Category Archives: Gambling

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) The Mega Millions jackpot drawing tonight is $660 million, but Alabamians wont have a shot at the prize without crossing state lines.

The next legislative session brings a new four-year term for lawmakers, and a new opportunity to pass a lottery bill.

I hope so. I hope I can, Sen. Greg Albritton (R-Atmore) said.

Albrittons comprehensive gambling bill last session failed to pass. It wouldve legalized a lottery, established a limited number of casinos and created a compact with the Poarch Creek Indians.

Albritton says he hopes the next session is more successful.

Im doing all that I know to do. Im still trying to work with House members and reach out to the governors office to find out where we are and to draw a consensus, Albritton said.

Gov. Kay Ivey said earlier this year her biggest regret of last session was that lawmakers didnt pass a gambling bill that would give voters the choice on the ballot.

Political analyst Steve Flowers predicts this next session could be the year since theres no election looming.

The reason it didnt pass or be addressed this last year was because it was an election year. The first year of the four-year term is when things like this are addressed, so thats what makes it more likely this will be the year, Flowers said.

Though it wont be an election year, Albritton says there will be other hurdles.

Theres an argument to that effect, Im not sure if thatll have any bearing. Well have a lot of new people yes, and the education process not only on this but on other bills will be important for the newcomers to get a grasp of, Albritton said.

Albritton says Alabama needs to regulate gambling and benefit from revenue that is currently going to other states.

I think theres a recognition that theres a need that Alabama take control of this industry. The requirement that Alabama needs to benefit from the gaming thats already going on, Albritton said.

Alabama is one of just five states without a lottery. The legislative session will start on the first Tuesday in March 2023.

Original post:

AL lawmaker will bring lottery and gambling legislation to next session - WRBL

More than 700 stakeholders will be surveyed to advise on operators' response to signs of problem gambling

DENVER, July 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- PointsBet, the leading sportsbook for live betting, and the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) today announced the launch of a research initiative centered around responsible gambling decision making for online gambling operators.

The objective of this work is to understand how various industry, government, and clinical stakeholders would respond to various scenarios in which a fictitious online betting customer demonstrates potentially problematic gambling behavior.

"With the rapid expansion of legalized sports betting across the US, a commitment to responsible gambling today will have a direct impact on the future health of players and sustainability of the industry," said PointsBet USA CEO Johnny Aitken. "Navigating how to identify and address problem gambling is a complex and sensitive issue, and operators are regularly faced with how to best respond to customers who are exhibiting problematic gambling behavior. Through this research project, we're aiming to gain more insights on the thought process that goes into finding solutions for those impacted by problem gambling as well as better help inform operator decision making on this matter."

An anonymous and voluntary survey, designed by PointsBet in collaboration with NCPG and the Massachusetts Council on Gaming and Health, will be issued to attendees of the National Conference on Gambling Addiction & Responsible Gambling 2022. The survey will showcase three fictional customers who are demonstrating potentially problematic gambling behavior. Those who opt in will be asked to take on the role of an operator and determine the best course of action for the customer based on the observed behavior.

"Online gambling operators are required to provide various responsible gambling tools. These tools should be regularly reviewed and evaluated by stakeholders to ensure they are adequately serving customers," said Keith Whyte, Executive Director of the National Council on Problem Gambling. "Our hope is that the results of this survey will spark dialogue amongst operators as well as regulators, treatment providers, researchers, and problem gambling advocates to help inform the responsible gambling decisions that online gambling operators face."

Findings and analysis of the survey will be made available to all conference attendees and the general public in September 2022.

About PointsBet

PointsBet is a corporate bookmaker listed on the Australian Stock Exchange with operations in Australia, the United States, Canada and Ireland. PointsBet has developed a scalable cloud-based wagering platform through which it offers its clients innovative sports and racing wagering products, advance deposit wagering on racing (ADW) and iGaming.

About the National Council on Problem Gambling

Based in Washington DC, the National Council on Problem Gambling is the only national nonprofit organization that seeks to minimize the economic and social costs associated with gambling addiction. If you or someone you know may have a gambling problem, contact the National Problem Gambling Helpline, which offers hope and help without stigma or shame. Call or text 1-800-GAMBLER or visit http://www.ncpgambling.org/chat. Help is available 24/7 it is free and confidential.

Media ContactMichael TerryDirector of Public Relations[emailprotected]

SOURCE PointsBet

Read more here:

PointsBet and the National Council on Problem Gambling Launch Responsible Gambling Research Initiative - PR Newswire

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The "Global Online Gambling Market 2022-2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The online gambling market is poised to grow by $142.38 bn during 2022-2026, decelerating at a CAGR of 11.05% during the forecast period. The market is driven by growing demand for mobile gambling, increasing betting on e-sports, and reduced stringency in government regulations.

This study identifies the introduction of bitcoin gambling as one of the prime reasons driving the online gambling market growth during the next few years. Also, use of AI in online gambling and emergence of VR as a cure for gambling addiction will lead to sizable demand in the market.

The online gambling market is segmented as below:

By Device

By Product

By Geographical Landscape

The report on online gambling market covers the following areas:

Key Topics Covered:

1 Executive Summary

2 Market Landscape

3 Market Sizing

4 Five Forces Analysis

5 Market Segmentation by Device

6 Market Segmentation by Product

7 Customer Landscape

8 Geographic Landscape

9 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

10 Vendor Landscape

11 Vendor Analysis

12 Appendix

Companies Mentioned

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/8qmjdw

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

Read this article:

Global Online Gambling Market Report 2022-2026: Demand for Mobile Gambling, Increasing Betting on E-Sports, and Reduced Stringency in Government...

Narmadapuram (Madhya Pradesh): The police administration here is taking strict action against law breakers. Kotwali police have arrested 14 people accused of gambling and have seized Rs 68,300 from them, said police on Sunday.

