutes, including 18 USC Sec. 1953 (Operation of an Illegal Gambling Business). Carruthers is currently under house arrest on a one million dollar bail bond.

In September 2006, [tag]SportingbetPLC[/tag] reported that its chairman, Peter Dicks, was detained in New York City on a Louisiana warrant while traveling in the United States on business unrelated to online gaming. Louisiana is one of the few states that has a specific law prohibiting gambling online. At the end of the month, New York dismissed the Louisiana warrant.^[12]

Also in September 2006, just before adjourning for the midterm elections, both the House of Representatives and Senate passed legislation (as an amendment to the unrelated Safe Port Act) that would make transactions from banks or similar institutions to online gambling sites illegal. This differs from a previous bill passed only by the House that expanded the scope of the Wire Act. The passed bill only addresses banking issues.^[13] The act was signed into law on October 13, 2006 by President George W. Bush, and there is a provision for a 270-day period to develop enforcement measures. At the bill-signing ceremony, Bush never mentioned the Internet gambling measure, which was supported by the National Football League and opposed by banking groups.

In response to this new legislation, a number of online gambling operators including PartyGaming, The bwin Group, Cassava Enterprises, and Sportingbet announced that real-money gambling operations would be suspended for U.S. customers. PartyGaming’s stock dropped by 60% following its announcement. Other operators such as [tag]PokerStars[/tag], Bodog, and WSEX.com announced their intention to continue serving customers in the U.S.

On April 26, 2007, Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) introduced [tag]HR 2046[/tag], the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act (IGREA). The [tag]IGREA[/tag] would modify the [tag]UIGEA[/tag] by providing a provision for licensing of Internet gambling facilities by the Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. On June 8, 2007, the House Financial Services Committee, chaired by Rep. Barney Frank, held a hearing entitled, “Can Internet Gambling Be Effectively Regulated to Protect Consumers and the Payments System?”. Expert witnesses at the hearing testified that Internet gambling can be effectively regulated for age verification, money laundering issues, facilitation of state and federal tax collection, and for issues relating to compulsive gambling.

On June 7, 2007, Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL) introduced HR 2610, the Skill Game Protection Act. This act would legalize Internet poker, bridge, chess, and other games of skill. Also on June 7, Rep. Jim McDermott [D-WA] introduced H.R. 2607, the Internet Gambling Tax Act. The IGTA would legislate Internet gambling tax collection requirements.

Australia

On the 28th of June 2001 the Australian Government passed the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (IGA). The government said that the IGA was important to protect Australians from the harmful effects of gambling.

The IGA targets the providers of interactive gambling services, not their potential or actual customers. The IGA makes it an offence to provide an interactive gambling service to a customer physically present in Australia, but it is not an offence for Australian residents to play poker or casino games online. In stark contrast to the USA, sports betting online is also completely legal in Australia, with many state government licensed sportsbooks in operation, such as Centrebet, Sportingbet & [tag]Betfair[/tag].

The offence applies to all interactive gambling service providers, whether based in Australia or offshore, whether Australian or foreign owned. The offense carries a maximum penalty of $220,000 per day for individuals and $1.1 million per day for bodies corporate. (More information regarding the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 can be found Here.

Complaints regarding Online gambling facilities serving Australian users can be made to the Australian Communication and Media Authority at its Homepage.

Other countries

Various forms of online gambling are legal and regulated in many countries, including most members of the European Union and several nations in and around the Caribbean Sea.

In India it is neither legal nor illegal the Law is silent on the issue, but in the state of [tag]Maharashtra[/tag] it is a banned offence under the “[tag]Bombay Wager Act[/tag]“.

