Proposal Submission

Research Topic

The research topic of this assignment is on a broad overview of online casino gambling. Online casino gambling had become a popular trend for players since the emergence of Internet and gambling websites. People tend to prefer/switch to online casino gambling rather than atetnding brick and mortar casinos.

In relation to e-commerce, the research of the topic will include on discussing the business models of the online casino gambling websites. Details of their business models can be identified and be inter-related to how these websites uses e-commerce ideas to generate profit. A lot of people w ill be interested on how these intermediary websites connects players and earn money at the same time.

The legality of online casino gambling would also be looked into as it concerns whether these websites are operating on appropriate licenses. There are a lot of regulations being enacted and we will look into some of these to see how well had regulations create legal online casino gambling.

Besides that, this research topic will also focus on the impact of online casino gambling. As known, gambling had incurred a lot of cost from many perspectives including social, economy and political factors. We will identify and look into such issues as part of our discussion.


Research Objectives

1. To describe and give an overview of real cash online casino games betting
2. To identify the business model of online gambling sites and their operative trend
3. To understand the cause of players choosing online gambling rather than normal gambling
4. To discuss towards the legality of the online casino games websites
5. To highlight the impact of online gambling on the society

Report Outline

1.0 Introduction
1.1 General Overview of Online Casino Gambling
1.2 Online Poker
1.3 Online Roulette

2.0 Research Objectives

3.0 Content
3.1 Reasons Casino Gamblers Switch to Online Casino Gambling
3.2 Business Models of Online Casino Websites and Profit Generation
3.3 Legality of Online Casino Gambling
3.4 Impact of Online Casino Gambling

4.0 Conclusion

5.0 References


Literature Review

Brindley (1999) defined cyber gambling into two aspects which include through the Internet and digital television method. As discussed for our topic, our online casino gambling mainly involves Internet casino gambling. It is also stated that traditional casino games had also been offered through the internet now such as poker and blackjack (Brindley 1999). Based on the statistic diagram above provided by the Online Poker Channel (2010), the annual revenue has increased stably since 2001 which nearly hit $25 billions this year. This indicates that the online casino channel is attractive and keeps on growing due to the increasing number of customers/players and the improvement of technology. According to the study of Wood et. al. (2007), gambler usually play online usually is due to the convenient (12.9%) and easy to play (12.2%) in a comfortable place (11.7%).

Legality is a popular issue in online casino gambling. As in United States, Grohman (2006) said that it is hard to ban the activities of online gambling if there exist financial intermediaries that help the transfer the betting money. Regulated Internet Gambling framework could help in preserving consumers and ensure these transactions are formal. Legality: Online Casinos and U.S. Legislation (2010) shown that estimates of 80% of online wagers of U.S. are online poker players. Dewar (2001) also emphasized that it is hard to maintain jurisdiction on Internet gambling due to its nature and suggested that Internet regulation would be a way to tackle the current issue. Disputes may arise when countries argue on which jurisdictions to use on. Smith (2009) concluded that the current legal foundation is still uncertain. Smith (2009) quoted an example of employee using different emails to gamble and will not be prosecuted under certain situations.

Impact of online casino gambling can be a lot. Since online casino gambling could be played anywhere, it is not odd to see employees starting to surf gambling websites from their workplace. Such employee attitude could create work negligence and lead to time exploitation, decrease of productivity, financial problems and criminal activity (Griffiths 2009). Besides, in a paper written by Clark (2002), political issues arising from gambling include bribes on regulative laws which amounted to ten million dollars. What is meant here is that gambling industries pay bribes to governors and public officials to vote for the legalization of gambling.

As for profitability, online casino business is so popular nowadays, but how do they really work in generating high profit? According to Wilson (2005), the start up cost for the online casino business range from less than $200 to over $5,000. There are few common models used by the online casino to operate their business namely the web-based, download-based and live-based (eCommerce Journal 2006). Besides that, the high generated profit is due to the incomes gained from customers through different ways such as losing of bet, the house edge and commissions (English Harbour Casino 2010).

Major References

Brindley, C 1999, ‘The marketing of gambling on the Internet’, Department of Business and Management, Manchester Metropolitan University, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol.9, no.4, pp281-286.
This reference discuss about how online gambling makes money, delivery of its product and its implication.

Clark, G, Gambling and Political Corruption, National Information Center, viewed 6 October 2010, http://spgfoundation.org/Library/Studies%20and%20White%20Papers/Crime%20and%20Corruption/gambling_and_political_corruptio.htm.
This article focuses gambling which results in corruption and its description on how it happens.

Dewar, L 2001, 'Regulating Internet Gambling: the net tightens on online casinos and bookmakers', Aslib Proceedings, vol.53, No.9, pp12-13, viewed 6 October 2010.
This article talks about internet gambling, its regulation history and current regulative issues on internet gambling.

