The Winning Hand: West End Times Article - October 10, 2009
It’s another blustery, wintery, Canadian January, early in the morning. 3:00 AM early! You just can’t sleep, especially after the guy on the radio says "to expect a HIGH of -23°C later in the day. AAAHHH!
What would Air Transit charge to land a plane on my street, pick me up, and take me off to Cuba? Alright, a guy’s allowed to dream, huh?
What would Air Transit charge to land a plane on my street, pick me up, and take me off to Cuba? Alright, a guy’s allowed to dream, huh?
How about this one; Grabbing your wallet, running downstairs to the basement, closing the door behind you and booting up the ol’ family computer.
Why such excitement? Why the sudden rush??
Because in seconds you’ll be in a virtual casino...while still wearing your PJ’s!
Welcome to INTERNET GAMBLING!
No I.D. is required. There are no line-ups or smelly guys sitting near you. Having a credit card is mandatory and having a secret password is too, which will open the door to one of 1000's of online casinos; a process which only takes a minute or 2 to set up and become a member, if you aren’t already a member of 1, 2 or 10.
The terms internet gambling and online gaming are one and the same.
It is just another avenue to gamble and LOSE hard earned money.
As online shopping was to the retail business, online gambling is to the casino business.
It is just another way to suck your money out of your pockets; another way to make it easier NOT to stay away from gambling. Again, another brilliant idea from the boys over in the marketing department.
The American and Canadian governments have tried their damndest to put stopgaps and laws in place to have online gaming tagged as illegal, but even if so, the majority of online gaming houses reroute their sites offshore (which now makes it legal) and then directs right back to both Canada and The States. Talk about a loophole, huh?
As recent as early September of this year, A U.S. Court Appeals court upheld a federal ban on Internet gambling, but the ruling has allowed each state to at least, for now, have more say on the matter. The bottom-line is that another form of gambling is here to stay.
The United Kingdom has recently claimed their gambling addiction cases have approximately doubled the last year, citing online gambling as the main culprit. Australian authorities have claimed similar numbers. South Africa claims to have a massive increase in their compulsive/pathological gambling cases as well, directly as a result of the online gaming industry.
One of the worries that gambling counsellors, therapists or other professionals in the gaming world have about Internet gambling is that you CANNOT use cold hard cash when betting, thus forcing the player to use credit cards that may often be ‘maxed out’, or to use the account (should there be plus balances) in the said Internet casino, and always knowing that you can play and bet and play and bet...’til your card is dry, and your back is wet!
At least, if you’re trying to quit smoking or drinking and you have no cigarettes or booze at home, you cannot smoke or drink virtual drugs.
Internet gambling...what’s next?