On the instructions of superintendent of police Gurkaran Singh, ASP Avadhesh Pratap Singh and SDOP Parag Saini the Kotwali police station incharge got a tipoff that a large number of people were betting. The police formed the team and raided Shrikunj garden area situated near Kachrapatti area.

The police have arrested 14 accused under Section 13 of Gambling Act and have seized Rs 68,300 from them.

The police have arrested Siddhant Kushwaha, Pramod Ahirwar, Rakesh Rajput, Satyam Malviya, Akchat Jain, Gourav Meena, Ankit Jaat, Tushar Badani, Yadram Sharma, Mukul Sharma, Sourabh Santore, Kshitij Gour, Kasish Kumar Badani and Rahul Sarathe.

The Kotwali police team was lead by sub inspector Darbari Lal Vishwakarma, ASI Sunil Joshi, head constable Shailendra, Yogesh, Amit Sharma, Pawal Masihi constables Lokesh Kapil, Rajkumar and Bhagwat Singh played vital role in conducting raid.

(To receive our E-paper on whatsapp daily, please click here.To receive it on Telegram, please click here. We permit sharing of the paper's PDF on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.)

Read this article:

Narmadapuram: 14 people arrested in connection of gambling - Free Press Journal

Hello there, fellow gamblers. Tis I, Drew Magary, aka Drew The Knife, aka Drewy Bones, aka The San Jose Shark, and Im here to let you in on an easy way to win BIG MONEY. Im talking potential millions here. Real smackers. Normally, this would be an exclusive offer Id make only to members of Premium Drew and to callers at 1-900-DRW-WINS. But today, and today only, Im gonna share my hottest tips with the general sporting public: information that Vegas DOESNT WANT YOU TO KNOW. So open up your wallets and hold onto your nutsacks, boys, because heres your ticket to The Land Of The Sharps.

Sportsbooks have been adjusting Baltimore's odds furiously the Orioles are down to 250-1 to win the World Series and 15-1 to make the playoffs at Caesars Sportsbook and still find themselves facing seven-figure liabilities.

Thats David Purdum, who writes for the Chalk gambling vertical over at ESPN.com. Purdum has become a regular practitioner of a genre of sportswriting that Ill summarily paraphrase as OH MY GOD CASINOS ARE SO SCARED RIGHT NOW! Purdum has deployed this formula many times before. He used it when writing about bettors seizing on prop bet unders before Draymond Green planned a brief, ceremonial start for the Warriors back in January. He did it in November when Caesars lost a whole million dollars (oh no whatever will they do) when a random bettor cashed in a futures bet on Shohei Ohtani winning the 2021 AL MVP award. He did it this past spring when St. Peters run to Elite Eight cost BetMGM money that they surely couldnt afford to lose. And he did it again this spring when poor Caesars Mister Biden, bail this casino out! botched their pre-series line favoring the Brooklyn Nets in a series that they would go on to lose in a sweep. Did Purdum use the phrase free money in that last one? You know he did:

It's often a clich in the betting community, but for roughly two hours Tuesday, from 9:45 p.m. ET until around midnight, there was indeed free money to be had.

Purdum is taking up the mantle of former ESPN business reporter and brand worshipper Darren Rovell, who cut out the middleman entirely in 2018 and left the network for a gambling concern. Rovell was no stranger to this Bookies really took a bath this time! form of take, where any anomaly in the pregame line or the postgame result triggers a house loss that looks onerous when isolated but is ultimately a rounding error for businesses that routinely make hundreds of million dollars annually. BetMGM made $850 million in revenue last year. The market cap for Caesars Entertainment currently stands at $9 billion. These are not companies in dire straits. Quite the contrary.

In fact, ever since the Supreme Court legalized sports betting in 2018, Americans have legally wagered more than $87 billion, according to the Washington Post. That number figures to increase exponentially as more dominoes fall and more states legalize online sports betting apps to streamline the gambling addiction process. Perhaps youve seen an ad or two for such apps, maybe even featuring the comedic stylings of J.B. Smoove.

As these services proliferate, they have become comfortably intertwined both with the major sports leagues and, more importantly, with the media companies that hold the broadcast rights to those leagues. According to the Financial Times, ESPN parent company Disney holds a stake in DraftKings and ESPN has an exclusivity arrangement with the clearly struggling Caesars for pregame odds. (Disclosure: Hearst, parent company of this website, also owns 20% of ESPN.) Disney CEO Bob Chapek himself told Disney investors that sports betting was vital to the future of ESPNs success within the company.

Im sure that declaration has nothing to do with ESPN.coms Chalk vertical, nor with why that vertical continually publishes articles by Purdum that so blatantly attempt to make the playing field between bettor and book appear more level than it actually is.

For sportsbooks, it would've been the most expensive tie in NFL betting history. Bookmakers acknowledged that they were on the hook for millions if the Chargers and Raiders had ended in a tie. The books endured an overtime sweat for the ages but escaped mostly unscathed.

Phew! Thank god for that! Even when the books dont take a loss, one that they could easily absorb, Purdum appears all too willing to mine content from them NEARLY taking a loss. Even Danny Ainge wasnt able to extract this much copy from things almost happening but not. Not only are these stories based on false premises (do you really see Caesars going out of business this year because the fking Orioles are barely above .500?), they serve as blatant PR to attract gambling addicts whose habits ESPN is willfully enabling for its own profit. Appealing to that subgroup is the real free money, for both ESPN and the gambling companies. Its an easy way for them to lure in consistent viewers, given that gambling addicts arent the type to rest their eyeballs, and given that almost no one who quits gambling does so for very long.

