Online Gambling

I used to play cards a lot. I was definitely a cardshark. At recess in middle school I would set up a blackjack game with my friends. Later on I would play poker seriously on Hoyle Card Computer Games. In 7th grade I read a  book called Bringing Down the House. This book was on the MIT students that learned to count cards in Vegas.

Leader in Gambling Software

A lot has changed since I played cards last. Here is a brief history on online gambling….
According to OnlineGaming.com the first online websites stated in the early 1990s. The first software that was used by these online casinos was Microgaming. This software was eventually bought by CryptoLogic. This allowed legitimate transitions to take place starting in 1994.

Here is a list of Firsts…..

The First Online Casino was The Gaming Club
The First Online Sportsbook was Intertops.com
The First Online Poker Club was Planet Poker

Will Online Gambling be going Global?
Actually online gambling is already going global. In fact there are 70 countries that allow gambling websites to set up servers in their countries. However it is illegal for countries to make bets that are illegal in the USA according to the The U.S. Wire Wager Act. There is little chance that anyone will be prosecuted for breaking this technicality.

So am I breaking the law when I gamble online?

Former gambler behind bars

For the most part Online gambling is considered legal in the USA. One does not have to worry about going behind bars. There was a time when online gambling firms oversees , in 2006, closed their doors to USA residents. The reason they did this was because of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act implied that it was illegal for oversee firms to offer gambling to USA residents. Yet, gradually these oversee firms re-examined the legislation. They realized that it actually is legal for them to offer gambling to USA residents.

So for the most part is online gambling a level playing field?
Not quit online gambling makes it extremely easy to cheat. For instance when you go to an actual Casino there are people watching you. Yet when you are playing online, there is no one watching anyone. Therefore someone could be cheating and no one would see. Also card counting is effective in the casinos of Las Vegas. Thus it would be extremely easy to card count when you can use card counting software.

Are there other things that I need to worry about?

There was a study at the University of Connecticut on online gambling. This study shows that people that gamble on the internet tend to have more of a gambling addiction than those who gamble in other ways.

What are the benefits?
Many states are starting to ask the question “how can we benefit from online gambling?”. There are some states that are taking steps to officially legalize online gambling. By legalizing online gambling, these states will increase their revenues. They would increase government through taxes. Yet this potential boost for the state governments is not very significant. The state of Iowa did a study on their potential gains. This study showed that their government would only benefit by a few million dollars.

What about us business guys?

There are others that can benefit from online gambling. I was surfing the Internet for information on online gambling, when I found this great blog. The blog Business Insider claims to have a connection with Facebook. There source at Facebook said that legalizing online gambling would cause Facebook’s worth to sky rocket. Next time you are playing Farmville on Facebook, think what it would be like with real money.

Net Addiction

By: Jenny Holland

Net Addiction is also referred to as: Internet addiction, web addiction, Internet overuse, and Internet addiction disorder. Research on this topic first started in 1996 by Dr. Kimberly Young. She presented her paper “Internet Addiction: The Emergence of New Disorder” at the American Psychological Association’s annual conference in Toronto. Since then many other studies have been produced around the world.

This is a rising problem in our community with the amount of time people spend online per day. It is said that between 5 and 10% of web users suffer from some sort of web dependency.

Internet addiction can come in many different forms; people can be addicted to one aspect of the Internet or all. Some of the specific addictions associated with the Internet are gaming addictions, pornography addictions, online shopping and social media addictions.

But what makes the Internet so ADDICTING? Most people who crave the Internet are really craving an underlying need for socialization but in a different form. While people are online playing their videogames they are really communicating with other players, or when someone compulsively checks their email and social media sites they are looking for person-to-person communication. The same can be said about online pornography, the person is probably missing person-to-person contact that is unavailable.

Internet addiction is as serious as gambling or any other type of addiction. As of right now it is not in the current DSM as a listed psychological disorder but it is said to maybe make an appearance in the next addition. Since this is such a new problem the statistics of the disorder are still being worked out but I do believe IAD should be added into the next version of the DSM. IAD, just like any other type of disorder, has very serious and real side effects. People who suffer from IAD are more prone to developing anxiety and even depression.

There are different levels of addiction that people can suffer from just like other disorders. Some people may just have compulsive urges to use the Internet while others, as I mentioned before, may end up growing anxiety and depression.

Like most things there are two sides to the story. Some other doctors suggest that IAD is not an actual psychological disorder and it is the symptom of another underlying illness, therefore, IAD does not deserve be in the next DSM.