Griffiths, M 2009, ‘Internet gambling in the workplace’, vol.21, no.8, pp 658-670, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Nottingham Trent University, viewed 6 October 2010.
This article discusses about the effect of internet gambling in the workplace.

Grohman, C 2006, 'Reconsidering Regulation: A Historical View of the Legality of Internet Poker and Discussion of the Internet Gambling Ban of 2006', Journal of Legal Technology Risk Management, vol 1, no.1, pp. 37.
This journal states about regulations and its history on internet gambling.

Internet Gambling: An overview of the Issues 2002, United States General Accounting Office, GAO-03-89, Pp 15, viewed 5 October 2010, http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0389.pdf.
This article explains that issue of internet gambling which includes money laundering and legal frameworks.

Online Poker Channel (2010), viewed 14 September 2010,
http://www.onlinepokerchannel.com/casino-industry-review/
This website shows the statistic of estimated earned revenue in the online gambling industry from year 2001-2010.

Smith, A 2009, 'Controversial and emerging issues associated with cybergambling (e-casinos)', Vol. 28, no.6, pp 435-443, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, viewed 6 October 2010.
The journal discusses about internet gambling, e-casinos, implication of regulations and e-gambling attributes.

Wilson R 2005, Casino Business Opportunity, EzineArticles.com, viewed 8 October 2010,
http://ezinearticles.com/?Casino-Business-Opportunity&id=36521
This article discusses about the casino’s business opportunities and explains the different options of owning a casino.

Wood, R. T., Williams, R. J., & Lawton, P. K. (2007), ‘Why do Internet gamblers prefer online versus land-based venues? Some preliminary findings and implications’, Journal of Gambling Issues, no.20, University of Lethbridge, viewed 8 October 2010, http://www.uleth.ca/dspace/bitstream/10133/375/1/07wood.pdf
This journal discusses about the reason why internet gambler prefers online casino by explaining its’ advantages and disadvantages.

Other References

Answer Corporation 2010, roulette, viewed 16 September 2010, http://www.answers.com/topic/roulette

Aranda N 2009, History of Online Casino, viewed 13 September 2010, http://ezinearticles.com/?History-of-Online-Casino&id=135546

Associated Content, Inc. 2010, A Timeline of Roulette History, viewed 16 September 2010,
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/39777/a_timeline_of_roulette_history.html

Dodge, C 2010, House Panel Passes Measure to Legalize Some Internet Gambling, Bloomberg, viewed 5 October 2010, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-28/house-panel-passes-frank-backed-measure-to-legalize-some-internet-gambling.html.

Dunstan, R 1997, Gambling in California, California State Library, CRB-97-003, http://www.library.ca.gov/crb/97/03/Chapt9.html.

English Harbour Casino 2010, How Casino's Profit, viewed 8 October 2010,
http://www.englishharbour.com/articles/how_casinos_profit.php

Gambleaware 2010, Types of Gambling, viewed 15 September 2010, http://www.gambleaware.co.uk/seek-help/types-of-gambling.

Gambling Online: Is It Legal? 2010, viewed 5 October 2010, http://www.the-surfs-up.com/news/gamblingonlinenews.html..

Maincasinovalues.com 2010, The Benefits of Online Casinos Vs Land-Based Casinos, viewed 9 October 2010,
http://www.maincasinovalues.com/

Marotta, J 2006, Parents urged to consider dangers of gambling gifts for kids, Grants Pass Climate, viewed 6 October 2010, http://pactoregon.org/news-061120-MarottaKids.html.

May, J 2000, Top Ten Casino Game Profit Opportunities, viewed 15 September 2010,
http://may.casinocitytimes.com/article/top-ten-casino-game-profit-opportunities-1129.

Negative Effects of Online Gambling, viewed 6 October 2010, http://www.usaplayers.com/gambling/negative-effects-of-online-gambling-in-the-usa.html.

Oak, M 2009, Impact of Internet Gambling, viewed 6 October 2010, http://www.buzzle.com/articles/impact-of-internet-gambling.html.

OnlineCasinoAdmin.com 2010, The Profits of Online Casino, Viewed 8 Oct 2010, http://www.onlinecasinoadmin.com/blog/2010/05/the-profits-of-online-casino/

Online casino business, how does it work? 2010, eCommerce Journal 2006, viewed 8 October 2010,
http://ecommerce-journal.com/articles/13944_your_own_internet_casino_a_dream_or_a_target

Online Gambling Insider 2002-2009, Online Gambling Advantages, viewed 9 October 2010,
http://www.online-gambling-insider.com/online-gambling/ogi-online-gambling-advantages.html

Pokerstars.com 2010, Rational Entertainment Enterprises Limited, viewed 6 October 2010, http://www.pokerstars.com/.