I asked Purdum over email whether he thought his articles willfully obfuscated the chances of an everyday gambler literally beating the odds. Here was his response, in full:

I would be surprised if anyone read a story about a sportsbook suffering a rare loss and came away believing that sports betting is easy. In my opinion, it is common knowledge that sportsbooks almost always come out ahead and beating the books is an up-hill battle with the odds stacked against you. My goal is to write on interesting topics in the sports betting space, including the unique and clever ways bettors occasionally get the best of the books. Sportsbooks win again doesnt seem very newsworthy, except for high-profile events like the Super Bowl and NCAA tournament. Stories on books losing typically do generate more interest, because it is a rare occurrence. For balance, though, I write a weekly recap of the betting action during football season and report whether books win or lose. Id estimate the books come out ahead on 80% of NFL Sundays, for example. In addition, I regularly post the monthly sports betting revenue numbers from individual states, showing how much the books win.

As Purdum noted, these are stories that attract readers. None of this st is new. I grew up with odds posted in the back of USA Today, and with the late Hank Goldberg making his NFL picks every Sunday morning on SportsCenter, and I spent my early adulthood voraciously reading Bill Simmons columns where he would openly mock Vegas for publishing lines he deemed to be easy pickings. Thus, I have long been accustomed to various hustlers and professional bros selling me the idea that a canny sports fan can beat the system. Im not inclined to believe this fairy tale because A) I am not in dire financial straits, and B) Im not a sucker. Ive seen Phil Mickelsons gambling losses. I know the lay of the land. But plenty of young sports fans are desperate enough, and stupid enough, to buy into the fable that they can become the next Haralabob if they exploit vulnerabilities in a system that has long proven to have next to none.

And now that sports betting is legal, leagues and networks (not just ESPN!) are freer than ever to feed into this myth, because it means more money wagered and more loyal eyeballs on the games. So they keep letting Purdum churn out this dreck to prop up what has proven to be an easy illusion to maintain. In fact, nearly a year ago, Purdums Chalk colleague Doug Kezirian, the host of a daily gambling show on ESPN2, did away with subtlety and stated the con outright:

After further review, the house does not always win. Since the beginning of time, we have been led to believe that gambling is a fool's errand and sportsbooks will inevitably wind up with your money. However, that is overstated. A successful football season with modest expectations is attainable with a firm grasp of one's approach and discipline to abide by several guidelines.

If this copy doesnt offend you as a member of society, and you may have bigger fish to fry with society at the moment, it should at least offend you as a consumer. If the Chalk represents ESPNs next big evolution in online content, thats somehow a step DOWN from the recently departed Matthew Berrys This fantasy player is like a crazy chick I once dated! articles that were routinely the most popular articles on ESPN.com. I should not find myself pining for Matthew Berry, or for the relative safe haven of lousy Bud Light ads, or for the days when ESPNs premier gambling content featured Chris Berman wearing a turban. I deserve better than this. You do, too. But thanks to Purdum and his ilk, Im not gonna bet on us ever getting it.

Excerpt from:

Drew Magary: ESPN wants you to think sports gambling is easy - SFGATE

Twitch is one of the most important things to happen in games. Alongside the rise of esports, the proliferation of the battle royale genre, and the invention of the smartphone, it has had a huge impact (and arguably contributed to two out of those three). Its made careers, brought games to the fore, raised millions upon millions of dollars for charity, saved lives, raised awareness, the list goes on. All that is now being tarnished by some of the platforms biggest stars and the power of greed and gambling.

The Slots category is filled with gambling. Not the skill-based card games of the Poker category, or even the halfway-house of the stock market, and a million miles from the likes of Hearthstone, StarCraft, Counter-Strike, even FIFA Ultimate Team and the other games that built the platform. Pure gambling slot machines, pachinko, wheels of fortune.

Its not new. Eurogamer reported back in 2018 on how front-and-center this category was and the implications for the platforms younger audience. Its been festering along since then, but its growth rate accelerated quickly during the pandemic, much of it tied to the rise of crypto-currency and its gambling-adjacent investment model.

The two are now inexorably tied, in case theres any doubt. The biggest Slots streamers have live tracking of Bitcoin and Ethereum prices in the corner of their streams. Stake, the website on which the majority of Slots gameplay takes place, deals almost exclusively in crypto, depending on legalities in the countries where it operates. In the U.K., for example, they have to operate in real currency.

Stake, it turns out, is the rotten core of this entire situation. With the near-infinite cashflow it has from being the primary betting platform for gamblers worldwide, Stake has spent millions upon millions of dollars getting Twitch streamers to promote its website. Through 2020 and 2021, streamers would be promoting Stake through VPNs and making money for sign-ups even in countries where it wasnt legal. Stake also has sponsorship deals with many folks outside of the streaming world, from sports teams to racing drivers to Drake.

The average rates companies pay Twitch streamers is one of the industrys dirty little secrets, one that everybody involved would rather you not think or know about. When promoting a game, a publishereasilywill pay upwards of $20,000 an hour for even mid-sized streamers, often much, much more (weve seen figures as high as $35k quoted, and none of this was for the platforms biggest players). Remember that is per hour. This money is in addition to the natural revenue they receive from ads, subscribers, donations, non-game sponsorships (hardware, software, VPNs, clothes, chairs, the list is endless) and much more.

What you have here is young millionaires, many untrained in anything regarding ethics, public relations, or seemingly common decency, as well see. The 1% of the gaming world, and the biggest likely part of the 1% of the whole population. They have rabid fanbases who rely on them for everything from game recommendations to fashion and eating habits to parasocial emotional support. They have agencies and teams of people, all taking their cut, handling their lives so they can spend more time entertaining those people.

What right-minded casino-runner, operating out of whatever corner of the world they can get a gambling license in, wouldnt be sprinting as fast as possible to get them on the hook? A skilled gambling promotor is going to have money to burn that would make the likes of Microsoft and Sony influencer managers wince. You might need to pay a premium to get them playing something so far from their usual haunts, but thats business.

