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Thoroughbred Horse Racing and Wireless
Although horse race handicapping and wagering on horse racing continues to be legal, other forms of online waging and gambling continue to have interpretation problems.
Being able to police this multi-billion dollar industry is a problem that corrupt politicians will never be able to solve.
Add wireless to wagering and you will undoubtedly cause those same politicians to spend sleepless nights trying to funnel the funds into their own pockets.
Thank goodness they kept their sticky fingers off of horse racing for you and me, but rest assured someone in Washington is getting some kickbacks from other forms of gambling. How do spell Indian Reservations?
Online horse race wagering is legal; however, gambling continues to be a vice mostly pushed to the sidelines. It pops up with a vengeance in places like Las Vegas and on Indian reservations, but there are plenty of outlets waiting with open arms for those who want more.
Gambling surged lock-in-step with the Internet explosion, only to be banned in the summer of 2006. The new federal legislation expanded a 1961 law that prohibits gambling over telephone lines to include the Internet, wireless and other technologies. It bans payments to offshore casinos and outlaws all forms of online gambling.
The focus is on the money that changes hands with financial institutions. Companies have continued to find new ways to transfer money, typically offshore.
Like everything the Internet breathed new life into on the PC, mobile has followed behind. Music, television, films and so much more have began to find their groove in wireless (albeit some much more successfully than others), but will gambling come to the small screen in a big way?
The fact is, it’s already arrived, but again, pushed even further to the sidelines. Although some companies offer betting through mobile WAP sites and downloadable applications, wireless and gambling veterans doubt it will have much success stateside.
"I’m just not sure. I don’t see an eager public. The public has most betting accessible to them already and then the sports betting would be limited," said William Thompson, a gambling consultant and professor at University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Sports betting is the most likely format to see any interest on mobile, said Thompson, who also goes by the name "Billy Gamble." Lotteries would be another venue for potential success on mobile, but it’s unlikely to take off, he said.
Rest of the Story
For me, I will continue my horse race handicapping and wagering online. The payoffs can be very nice, if you have the proper education.
Visit Horse Race Handicapping College for more information.