Problem Gambling And Its Effects 2006, MediLexicon International Ltd, viewed 6 October 2010, http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/41277.php.

Reno, R 2000, Gambling’s Impact on Families, viewed 6 October 2010, http://www.troubledwith.com/AbuseandAddiction/A000000707.cfm?topic=abuse%20and%20addiction:%20gambling.

Staples J 2010, Why Online Roulette Game is Becoming So Popular, viewed 16 September 2010,
http://ezinearticles.com/?Why-Online-Roulette-Game-is-Becoming-So-Popular&id=4872646

Streetdirectory 2010, Types of Online Casinos, viewed 8 October 2010,
http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/113488/world_wide_web/types_of_online_casinos.html

Texas Holdem Moves to Las Vegas 2010, Ace Up, viewed 15 September 2010, http://www.texas-holdem-poker-history.com/texas-holdem-to-vegas.html.

World Series of Poker 2010, viewed 15 September 2010,
http://www.wsop.com/how-to-play-poker/.

FOR DISCUSSION: Online casino...but why??

Convenient, simple and comfortable

According to the study of Wood et. al. (2007), gambler usually play online usually is due to the convenient (12.9%) and easy to play (12.2%) in a comfortable place (11.7%). With the internet, people are able to gamble anytime and anywhere they want as they need not go to the casino physically which may be located far away. Plus, the online casino also provides them with variety of betting games which are similar as the real one (Online Gambling Insider 2010). Besides, it is easy to play as the players would only need to “click” and the locations are base on own preference as long as they can access the internet.

Bonuses

People are usually having difficulty in funding their capital to gamble in a casino. Thus, more and more online casinos had come up and implement the new business strategy – providing sign in bonus to attract customers. Players are getting money for free without the need to play when they sign in for the very first time. Who doesn’t want this? Besides that, the online casino is giving higher payout compare to the brick casino. This is due to the high operating expenses bear by the landed casino while the web casino requires less assets and workers (Maincasinovalues.com 2010). Maintenance of the server is the only major matter they need to consider.

Gaming Strategy

From the others' opinion, sometimes playing online may grant greater advantage for the gambler. Unlike the real casino, players who play online may ask a group of people to join as one during the game. They can discuss and share the information among each others before deciding the next bet to be placed. Another example is the mental play such as the online poker where players tend to hide their impression and nature act. As there is no real interaction between players, they can act naturally for the whole time.

Reference:

Online Gambling Insider 2002-2009, Online Gambling Advantages, viewed 9 October 2010,

http://www.online-gambling-insider.com/online-gambling/ogi-online-gambling-advantages.html

Maincasinovalues.com 2010, The Benefits of Online Casinos Vs Land-Based Casinos, viewed 9 October 2010,

http://www.maincasinovalues.com/

Wood, R. T., Williams, R. J., & Lawton, P. K. (2007), Why do Internet gamblers prefer online versus land-based venues? Some preliminary findings and implications, Journal of Gambling Issues, 20, viewed 8 October 2010,

http://www.uleth.ca/dspace/bitstream/10133/375/1/07wood.pdf

FOR DISCUSSION: Where the Profit Comes from???

As mentioned in the introduction part, the online casinos had earned huge amount of profit in the pass year and the number still keeps on increasing today. Most people may be wondering how they earns and where these profit comes from. The followings explain how they generate profit from the players:
1. Losing of bet:
Some casino’s games involve the play of dealer and players where dealer is allowed to become the player and have the equal chance to win the game. For this type of game play, the most common and direct way for them to earn is through the losing bet of players. In addition, sometimes the game structure gives the dealer a superior advantage in winning the game (English Harbour Casino 2010). For example in blackjack, the dealer can directly win the bet without the need to play as long as the player’s card bursts. Players lose their bet in full amount and that is how the online casino gained significant profit from them.
2. Online Casino's 'House Edge'
Based on OnlineCasinoAdmin 2009, the house edge is the difference between the winning odd and the actual payout odd which determined by the casino. For example, when the bet is $1, and the wining payout is $0.98, then the 2% ($0.02) is the ‘house edge’ earned by the casino. So, no matter a player wins or loses in a bet, the 2% profit is guaranteed for the casino. The amount may look little here but it may be different when it deals with multiple and heavy betting players.
3. Commissions
Another easy earning generated by online casino is through the collection of commission or known as the ‘rake’. It is collected based on the fixed rate set by the casino itself or the percentage of total amount bet in every beginning of the round. This method is usually used in the game where the house only acts as the dealer. They do not participate and thus are not capable to win the game such as the online poker (English Harbour Casino 2010). But, the commissions are assured for the casino as every player has to pay for this before the game commence.