The government of the island nation of Antigua and Barbuda, which licenses Internet gambling entities, made a complaint to the World Trade Organization about the U.S. government’s actions to impede online gaming. The Caribbean country won the preliminary ruling but WTO’s appeals body somewhat narrowed that favorable ruling in April 2005. The appeals decision held that various state laws argued by Antigua and Barbuda to be contrary to WTO agreements were not sufficiently discussed during the course of the proceedings to be properly assessed by the panel. However, the appeals panel also ruled that the Wire Act and two other federal statutes prohibiting the provision of gambling services from Antigua to the United States violated the WTO’s General Agreement on Trade in Services, or “GATS”. Although the United States convinced the appeals panel that these laws were “necessary” to protect public health and morals, the asserted United States defense on these grounds was ultimately rejected because its laws relating to remote gambling on horse-racing were not applied equally to foreign and domestic online betting companies, and thus the United States could not establish that its laws were non-discriminatory.^[16]

On March 30, 2007 the WTO confirmed the U.S. “had done nothing to abide by an earlier verdict that labeled some U.S. Internet gambling restrictions as illegal.”^[17]

On June 19, 2007, Antigua filed a claim with the WTO for USD $3.4 billion in trade sanctions against the United States, along with a request for authorization to ignore U.S. patent and copyright laws. This followed by a day similar demands for compensation made by the European Union.^[18]

“Gamble” redirects here. For other uses, see Gamble (disambiguation).

.

The term gambling has had many different meanings depending on the cultural and historical context in which it is used. Currently, in Western societies, it has an economic definition, referring to “wagering money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods”. Typically the outcome of the wager is evident within a short period of time.

The term gaming in this context typically refers to instances in which the activity has been specifically permitted by law. The two words are not mutually exclusive; i.e.: a “gaming” company offers (legal) “gambling” activities to the public.

Legal aspects

Because many religious authorities generally disapprove of gambling to some extent, and because gambling can have adverse social consequences, most legal jurisdictions limit gambling to some extent. Some Islamic nations prohibit gambling; most other countries regulate it.^[3]

Many jurisdictions, local as well as national, either ban or heavily control (by licensing) gambling. Such regulation generally leads to gambling tourism and illegal gambling. The involvement of governments, through regulation and taxation, has led to a close connection between many governments and gaming organizations, where legal gambling provides significant government revenue, such as in Monaco or Macau.

Under US federal law, gambling is legal in the United States, and states are free to regulate or prohibit the practice. Gambling has been legal in Nevada since 1931, forming the backbone of the state’s economy, and the city of Las Vegas is perhaps the best known gambling destination in the world. In 1976, gambling was legalized in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and in 1990, it was legalized in Tunica, Mississippi; both of those cities have developed extensive casino and resort areas since then. Since a favorable US Supreme Court decision in 1987, many Native American tribes have built their own casinos on tribal lands as a way to provide revenue for the tribe. Because the tribes are considered sovereign nations, they are often exempt from state laws banning gambling, and are instead regulated under federal law.

Because contracts of insurance have many features in common with wagers, insurance contracts are often distinguished under law as agreements in which either party has an interest in the “bet-upon” outcome beyond the specific financial terms. E.g.: a “bet” with an insurer on whether one’s house will burn down is not gambling, but rather insurance — as the homeowner has an obvious interest in the continued existence of his/her home independent of the purely financial aspects of the “bet” (i.e., the insurance policy).

There is generally legislation requiring that the odds in gaming devices are statistically random, to prevent manufacturers from making some high-payoff results impossible. Since these high-payoffs have very low probability, a house bias can quite easily be missed unless checking the odds carefully.^[4]

Gambling variables

There are three variables common to all forms of gambling:

• How much is being wagered, the initial stake (in money or material goods).
• The predictability of the event.
  • In mechanical or electronic gambling such as lotteries, slot machines and bingo, the results are random and unpredictable; no amount of skill or knowledge (assuming machinery is functioning as intended) can give an advantage in predictability to anyone.
  • However, for sports events such as horse racing and soccer matches there is some predictability to the outcome; thus a person with greater knowledge and/or skill will have an advantage over others.
• The odds agreed between the two (or more) parties to the wager; where there is a house or a bookmaker, the odds are (quite legally) arranged in favour of the house.

The expected value, positive or negative, is a mathematical calculation using these three variables. The amount wagered determines the scale of an individual wager (bet); the odds and the amount wagered determine the payout if successful; the predictability determines the frequency of success. Finally the frequency of success times the payout minus the amount wagered equals the “expected value” The skill of a gambler lies in understanding and maneuvering the three variables so that the “actual value” is positive over a series of wagers.

Blackjack.

Types of gambling

Casino games

While almost any game can be played for money, and any game typically played for money can also be played just for fun, some games are generally offered in a casino setting.

