Aces full, son, how 'bout you?

Computer Life column for August 8, 1998
by
Richard Gordon

The recent rush on Powerball tickets is just a symptom of how far gambling fever has swept the country. And, if you hadn't noticed, it's sweeping the 'Net, too.

The United States Congress is talking about prohibiting most on-line gambling. As currently written, the bill before Congress would penalize bettors and operators, even if the on-line betting parlor is outside the United States. Other countries are experimenting with "regulating" the industry, thereby generating potential tax revenues.

Just for the heck of it, I decided to see how easy it would be to place a bet on Wednesday's Phillies-Padres baseball game, the one in which Kevin Brown outpitched Curt Schilling.

It took me less time and effort to find an on-line sports book and get ready to place a bet than it did to order pants from Land's End on-line (www.landsend.com).

I just went to Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com) and searched for "casinos." Following some of the resulting links, I found that Yahoo! lists sports books, casinos, race tracks, slot machine-like games, and more.

I poked around in several of the sites and found that it was very easy to find someone willing to take my money and my bet on the Phillies--so easy that I'm not going to list any specific URLs.

In an interesting wrinkle, I found that the Coeur d'Alene Tribe of Idaho offers an on-line lottery open to residents of more than 30 of the United States; however, when playing their lottery, a player is "conducting a transaction on the reservation."

I found one off-shore, on-line betting shop that offered 22 casino-style games that require you use their free software, plus sports betting that merely required a credit card and either Internet Explorer or Netscape.

This operator is based in Antigua, but most transactions are conducted in US dollars. I didn't actually submit any bets, but found that I could have completed the enrollment procedure and begun betting in 20 minutes--substantially less time than it would take to drive to Atlantic City.

Several of these off-shore, on-line betting parlors, collect and distribute bettors' money through a third party, in several cases using an outfit called EFS Caribbean. The third-party method sounds like a good idea to protect the consumer; however, one of the effects is that it makes it harder for a bettor to cash out his winnings.

To withdraw money from your EFS Caribbean account, you use a PIN that they send you via regular mail, one business day "after your first attempt to withdraw funds." It might take 10 days for you to get your PIN in the mail from Antigua. When you finally are able to submit your request, you'll wait another week or more to get your funds.

Other off-shore betting parlors use U.S.-based "digital cash" systems, other off-shore third party systems, or directly bill or issue credits to your credit card. But all are clearly set up so it's easier for them to take your money than it is for you to collect!

One of these gambling sites clearly and prominently displayed cautions about "Disputed Transactions"; another dutifully included a link to Gambler's Anonymous (www.gamblersanonymous.org), just in case "you know someone who has a gambling problem."

Gambler's Anonymous

Lots of us play Powerball or go to Delaware Park (www.delpark.com) to play the horses or the slots. But the anonymous ease of placing bets over the Web dramatically increases the potential for abuse.

Since the Internet is international, I doubt whether U.S. laws that try to prohibit or regulate this industry will be effective. Individuals' educated self-regulation will be the most effective way of keeping people from maxing out their credit cards by betting on German Handball over the Net.

Whether you bet on-line or in person, if gambling is more than an occasional entertainment for you, consider attending a local meeting of Gambler's Anonymous (Area meetings: www.gamblersanonymous.org/mtgdirDE.html).

Copyright © 1998, The News Journal Company

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