Plus, its an investment. Very impressionable audiences watch millions of hours of Twitch every month. What do you care if its not legal in their country? Theres a VPN advertisement right next to yours on the stream page. What do you care how young they might be? Slap some warning signs up and dont even check in the registration process to see if theyre coming from a real place. What do you care about gambling addiction everyone makes their own choices, right?

Just to be clear about the types of games were talking about, theres a reason the category is called Slots. As well as the titular games, theres also digital pachinko, which doesnt even have the fun of watching balls actually fall down. A game that was being promoted by all the Stake-backed streamers during the production of this article was Limbo, a literal high-low guessing game with some complexities mixed in to obfuscate its pointlessness.

There are also live-dealer games, though they play themselves slightly less and are generally slower. This is where overlays and cameras in a distant studio combine to give the same feeling of playing a live game, complete with sexy hosts and a real wheel. Its a hell of a trip heres a completely random one I found while researching. And heres a quote from Wikipedia about the company that made it:

On May 29, 2020, Playtech agreed to pay 3.5 million to responsible gambling charities following the suicide of 25-year-old Chris Bruney, a customer at the companys TitanBet and Winner gambling sites who lost over 119,000 in the five days prior to his death, during which time he was issued multiple bonuses by managers of the sites VIP programs. The UK Gambling Commission had planned to impose a 3.5 million penalty on Playtech subsidiary PT Entertainment Services after identifying serious systemic failings in the way PTES managed its social responsibility and anti-money laundering processes but the company surrendered its UK licenses before the penalty could be imposed. Following media reports of the controversy, Playtech agreed to pay the 3.5 million and chairperson Claire Milne promised to personally apologize to Bruneys family.

Theres also regular casino live games you might expect. Heres a clip of one of the largest slots streamers playing roulette in which everyone involved looks like theres nothing behind the eyes any more. All available on Stake dot com.

This is a good time to bring in the other half of the equation, the streamers themselves. Thats Trainwreckstv (real name Tyler Faraz Niknam, also known as Trainwreck) in the above stream, one of the biggest dedicated Slots players on the platform. He started streaming in the mid-2010s, coming to some sort of recognition in November 2017 when he called women on Twitch a sexist slur for taking his viewership. He was banned for five days, but you can see the meteoric rise in his follower count before, during, and after that incident.

At the time, Niknams streaming time was spent on a variety of games popular on the platform World of Warcraft, PUBG, Fortnite. Through 2018 to 2020 he transitioned to a majoritively Just Chatting channel, hosting a podcast, while still playing popular games as they came around. Naturally, he was also banned again for sexist comments at one point, supposedly indefinitely, but returned within a month.

2020 brought the pandemic and the rise of social deduction game Among Us to Twitch. Niknam became one of that games most popular streamers, winning a tournament for it. At this point hes a known name in variety streaming, various esports streams, plenty of games with wide audiences across age ranges and other demographics.

Niknam did his first Slots stream in April 2021, taking 7,433 viewers from Just Chatting into the category. The archive of the stream is lost to time and there dont seem to be any tweets about it on his official account, but its extremely likely it was sponsored. Since then, he has streamed more than 2,700 hours of Slots, 1,325 in January to May this year alone not counting any time he was streaming and wasnt properly tagged, or off-stream gambling time. Of the 3,650 hours that exist in that five-month period, he spent 36 percent of that time gambling.

Forget the potential to drag an audience who rely on him (and which he has built through inspiring speeches targeting young people who feel estranged) into gambling, forget the bans for sexism, the crypto-scam adjacency, forget how many people watching may be underage or impressionable, and that he admits he was the gateway for the Slots section to real Twitch. This is a picture of a self-described degenerate gambling addict.

Here he is talking about an $11 million swing in one stream. Heres analmost complete lack of reaction to winning over a million dollars, a little juicer. Heres his reaction to finding out his gambling streams might have consequences (Apex Legends appears to be a normal part of his streaming rotation now).

If this tweet is to be believed, he lost $200 million of winnings in only four sessions. (All the while, his streams have a big red banner telling viewers not to gamble.)

Niknam spends his money in some pretty wild ways. There are the cars, the new house in Canada, furniture, tech items, and the like. But hes also given away $10 million to his community, including mental healthcare access.He speaks out on the right side of a lot of issues, like gun control, vaccine/masking mandates, and the invasion of Ukraine. Here he is just weeks ago giving away more than $100k on a whim. Hes seen as one of the most generous people on Twitch, because hes just that rich. The money hes gambling, losing, and giving away? It doesnt matter to him.

There are many dedicated Slots streamers like him, though they play at lower stakes. ClassyBeef are a group of people operating one channel, with their own website highlighting all their biggest wins and unique deals they can give you, so long as you sign up to sites with their codes. They also run a StreamElements store where you can spend channel loyalty points, earned through watching and subscribing, for various things. This includes gambling itself, buying tokens to potentially win items. You see how the routes to gambling come from every angle, all sponsored by Stake.com?

Obviously theyre not unique. Heres another StreamElements store that literally does giveaways for Bitcoin why be the gateway to just one pyramid scheme? organized by DeuceAce, another Slots streamer.

Roshtein is one of the bigger streamers in Slots and on the whole of Twitch. He has some of the most-viewed clips on the platform, as he pops off about wins as high at $16 million in a single spin. Theres also endless debate as to how much of the money hes playing with is real, with even Niknam going after him onmore than one occasion. This is to do with deals brokered between the sites and streamers where some percentage of the money being played with is the casinos, or is added on top of any amount the streamer deposits. Naturally, and as Niknam points out, not being transparent about that is abhorrent.