After doing all of my research I wanted to see what it took to be defined as a “internet addict” so I found a test and I took it!

Thankfully I was rated as being an average online user. If you would like to see what you score CLICK HERE. Some of the questions they ask are:
• How often do you find yourself staying online longer than you intended to
• Do you get agitated and find yourself yelling or being upset someone interrupted you while you were online
• Find that you are anxious when you are not able to be online

Luckily if you are suffering from Internet Addiction Disorder there are TREATMENTS. There are many rehabilitation programs and counseling centers all around the world that can help you.

 

 

WikiLeaks

“The simplest and most effective countermeasure is a worldwide community of informed users and editors who can scrutinise and discuss leaked documents.”                 -WikiLeaks

Covert spies are glamorized by Hollywood when they produce landmark classics such as James Bond, Mission Impossible, and The Bourne Identity.  Highly rated and extremely successful, these movies entertain millions but when the end credits begin to roll many people question whether this clandestine activity is actually possible.  On October 4, 2006, the world met its first true spy that would show that it was far more powerful than any fictitious super spy ever seen on the movie screen.

WikiLeaks logo

Background History

Establishing a domain name in October 4, 2006, the website demonstrated its power when posting their first document in December 2006.   Micah L. Sifry, author and Goggle Scholar publisher, explains that WikiLeaks was built on the foundation that its publications are meant to bring important news to the public with an emphasis on a search for truth in every story.  Julian Assange has proudly claimed the title as the founder, philosopher, spokesman, organizer, and financier, which, in turn, has placed him in the crosshairs of many powerful individuals across the world.  Beyond Assange, WikiLeaks consists of five full-time employees and about 800 part-time workers who are proudly working without pay.

Bahnhof's computer hosting nuclear bunker office space

Having a website platform that releases confidential documents requires a very particular hosting service.  PQR, otherwise known as PeRiQuito AB, answered the call by providing WikiLeaks a hosting service that is a ” highly secure, no-questions-asked hosting service”.  With a business structure such as this, PQR has little to none information from WikiLeaks.  Governments around the world struggle in their investigations against WikiLeaks due to PQR’s lack of customer information.  After becoming a target of a denial of service attack, WikiLeaks began using Amazon’s servers, but was quickly rejected for not complying with the Terms Agreement put forth by Amazon.  To this date, Bahnhof, a Swedish internet hosting provider, is WikiLeaks hosting service.  Bahnhof, using military grade encryption to protect its customers websites, is located in a former nuclear bunker.  It’s funny how a new renovation and a few new pieces of furniture can change the feel of your surroundings.   The Swedish Pirate Party, as of August 10, 2010, had made an agreement to help manage, fund, and host some of the WikiLeaks servers.

Prominent Leaks

Julian Assange--founder of WikiLeaks

Between 2006 and 2008, WikiLeaks was able to get its hands on and publish sensitive information about the U.S. Army’s protocol when dealing with prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Sarah Palin’s Yahoo email account, and Hassan Dahir Aweys’s  (Somalian political figure) plan to assassinate government officials.  In 2009 alone WikiLeaks revealed two incidents of reckless environmental destruction.  The companies involved were found guilty for  forcing the media to pull the stories from the news outlets.  2010 proved to be a horrific year for the Department of Defense due to a massive leak of documents regarding the war in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Over 500,000 documents were spilled over the web leading the U.S. government to claim that this catastrophe was “the largest leak in U.S. history”.  This year was the first time a classified document was hacked and leaked to the public.  With only half of 2011 completed, WikiLeaks has already managed to release reports from Guantanamo prison, opened the Spy Files, and posted emails from a security intelligence company called Stratfor.

Government Rage

For obvious reasons, the publication of all of these secrets has raised blood pressures in leaders all over the world.  Australia had placed WikiLeaks on it’s internet blacklist for several months, but eventually the company was removed from the list.  The People’s Republic of China has been accused of blocking the accessibility of any URL with “wikileaks” in it.  In Germany and Iceland WikiLeak volunteers reported  and uncomfortable amount of surveillance that was being carried out by international covert agents and police. Several accounts of jail time and computer confiscations were reported.  In the United States of America, the U.S. Army, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Justice have made suggestions that they plan to prosecute WikiLeaks “on grounds that they are promoting the theft of government property”.  More on the prosecution of WikiLeaks will be covered by news sources when it becomes available.

This post only skims the surface of an extremely complex and controversial organization.  Watch further information in the YouTube video below and share your personal opinion on the organization in the comment section below.