“Beatable” casino games

A highly skilled player with a well-designed strategy can create a positive mathematical expectation on games such as:

• Blackjack—with card counting unless a continuous shuffler is used
• Pai Gow Poker and Tiles—player-dealt
• Parimutuel betting
• Poker (Also recognized as a game of skill)
• Slot machines—where progressive jackpots or bonuses reach a certain break-even point
• Sports betting
• Video poker—with proper pay table and/or progressive jackpot

“Unbeatable” casino games

A pachinko parlor in Tokyo, Japan.

These games have a negative expectation regardless of how few or many games someone plays. Nevertheless, this does not stop gamblers from having false beliefs (the “gambler’s fallacy”) that their actions or “way of playing” will influence the outcome.

• Baccarat (punto banco)
• Caribbean Stud Poker
• Casino war
• Craps (though some believe the use of dice control can beat the game)
• Fan-Tan
• Faro
• Keno
• Let it ride
• Pachinko
• Pyramid Poker
• 3-card poker
• 4-card poker
• Red Dog
• Roulette
• Sic Bo
• Spanish 21—without counting
• Texas Hold’em Bonus Poker

Non-casino gambling games

Mahjong tiles.

Gambling games that take place outside of casinos include Bingo (as played in the US and UK), dead pool, lotteries, pull-tab games and scratchcards, and Mahjong.

Other non-casino gambling games include:

• Card games, such as Liar’s poker, Bridge, Basset, Lansquenet, Piquet, Put, Teen patti
• Coin-tossing games such as Head and Tail, Two-up
• Confidence tricks such as Three-card Monte or the Shell game
• Carnival Games such as The Razzle or Hanky Pank
• Dice-based games, such as Backgammon, Liar’s dice, Passe-dix, Hazard, Threes, Pig, or Mexico

Fixed-odds gambling

Fixed-odds gambling and Parimutuel betting frequently occur at many types of sporting events. In addition many bookmakers offer fixed odds on a number of non-sports related outcomes, for example the direction and extent of movement of various financial indices, the winner of television competitions such as Big Brother, election results,^[5]. Interactive prediction markets also offer trading on these outcomes, with “shares” of results trading on an open market.

Parimutuel betting

Tokyo Racecourse in Tokyo, Japan.

Main article: Parimutuel betting

One of the most widespread forms of gambling involves betting on horse or greyhound racing. Wagering may take place through parimutuel pools; or bookmakers may take bets personally. Parimutuel wagers pay off at prices determined by support in the wagering pools, while bookmakers pay off either at the odds offered at the time of accepting the bet; or at the median odds offered by track bookmakers at the time the race started.

Sports betting

Main article: sports betting

Betting on team sports has become an important service industry in many countries. For example, millions of Britons play the football pools every week.

Arbitrage betting

Main article: arbitrage betting

Arbitrage betting is a theoretically risk-free betting system in which every outcome of an event is bet upon so that a known profit will be made by the bettor upon completion of the event, regardless of the outcome. Arbitrage betting is a combination of the ancient art of arbitrage trading and gambling, which has been made possible the large numbers of bookmakers in the marketplace, creating occasional opportunities for arbitrage.

Other types of betting

One can also bet with another person that a statement is true or false, or that a specified event will happen (a “back bet”) or will not happen (a “lay bet”) within a specified time. This occurs in particular when two people have opposing but strongly-held views on truth or events. Not only do the parties hope to gain from the bet, they place the bet also to demonstrate their certainty about the issue. Some means of determining the issue at stake must exist. Sometimes the amount bet remains nominal, demonstrating the outcome as one of principle rather than of financial importance.

Betting exchanges allow consumers to both back and lay at odds of their choice. Similar in some ways to a stock exchange, a better may want to back a horse (hoping it to win) or lay a horse (hoping it to lose, effectively acting as bookmaker)

Staking systems

Main article: betting strategy

Many betting systems have been created in an attempt to “beat the bookie” but most still accept that no system can make an unprofitable bet profitable over time. Widely-used systems include:

• Fixed stakes – a traditional system of staking the same amount on each selection.
• Fixed profits – the stakes vary based on the odds to ensure the same profit from each winning selection.
• Due-column betting – A variation on fixed profits betting in which the bettor sets a target profit and then calculates a bet size that will make this profit, adding any losses to the target.
• Kelly – the optimium level to bet to maximize your future median bank level.
• Martingale – A system based on staking enough each time to recover losses from previous bet(s) until one wins.