The list is never-ending streamers with thousands of concurrent viewers spending two to 20 hours a day gambling away. Minimal disclosure of what theyre being paid by who to do so, mostly unregulated, and completely allowed by Twitch. Hell, its true across everyone on their platform, but its slightly more dangerous to have undisclosed gambling adverts than poorly explained marketing deals to play three hours of the new Call of Duty.

Adin Ross and xQc are the reason why. Ross was a 2K NBA streamer whose rise came from a social media campaign centered around the poor state of 2K21. His channel grew from a few hundred concurrents at the start of 2020 to tens of thousands because of that campaign, his friendship with Bronny James, and his popularization of streamed e-dating.

In 2021, he was sponsored to stream gambling. He often had six-figure concurrents and growing fame from a number of bans, stunts, giveaways, and generally being a likable young man just 21 at time of writing, 20 when he first streamed Slots. Less than the legal age to enter most casinos in the United States, by the way.

His audience was quite literally too young to gamble, being vastly his age or under. Here he is failing to defend the practice in an interview last year, where he also says he expects his audience is as young as 13. Same interview, saying he expects those kids spend their parents money based on what he does. Heres a stream from last month of him doing it, again sponsored by Stake. Heres a Twitch clip of him admitting to doing sponsored crypto investment content and hoping nobody bought it, plus tweets from him saying hed never done any crypto. Heres another streamer claiming that he spoke to an 11-year-old fan of Ross who had, obviously, gambled, along with all his friends, because hed seen Ross do it on stream.

xQc (Flix Lengyel) is the same story, only worse. A streamer whos been in hot water for homophobic and racist remarks during his time in the Overwatch League, the controversy from that has naturally lead to him being Twitchs biggest star. Literally the most watched streamer on the entire platform, and thus the planet, for multiple months and years in a row. He has, of course, been banned multiple times.

Lengyels popularity is such that he could likely claim some responsibility for the massive boom in interest in chess, alongside Netflixs Queens Gambit, after starting to stream it in 2020. He has access to every game under the sun, all the money he could possibly need, an audience of hundreds of thousands of concurrents and over 10 million followers, and is arguably the most powerful voice in games. If xQc plays your game, the number of eyeballs on it alone, and the knock-on effect if his audience shows interest to other streamers playing it, is worth thousand upon thousands of dollars.

Youre a smart reader; you know where this is going. Whats particularly spectacular about Lengyel is hes done it twice. After getting slaughtered online by everyone from other creators to randoms (hello) to his own community for doing gambling streams, he went back to it in the past couple of months. He doesnt see the problem with unregulated sign-ups. He doesnt get how people were predicting it.

I found this all pretty shocking to research. Twitch is a lot of things, from cringe-comedy Just Chatting streams, or the how low can we go borderline-R18 streams, the bullying and harassment streams, even the actions of the audience when they send SWAT teams or worse after streamers. Maybe you hate it more when the politics of a nation in 2020 or the trauma of a couple in 2022 were turned into live-streamed entertainment. I dont see how anyone could be proud of it. I dont see how anyone at Twitch can be happy with it, no matter how much money it makes.

As one other streamer put it, referring to xQc but applicable to the whole sorry situation: Theyre gifted the opportunity to make tens of millions a year, still would happily sell the entire viewerbase down the river for a little bit more.

Written by Ben Barrett on behalf of GLHF.

See the original post here:

Twitch Slots: gambling and greed - For The Win

John Daly is one of the most famous golfers in the sports history. The athlete is known for his honest and straightforward comments off the field. Dalys golfing skills and non-country club look has won tons of fans worldwide.

In all his interviews, Daly has always been open about his personal life. He has also discussed his gambling habits at length, and how he went on to spend his life savings on them.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

But he didnt just waste money on placing bets; he also did something outrageous once with the money that he won.

Daly once made an unexpected move with his winnings during a fight with his ex-wife, Sherrie, in the car. The couple were fighting over Dalys gambling addiction which led to an altercation.

In a fir of rage, the golfer rolled down the cars window, picked up 65,000 dollars of gambling money, and threw it off the bridge. The player also explained the frustration that fueled this decision. He said to his ex-wife,You know what? If you want that money, you can go find it. But let me tell you something: you dont have a job. Youre not working. Im supporting you. Im paying all the bills.

Daly believed he was doing it all to provide for his family and their needs and, thus, did not want to talk about why he chose to gamble. The couple ended up splitting and got Daly got divorced in 2010. But this is not the only time that Daly lost gambling money.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Long John once lost a match against Tiger Woods in a two-man play-off in the year 2005. He wrapped up the game as a runner-up and made $750,000 from it. But the next thing he did was fly to Las Vegas. He quickly sat down on a $5,000 slot machine, and in 30 minutes, the golfer had lost $600,000!

But it changed nothing for Daly. He went on to gamble, and when he fell short of money, he got another $600,000 from the line of credit. Shockingly, it took him two hours to lose that money too. Within 5 hours, Daly lost 1.65 million dollars while sitting in the casino.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Watch This Story: John Daly Once Suffered a Stroke and What He Did Next Will Surprise You

The rest is here:

John Daly Once Made a Bizarre Move With His $65,000 Gambling Money After An Altercation With His Ex-Wife - EssentiallySports

New Jerseys gambling industry showed a year-over-year increase in June, with casinos, horse tracks and their online partners making $401.5 million from wagers, 2.2% above June 2021s revenues, according to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.

2022s overall numbers to date have reached $2.43 billion, a 15.2% increase over the $2.11 billion reported at the same point last year. Junes figures show the continuation of the recovering trend for Atlantic Citys nine casinos since COVID-19 peaked.

