Internet Gambling Essay

The technoculture related topic that I am going to explore is the phenomenon of Internet gambling. With the emergence and explosion of gambling on television such as the World Series of Poker of ESPN or The World Poker Tour on the Travel Channel, online gaming has quickly become a major player in the technoculture of contemporary society. I feel it is important to explore this issue because of American society’s fascination and obsession with gambling. Gambling can and has become a very serious and damaging activity to many people in this country. According to CNN. com, studies have shown that people who gamble on the Internet tend to have more serious addictions than people who wager through more traditional venues. Through my research, I hope to further explore why Internet gambling has the potential to be more dangerous than traditional casinos and how younger generations of Americans and the government are responding to this ever-growing phenomenon. Literature Review The research I discovered on Internet gambling is fairly recent and comprehensive. Since online gaming is a reasonably new trend, the material written on the matter was rather current. Furthermore, there was a substantial amount of information within these three sources. It was evident that the three authors conducted high-quality research, and it showed with the use of graphs, charts, and case studies. Also, the three sources had a very similar outlook on the present and future situation of online gaming. With that being said, given that online gaming is at the peak of its existence, it is imperative that further exploration and examination within the subject be carried out. Because of the instant access one has to a gambling venue and the privacy factor of the Internet, online gaming has become a risky undertaking for many. According to David Schwartz (2003), â€Å"Internet gambling presents new problems for individuals and society† (p. 214). Instead of driving to an actual physical casino, problem gamblers can enjoy betting in the comforts of their own home. At home, they are not monitored by other gamblers and/or casino personnel which results in the ability to set their own limit. The Internet also allows the gambler to maintain a level of privacy not found in real casinos. If there are no friends or family around to supervise, then the gambler can engage in irresponsible betting without any time constraints. Finally, unlike real casinos, Internet casinos are readily available at the click of a button. If an online gaming organization will not accept one’s money, one can bet that there are thousands of others that will be happy to take one’s funds. The demographics of gambling are interesting to investigate within the subject. According to Rachel Volberg (2001), â€Å"adults ages 18 to 29 are substantially more likely than older adults to have gambled privately† (p. 34). Young adults are also more likely to gamble for excitement compared to older adults (Volberg, 2001). This is not a difficult concept to grasp. Normally, young adults have a less appreciative concept of money because they do not have as great of a responsibility as older people in regards to providing for family, paying bills, and spending money on expenses that are traditionally not familiar to a younger person. Furthermore, young people are usually unsupervised, especially in the collegiate demographic. Without the approval from mommy and daddy, young adults all across America are enjoying the financial freedom to do whatever they want with the money they have. In addition, according to Thomas Barker and Marjie Britz (2000), â€Å"many college students have deep pockets ? Mom and Dad’s† (p. 139). With this new found autonomy and fiscal assistance from parents, college kids are engaging in online gaming for fun and excitement. However, if left untreated and unsupervised, the fun and excitement can soon turn into a dangerous addiction with serious consequences and ramifications. With the possibility of Internet gambling becoming a serious problem, the government has been asked to step in and legislate the situation. According to Volberg (2001), â€Å"The fact that Internet gambling is conducted in a networked, data-intensive environment offers opportunities for regulation and oversight in several critical areas, including licensure, testing for game integrity and site security, auditing and oversight, taxation, and consumer protection† (p 97). Basically, Volberg is supporting a regulatory system that will be able to monitor the activities not only of the individual gambler, but of the gambling website as well. If the government actually does get involved, certain problems can be remedied. For example, every transaction made by a player can be closely followed and tracked. If a player indicates behaviors that suggest irresponsible decision-making, the player can be flagged and possibly suspended from a gambling website. However, all in all, Internet gambling will most likely always have its problems. Just like alcohols are with minors, people will get their hands on something they probably should not be