The Business of Pleasure

Gambling is fun. Winning cash is fun. Even losing is fun, when it's your opponent who's doing the losing, of course.

The ancient pastime of wagering on games is as old as... well... games themselves. In fact, there's plenty of material evidence to suggest the Chinese were gambling as far back as 2,300 BC. And get this; a pair of dice carved out of ivory were found in Egypt and said to be over 3,500 years old. Speaking of Egypt, it has also been reported that a tablet discovered inside one of the pyramids contained specific references to gambling, sparking speculation that perhaps the pyramids were actually the earliest casinos. I wouldn't bet on it.

For a good time, call...
Fast-forward to today and it's quite clear the Chinese and Egyptians were on to something good. Estimates of just how good vary, but by most accounts the global online gambling market is believed to be worth $15-20 billion a year. Some would say $15 billion in 2006 and $20 billion in 2007. Not a bad growth rate. Though these numbers are probably off by a buck or two, you probably get my drift, and that is, the online betting biz is massive. Huge. Humongous!

Name your game
The number of gamblers in the world is easily in the millions. Some folks bet on sports, others on blackjack; some on poker and others on unprotected sex. That's right, gambling is gambling is gambling. Obviously payoffs will differ in nature, but the ‘risk versus reward' concept is the same - the bigger the risk, the bigger the payoff.

Now that I've got your attention, you'll probably also find it interesting to note that the online gambling industry is also one of the top two and fastest growing commercial industries on the Internet. The other is porno (surprise, surprise), but we won't go there. The point is, no legislation or subsequent law enforcement will prevent players from pursuing happiness. People will always take chances in life By prohibiting free people from gambling in today's modern world by modern means, governments will succeed only as far as driving gambling operators underground. Gamblers will still exist and the basic laws of economics will continue to ensure that as long as someone wants to place a bet, somebody somewhere will always be more than glad to accept it.

Deal with it
Online gambling is a business, just like legalised gambling and the sale of alcohol and tobacco and guns. Seems wiser to legalise and regulate the online gambling sector - not so much in the best interest of those folks gambling responsibly, but those more susceptible citizens ‘dealing' with problems associated with gambling online, offline, any line.