Separate from racetracks, the casinos total gaming revenue, which includes brick-and-mortar hauls, internet wins and sports wagering revenue, grew more than 9% this June compared to 2021, increasing to more than $377.4 million. Thus far in 2022, the citys total casino gaming revenue has topped $2.2 billion, a nearly 19% increase over 2021.

Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa led June with $54.3 million in earnings, followed by Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City, which made $44.6 million.The online components of the casino collectively posted $133.1 million in June, a more than 24% increase from $107.1 million last year.

Countering the growth in those sectors was Junes sports betting gross revenue. Last month, New Jersey Casinos, racetracks and their partners brought in $39.2 million in sports betting revenue, 44.9% less compared to June 2021. Year-to-date, that vertical has fallen more than 16% over last year.

Without sports or online betting, the casinos brick and mortar revenue grew nearly 7% over last June, according to the report. According to Jane Bokunewicz, faculty director of the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming Hospitality and Tourism at Stockton University, these numbers are an encouraging sign," Press of Atlantic City reported.

In keeping with current trends, a significant portion of that growth came from internet and sports betting, which have grown in significance in the past few years, Bokunewicz said. Since this time last year, internet gaming has grown so much in significance that even a seasonal plateauing of revenues generated from that activity (-2.1% compared to May 2022), did not diminish its impact on the industrys overall performance for the month."

Five Atlantic City casinos were in danger of losing some of their workforce due to a strike this month, but new agreements with the casino union, Local 54, averted that. With the peak summer season still ahead, and considering the potential Local 54 strike settled for most casinos, Bokunewicz described the summer as looking promising."

Read this article:

New Jersey gambling revenue grows to $401M in June; year-to-date numbers up 15% to $2.4B - Yogonet International

Winning money is an art; like with most arts, connoisseurs have a lasting fondness for the greats. Of course, amassing stacks of money is one thing. But holding onto it is what separates the red-handed vulgarians from the masters that stand tall in the pantheon of conquerors.

Everyone needs something or someone to believe in, and would-be professional gamblers wont run out of idols to emulate any time soon. But as you pass through year after year on this floating ball of space matter, you learn to appreciate other types of artists. In my case, this type is what we refer to as screw-up artists.

Akin to watching back-to-back car crashes during an air-raid, reading about gamblings least fortunate tales hold a macabre yet compelling sense of interest. Its beautiful to observe the likes of Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton gracefully gliding around Monza in a wrestle to the finish line.

But as equally enthralling to some is catching one city worker rear-end another on a busy city street before all hell breaks loose.

Welcome to the betting worlds version of that car crash.

Today, were going to look at the worst professional gamblers of all time and how they lost hundreds of millions of dollars from failing to brake quick enough.

Of course, these stories are not designed to put you off gambling. Instead, they are useful examples of what not to do when hitting up the best online casinos or that sportsbook in Vegas you passed by a couple of times on the way to the coffee house.

5. Charles Barkley

While you couldnt exactly call the former NBA giant the worst gambler ever, hes not exactly what you would call a success story at the tables.

Charles Barkley is, to those in the know, a solid example of how not to bet, which is to lose millions of dollars. Weve all endured some big hits of our own in the past. And while the loss to wealth ratio might sometimes even out, Barkleys decision-making process has led to him flushing more green down the crapper than an inept politician.

But did he have fun? Well, he must have got something out of it, right? Right indeed.

Barkley has never shied away from owning up to his losses. This includes his eyewatering flops on the casino floor that would lead many of us to head for the nearest window on the mezzanine. The 11-time NBA All-Star has always been open about his gambling endeavors, claiming in 2007 that he had racked up $10 million in betting losses.

Its not a problem. If youre a drug addict or an alcoholic, those are problems. I gamble for too much money. As long as I can continue to do it, I dont think its a problem. Do I think its a bad habit? Yes, I think its a bad habit. Am I going to continue to do it? Yes, Im going to continue to do it.

Unfortunately for Barkley, his fortune at the tables would get worse.

Not only did he later admit to Graham Bensinger that he lost $1 million ten to twenty times, which would be another $20 million on the higher side, but he also claimed to have lost $2.5 million playing blackjack over six hours.

You might ask yourself, Do professional gamblers make money at all? It must be pointed out that Barkley has also won money gambling, yes. But his losses likely outweigh his returns.

Barkleys penchant for losing his cool on the court was well known. He is not afraid to let rip on the state of some pro teams on Inside the NBA, either. Should it come as a surprise that the Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, and Houston Rockets can also be prone to occasional mishaps when paying his bills?

The Wynn Las Vegas might see things differently. In 2008, the casino and resort filed a civil complaint against the pundit, claiming that he owed $400,000 in credit that was never paid off. Barkley has lost the money and initially failed to honor his agreement.

Sound bad? Perhaps like the actions of the worst gambler of all time? Maybe. But wait until you learn that Barkley is not even the worst gambler on this list.

4. Maureen OConnor

Beyond the obvious characteristics, no discernible flaws or patterns mark the worst professional gamblers out from anyone else in society.

Take former mayor of San Diego, Maureen OConnor. To most of the world, OConnor was a bright and talented politician who had worked her way up the ladder at San Diego City Council, and as commissioner for the Port of San Diego, before landing one of the most coveted roles in the state.

OConnor wasnt short on money. She married Robert O. Peterson, who is credited as the creator of the popular Jack in the Box fast food chain. It seemed as though, at least from the outside looking in, the Democrat politician had it made.

But if that were the case, we would not discuss Maureen OConnor alongside the worst bettors in history. While she might not have seen herself as such, Id class anyone who blew through as much money as she did as a professional gambler. Unfortunately, she was one of the most infamous professional gamblers who lost a lot of money and ended up being talked about for years afterward.

So, you probably want to know just how OConnor gambled? Answer: Over $1 billion.

