Online Casino Blog

Today I took my stroll around the internet world of casino blogs.

I like reading online casino blogs. I like reading poker blogs. But I’m not addicted to reading them or anything.. I mean, I can stop at any time. For real. No, honestly.

I am not a blog addict - I swear! No really, I’m not an addict! Are you accusing me of being addicted? I only have 200 blogs in my blog reader, that’s nothing, I mean, umm, Aaarrgggghghhhh I’mmmNoootttAannnAdddiccccttttt!!!!!!

But seriously.

Some people say online casino gaming turns more people into gambling addicts. Turns average joes into compulsive freak gamblers that spend their kid’s lunch money on blackjack, poker, and slots. Is that real? I mean, is that really a proven theory?

How do we know that online gambling produces more addicts? Can’t people just enjoy playing online in a responsible manner? Is an addict an addict, whether they go to real life casinos or online casinos? Does the availability of online casinos, that 24 hour 7 day a week access to casino gaming make the overall population of addicted casino people go up? I mean, it is a convenience to have a casino open at all hours of the day and night to play a quick hand of poker or blackjack, maybe do some bingo. Maybe you get the get the urge to bet on a game via sportsbooks at 3 in the morning, at 3 a.m.

Here’s an opinion from Bill’s Poker Blog:

I’ve long said that the argument that compulsive gamblers will increase due to the availability of online gaming was highly questionable and now it appears the British government has produced the results to bolster my belief. According to a report published last week, 99.4 Britons were able to enjoy gambling responsibly. Only 0.6% were found to be problem gamblers. Now, this is despite the fact that online gaming is legal (and regulated), legal bookies can be easily found, and the National Lottery is pimped pretty regularly.

What the anti-gaming crowd ignores is that despite these positive findings online gaming could do even more to keep problem gamblers off the tables. Think of all the work that goes into thwarting cheating, bots, and fraud. If the same levels of effort were put into stopping problem gamblers you could even further reduce the number of problem gamblers able to gamble online. The same goes for underage gambling. Using both carrot and stick measures to reward and punish online card rooms for certain types of behavior you could all but eliminate all of the main problems that the anti-gaming folks trumpet so loudly.

Only 0.6% of people in Britain have a gambling problem. Keep in mind that online gambling is legal in the United Kingdom and that poses an interesting debate. Does making gambling online illegal help with preventing addictions? Who is responsible for reducing the incidents of people with gambling problems: the government, casinos, or the people themselves? Should anyone really shoulder the blame for this so-called epidemic?

Most of us realize that the United States government bringing the UIGEA into life is not about stopping people from becoming problem gamblers. We know it’s all about the tax money (or the lack thereof due to the lack of government regulation and the proliferation of so many gambling companies in countries like Costa Rica). It’s easy to tax casino money coming from big cities like Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Not so much from San Jose in Costa Rica.

So is the solution to this challenge found in banning online casinos or is the solution educating people about responsible gaming?