Reference:

English Harbour Casino 2010, How Casino's Profit, viewed 8 October 2010,
http://www.englishharbour.com/articles/how_casinos_profit.php

OnlineCasinoAdmin.com 2010, The Profits of Online Casino, Viewed 8 Oct 2010, http://www.onlinecasinoadmin.com/blog/2010/05/the-profits-of-online-casino/

FOR DISCUSSION: How Online Casino Works???

Nowadays, the online casino is getting popular and the business is expanding dramatically especially in US and UK. This is due to the low set up cost as fewer assets and employees are required. According to Wilson (2005), the start up cost for the online casino business range from less than $200 to over $5,000. Only servers are needed and the business is operated through electronic devices with few human resources.
There are few common models used by the online casino to operate their business namely the web-based, download-based and live-based (eCommerce Journal 2006).For the web-based online casino, it only requires the use of browser and few plugin such as the flash player. The advantage of this model is that customers do not have to download any software to run the application. What they need to do is just access the casino’s website and sign up for member to get the log in authority.
Another type is the download-based casino which required the use of certain software to run the program. Players need to download and install the software into their own local electronic hardware with huge data capacity mainly the computer and laptop. However with this software, players can directly connect to the server and the provider is able to contact with them without the need of browser. Besides, it helps to enhance the playing environment of customers due to the higher quality of game background such as the graphic and sound.
Last but not least is the live-based online casino which may be rare but full with fun and excitement. Players are able to feel the actual gambling atmosphere as the dealers are physically real who interact with them using the webcam and online chat (Streetdirectory 2010). Every movement and communication can be seen and heard clearly. With this, players may feel secured and able to play comfortably from their own preferred place.


Reference:

Online casino business, how does it work? 2010, eCommerce Journal 2006, viewed 8 October 2010,
http://ecommerce-journal.com/articles/13944_your_own_internet_casino_a_dream_or_a_target

Streetdirectory 2010, Types of Online Casinos, viewed 8 October 2010,
http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/113488/world_wide_web/types_of_online_casinos.html

Wilson R 2005, Casino Business Opportunity, EzineArticles.com, viewed 8 October 2010,
http://ezinearticles.com/?Casino-Business-Opportunity&id=36521

FOR DISCUSSION: Impact of Online Casino Gambling Part II

For this part of discussion, we will be looking more towards the impacts of online casino gambling towards players. Some of the key points might be related to what was discussed in part I of our discussion.

As for online casino gambling, impacts could vary and they include:

1. Work negligence

Since online casino gambling could be played anywhere, it is not odd to see employees starting to surf gambling websites from their workplace. Such employee attitude could create work negligence and lead to time exploitation, decrease of productivity, financial problems and criminal activity (Griffiths 2009). Such activities are hard to be tracked by employers/managers and it creates high cost for a company to hire such employees.

2. Pathological Gambling

Pathological gambling occurs where players face disorder because of his/her over addiction towards gambling which affects his/her personal life (Oak 2009). Such attitude/disorder will also indirectly influence the family of the patient. Gamblers would start to deal in gambling activities and neglect their families and friends. As such, the societal life of a casino gambler would be affected. Problems would arise as mentioned in previous posts such as divorce, child abuse and domestic violence. Therefore, it is important to take care of the degree of addiction towards casino gambling.

3. Health

Excessive online casino gambling could also lead to health problems. Staying too long in front of a pc without taking fresh breathes outside the house will lead to health problems such as back ache, obesity and wrist pain. Serious health problems could include eyesight depreciation. Initiatives had been taken  in UK to identify gamblers, control their addiction and prevent them from turning into Problem Gamblers (Problem Gambling And Its Effects 2006).

4. Underage Gambling

One of the major concerns includes underage gambling. Underage gambling is possible through the Internet as children gamble using their parent’s credit cards (Negative Effects of Online Gambling). Underage gambling is dangerous as it does not only expense parent’s credit cards without permission, it might also expose children and young teenagers towards the online casino gambling field. Things would turn worse when they get addicted to it. Therefore, it is always important for parents to always keep track and concern their children.

It can be generally concluded that online gambling does bring more harmful impacts. It is advisable that children/young teenagers are prohibited to engage in such activities while adults being not too endorsed to it. But it seems nearly impossible to impose such measurements as it is hard to identify which accounts are played by teenagers/underage children not to mention that this is online casino gambling.

Reference

Griffiths, M 2009, ‘Internet gambling in the workplace’, vol.21, no.8, pp 658-670, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Nottingham Trent University, viewed 6 October 2010.

Oak, M 2009, Impact of Internet Gambling, viewed 6 October 2010, http://www.buzzle.com/articles/impact-of-internet-gambling.html.

Negative Effects of Online Gambling, viewed 6 October 2010, http://www.usaplayers.com/gambling/negative-effects-of-online-gambling-in-the-usa.html.