Im aware that a keyboards M and B characters are separated by just one letter. So, it would be fair to assume I made a mistake here. I didnt. She gambled over a billion dollars. OConnor could have bought a private island, a sports team, and a fleet of Lamborghinis for that

According to OConnor, the money staked far outweighed her losses. She estimates that she squandered just $13 million away. $2.1 million was lost playing video poker, with the funds to play stolen from the charity foundation established by her second husband. The charity, which helped people with relapsing polychondritis, would suffer because of her actions.

Nice work, Maureen.

In another twist, OConnor San Diegos first female leader later partially attributed her gambling woes to a brain tumor diagnosed in 2011. Whether that is the case or not, OConnor put together quite the campaign.

How do you lose $2.1m on video poker? By playing like some billion-dollar grandma, thats how. Whether your stake is two mil or two bucks, consider the following tips for consistently winning at video poker.

Never had the pleasure of explaining how to win at video poker at the dinner table? There are worse ways to, quite literally, chew the fat over the holidays. There are also far worse subjects to discuss with family and friends, it must be said. Religion and...

3. Archie Karas

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. And sometimes, that applies to the money you take with you.

Of course, not everyone who frequents the Strip with a dollar and a dream sees both crushed under the almighty boot of the loss. Where legendary gambler Archie Karas is concerned, he tore up the script and wrote his own story before figuratively setting himself on fire only to dive headfirst into a vat of hot tar.

Youve got to understand something. Money means nothing to me. I dont value it. Ive had all the material things I could ever want. Everything. The things I want, money cant buy health, freedom, love, happiness. I dont care about money, so I have no fear. I dont care if I lose it.

Fewer stories of bad professional gamblers can come anywhere near close to Karas. As the legend goes, in 1992, the waiter from Los Angeles arrived in Las Vegas with just fifty bucks. A little over two years later, Karas had won $40 million playing poker and pool.

How does such a thing happen? Heres how.

Karas reportedly secured a loan of $10,000 from a benefactor at The Mirage. Having earned $30,000, with $20,000 going back to the money lender, he embarked on a one-person tour of Vegas many casinos, trying to win money.

He clawed in $3m at Binions Horsehoe, which quickly grew to $7m before long. The card shark was cleaning it up and making quite the name for himself in the process, beating one of the most famous poker players of all time in the form of three-time WSOP winner Stu Ungar.

For most humans, $40 million would have been enough. But not for Karas, who was riding what has been described as the largest and longest documented winning streak in casino gambling history.

Karas was well and truly on The Run. But like all runs, they must come to an end at some point. For the Greek-born American, it was a spectacular fall from grace culminating in losing all his $40m fortune in just three weeks.

Shut the front door

2. John Daly

Looking like the lovechild of Boris Johnson and Rick Flair, John Daly is one of the most recognizable faces in the sport of golf.

The colorful Californian also happens to be one of the worst professional gamblers in history. But dont act shocked when I decide to discuss the latter over his eccentricities on the golf course. Perhaps there is a link between both, but Im not Sigmund Freud.

So, what exactly makes the five-time PGA Tour winner a candidate for one of the worst gamblers ever? Could it have anything to do with the fact that he has blown through more money most of us will see in our pitiful existences in about the same time it takes to convince Salade Nioise? It probably has something to do with that, right? OK.

Daly isnt just one of historys most god-awful gamblers. Sometimes, losses happen. Consistently. And we lose money. Sure, we keep going for a little while, should the situation warrant it. But to completely and utterly sit there while blowing through more paper than a football team with diarrhea boggles the mind.

Daly, like fellow pro sports star Charles Barkley, had been candid about his losses while gambling.

In his book, John Daly: My Life In and Out of the Rough, he confessed to blowing through between $50m and $60m through his career as a pro gambler. Or pro loser. Depending on how you see the man, of course. For everyone that has been haunted by that big loss at the casino, can you imagine losing that much? Id rather not.

Daly recounts a story of winning 750 grand from a two-person playoff with Tiger Woods in 2005. The golfer decided to take the cash to Vegas and get stuck into a slot machine. Not just any old slot, of course. No. That would be absolutely pointless. I mean, whats the point of playing if youre not pumping $5,000 a spin?

Naturally, Daly is here because he lost a lot of money. He was down $600,000 in just 30 minutes on that session alone. Six. Hundred. Thousand. In a half hour. Imagine explaining that one to your other half, huh? The guy must be immune to being thrown out windows at this point.

But thats not where the story ends. I wish it were. But its not. In no way do I feel any sense of schadenfreude for Daly, but what a cock up it was to do what he did next.

Basically, he took $600,000 in credit from the casino and headed back for the slots. He did better this time, though it took him two hours to lose what would get you a nice place pretty much anywhere in the country.

Its suddenly not that difficult to believe that someone with this mindset, or lack thereof, can blow through around $60 million. I wonder if the person who played on that machine after Daly saw any of his cash? Id also like to know if it was a progressive game he was enjoying.

While on that subject, here are some tips for how to win a progressive jackpot. Although I might be tempted to add dont spend over a million in a couple of hours to the existing pointers!

Back in the daybefore the advent of progressive jackpots lotswe didnt know how easy we had it. How easy? For starters, we didnt have the hassle of figuring out how to play a progressive jackpot slot. We also didnt have a...

1. Terrance Watanabe

If there were a hypothetical identity parade for the worst professional gamblers of all time, Watanabe would be in it.

In fact, Watanabe would probably bet on being in it. Then, he would likely propose a slew of prop bets to anyone willing to entertain him about his position in the line, the color of the exit door, and the winning placement of the two flies running up the wall behind him.

Many people in this world enjoy gambling. Watanabe loved it. Not like the love that you would have for stuff like a hot box of fried chicken and fries after a night on the black stuff in Camden or your own company. No. His love was different. He seemingly loved gambling more than anything else accessible to the human psyche.

