Controversial and emerging issues associated with cybergambling (e‐casinos)
| Published date | 01 December 2004 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14684520410570562 |
| Date | 01 December 2004 |
| Pages | 435-443 |
| Author | Alan D. Smith |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
Controversial and
emerging issues
associated with
cybergambling
(e-casinos)
Alan D. Smith
The author
Alan D. Smith is in the Department of Management and
Marketing, Robert Morris University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
USA.
Keywords
Electronic commerce, Betting, Innovation, Internet, Casinos
Abstract
Technology that directly leverages the internet is rapidly
changing how people interact with one another, especially in the
entertainment industry. Industries that were once considered
amoral and illegal are adapting to new business models and
transforming how business transactions are conducted and
financial profits are generated. This is certainly the case with
e-gambling, in particular with regard to the proliferation of e-
casinos. Strategically important questions must be answered
concerning how governmental agencies and new industries
developed around the internet should be regulated, particularly
issues associated with online gambling. Is online gambling the
major addictive channel of all forms of gambling, and should the
government do something to stop it? Should governments treat
e-casinos similarly to regular casinos and gaming activities and
tax the industry to aid society? The internationality of the
internet makes it very difficult to find solutions based only on
local and national solutions. The future of cybergambling may be
dependent on the diffusion of innovations, and whether they can
deliver customer value in an ethical and legitimate manner.
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Introduction
Internet gambling and e-casinos
Not since the advent of e-commerce has an
internet-based innovation dominated the fears and
hopes of concerned people and legislators: namely
internet gambling, a highly controversial emerging
global industry. Presently, the legal offline gaming
industry consists of many forms of gambling:
casinos (traditional, Native American, Riverboat,
to name a few), horse racing, sports books,
lotteries, and even universally accepted bingo.
Internet bingo, for example, at
www.Bingohour.com allows customers to buy
virtual bingo cards for $1 apiece and a bingo
number is announced on the web site every seven
seconds, with jackpots claimed to reach as high as
$100,000.
Internet gambling and e-casino development
are truly international concerns. “Manufactur ing
may have been stagnating for decades, but there is
one UK industry that has been sweeping all before
it. Gambling has increased its turnover from £207
million in 1964 to £7.4 billion in 2002 after
allowing for inflation” (The Guardian, 2004). In
the US, for example, while these activities are
individually regulated at the state level, federal
proposals are being made to prohibit internet
gambling in any form. Since the legal status of
these e-gambling sites within the US are uncertain,
at least for the foreseeable future, many firms,
especially publicly held ones, try to err on the safe
side and use strategies to prevent naive US citizens
from betting money on these web sites. As
suggested by Ledbetter (1999, p. 1), much
uncertainty exists concerning the internet
gambling industry:
Despite the creeping approach of anti-
cybergambling legislation and judicial rulings,
there remains a formidable appetite in the US for
Internet wagering. No comprehensive statistics are
kept on the subject, but industry analysts agree that
there are at least 300 gambling sites currently in
existence, through which as much as $1 billion a
year flows.
Due to the complexity of the issues surrounding
e-gambling, this paper focuses only on casinos,
both online and offline. Little attention will be paid
to lotteries and bingo, although they are major
players in the overall online gambling scheme. This
paper initially deals with a brief history of gambling
or gaming, followed by a look at the various forms
of e-casinos operating today in an internet
gambling environment. The next section will
discuss the differences between online and offline
e-casinos by comparing location and major
Online Information Review
Volume 28 · Number 6 · 2004 · pp.435-443
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited · ISSN 1468-4527
DOI 10.1108/14684520410570562
Revised article received 12 March 2004
Accepted for publication 12 August 2004
435
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