Problem Gambling And Its Effects 2006, MediLexicon International Ltd, viewed 6 October 2010, http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/41277.php.

FOR DISCUSSION: Impact of Online Casino Gambling Part I

There is a lot of impact of getting involved in numerous casino games. For our topic, we will look at a few impacts from general gambling and also online casino gambling. For this part of discussion, we would be looking on general gamblings first.

1.Societal impact

As stated by Reno (2000), gambling impacts on society might include divoerce, child abuse and domestic violence.  28% of surveyed gamblers noted their cause of divorce being gambling issues (Reno 2000). Besides that, children could also take up gambling as a hobby and eventually fall for the games. Marotta (2006) claimed that 60-90 percent of youth engaged in gambling activities. These activities had also lead to drug takings and alcoholic activities. These could lead to a higher percentage/increase of criminal records for a certain region.

2.Economic impact

Dunstan (1997) explained that gambling can be an extensive development tool.  Gambling activities could lead to increase of employment, land development. By such, the tourism sector could also be nourished by the advantageous economical impact whereby tourists travel to casino places to gamble. However, things could be a turnaround where some players escape tax regulations on their winnings. Nonetheless, overdose of casino gambling could also lead to bankruptcy easily. People might be to enthusiastic in winning that they eventually lose all without realizing.

3.Political Impact

In a paper written by Clark (2002), political issues arising from gambling include bribes on regulative laws which amounted to ten million dollars. What is meant here is that gambling industries pay bribes to governors and public officials to vote for the legalization of gambling. This had created corruption among public officials. Besides that, corruption will also happen where illegal gambling sites/places are prosecuted but bribes were paid to officials to resolve the prosecution in return of not banning/prosecuting the casino gambling sites/places.

As we can see here, impacts of gambling are more towards a negative approach rather than bringing advantageous developments. The three impacts stated are connected to gambling as a whole. Our next discussion would be more focused on online casino gambling impacts.

Reference

Clark, G, Gambling and Political Corruption, National Information Center, viewed 6 October 2010, http://spgfoundation.org/Library/Studies%20and%20White%20Papers/Crime%20and%20Corruption/gambling_and_political_corruptio.htm.

Dunstan, R 1997, Gambling in California, California State Library, CRB-97-003, http://www.library.ca.gov/crb/97/03/Chapt9.html.

Reno, R 2000, Gambling’s Impact on  Families, viewed 6 October 2010, http://www.troubledwith.com/AbuseandAddiction/A000000707.cfm?topic=abuse%20and%20addiction:%20gambling.

Marotta, J 2006, Parents urged to consider dangers of gambling gifts for kids, Grants Pass Climate, viewed 6 October 2010, http://pactoregon.org/news-061120-MarottaKids.html.

FOR DISCUSSION: Let's talk about legality ! (Part II)

On the part II discussion of legality, we would be giving a brief explanation on how organisations tend to escape regulation and liability while operating a gambling website.

An issue that arises when a gambling website is blocked by a country. Say for example, Malaysia. Malaysia blocked a gambling website called winningft.com and prohibits the country's resident to use the website for inappropriate gambling activities. However, the company is clever enough to setup an alternative website to solve the problem. By logging into www.ft9933.com, players can still login into the same website and carry out gambling activities. Therefore, it can be seen how website blocking can be solved by the advancement of IT. Even in Malaysia where most users do not have a constant IP address, the government would find it hard to track down particular users engaged in online casino games activities. What happens when players earn or lose money through the alternative website? Do they get taxed? Do they get sued once transactions are identified?

Besides that, when a transaction occurs, it is hard to determine the execution of law whether in the origin and destination jurisdiction. This is also known as the issue of jusrisdiction (Dewar 2001). Dewar (2001) also emphasized that it is hard to maintain jurisdiction on Internet gambling due to its nature and suggested that Internet regulation would be a way to tackle the current issue. Disputes may arise when countries argue on which jurisdictions to use on. It isn't only prosecution that is complex, court cases could be equally complicated to bring a illegal gambler to justice.

Internet Gambling: An Overview of the Issues (2002) stated that gambling companies might miscode their transactions to prevent their transactions being blocked by credit card companies. Miscoding will prevent denial of authorization and allows the transactions to go through the credit card. One of the ways is through factoring, whereby the gambling companies uses another merchants bank account to initiate these transactions (Internet Gambling: An Overview of the Issues 2002). In return, these merchants receive a percentage profit.

Apart from that, credit card holders does not directly deal with Internet gambling sites. These credit card holders purchases online-payment providers to engage in gambling activities (Internet Gambling: An Overview of the Issues 2002). They pay for real cash virtual credits on some online-payment providers and uses these credits to gamble on internet casino websites which are approved by the online-payment providers. Smith (2009) concluded that the current legal foundation are still uncertain. Smith (2009) quoted an example of employee using different emails to gamble and will not be prosecuted under certain situations.

