By Matt Miller

Walk into most casinos and you will be instantly drawn to flashing lights, spinning slot machines, waitresses in short skirts and the stench of cigarettes. The casino floor is electric with hundreds of people trying their luck in a variety of games. Pause momentarily and you will feel rhythmic sensations where bets are placed, wheels are spun and dice are rolled. These sensations provide total-body experiences that grip millions of Americans each year. Yet for Joey Hayes, the environment he chooses for his odds of striking it rich is completely different. Settled in his West Des Moines apartment with scattered poker chips and empty pop and beer cans, the 25-year-old retail worker has profited nearly $8,000 in the virtual world of online gambling since high school. Although illegal in the United States, online gambling continues to run rampant, making it a multi-billion dollar industry. But while thousands of Americans become addicted, the idea of hitting the jackpot is seen as something of leisure for Hayes.

“I first started getting into gambling with my friends when we would get together and play Blackjack and variations of poker in high school,” Hayes said. “At the peak, it was pretty serious because everyone wanted to win, but I can say that I’ve never become addicted. It was definitely organized though.”

Gambling used to take place only at casinos, horsetracks and private poker games, but today it is becoming easier for gamblers to get their fix online. Popular Web sites like Pokerstars.com, UltimateBets.com and AbsolutePoker.com are just a few of the thousands worldwide. Click by click, bettors are taking advantage of what is literally at their fingertips.

“There are hundreds of gambling opportunities spread across the country, and the Internet just makes it that much easier,” said Mark Vander Linden, coordinator of Gambling Treatment and Prevention in Des Moines. “Going online makes it convenient.”

Hayes, who admits he used to play between 30 and 40 hours a week, agrees.

“With everything online now, I don’t have to drive to a casino to play because I can just wake up, roll out of bed and log on. I can play multiple games at once opposed to playing only one at the casino. The popularity of online gambling has really taken off in the past few years,” he said.

The legality of online gambling
Online gambling is illegal, yet a mixture of little regulation and law enforcement has made the hobby into a booming industry. Last year, recording revenue was estimated at $18.4 billion, up from $5.9 billion in 2003. Poker and gambling sites are banned, but many bets still originate in the U.S. using Web sites outside the country in places like the Philippines and Antigua.

A growing number of gamblers are playing Blackjack online, but casinos like Prairie Meadows in Altoona are prospering as well. Courtesy of Prairie Meadows

In a press conference in 2007, Leslie Bryant, head of the Cyber Crime Fraud unit at the Federal Bureau of Investigations, said “You can go to Vegas. You can go to Atlantic City. You can go to the racetrack. You can go to those places and gamble legally. But don’t do it online. It’s against the law.”

AbsolutePoker and its sister UltimateBet operate out of Costa Rica and run their online games through computer servers based near Montreal, Canada. Based on an Indian reservation and licensed by a Mohawk Tribe, the group has no background in casino gambling and does not answer to federal or provincial regulators.

“Online gambling is a large, mysterious world,” Vander Linden said. “There is very little regulation that happens, and it’s illegal because they are set up offshore or across borders. Billions are spent each year in the U.S., but it’s hard to track.”

Bob Brammer, spokesman for the Iowa Attorney General’s Office, also agreed.

“A lot of the online gambling seems to originate in the Caribbean,” Brammer said. “It’s something of a cross- border phenomenon.”

Today, Congress continues to be divided on the issue of online gambling, backed by the possible misinterpretation of previously introduced legislation. In 1961, the Wire Act was passed during the Kennedy Administration to prohibit gambling wages over the telephone. While some say the law only applies to sports betting, others say it should include online poker. In 2006, former U.S. House of Representative Jim Leach, from Iowa’s 2nd congressional district, co-sponsored the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act prohibiting the transfer of funds from a financial institution to an Internet gambling site, with the notable exceptions of “fantasy” sports, online lotteries and horse/harness racing. President Bush signed it into legislation on Oct. 13, 2006. The following year, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) introduced the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act 2007, overturning the legislation, stating, “the existing legislation is an inappropriate interference on the personal freedom of Americans and this interference should be undone.”

