News in online gambling these days is frequent and varied, as different parts of the world take different steps toward legalization and regulation of casino gaming on the Internet. The general trend, of course, seems to be toward more and more sites (and countries) allowing full implementation of real money gambling. As such, the question isn’t really whether or not online betting will become a major industry – it’s whether or not that’s a good thing.
The appeal of betting real money online is probably the easiest aspect of the issue to understand. First off, it’s not just about poker – you can enjoy poker in person with your friends, or on a PC game. Online gambling is about the full casino experience that can be found at a growing number of dynamic sites. At the Casino at Betfair, players can enjoy not just poker and blackjack, but other casino games like slots, video poker, and even unique and original arcade games that allow betting with real money. Simply put, sites like this offer an incredible range of entertainment that completely quenches fans’ thirst to gamble.
As far as whether or not expansion of online gaming is a “good” thing, the real opposition tends to be moral. It’s incredibly easy to waste money online, and there is some speculation that online casinos could specifically target habitual gamblers or people with harmful addictions. In this sense, online casinos could be said to be deliberately perpetuating harmful habits and tendencies.
On the other hand, there are positive aspects for society as a whole related to the spread of online casinos. The Courier Journal recently published a story that serves as a strong example of this positive effect. Essentially, the Churchill Downs company in Louisville, Kentucky is considering expanding to include online gambling features (including betting poker) which would make for roughly 50 new jobs paying $100 K per year. It’s only 50 jobs, but this is a single example out of a number of possible benefits that could arise – purely from an economical standpoint – from the expansion of online betting.
So will online gambling industries continue to expand? It certainly seems inevitable. Overseas there are already entire companies and industries founded on real money gambling online, and with movements like the Churchill Downs expansion, continued pushes for new regulation, and the general will of the public taken into consideration, it seems only a matter of time before the U.S. allows for more Internet gaming. Whether or not it’s a good thing depends on perspective and, ultimately, results.