Besides that, to escape from regulations, these Internet gambling sites are smart enough to penetrate the issue by incorporating their companies in some offshore islands which mainland governments do not have authority in. For example, Pokerstars.com acquired a license and their company is owned by Rational Entertainment Enterprises Limited, which is located at Isle of Man. By such, it is hard for prosecution to be impose on these websites since they could defend themselves by claiming that their business is licensed in the place of incorporation.

In a nutshell, it is hard for prosecutions to be held against these gambling site companies because alternatives could be taken by them to pass through these regulations. They could be 'creative' in their business strategies and still be 'legal' without getting caught. This is similar to 'creative accounting' where managers manipulate numbers to make financial reports look good !


(Disclaimer: Pokerstars.com is a real Internet Gambling website and no liabiliy shall be incurred by our party on any damages suffered by visiting the website.)

Dewar, L 2001, 'Regulating Internet Gambling: the net tightens on online casinos and bookmakers', Aslib Proceedings, vol.53, No.9, pp12-13.

Internet Gambling: An overview of the Issues 2002, United States General Accounting Office, GAO-03-89, Pp 15, viewed 5 October 2010, http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0389.pdf.


Pokerstars.com 2010, Rational Entertainment Enterprises Limited, viewed 6 October 2010, http://www.pokerstars.com/.


Smith, A 2009, 'Controversial and emerging issues associated with cybergambling (e-casinos)', Vol. 28, no.6, pp 435-443, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, viewed 6 October 2010.

FOR DISCUSSION: Let's talk about legality ! Part I

For those who are interested in online casino games, one possible question to strike their minds is: are these online activities legal and abide by the law? We'll be discussing more on regulations on U.S. in this discussion area.

As in United States, Grohman (2006) said that it is hard to ban the activities of online gambling if there exist financial intermediaries that help the transfer the betting money.With the implementation of financial intermediaries such as credit card companies which may include Visa and Mastercard, it is found hard to sue the websites for legal prosecution on online casino games. Online gamblers use credit card methods to pay and receive money that they won by creating a bank account.

One of the few laws implemented in U.S. include the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) which was enacted in 2006 to restrict payment systems being used by U.S. locals to complete transactions with internet gambling sites (Gambling Online: Is It Legal? 2010). A regulated Internet Gambling framework could help in preserving consumers and ensure these transactions are formal. Legality: Online Casinos and U.S. Legislation (2010) shown that estimates of 80% of online wagers of U.S. are online poker players. This had shown that it is hard to ban internet casino gambling as this would be cutting off the wages of poker players that depend on skillful gambling as a job.

Besides that, Wire Act is also one of the federal laws implemented to prosecute federal level gambling cases (Internet Gambling: An overview of the Issues 2002). Besides that, Travel Act and Illegal Gambling Business Act had also been on pace to ban international bets. Criminal penalties are imposed under Travel Act for person who distributes proceeds of unlawful activity. On the other hand, Illegal Gambling Business Act claimed that it is illegal to operate gambling business. As stated in Internet Gambling: An overview of the Issues (2002), these acts are enacted to gambling businesses and not individual internet gamblers.

Nonetheless, banking sector had always been taking an initiative to help prosecute internet gambling. Credit card associations tend to impose a restriction on credit cards when their customers deal with such transactions (Internet Gambling: An overview of the Issues 2002). As from the other side, banking sectors prevent gambling website organisations from creating an account for such business purposes too.

However, efforts had been taken in U.S. to legalize online gambling. Dodge (2010) claimed that some Internet gambling would be legalized and to allow U.S. citizens to get involved in internet casino games. One of Massachusetts Democrat suggested that residents should be free to do what they want (Dodge 2010).

Generally, it is still a big issue on regulating internet gambling among consumers. Although efforts had been taken, it still seems a big question of when would internet casino gambling be legalized. Next, we'll discuss a few issues on how gambling website organisations tend to escape these enacted laws.

Reference

Dodge, C 2010, House Panel Passes Measure to Legalize Some Internet Gambling, Bloomberg, viewed 5 October 2010, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-28/house-panel-passes-frank-backed-measure-to-legalize-some-internet-gambling.html.

Gambling Online: Is It Legal? 2010, viewed 5 October 2010, http://www.the-surfs-up.com/news/gamblingonlinenews.html.

Grohman, C 2006, 'Reconsidering Regulation: A Historical View of the Legality of Internet Poker and Discussion of the Internet Gambling Ban of 2006', Journal of Legal Technology Risk Management, vol 1, no.1, pp. 37.

Internet Gambling: An overview of the Issues 2002, United States General Accounting Office, GAO-03-89, Pp 15, viewed 5 October 2010, http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0389.pdf.