Still there are those who believe online gambling should be legal. In a letter to the National Gambling Impact Study Commission, Tom Bell, director of telecommunications and technology studies at the Cato Institute, highlighted that Internet gambling offers several benefits including driving network development, providing a more wholesome environment than real-world casinos and benefiting consumers by increasing competition in gambling services.

With all the legislation talk about legalizing it or enforcing it more, Hayes wants to know the outcome.

“It’ll be interesting to see what happens to the industry,” Hayes said. “There definitely is a lot of fogginess right now surrounding it.”

So how easy is it to gamble online? Web sites offer a tutorial of step-by-step directions. Once the software is downloaded, it must be installed on the user’s desktop and launched from there. Gamblers then create an account providing basic information like name, date of birth, email and user I.D. Next, chips must be purchased using payment options like bank wires, electronic transfers and prepaid debit cards. In that way, if a gambler loses, the money has already been taken from the account. If money is won, it is wired to an account or a check can be written. Once the processor details are ironed out and approved, shuffle the cards and hope for a good hand.

“It’s an easy process and simple to figure out,” Hayes said.

For Hayes, it’s not uncommon to play poker online where there are usually two different types of games. He plays in cash games where winners collect the money at the table and also tournaments that require players to have an entrée fee with winning pots divided based on play.

“It always feels good to win, and it stings when you lose,” said Hayes, recalling the time he won $2,000 in a $5 entry tournament in 2006 on PokerStars. “I still get a rush when I win. I’ve had one of my friends lose $10,000 in a half hour, but I’ve also seen him win $10,000 in the same amount of time.”

Upping the ante

Many casinos like Prairie Meadows in Altoona make an effort to tell of the harmful effects of gambling within their walls. The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission provides a number of responsible gaming messages including 1-800-BETS-OFF.

“We have signs at the entrance of the gaming area along with TV screens with messages on them so that everyone who comes into the casino can see them,” said Michelle Wilkie, employee relations manager at Prairie Meadows. “We also have cards and brochures explaining some of the dangers.”

While there is a lot of information within casinos displaying warning signs, online gambling sites do not post these, which some believe adds to the problem.

“When you walk into a casino, there’s going to be information available to you,” Vander Linden said. “You aren’t going to find that information on the Internet.”

The Iowa Gambling Treatment Program within the Iowa Department of Public Health works with providers around the state that offer treatment and education services for those with gambling problems and those affected. The treatment program includes recovery programs, self-help groups and special counseling. Thus far during the 2008 fiscal year, the Iowa Gambling Treatment Program has helped 948 clients, while the number of calls from gamblers and concerned persons has reached 2,198. During 2007, the program helped 2,074. The largest increase of calls happened from 1994-95 when number jumped from 140 to 1,304 calls.

“Eighty-eight percent of adults gamble in Iowa, and 4 percent either have a problem or are pathological about gambling,” Vander Linden said. “Individuals can rake up thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars, in debt. The ripples of that can be disastrous, leading to failed marriages, depression and even criminal activity.”

Shelley Horak, gambling education coordinator at Mid Eastern Council on Chemical Abuse, says there are a number of warning signs for gamblers.

“People that may have trouble with gambling may neglect their personal needs like food, sleep and hygiene,” she said. “They also might become depressed and have a feeling of being loss when they’re not involved in gambling.”

There are many dangers of gambling that Prairie Meadows employees are trained to look for as they scan the crowds on the casino floors.

“Each of our employees goes through a responsible gaming process,” Wilkie said. “We watch for warning signs to make sure that everyone is having a good time. If we see something, we report it. We want Prairie Meadows to be a fun and entertaining place.”

Hayes knows of the addiction, but says he hasn’t fallen through the cracks in giving into the urges that so many others do.