touching. Internet gambling is an intensifying activity in American culture. With all the limitless possibility and endless potential of the Internet, online gaming will continue to be a major player in the world of technoculture and the information society. Nevertheless, what is important within this public sphere is to be able to responsibly deal with the world of Internet casinos. We need to come to a positive middle ground between the two sides of the spectrum; the fun and excitement of gambling and the spiraling addiction. Current Trends Like anything in life, when you create stimulus you are going to yield a response. In regards to online gaming, the stimulus that was created was the buzz generated by the constant bombardment of gambling programs on television. ESPN annually televises The World Series of Poker during the summer in which thousands of people descend upon Las Vegas to gamble in all types of events including poker, blackjack, craps, etc†¦ Many times they tell the story of some â€Å"average Joe† who enters a tournament and eventually ends up winning thousands of dollars. This false sense of hope has grabbed millions of Americans into thinking that they too, have the ability to win a substantial amount of money. The response to this stimulus has been the emergence of online casinos. However, instead of people winning money, crime has actually been the fallout of this risky behavior. According to ABCnews. com (2006), a Lehigh University student by the name of Greg Hogan Jr. attempted to rob a local bank in order to pay off his gambling debts. He was eventually caught and pleaded guilty to the offense and now faces up to three years in jail. During his interview with Good Morning America, Mr. Hogan blamed his addiction to online gambling websites for his setback, and cautioned the American public to the dangerous power of Internet gaming. In addition to his story, according to ABCnews. com (2006), â€Å"2. 9 million Americans between the ages of fourteen and twenty-two gamble with cards online at least once a week, and fifty percent of male college students and twenty-six percent of female college students gamble on cards at least once a month. † To combat this growing epidemic, the House of Representatives took a proactive stance on the matter by passing legislation that would make it illegal to use credit cards on gambling websites and make it significantly more difficult to access these sites. Whether it gets passed by the Senate and the Executive Branch is another matter, however, at least the government is recognizing the problem sooner rather than later. In conjunction with this theory of crime, many Internet scammers have found opportunity within this growing trend. An article on ABCnews. com (2006) describes an elaborate scheme where bookies took sports bets through an Internet gambling site. The insecurity of the website allowed these thieves to launder millions of dollars and corrupt the free enterprise system of the Internet gaming business. Fortunately, these criminals were caught. Nevertheless, it makes you wonder how frequent this sort of thing exists in the online world. Some have argued, nonetheless, that Internet gambling has its benefits. According to Tom W. Bell (1998), the inclusion of the Internet has fostered competition to a business that has long enjoyed the sanctuary of restraining licensing practices. Rather than having to fly out to isolated casinos in Vegas or Atlantic City, you can enjoy the experience of gambling in the comforts of your own home. Bell (1998) also supports the belief that gambling in your home allows an individual to escape the traps found in real, physical casinos. A person does not have to be surrounded in a windowless structure while being harassed by cocktail waitresses carrying a tray of free booze. Because of online gaming, the business world has more free enterprise and has given the individual a sense of security not found in traditional locales. In terms of my own personal experience, I actually signed up to one of these gambling websites to investigate how they attract and seize the public. The website was www. gambling. com and in order to register, all I had to give them was a current e-mail address. I found it sort of comforting to know that they pledged that they would not pass any of my information on to any other company and/or website because I did not want my stagweb to become flooded with junkmail from these websites. Immediately after becoming a member, I was granted 400 Ludos. I had no clue as to what Ludos were, but after some probing, I discovered that they were basically a form of Internet currency. For every twenty five Ludos, I received a dollar. That equals sixteen dollars. But, here’s the catch. For me to actually receive the Ludos and use them to gamble, I would have to give them my credit card information and pay a montly fee which was actually just about as expensive as the Ludos themselves. Brilliant. Moreover, the website contained links in which I could learn how to play games by reading tutorials, and then, actually play those games. I conducted a little experiment of my own to