Research Objectives

To all coursemates that have been following up our blog recently, we are sure that our big topic is online casino games. We are still trying to narrow down our subject discussion towards a more specific approach.
Before that, we think it is appropriate for us to state our objectives towards our research on online casino games. They include:

1. To describe and give an overview of real cash online casino games betting
2. To identify the business model of online gambling sites and their operative trend
3. To understand the cause of players choosing online gambling rather than normal gambling
4. To discuss towards the legality of the online casino games websites
5. To highlight the impact of online gambling on the society

 Why did we chose this topic?

• It is a fresh topic that not a lot of people knows about
• Startup of online gambling sites in parallel with the emerging of e-commerce
• Simply because we have a big interest on gambling !

FOR DISCUSSION: Another Casino Game - The Online Roulette

Roulette or known as the "small wheel" in French

Have you ever seen or played roulette game before? It is a “gambling game in which the players bet on which slot of a rotating disk a small ball will come to rest in.” (Answer Corporation 2010). Well, there is no certain background for the roulette games too as there are different theories from different sources. However, it is known that it began due to the invention of the roulette wheel in 1655 by the famous mathematician, Blaise Pascal. After the modification of the wheel in 1842 by two French - Francois and Louis Blanc by adding in the number 0, the roulette game starts to rule in the gambling world (Associated Content 2010).

There are different type of roulette games but those often played online are the European and American roulette. Let us have a brief explanation about the roulette game play. First and of course what you need is money to place the bet. While what and where to bet, please refer to the diagram below:


Slot available for the bet:

1. Numbers between 0 to 36
2. RED or BLACK color
3. ODD or EVEN number
4. First or Second 18 numbers
5. Rows-
   
   • Small (1-12)
     
   • Medium (13-24)
     
   • Big (25-36)
     

After the bet is placed, the roulette wheel starts to spin. If the ball hit and matches the numbers, color or slots same as the bet, then the money goes to the players. Simple isn’t it?

Placing bet on the slot

According to Staples (2010), online Roulette is ranked higher than other gambling games because it is popular and easy to play. Besides that, it involves less thinking and no players’ rivalry compares to other gambling games. For example, every player can bet on the ODD or EVEN slot which gives them higher chance of nearly 50% to win the game. Furthermore, some of the professional uses the “Law of Average” theory to beat the game. By looking at the number appeared previously, they calculate and estimate the probability of the next number that going to appear which boost their chance to win the bet.

So? Are you ready for the game?


Reference:

Answer Corporation 2010, roulette, viewed 16 September 2010, http://www.answers.com/topic/roulette

Associated Content, Inc. 2010, A Timeline of Roulette History, viewed 16 September 2010,
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/39777/a_timeline_of_roulette_history.html

Staples J 2010, Why Online Roulette Game is Becoming So Popular, viewed 16 September 2010,
http://ezinearticles.com/?Why-Online-Roulette-Game-is-Becoming-So-Popular&id=4872646

FOR DISCUSSION: Introduction to Texas Holdem Poker

It is hard to determine where the history of texas holdem poker began. But it is recognised that its origin birthplace is Robstown, Texas and its history flew back to the early 1900s (Ace Up 2010). The game was then brought up and introduced to Las Vegas. Today, Texas holdem poker became one of the most played card games in the world.

Pocket Aces are the best hand you can get for your preflop

!

Texas holdem poker requires skill, knowledge, precise prediction and luck to win a game. Strong mathematical and analytical attribute play a strong role in outcasting your opponents. When you read your opponents' cards, you gain a higher chance of winning (WSOP 2010). Since this might be a new game to all, we will do a brief introduction to the game play of texas holdem poker.

Firstly, any player who wishes to join a table needs to buy-in with a minimum monetary amount. The amount would be used during the game play. During the game, you will be given two cards where opponents are not able to see. These are your preflop cards. Preflop is the stage where you receive two cards and communnity cards are not shown out yet. Community cards are the 5 cards shown on the table shared by you and your opponents to form the best card combination. Each game is divided into preflop, flop, turn, river where each time, every player is given a chance to either check, raise or call. 

Ace King suited means they belong to the same colour group ! (e.g. Ace King Spaces/Diamonds)

Here are some useful terms for your reference from Concrete Software (2010):

1. Call - to put in the amount of money equal to the bets before you.
2. Raise - to bet at a higher stake.
3. Re-raise - to bet at a higher stake than the current raise.
4. Check - When no one has bet in front of you and you do not bet either.
5. Fold - To not follow/call a hand.
6. All in - To put the rest of your money into the pot.
7. Flop - The first three community cards
8. Turn - The fourth community card.
9. River - The fifth community card.
10. Bluff - To act like you have a good hand and raise people.
11. Pot - The current stakes that the players are playing for.

