Big props to LaDonna Coy of Technology in Prevention, Learning for Changes, Inc. for sharing this slideshow.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
A Legal Alternative To Online Gambling
Forbes.com, 6/12/08
Source: http://www.forbes.com/entrepreneurs/2008/06/12/online-gambling-centsports-ent-manage-cx_jb_0612onlinegambling.html
by Jonathan Berke
Here's a business model for you: Give people money and let them place any bet they'd like. If they win, they get to keep the spoils; if they lose, give them more money to play with.
No, we're not talking about the subprime mortgage business. We're talking about a new--and perfectly legal--online gambling outfit called Centsports.com, founded by budding Webpreneur Victor Palmer in College Station, Texas.
Online gambling has always been illegal, even though people got away with it for years. In 2006, U.S. federal prosecutors started cracking down on payment processors, making things a little harder, even for off-shore virtual casino operators and their customers.
Palmer skirts this pesky problem by banking his customers. Three elements have to be present to violate most state gambling laws--namely "prize, chance and consideration," says attorney Chuck Humphrey, a gaming-law specialist and author of the Gambling Law U.S. blog. Because Centsports.com doesn't allow users to bet their own stash, no "consideration" is involved, and thus all is kosher. Quips Palmer: "Congress assumes if you’re dumb enough to give away money, then go for it."
Here's how the site works. Each user starts off with 10 cents in his or her account, provided by Centsports. (You need only register a name and password.) From there, they can bet on any event for which Las Vegas bookmakers set a line.
Once users accumulate $20 in winnings--the equivalent of doubling your money eight times, or striking gold on a 200-to-1 long shot--they can cash out a minimum of $10 and receive an actual check in the mail. (In terms of "consideration," winnings on that initial 10-cent stake don't constitute ownership until actually cashed out.) Losers risk nothing--except perhaps a touch of pride--and get immediately restaked with fresh dimes.
Cashing out is not exactly straight forward. To ensure he can always pay the electric bill, Palmer puts the breaks on payouts (talk about having a house edge). Users compete with each other to snag their winnings from a community pot; big winners get preference.
Users can also earn money by referring friends to Centsports.com. The incentive: 5% of any winnings their friends rack up.
How does Palmer aim to turn a profit? Hungry advertisers--which thus far include Skype, Pizza Hut and the National Basketball Association--and a meager marketing budget consisting of those 10-cent initial stakes and a few teaser videos on YouTube. (Most of Palmer's initial investment went to cover a mere $5-a-month lease on a computer server.) So far, so good: Palmer says his registered user base, now at 200,000 strong, is nearly doubling every month.
Palmer's not your average 26-year-old. He began college at Lubbock Christian University (in Lubbock, Texas) at age 11. He graduated at 16 with a BS in mathematics; soon after began working on a Masters degree in physics at Texas Tech University; and in 2006 bagged a Ph.D. in computer science from Texas A&M University.
That résumé notwithstanding, Palmer is more frat boy than power geek. On the phone, he jokes freely about girls and alcohol. With any luck, he may soon have plenty of reasons to raise a glass.
___
Comments?
Source: http://www.forbes.com/entrepreneurs/2008/06/12/online-gambling-centsports-ent-manage-cx_jb_0612onlinegambling.html
by Jonathan Berke
Here's a business model for you: Give people money and let them place any bet they'd like. If they win, they get to keep the spoils; if they lose, give them more money to play with.
No, we're not talking about the subprime mortgage business. We're talking about a new--and perfectly legal--online gambling outfit called Centsports.com, founded by budding Webpreneur Victor Palmer in College Station, Texas.
Online gambling has always been illegal, even though people got away with it for years. In 2006, U.S. federal prosecutors started cracking down on payment processors, making things a little harder, even for off-shore virtual casino operators and their customers.
Palmer skirts this pesky problem by banking his customers. Three elements have to be present to violate most state gambling laws--namely "prize, chance and consideration," says attorney Chuck Humphrey, a gaming-law specialist and author of the Gambling Law U.S. blog. Because Centsports.com doesn't allow users to bet their own stash, no "consideration" is involved, and thus all is kosher. Quips Palmer: "Congress assumes if you’re dumb enough to give away money, then go for it."
Here's how the site works. Each user starts off with 10 cents in his or her account, provided by Centsports. (You need only register a name and password.) From there, they can bet on any event for which Las Vegas bookmakers set a line.
