Dear Mark,
I just started playing around on the internet and found that I can gamble
from my home in Tennessee. How safe is this? Chuck K. Memphis, TN
For better or worse, cyberspace is gambling's next frontier, and many experts
are calling it "the real killer application on the internet."
Personally, I think home computers and gambling are a frightening combination,
and I would advise you, Chuck, not to participate in this unregulated venture.
Let's first start with the legality of it. According to the FBI, IRS, Justice
Department, and numerous state attorney generals, internet gamblers are
breaking the law when using a desktop computer as a gambling terminal. Additionally,
U.S. laws, including the Interstate Wire Act, prohibit anyone in the gambling
business from taking bets over a network-including the internet-that crosses
state and international borders.
Next, expect big risks when opening an account with your credit card or
using digital cash that establishes a direct link to your checking account
from someone you have never met. Most of these on-line gambling establishments
are shadow companies with headquarters offshore. Reason? To take advantage
of lax regulation abroad and, of course, to distance themselves from U.S.
law enforcement officials. And who are these people running digital casinos?
One of the larger operators got his startup capital running 900-number services
such as Dial-a-Psychic. For some reason, I've got a bad feeling about sending
him my credit card number.
Finally, Chuck, you have to ask yourself questions about the games themselves.
How do you really know whether their casino system is secure, or if you
are being cheated? What's to stop a virtual casino from fixing the order
of numbers coming up on a virtual crap game? They could put a secret algorithm
in their program to roll more 7s when the house gets behind. Or how about
a hacker who discovers a flaw in the software and starts depositing winnings
to their account, essentially stealing the payouts from the true winners.
Here's the bottom line: Chuck, I can't advise anyone to wire money thousands
of miles away to an unregulated, uncontrolled, and probably illegal enterprise,
give them a credit card number, then trust them to tell me when I've won.
Sorry, but there is something wrong with this picture!
Before I Shuffle:
When in Las Vegas, check out AM 1140. It's your non-stop guide to all the
best deals in town, buffet prices, hotel room rates, and which shows are
playing where. A great source of information.
Also, someone wrote me after my article on Keno and wanted to know the probability
of hitting a 20 out of 20. Per my Excel spreadsheet program, your chances
are 3,535, 316,142,212,172,000 to one. By the way, that's 3+ quintillion.
Got a question about gambling? Write to: Deal Me In, 774 Mays Blvd.
Suite 10, Incline Village, NV 89451 or e-mail:winners@winner.com
· To order Mark Pilarski's "Hooked on Winning" audio cassettes-laminated
win cards package ($12.95 plus $2. S&H) call (800) WINNERS.
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