Why Legalizing Internet Gambling Just Won't Work

The battle over Internet gambling that has been taking place in the past fifteen years now even has legislators divided between both sides of the issue.  On one side some elected officials see Internet gambling as an easy source of new tax revenue.  On the opposing side are those legislators who still have concerns grave enough to keep existing bans on Internet gambling in place.

Surely enough most web sites that let people play poker for free wouldn't exist if there is at least some potential that they will some day be allowed to let people to play for real money.  Despite the potential for new tax revenue and high paying IT jobs there would be more pitfalls than benefits from lifting bans on Internet gambling. 

Games in real world casinos are tested by government regulators to ensure that players have a fair chance of winning.  Their online counterparts are not scrutinized to ensure that odds are not unfairly tilted in favor of the house.  The rigorous video security used in casinos doesn't just check for players who are cheating but dealers as well.  It's this system of checks and balances insures that casino gaming is being played fairly, Internet gambling has no such system.

Casinos, Lotteries, Bingos, and Horse Racing are all regulated to prevent minors from partaking in gambling.  Internet gambling has no definite way to ensure that all players are of legal age.  While bets are made with a credit card which is a method of age restriction since one has to be eighteen to hold a credit card, but anybody who can get a hold of a credit card even if it's somebody else's credit card can make a bet.  In most jurisdictions in the United States the legal age for gambling is 21 years of age.  For those between 18-20 they can legally hold a credit card but legally cannot gamble makes using a credit card as a method of age verification ineffective.

The new tax revenue from Internet gambling that legislators want use to fill government coffers with may not be as generous source of new money that legislators make it out to be.  Internet gambling companies like any other business can find the jurisdiction with the lowest tax rates, tax rates low enough to attract online gambling operators will probably be found in the island nations of the Caribbean or Eastern Europe where they operate from now.

Legalizing Internet gambling will open a Pandora's box of pitfalls both known and unknown.  A decision to allow people to bet online must not be made blindly.    

It's Your Fault if Google Spied on Your WiFi

 The gathering of WiFi network information by the vehicles that gather pictures that comprise the pictures that used in Google's street view feature on Google Maps has lead to the latest privacy furor Google faces.  While driving through cities around the world the Street View cars gathered the SSID's and MAC addresses of every WiFi router found.  Google originally claimed that they did not capture any WiFi network traffic, but a review of the captured data did contain data transferred from WiFi networks.

The only data that was captured that could be reassembled is data from WiFi networks that run totally in the clear with no encryption at all.  Users of WiFi networks that run in the clear are just lazy or foolish not to set up good WiFi security.  For those who insist on running their WiFi networks with no security on the public airwaves cannot expect data to remain private.  The only way that keep computer network traffic private is to go to an exclusively hard wired Ethernet network or secure a WiFi network with WPA 2 encryption.

Keeping WiFi network traffic private or letting it go to everybody who can receive it is a conscious choice that WiFi network owners make.  Keeping WiFi networks in the clear doesn't leave a person open to getting their Internet service mooched off of, but their other data to be collected by Google or anybody else.  That's a choice people made to keep their WiFi in the clear, they only have themselves to blame how their data is used.

Shaw's Wireless Wait And See Game - Redux

In a previous entry to this blog I speculated about when and why Shaw Communications is waiting until next year to launch their own cell phone service.  I thought that Shaw was going to buy up another emerging cell carrier Wind Mobile or Mobilicity at a bargain basement price when one of those new service providers crumbles when the debt stacks up.  Other industry analysts believe the Shaw is going to be using Long Term Evolution technology for their wireless network.  Shaw is waiting the year to let that technology mature and to let LTE wireless products come to market.

LTE based networks have so much bandwidth that client connections can move so much more data than what is needed for cell phone calls and mobile Internet use.  Internet access using LTE is fast enough to challenge other ISP's using hardwired infrastructure.  In areas where Shaw isn't an incumbent ISP, that could give them a foothold in those markets.  Using an LTE network to deliver IPTV television service in areas where Shaw isn't the local cable company would give Shaw access to subscribers to TV service with on demand programming, something that even Shaw's own satellite TV service can't deliver.

It may seem like a year is a long time to wait to launch a wireless network especially given how much Shaw had to pay to get the license from the CRTC, it may be a small price to pay to build a network that has potential to go beyond cell phones.