Once users accumulate $20 in winnings--the equivalent of doubling your money eight times, or striking gold on a 200-to-1 long shot--they can cash out a minimum of $10 and receive an actual check in the mail. (In terms of "consideration," winnings on that initial 10-cent stake don't constitute ownership until actually cashed out.) Losers risk nothing--except perhaps a touch of pride--and get immediately restaked with fresh dimes.
Cashing out is not exactly straight forward. To ensure he can always pay the electric bill, Palmer puts the breaks on payouts (talk about having a house edge). Users compete with each other to snag their winnings from a community pot; big winners get preference.
Users can also earn money by referring friends to Centsports.com. The incentive: 5% of any winnings their friends rack up.
How does Palmer aim to turn a profit? Hungry advertisers--which thus far include Skype, Pizza Hut and the National Basketball Association--and a meager marketing budget consisting of those 10-cent initial stakes and a few teaser videos on YouTube. (Most of Palmer's initial investment went to cover a mere $5-a-month lease on a computer server.) So far, so good: Palmer says his registered user base, now at 200,000 strong, is nearly doubling every month.
Palmer's not your average 26-year-old. He began college at Lubbock Christian University (in Lubbock, Texas) at age 11. He graduated at 16 with a BS in mathematics; soon after began working on a Masters degree in physics at Texas Tech University; and in 2006 bagged a Ph.D. in computer science from Texas A&M University.
That résumé notwithstanding, Palmer is more frat boy than power geek. On the phone, he jokes freely about girls and alcohol. With any luck, he may soon have plenty of reasons to raise a glass.
___
Comments?
Thursday, June 12, 2008
CADCA Coalitions Online encourages online coalition building
June 12, 2008
VIEWPOINT: Is a Blog Right for Your Coalition?
by: LaDonna Coy, MHR, CPS, CDLA, New Media and Prevention Specialist
Source: http://cadca.org/CoalitionsOnline/article.asp?id=1894
What are blogs and why should a coalition consider them? For starters, blogs have upset the way we´ve grown accustomed to communicating! And that´s a very good thing if you are involved in the work of creating community change. Clay Shirky, author of Here Comes Everybody, says, "when we change the way we communicate, we change society."
A blog at its most basic is an individual or group Web site that is updated often and the newest information always appears first. While often described as an online journal, you also can think of it as a coalition news channel. This channel is your own, for your news and information based on your needs and schedule—but with an interesting twist. Unlike Web sites, blogs allow comments, opening up two-way communication loops. Good blogs encourage exchanges of information, ideas and resources.
What can a coalition do with a blog? Some coalitions use blogs for distributing news, information or to celebrate community events in ways similar to a Web site. Others use blogs to replace and expand the reach of their newsletter. Some post thoughts, comments, opinions, descriptions, or stories. We are more limited by own imaginations than by the technology.
If you have a computer, Internet connection and a browser, a blog is quick and easy to start and can be free. What else can blogs do for a coalition? They can:
• provide an anchor from which coalitions can launch ideas/events/products and link to ANY other source that appears online;• open communication and feedback loops offering community “conversation” online; and
• make dramatic ripple effects possible as conversations between the coalition and the community happen and expand to encompass other coalitions across the country, the research community, and provider network.
If we change the way we communicate—the way information flows between, among and around us—we will naturally create change.
[...]
----
Check out this blog for more great info on blogging in the prevention world: http://technologyinprevention.blogspot.com/
VIEWPOINT: Is a Blog Right for Your Coalition?
by: LaDonna Coy, MHR, CPS, CDLA, New Media and Prevention Specialist
Source: http://cadca.org/CoalitionsOnline/article.asp?id=1894
What are blogs and why should a coalition consider them? For starters, blogs have upset the way we´ve grown accustomed to communicating! And that´s a very good thing if you are involved in the work of creating community change. Clay Shirky, author of Here Comes Everybody, says, "when we change the way we communicate, we change society."
A blog at its most basic is an individual or group Web site that is updated often and the newest information always appears first. While often described as an online journal, you also can think of it as a coalition news channel. This channel is your own, for your news and information based on your needs and schedule—but with an interesting twist. Unlike Web sites, blogs allow comments, opening up two-way communication loops. Good blogs encourage exchanges of information, ideas and resources.
What can a coalition do with a blog? Some coalitions use blogs for distributing news, information or to celebrate community events in ways similar to a Web site. Others use blogs to replace and expand the reach of their newsletter. Some post thoughts, comments, opinions, descriptions, or stories. We are more limited by own imaginations than by the technology.