see how many times I won during one of the games. Out of twenty-five spins on one of the slot machines, I ended up winning sixteen times. That is a sixty-four percent average of winning. Now, anyone who understands anything about gambling knows that the absolute best percentage of winning is fifty percent. However, most of the games are not even close to that percentage. My suspicion leads me to believe that these websites give a false sense of hope to their members. If they succeed in tempting people to try these games, and these games yield a winning percentage better than fifty percent, more often than not, someone is going to believe that they actually have a great chance of making money. It actually is a genius scheme to lure in the public. Make them believe. Once they have accomplished that, these websites have them right where they want them. Conclusions The effects of online gaming are now becoming more clear and transparent to technoculture and the information society. It is apparent that online gaming has become a microcosm of the digital divide that exists within society. According to one of our readings during the semester written by Oscar H. Gandy, Jr. (2002), the differences that make up the digital divide are more than just social constructions. The actual construction is molded due to the new systems of communication that have surfaced within the last twenty years. In relation to online gaming, Internet gaming websites are now competing to display the flashiest, most hypertextual sites in order to attract customers. Due to this competition, better bandwidth and enhanced software will result, thus highlighting the digital divide. Data mining and this notion of surveillance has also entered the conversation regarding online gaming. Because an individual has to present private information about one’s self on a website to facilitate gambling, the possibility of gambling website selling personal information in return for financial gain is a distinct possibility. As aforementioned, the site I visited before pledged that they did not engage in data mining. Yet, this seems to suggest that other sites do exercise this right which effectively gives companies useful information about yourself. Moreover, whenever someone uses the Internet, especially in a situation where one willingly submits personal information such as credit card and phone numbers, the possibility of third party surveillance is always present. It really conveys the authentic risks one undertakes when participating in the latest innovation. Another theory that online gaming illustrates is the constant tension between structure and agency. The government represents structure. As a stable entity, it looks to control the path of Internet gambling by establishing rules and regulations in hopes of creating some order. Internet gambling, on the other hand, is the perfect example of agency. Gambling, in and of itself, is the exact definition of what agency represents: the ability of uncertainty and chaos to influence the parameters through which we live. However, as much as these two concepts seem unrelated, there is an interdependence that spurs the creation of new technologies, not only in the world of online gaming, but throughout the technological landscape. Annotated List of Relevant URLS 1. http://www. playwinningpoker. com/resources/sites2. html : This website is a resource for gamblers.It allows the user to learn new games, find new games, and contact certain people involved with gambling. 2. http://www. gambling. com/best/online-gambling-sites. htm : This website directs users to the best gambling websites on the Internet. It has a list on the left hand side with about sixty different links to other gambling sites. 3. http://www. out-law. com/page-6655 : This website is about illegal activities on the Internet. It contains a few articles on illegal mishaps that have occurred through Internet gambling websites. 4. http://www. becker-posner-blog.com/archives/2006/08/on_internet_gam. html : Blog that contains articles about Internet gambling. Website constructed by Gary Becker and Richard Posner. 5. http://www. cardplayer. com/blog/entry/179 : Blog that is pro-Internet gambling. Players write their feelings on why they think Internet casinos are fun and exciting. 6. http://www. istoppedgambling. com/ : Website founded to help people with gambling problems. Includes personal stories, how-to instructions, and negative articles about gambling. 7. http://www. nomoregambling. com/ : Website founded to help people with Internet gambling problems. Has a hotline and other medias to help combat irresponsible Internet betting. Works Cited Barker, Thomas & Britz, Marjie (2000). Jokers Wild: Legalized Gambling in the Twenty-first Century. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. Schwartz G. , David (2003). Suburban Xanadu: The Casino Resort on the Las Vegas Strip and Beyond. New York, NY: Taylor and Francis Books, Inc. Volberg A. , Rachel (2001). When the Chips Are Down: Problem Gambling in America. New York, NY: The Century Foundation, Inc. http://www. cato. org/testimony/ct-tb052198. html.