| Can you tell us a bit about your
background? |
| |
 |
"To my knowledge, no one in
the U.S. has been punished for placing a bet online."
|
After two-and-a-half years of attending
classes at the University of Missouri/St. Louis, I was
informed by advisors that I had to major in something,
so I opted for communications, more or less because I'd
been a communicator ever since I was a child. A few years
later they handed me a diploma and spat me into the real
world, where I still reside today (in the outskirts).
Out of college, I began freelance writing here and there
and eventually hooked up with Rolling Good Times in October
of '96--the beginning of my experience in the gaming industry. |
| |
| |
| When and how were you introduced
to online gambling? |
| |
| I was working as a part-time writer
for RGT in '96. One of my tasks was writing reviews for
gambling-related web sites. A handful of the sites were
online casinos and www books. Needless to say, the
industry has progressed quite a bit since then. |
| |
| |
| What inspired you to write "The
Complete Idiot's Guide?" |
| |
| Actually, somebody called me one day
and asked, "Would you like to do an Idiot's Guide on Internet
gambling?" So I figured, "Why not?" I'm not sure if they
picked me for my expertise in online gambling or my ability
to relate to idiots. Perhaps it was a combination of the
two. |
| |
| |
| Just how popular is online gambling
today? |
| |
| That's a tough question. The best way
to answer it is through statistics, and there aren't too
many solid numbers out there. The majority of online gambling
sites aren't too hip on revealing how many players they
have. Sebastian Sinclair, who in my opinion is the world's
top analyst in this field, estimates that it's already
more than a $1 billion-a-year business. And it's growing
rapidly. |
| |
| |
| What are some of the most popular
forms of Internet gambling now? |
| |
|
"If you don't care about
the atmosphere and all you want to do is play, online
gambling is a nice alternative."
|
Again, it's hard to access the
players, but my inclination is that www betting is
still huge. Www betting got a head start because bookmakers
already had tons of clients with phone betting accounts.
The transition from phone betting to Internet betting
was a breeze. The latest craze has been person-to-person
betting, which is when you're betting against other punters
instead of betting against the book. Casino gambling is
huge too, but I think the transition from playing at real-world
casinos to playing at online casinos isn't as smooth.
The software is a lot more complicated (the back-end that
is), and a lot of people shy away because they have no
idea how online casinos work. They'd be pleasantly surprised
at how easy it is if they gave it a shot. I should also
mention that bingo is big too. |
| |
| |
| In your book, you admit that "the
legality of online gambling is about as pellucid as a
London fog." But what does the online player need to know
about the legal consequences of placing a bet on the Internet? |
| |
|
"If it looks like the
site was created and published in a span of two
or three hours, I would avoid it."
|
First, I'll narrow the scope to
U.S. players, as that's where the legality issue is the
most publicly questioned. I think the best way to look
at it is from state to state. It's been fairly well established
that no federal law punishes the player. The Kyl bill
originally had a casual bettor provision, but it was removed
because it wasn't very realistic. Most states don't have
laws that specifically address online gambling, in which
case it's up to their justice systems to determine whether
laws enacted before the Internet arrived make it illegal
to place a bet over the Internet. To my knowledge, no
one in the U.S. has been punished for placing a bet online.
A handful of states do have laws that prohibit online
gambling, and some of these laws prohibit the placing
of wagers online. |
| |
| |
| When a player is looking for a reputable
online casino or www betting agency, where should the
player begin his search on the Internet? |
| |
| Well, FairestCasinos.com, of course. (The check's
in the mail, right guys?) On a serious note, I'd stress
the importance of not relying on any single site. The
best thing to do is to see what web sites collectively
have to say about the casino. Sites that are listed as
reputable by several sources are safer bets. As far as
a starting point goes, places like www.gamblinglinks.com
and www.vegascorner.com
are good. |
| |
| |
| Although online players can't enjoy
free drinks, what are some of the advantages of gambling
at an online casino as opposed to a land-based casino? |
| |
| Convenience. No online casino will
ever match the bricks-and-mortar gambling experience.
But on the flip side, no real-world casino will ever be
as easy to access as an Internet casino. Plus, you don't
have to deal with smoky rooms, hotel fares, huge crowds,
etc. I think both experiences have their advantages and
they really can't be compared. If you don't care about
the atmosphere and all you want to do is play, online
gambling is a nice alternative. |
| |
| |
| Why should players beware of the
faster gambling action that online casinos provide? |
| |
| Two reasons, really. First, faster
play means you can lose your money faster. You can blow
a lot of money in no time if you're on a losing streak.