Your preflop cards would be combined with the five community cards on the table to form the best combination of cards available, so does your opponents. Whoever with the best card would win the game. Combinations may include:

Texas holdem poker doesn't end here. What professional players do often is to bluff and cheat you when they do not even have a hand or merely a small pair. Therefore, besides being good at raising people with a good hand, a good poker player must also be diligent to bluff people at appropriate times. This is what made texas holdem poker lively with so many possibilities and combination of cards and bluffs.

Bluff by re-raising your opponent when you know they don't have a good hand !

So, are you into texas holdem poker now? :DD

Reference
Texas Holdem Moves to Las Vegas 2010, Ace Up, viewed 15 September 2010, http://www.texas-holdem-poker-history.com/texas-holdem-to-vegas.html.

World Series of Poker 2010, viewed 15 September 2010, http://www.wsop.com/how-to-play-poker/.

Concrete Software 2010, viewed 15 September 2010,

FOR DISCUSSION: How much do you know about online casino?

    Online casino or e-casino is a channel which enables people from different places to gather and gamble by using their own electronic devices with the accessibility of the internet. According to Aranda (2006), the first e-casino, Internet Casinos, Inc. (ICI) was established in 18th August, 1995 by Microgaming. The operation of the e-casino was limited within certain area outside of USA to prevent from the government intervention. Plus, only few games were available on that time due to the lack of technology advancement. As time passed, more news games were introduced and brought into the online casino. The most common game is the online poker, a card game introduced in 1998 which only involves gambling between the players. Another popular game is the online roulette where players get their chance to win the game if the ball hit the numbers they bet on when the wheel stop to spin.We'll be giving a brief introduction to the games later on


Casino games are different from other types of gambling. Gambling can include betting, bingo, casino games, gaming machines, lotteries and pools (Gambleaware.com 2010). Casino games are just one small segment of gambling and what we are focusing to our topic is online casino games. Casino games are different for normal bettings such as betting on football matches and also lotteries where players have a small chance of winning with their luck. Casino games allows probability calculation mixed with certain amount of skill and luck to win a game. According to May (2000), the top ten casino games that are most preferred by players can be sequenced into:

1)Poker
2)Blackjack
3)Video Poker
4)Roulette
5)Baccarat
6)Gaming Tournaments
7)Craps
8)Carribean Stud
9)Let It Ride
10)Pai Gow Poker

 

The online casino had earned large amount of revenue in the passed year. Based on the statistic diagram above provided by the Online Poker Channel (2010), the annual revenue has increased stably since 2001 which nearly hit $25 billions this year. This indicates that the online casino channel is so attractive and keeps on growing due to the increasing number of customers/players and the improvement of technology. The drastic increase in revenue also invites in more competitors and more online gambling websites who wish share the wealth of operating a gambling website. One question here is that the actual revenue earned or could it be more? IS every single revenue earned from these websites taxed? Could some revenue had been hidden from transparency and not taxed? Discuss.


Therefore, such a area is a very interesting topic to explore and so, do come to our blog often to follow our updates on online casino games.

Reference:

Aranda N 2009, History of Online Casino, viewed 13 September 2010, http://ezinearticles.com/?History-of-Online-Casino&id=135546

Gambleaware 2010, Types of Gambling, viewed 15 September 2010, http://www.gambleaware.co.uk/seek-help/types-of-gambling.

May, J 2000, Top Ten Casino Game Profit Opportunities,  viewed 15 September 2010, http://may.casinocitytimes.com/article/top-ten-casino-game-profit-opportunities-1129.

Online Poker Channel (2010), viewed 14 September 2010,

http://www.onlinepokerchannel.com/casino-industry-review/

 

Online Casino Games

Since our interest is on gambling games, we decided to work on online casino games as our topic.
As a brief introduction, we would love to share two videos on texas holdem poker.

World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a international poker event that gathers all professional players throughout the world to find the one and only champion to win the bracelet and REAL cash prizes!!

You can look for more information, latest news and interesting stuffs in the poker world through its distinctive website



2010 WSOP event introduction



2009 WSOP main event final table with champion Joe Cada.

Hope these videos do ignite your interests towards online casino games !
Enjoy the videos before we update our blog real soon !

Greetings!!!

Just wan to say hello and welcome to anyone who visits our blog. I’m Lim Wen Chiat or you can call me Alan currently doing my degree in Accounting. Nice to meet you all and I hope we can learn more from each others throughout the semester. See you guys soon ya~ =D

Happy Merdeka!!!

AlaN~



and I'm Gavin pursuing a degree in Accounting too ! I hope you guys would be interested in our upcoming desired topic discussion as we are going to bring in something different !! I hope we have the time to make our blog look really inviting for readers to feel comfortable !! :D See you guys in uni !!


Gav