Tag Archives: law
Online Gambling May Be Cut Off By New Legislation
There is a new law waiting to be signed by President Bush which was presented to Congress that is holding the $12 billion online gambling industry by a thread. It appears that Tennessee Senator Bill Frist, introduced the bill on Saturday by joining it to the Safe Port Act before Congress took its election recess in November.
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act that is expected to be signed by President Bush, will practically finish off all online gambling sites by making it illegal for any bank, credit card company or online payment system to process any payments being made to online gambling companies.
The new law states that Online Gambling sites are now banned from accepting any type of check, credit card or electronic transfer payments for internet gaming in the US and seriously puts the industry in chaos.
Surprised at the passing of this new debilitating law, the leaders in the online gambling industry took drastic measures and started to trade off stock on the London Stock Exchange which erased $8 billion from the industry. PartyGaming, the world’s biggest online gambling site said that they would cease their ties with the 920,000 active US customers they currently have only when Bush actually signs the new act.
Although the new law hasn’t yet been signed, the industry is already being drastically affected. PartyGaming’s stocks alone have dropped 60% ending up at a measly .81 cents a share. Other sites like SportingBet and 888 Holding were also affected by the change and have since lost a lot of money on their shares. 888 Holding, for example, had a 48% decrease on their shares dropping them down to $1.42 on the British Market and announced that it was going to no longer continue its online gambling business in the United States.
This isn’t the first Act, however, that has given the federal government power to break down the online gambling industry. Under the 1961 Wire Act, the federal government has the right to brake down online betting in sports, poker and other casino games that are considered to be illegal under the law.
This is seriously debilitating the industries economy because the US consumer market is responsible for 50-60% of the online gambling revenue. These critical laws against the online gambling site owners are forcing companies to shut down or move out but what’s clear is that they are no longer welcome in the United States.
The Madam Chairman of the Interactive Gaming Council, Sue Schneider, has predicted that over 500 companies running around 2,300 online gambling sites around the world will be facing extinction and will most likely be wiped out of the industry all together. The small number of companies that manage to live through this incredible crisis will have to live with a huge cut back on their revenue and figure out new ways of growing again. The idea of opening up in the Asian market has become a favored idea for many.
Whatever the case may be, companies have 270 days after the bill is signed to figure out their plan of action before the U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales decides how the law will be enforced.
Lotteries and the Law of Attraction
Lotteries and the Law of Attraction
Lottery players select their numbers using a wide variety of methods. Some methods are based on logic and mathematical formulas and algorithms. Others are based on new age or occult ‘sciences.’ Some methods can border on wacky but the fact remains that if there were really a sure fire way to pick winning lottery numbers the world would be filled with lottery millionaires. One of the stranger methods touted as a sure fire way to win the lottery is the so called ‘law of attraction.’
The law of attraction has been around for about a century and a half. It first appeared in the US in 1879. The law of attraction says that thoughts can influence events and chance. Throughout the years various hucksters have convinced many otherwise logical people that the law of attraction is real. Insomniacs who are prone to watching late night TV have probably seen infomercial huckster Kevin Trudeau hawking his own take on the law of attraction called ‘your wish is you command.’ Is the law of attraction real? Scientists say no but many new agers believe that you can achieve great wealth by wishing it. The 2006 film called ‘The Secret’ prompted renewed interest in the law of attraction.
A recent blog post claims that lottery players can win those big jackpots by sheer belief and that winning the lottery is not a matter of luck but of will and belief. The author claims that by eliminating doubts and negative thoughts lottery players can improve their chances of winning a large jackpot. Once again, if that were so we would have thousands, if not millions, of big lottery winners. Television host Larry King has discussed the law of attraction on his show and remains critical. King stated, “If the Universe manifests abundance at a mere thought, why is there so much poverty, starvation, and death?” ‘Evidence’ supporting the law of attraction is anecdotal at best and belief in the law of attraction seems to be confined to the gullible and the hucksters that take advantage of them.
Lotteries are games of pure chance and no amount of belief will change the outcome of a drawing. It has been shown time and time again that most winners of mega jackpot lotteries such as Powerball, Mega Millions, EuroMillions and other lotteries have used the ‘quick pick’ option where the random number generator at the lottery terminal selects the numbers. Since lotteries are games of chance everyone has pretty much an equal chance of winning and no amount of belief will change that fact.