Other uses of the term “gambling”

Many risk-return choices are sometimes referred to colloquially as “gambling.” Whether this terminology is acceptable is a matter of debate, but generally the following activities are not considered gambling:

• Emotional or physical risk-taking, where the risk-return ratio is not quantifiable (e.g., skydiving, campaigning for political office, asking someone for a date, etc.)
• Insurance is a method of shifting risk from one party to another. Insurers use actuarial methods to calculate appropriate premiums, which could be considered similar to calculating gambling odds. However, insurers can set their premiums to obtain a long term positive expected return.
• Situations where the possible return is a secondary reason for the wager/purchase (e.g., buying a raffle ticket to support a charitable cause)

Investments are also usually not considered gambling, although some investments can involve significant risk. Examples of investments include stocks, bonds and real estate. Starting a business can also be considered a form of investment. Investments are generally not considered gambling when they meet the following criteria:

• Positive expected returns (at least in the long term)
• Economic utility
• Underlying value independent of the risk being undertaken

Some speculative investment activities are particularly risky, but are still usually considered separately from gambling:

• Securities derivatives, such as options or futures, where the value of the derivative is dependent on the value of the underlying asset at a specific point in time (typically the derivative’s associated expiration date)
• Foreign currency exchange (forex) transactions
• Prediction markets

[tag]Rory Sabbatini[/tag] carded a second consecutive 67 to take a two-shot lead into the weekend at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio.

While fellow overnight leaders [tag]Paul Casey[/tag] and [tag]Hunter Mahan[/tag] struggled in difficult conditions over the [tag]Firestone Country Club[/tag]’s testing par-70 South Course layout to record three-over-par rounds of 73, Sabbatini produced a strong finish to surge into the halfway lead on six under par.

Sabbatini revealed it was a patient approach that paid off, saying: “It’s a matter of picking and choosing your targets. There are opportunities that you have that you can be aggressive but you have to kind of back down and just give the course respect, otherwise it’ll hit you pretty quickly.

“I didn’t quite hit the ball as well as I did yesterday. I hit a couple more drives in that that hay they call rough out there but it was a little more of a grind, a little more work. I think the positive thing I can take out of it is that I did battle out there today and came out on top.”

—
Sweden’s [tag]Per-Ulrik Johansson[/tag] will take a four-shot lead into the final round of the Russian Open in Moscow.

Johansson carded a third-round 67 for an 18-under total of 198, maintaining the lead forged by a brilliant 62 on Friday.

Holland’s [tag]Robert-Jan Derksen[/tag] returned a 65 to move into second place on 14 under, one ahead of Canada-based Scot Alan McLean.

England’s Adam Gee and Ireland’s [tag]Gary Murphy[/tag] share fourth place a stroke further back.

We all know about [tag]online gambling[/tag] being banned not long ago shutting huge huge poker, sports betting, and other casino sites. What some don’t realize is how great gambling really is for society. The ‘big board’ is the biggest casino on the planet. With futures you can bet not just on crops and how much a live cow will be worth in months to come, but you can “invest” in weather!?! Okay, you can hedge out dramatic temperature changes when growing crops, but buying and selling the snowfall in New York or Boston? There are some road plowing guys that drive pickup trucks with a blade on the front that whose income may swing a few thousand based on snowfall, but come on, this is just flat out gambling; and I see nothing wrong with it.

Now on to the more interesting news of late. Did you know it’s legal to bet on the winner of elections in the United States? SEC said that because it provides research it is The interesting thing is, they are right. The markets ([TAG]bookies[/TAG]) are more accurate than the “analysts” and “experts”.

Where does the line between gambling and investing stop? Is a foreign exchange trader with money leveraged at 200:1 where a .5% move can wipe out or double his account in few minutes really investing comparing to a sports follower who calculates the number of wins in a season a baseball team will have based on complex math? I think not.

Get the best conceptual eBook I have ever seen, it’s based on leveraging a open content management framework. Not an overly complex piece. I clearly recommend it.