If you have a computer, Internet connection and a browser, a blog is quick and easy to start and can be free. What else can blogs do for a coalition? They can:
• provide an anchor from which coalitions can launch ideas/events/products and link to ANY other source that appears online;• open communication and feedback loops offering community “conversation” online; and
• make dramatic ripple effects possible as conversations between the coalition and the community happen and expand to encompass other coalitions across the country, the research community, and provider network.
If we change the way we communicate—the way information flows between, among and around us—we will naturally create change.
[...]
----
Check out this blog for more great info on blogging in the prevention world: http://technologyinprevention.blogspot.com/
Friday, June 06, 2008
Overall youth gambling down, but Internet's lure draws concern, DHS reports
Oregon DHS News Release, 5/29/08
General contact: Ken Palke, 503.947.5286
Program contact: Wendy Hausotter, 503.945.9703
Overall youth gambling down, but Internet's lure draws concern, DHS reports
One of every 20 Oregon adolescents may be a problem or at-risk gambler and many youngsters are being drawn to free gambling-type games on the Internet, according to a recent study sponsored by the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS).
The study findings, which are in a report titled "Oregon Youth and Their Parents: Gambling and Problem Gambling Prevalence and Attitudes," will be used to refine and develop Oregon's model problem gambling prevention programs.
Oregon's techno-savvy youth indicate that they're gambling for free on the Internet. Many are playing less poker, which used to be the number one gambling activity among youngsters.
"The emergence of free gambling on the Internet is no surprise, but is of real concern," said Paul D. Potter, DHS problem gambling services manager. "Ads for online games pop up, and kids think that if money's not involved there's no risk.
"Kids don't realize they're being primed to play for money later, which is illegal. They can also become a victim of identity theft," he said. "Parents need to be vigilant about their kids' Internet use."
Despite the increase in Internet play, gambling among Oregon 12- to 17-year-olds has declined significantly in the past decade, primarily due to a change in attitudes about young people and gambling.
"When parents learn more about the potential risks of youth gambling, they do a better job of helping their kids make different choices about using their leisure time," said Potter. "Our statewide and local prevention and awareness efforts are paying off, especially when you realize that during the same decade opportunities to gamble have increased."
Potter said Oregon's awareness-raising job isn't finished, because the survey shows that despite evidence to the contrary, most parents and kids still don't see gambling as a behavior that can lead to serious problems, even addiction.
In the past 10 years the number of youths playing the Lottery has declined 80 percent. Potter praised the vigilance of casinos and the Oregon Lottery in helping to reduce underage gambling.
"Selling to anyone under the age of 18 is a violation of a retailer's contract with the Lottery and could put the business's ability to sell our games in jeopardy," said Carole Hardy, Oregon Lottery assistant director for marketing. "We are diligent about providing our retailers with training about the perils of underage play and other responsible selling programs."
According to the study, parents who gamble become role models in their households. Chances are double that their children will become at-risk gamblers and four times as likely that they will become problem gamblers.
Approximately 1.3 percent of Oregon adolescents are problem gamblers, which is narrowly defined as having an extreme pattern of behavior. Another 4.6 percent score as at-risk gamblers, which means that several risk factors are present. Young people who gamble are more likely to use alcohol and drugs, get into fights, skip school and engage in other risky behaviors, according to the study.
"When we hear parents say, ‘What's the harm in kids playing poker? At least I know where they are. They could be doing much worse things.', it tells us that they haven't seen the real data," said Potter. "If they did, they'd think twice."
Oregon parents and children in 1,550 families were interviewed by researchers from May to August 2007. The study found that 63 percent of adolescents gambled at least once, 46 percent gambled in the past year and three percent gamble weekly or more often. Boys gamble on a more regular basis than girls, and older teens are more likely to gamble regularly than younger ones.
The report recommends these improvements to awareness and prevention programs for youth gambling:
- Use alternative approaches to help Oregon youth with gambling problems, such as teaching parents, teachers, counselors and other youth workers to understand that youth gambling is a problem and recognize its symptoms.
- Integrate problem gambling information into existing school-based curricula on healthy choices and addictions.
- Target awareness efforts to athletic coaches and similar groups because of higher problem gambling rates among school sports participants.
Information on problem gambling is available on the Web at 1877mylimit.org.
To reach the free and confidential Oregon Problem Gambling Hotline, call 1-877-MY-LIMIT or visit 1877mylimit.org.
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