You've got to keep in mind that it's real money and you've
got to pay attention to your bankroll. At a real casino,
you have plenty of time to stop and think realistically
about what you're doing, while dealers are shuffling and
other players are making their bets. Second, it's very
easy to grow accustomed to the process of clicking your
mouse on buttons over and over as you get used how a casino
works. If you get used to moving really quickly, you can
easily slip and hit the wrong button (like hitting on
a 20, for example). Remember, Regis isn't there to ask
you if that's your final answer. |
| |
| |
| Do all online sites offer the same
odds and payout percentages as casinos in Las Vegas? |
| |
| In my experience, most of them are
comparable. The first thing you need to keep in mind is
that anytime the odds and payouts seem too good to be
true, they probably are. At times you can find sites with
a favorable video poker pay schedule. Some sites offer
multiple free odds for craps, and of course, you always
want to play roulette at sites that offer the single-zero
version. The GameMaster (www.gamemasteronline.com)
usually has the inside track on which sites have the better
odds. The big questions is, "Do they actually stay true
to those odds and payouts?" Here's where it's a good idea
to play with sites that are government-licensed, especially
those that undergo software audits. |
| |
| |
| Card-counting players are thrown
out of real casinos, but can they take advantage of Internet
blackjack? |
| |
| Not as much as you'd think. Obviously,
card counters would have a tremendous advantage playing
online because they can write down everything that's been
dealt without being detected. Online casinos tend to deal
out of a shoe, but it's nearly impossible to utilize counting
because online dealers shuffle between every hand. The
only way you can count with any success is if you're playing
a multiple player game and you can see what everyone else
is dealt. But, even that's extremely limited because the
penetration is still weak. |
| |
| |
| Since the Internet is a free-for-all,
what is the best way for an online player to avoid getting
scammed? Are there any sure signs of a scam operation? |
| |
| In Chapter 5 of the book, you'll find
a section titled "A checklist for avoiding trouble." Briefly,
here are some of the main things to look for: Make sure
the site is government-licensed; Make sure the operators
of the site are reachable; Avoid sites that offer deals
that sound too good to be true; See what other players
are saying (or not saying) about the site; Look for sites
that maintain a high profile It's difficult to identify
scam operations because many of the "scams" are not scams
by design. Sometimes the operators run out of money and
can't afford to pay customers. Their solution is simply
to disappear. As far as all-out scams go, anyone who's
generally Web savvy can tell how much time, effort and
money goes into the publishing of a web site. If it looks
like the site was created and published in a span of two
or three hours, I would avoid it. |
| |
| |
| Many gambling sites claim to be
licensed. Which countries actually do license online gambling
sites and which licenses can players trust? |
| |
| Well, there are around 50 countries
that either license or tolerate Internet gambling. In
many countries, it's simply a case of the government allowing
businesses to operate online gambling sites. Several countries,
however, have laws that were drafted specifically for
the licensing and regulating of Internet gambling. Still
others take gaming laws that are already in the books
and apply them toward operating Internet gaming sites.
Antigua and Barbuda is the most notable country in the
Caribbean with online gambling legislation and licensing.
Several Australian states have regulatory systems in place
as well. Australian sites are probably the most highly
regulated, and I haven't yet heard of anyone getting scammed
by gaming operating licensed there. There's also the Kahnawake
Mohawks near Montreal. They developed a regulatory system
using the Australian model and have been licensing online
gambling sites for nearly a year. |
| |
| |
| If players do get scammed, how can
they retaliate? |
| |
|
"Nine times out of 10
when a player thinks he's getting scammed, it's
a misunderstanding."
|
The first thing he should do is
make sure it's definitely a scam. Nine times out of 10
when a player thinks he's getting scammed, it's a misunderstanding.
Typically, it comes down to poor customer service. Sometimes
payments get hung up, sometimes sites go down for days
at a time. When these things happen, it's up to the site
operators to stay on top of things and let customers know
what's going on, but there are many in this industry who
don't understand what customer service is. If you discover
that you've definitely been scammed, the only thing you
can do is spread the word so that others will know to
avoid that site. Let publications that cover online gambling
know about it; go to the newsgroups and forums and tell
other players what happened. Word-of-mouth is incredibly
powerful on the Web. Because of this, scam operations
are having a much harder time finding victims these days.
Believe it or not, most cases of fraud have to do with
players trying to rip off casinos, not vice versa. |
| |
| |
| Things happen fast on the Internet
and in the gaming industry. What are the major developments
in online gaming since the book was published? |
| |
| I'd say the biggest thing that's happened
is the Australian federal government trying to stop the
growth of Internet gambling. At the time to book was published,
it looked like there were going to be a lot of online
casinos launching in Australia. Now they're looking at
a ban. On the technology side, the biggest development
in 2000 has been gambling via WAP devices. Expect mobile
betting to explode in popularity coming months. |
| |
| |
| Will there eventually be a new edition
of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Online Gambling"? |
| |
| No plans as of yet, but it's a possibility.
The publishing company heavily targets readers in the
U.S., so the legal situation in America might dictate
that. If a regulatory policy is adopted, I think you'll
see online gambling quickly become extremely popular,
in which case a second edition may be in demand. |
| |
| |
| Do you have any comments to add? |
| |
| Yes, buy my book. I'm hungry. |
| |
|
|