Now, Watanabes credentials for being arguably the worst gambler ever can be traced back to his sizeable losses, which is consistent with every bettor on this list. But for someone who appeared to have everything one could possibly want, losing everything bar the hair in his nostrils doesnt make a lot of sense.

A little backstory on the exploits of one of the worst gamblers in history? I shall happily indulge thee.

Why Is Terance Watanabe One of the Worst Gamblers of All Time?

Watanabes father was a hard-working man who built himself a million-dollar company that Terance inherited in 1977.

The firm, Oriental Trading Company, was established in Omaha, Nebraska, in the 1930s and would go on to be sold by Watanabe in 2000 for an undisclosed fee to Brentwood Associates. Six years later, it was resold for $6 billion to The Carlyle Group.

You can kind of get a picture of how much Watanabe would have stood to make from the sale. Were talking hundreds of millions. So, what did he do with the money? Considering the context of this article, Im pretty sure you have a good guess in the chamber.

Watanabe became a philanthropist. You werent expecting that, were you? But he also became one of the most infamous gamblers in the history of mankind, so were even.

The ultra-rich businessman descended into a downward spiral of gambling that led to the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. Known as one of the biggest whales in US history, he would strut around the casinos of Las Vegas, throwing money around like live grenades.

Caesars Entertainment Corporation loved Watanabe. Obviously. So much so that they created a VIP tier that sat above their Seven Stars program and was known asChairman. The New Jersey Gaming Commission later fined the corporation a grand sum of $225,000 for allowing him to play while being under the influence. This was despite Watanabe losing his money in Vegas.

Among some of the perks offered to arguably the worst gambler of all time were Rolling Stones tickets, $500,000 gift store credit, and around $12,500 in airfare coupons. Tickets to the Rolling Stones, $12,500 a month for airfare, and $500,000 in credit at the gift stores.

In 2007 alone, Terance Watanabes losses came to $127 million at Caesars Palace and The Rio. He had bet over 825 million, which was the collective age of the Rolling Stones at the time. I hope those tickets were worth it.

By his own account, Watanabes losses are estimated to be over $300 million. This, at least in my humblest of opinions, makes him the worst gambler of all time.

That suddenly makes old Jim down at the sportsbook look like a rocket scientist

How to Become a Better Gambler Than Those Above

It would seem rather harsh to label these guys among the worst professional gamblers of all time.

But why beat around the bush? They are. They have all made this list on merit, not by happenstance or any personal vendetta on my part. They screwed up in their own ways, seeing hundreds of millions of dollars given away to casinos and other players because of their inability to gamble the right way.

Now, you wouldnt do the same in their shoes, am I right?

Of course, you wouldnt. Youd bet smart if you didnt know how youd surely try to learn.

You would think about your wagers and only commit to gambling if there appears to be a reasonable chance of you making money. Of course, not everyone can control themselves when the impulse kicks in. This is why it is important that you do!

Again, these are not cautionary tales designed to put you off gambling. If you enjoy the practice of betting, have some fun. Just make sure not to screw up by blowing through $600,000 in 30 mins and looking for house credit

All jokes aside, mastering the arts of bankroll management and patience will help. If you win big, hold off and assess the situation. If youre on a losing streak, do the same. Somewhere in the middle? You get the picture: always be thinking about your next move.

Whether thats playing slots or live casino roulette, the same practice applies!

Live Online Casinos

Read more:

Worst Professional Gamblers Ever Archie Karas and More - Gambling Sites

Gambling can be a lot of fun for most people, according the the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Services.

They set a budget, and enjoy the time that passes while they spend it. Theres more to gambling than the money, the departments website states. For many, gambling is seen as a form of entertainment where any money they happen to win is a bonus.

However, for some, according to the Mayo Clinic, Gambling can stimulate the brains reward system much like drugs or alcohol can, leading to addiction.

Problem Gambling Faces from Virginia Lottery on Vimeo.

The Virginia Lottery and the Tennessee Lottery each offer Play Responsibly programs aimed at helping players avoid addiction, how to recognize problem gambling, and where to find help if you think you have a problem.

From the Virginia Lotterys website:

Q: What is problem gambling?

Top stories, delivered straight to your inbox.

A: Problem gambling includes all gambling behavior patterns that compromise, disrupt or damage personal, family or vocational pursuits. The essential features are increasing preoccupation with gambling, a need to bet more money more frequently, restlessness or irritability when attempting to stop, chasing losses, and loss of control manifested by continuation of the gambling behavior in spite of mounting, serious, negative consequences. In extreme cases, problem gambling can result in financial ruin, legal problems, loss of career and family, or even suicide.

Q: What causes problem gambling?

A: The cause of a gambling problem is the individuals inability to control the gambling. This may be due in part to a genetic tendency to develop addiction, ones ability to cope with normal life stress and even ones social upbringing and moral attitudes about gambling. The casino or lottery provides the opportunity for the person to gamble. It does not, in and of itself, create the problem any more than a liquor store would create an alcoholic.

Q: How much money do you have to lose to have a gambling problem?

A: The amount of money lost or won does not determine when gambling becomes a problem. Gambling becomes a problem when it causes a negative impact on any area of the individuals life.

Q: How widespread is problem gambling in the U.S.?

A: Two million U.S. adults (1% of the population) are estimated to meet the criteria for pathological gambling in a given year. Another 4 million to 8 million (2% to 3%) would be considered problem gamblers: They do not meet the full diagnostic criteria for pathological gambling, but they meet one or more of the criteria and are experiencing problems due to their gambling behavior. Research also indicates that most adults who choose to gamble are able to do so responsibly.

Recommended Videos

Read more:

How to know when gambling becomes a problem and where to seek help - Kingsport Times News