Over the last few years we have seen a massive explosion in the number of betting exchanges, an industry which seems to be constantly growing.

It is at such a level that it has actually had an effect on the business of the traditional bookmakers,  who are now desperate to protect their own business.  Despite a number of tax changes to try and “level the playing field” it appears that many gamblers are still moving their business to the betting exchanges.

What are the benefits of betting exchanges?

The main benefits of betting exchanges are the improved odds for customers, and the transparency which is available for each and every betting exchange market.  It is now simple to see at a glance any changes in the market, and monitor these real time on the internet.  This has offered the astute and alert gambler the chance to try and “piggy back” trends as and when they happen – with many making a lucrative living from this!

The volume of business on these betting exchanges has grown dramatically over the last couple of years and there are rumours than the traditional bookmakers are using these instruments to actually hedge off their own positions – a suggestion refuted by the industry. 

Are their any negative aspects about betting exchanges?

Unfortunately betting exchanges have opened up a whole new market to the public, betting AGAINST horses – i.e. laying off bets.  While this is a legitimate market, there have been recent instances of organised gangs using this method to bet on “fixed” events, with many earning millions of pounds in the process. 

There have been a number of suspensions, court actions and investigations and the betting exchanges have now agreed to flag any “suspicious” activity, and also pass over the details of these accounts as and when the authorities require them.

All in all betting exchanges are set to grow and grow over the coming years, although the traditional bookmakers are sure to continue their constant battle to protect their own markets.  Who is your money on?

Legislative talks have fizzled, Madigan says

By Ray Long
Tribune staff reporter
Published July 17, 2007 SPRINGFIELD — House Speaker Michael Madigan said Monday that no gambling expansion will emerge from the General Assembly because of a disagreement over how the money should be used, a setback to lawmakers hoping gambling money would help resolve the budget impasse.

With the legislature in its seventh week of overtime, the Southwest Side Democrat’s prediction came after a meeting on gambling with other legislative leaders and officials representing Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

“Based on this meeting, there’s a lack of an agreement,” Madigan said. “That means there won’t be a gaming bill.”

———

July 13, 2007MERRIMACK, N.H. –Police raided a pool hall during the night, seizing poker machines and cash and charging the owner with illegal gambling.

Officers say they have been investigating Merrimack Billiards for nine months after getting tips about gambling there.

Edward Mosher, 51, of Dracut, Mass., was charged Thursday night with various gambling charges.

Police say an undercover officer was paid cash several times for his winnings on the poker machines. The machines are legal as long as no money changes hands.

The state now is investigating whether to revoke the pool hall’s liquor license

A Renton attorney is suing the state to overturn its ban on Internet gambling, a topic that has the U.S. mired in international trade disputes.

In a complaint filed last week in King County Superior Court, lawyer and poker aficionado Lee Rousso claims Washington’s online wagering ban conflicts with the U.S. Constitution’s protections of interstate trade.

“I think my chances are darn good,” Rousso told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

State lawmakers approved the Internet gambling ban by wide margins, and it went into effect in June 2006. It extended previous prohibitions on gambling by telephone or telegraph and upped the crime to a felony, rather than a gross misdemeanor.

The lawsuit is being handled by Attorney General Rob McKenna, who is responsible for defending legal challenges of state laws.

No one has been prosecuted under the Washington ban so far, but the state Gambling Commission “will continue with our enforcement actions,” spokeswoman Susan Arland said Monday.

Internet gambling also is prohibited under federal law. But that ban has sparked international trade squabbles with the countries that house online gambling operations.

The $15.5 billion Internet gambling industry is based outside the United States, though about half of its customers live in America. The U.S. law, approved last year, stopped domestic banks and credit card companies from processing payments to online gambling businesses outside the country.

The World Trade Organization ruled in December that the federal law unfairly targeted offshore casinos. The WTO told the U.S. it could keep restrictions against sport betting in place if they were also applied to American businesses, such as operators of remote horse betting.

Rousso’s lawsuit argues that Washington state’s law unfairly protects the in-state gambling industry, including card rooms and casinos.

If he loses in court, Rousso said he would push for another change in state law to make Internet poker legal again. “Our backup plan is to get this done politically,” he said.

Information from: Seattle Post-Intelligencer, http://www.seattle-pi.com/