Bet From Anywhere Blog

Gambling for free on the Internet has become the most popular gambling activity among youths in Oregon, according to a new survey. That concerns officials who say it introduces teenagers to gambling and grooms them for other forms in which money is waged.”You’re learning that gambling is fun, it’s stimulating, and it’s risk-free,” said Wendy Hausotter, problem gambling prevention coordinator with Oregon Department of Human Services. “That’s not true at all.” The survey, commissioned by DHS last year, found that 33 percent of youths ages 12 to 17 — an estimated 94,659 teens — gamble online for free.

It’s an activity that is convenient and easily accessible, officials say, because it can be done at home at any time, often under no supervision from parents. Its novelty, high level of stimulation and low level of physical exertion also appeal to youths, many of whom are tech-savvy. [So lazy kids sit in front of the computer all day and happen to play poker? What if the parents forced them to go outside? Scary idea.-Editor] [Read more →]

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Tags:   · free online gambling · fud · study · teenageNo Comments.

With Internet gambling predicted to surpass $20 billion in 2008, and with illegal wagering accounting for $150 billion in the United States, by some estimates, the temptation for those seeking to influence the outcome of games has never been greater. Now, a raft of gambling scandals in sports, from cricket to soccer and most recently tennis, has raised an uncomfortable question: Are the games we watch fixed?

NYTimes is running an interesting article about how some internet gambling companies alert the sports leagues when they see irregular betting patterns on their sport games. [Read more →]

Tags:   irregular bets · sports gamblingNo Comments.

PokerPages has found an interesting lawsuit that was filed by Public Citizen to force US Trade Office to release details of WTO internet gambling deal. According to the lawsuit, the Bush administration is illegally withholding the details of its offer accepted by the European Union to bind more sectors of the U.S. economy to World Trade Organization (WTO) jurisdiction as part of a settlement relating to a WTO ruling against the U.S. ban on Internet gambling.

In December, the USTR provided a hint at the scope of the deals by revealing that they involved new U.S. WTO commitments for “warehousing services, technical testing services, research and development services and postal services relating to outbound international letters.” [Read more →]

Tags:   european union · foia · ustr · WTONo Comments.

According to Reuters, Dutch authorities intend to crack down on illegal online casinos and are calling on banks to stop providing financial services to them. “It is illegal to offer gambling services in the Netherlands without a permit. These companies know they break the law,” Justice Ministry spokeswoman said on Saturday.

The ministry has made a list of 30-50 Internet gamers and has asked banks to stop services to these companies.
In the Netherlands only the Dutch state lottery De Lotto has a permit to offer online gambling, and last month the Dutch upper house defeated a bill that would have allowed Holland Casino to open a gambling website on a trial basis.

The Dutch approach to online gaming has put it on a collision course with the European Union, which is pushing for member states to open up their markets to competition. [Read more →]

Tags:   dutch · netherlands · uigea1 Comment

According to VentureBeat, PurePlay, a poker and proto-gambling site that today announced $15 million in funding from various venture capital firms and other investment sources.

PurePlay is an online gambling site where everyone, including US residents can play for, and win, money in online poker games. There is only one other popular online poker website that is legal for US residents, DuplicatePoker, which slightly alters the rules to make it a more a game of skill, which is than permitted by US law.

PurePlay was planned out and started well in advance of the UIGEA laws, says CEO Jason Kellerman. [Read more →]

Tags:   game of skill · internet poker · pureplayNo Comments.