“It’s incredibly easy to become addicted,” he said. “Some of the best players online are guys coming out of high school. These guys are smart; they aren’t just some bums off the street. When you lose big one night, it’s easy to want to play again to earn it back. The poker chips on the screen don’t look like $100 compared to a $100 bill. Some people are always trying to catch up.”

An industry scandal

Although the online gambling industry has been under the microscope by Congress and law enforcement, the industry is also not helping itself. Recently, online gambling companies have taken huge hits to their integrity after scandals uncovered some of the company’s own employees cheating.

In the world of poker, the trend is for experienced players to find inexperienced players — almost like taking advantage of them. According to reports, a player named “Greycat” on AbsolutePoker was making big bets off weak hands, but somehow ended up winning many of them. Online players quickly lost thousands of dollars against “Greycat,” and many suspected him of cheating. After more incidents occurred, a small group of online gamblers took it upon themselves to investigate. Under pressure, AbsolutePoker admitted that a cheater had cracked its software, cheating players out of thousands of dollars. The Web site refunded $1.6 million to dozens of players.

“When you’re online, you are able to watch other games and see what people are doing,” Hayes said. “In that way, there was a lot of evidence against ‘Greycat.’ He made some plays that no one would make considering the amount of money that was involved. That’s what kind of raised suspicions from others.”

The buck didn’t stop there. UltimateBet was also involved in a scandal where more than $20 million was cheated from players over four years. The alleged perpetrators included a former world poker champion and UltimateBet employees who hacked into the site.

“Yes, I’m worried about that stuff,” Hayes said. “It’s always a concern because you try to trust the integrity of everything. You try and trust it just like you trust that the burger that you order from a fast food restaurant is cooked all the way through.”

As thousands of Americans continue to log onto their computers and gamble online, confusion is still evident about where to draw the line. Online gambling is illegal, but for thousands of Americans like Hayes, the temptation of doing it and not getting caught is too big.

“I’ll keep playing,” he said. “If they start cracking down, then I might change my mind.” CV

Phases of online gambling problems

Phase I — Winning
• Sometimes win large sums of money.
• Feel invincible, so they bet bigger amounts.
• Bet even more to maintain the excitement level.

Phase II — Losing
• Seek more action.
• Believe they can quit whenever they want.
• Gamble to win back what they’ve lost.
• Borrow from family and friends.
• Relationships begin to suffer.

Phase III — Desperation
• Feel desperation and hopelessness as losses continue to mount.
• Cling to their fantasy of winning.
• Have little concern for people around them.
• Steal, write bad checks, or commit illegal activity to finance their gambling.

Source: Iowa Department of Public Health.

Poker terms

All-in: to run out of chips while betting or calling.
Buy-in: an amount of money you pay to enter a tournament.
Call: to put into the pot an amount of money equal to the most recent bet or raise.
Check: to not bet, with the option to call or raise later in the betting round.
Flush: five cards of the same suit.
Fold: To forfeit any chance of winning the current pot.
Four of a kind: four cards of the same rank, and one side card or “kicker.”
Full House: Three cards of the same rank, and two cards of a different, matching rank.
One pair: two cards of a matching rank, and three unrelated side cards.
Pocket pair: A hold’em starting hand with two cards of the same rank, making a pair.
River: the fifth and final community card put out face up, by itself.
Straight: five cards in sequence.
Straight flush: five cards in sequence, of the same suit.
Three of a kind: three cards of the same rank, and two unrelated side cards.
Two pair: Two cards of a matching rank, another two cards of another different matching rank and one side card.

Source: PokerStars.com

How to play online

Download the software: Gambling Web sites will ask you to download by either saving it to the desktop or your downloads folder.
Install the software: Once you located the file, double click on the file.
Create your personal account: Fill in the necessary information like name, email and phone numbers.
Validate your account: Make sure that your personal information is correct and submit.

Online poker Web sites

http://www.Pokerstars.com
http://www.Partypoker.com
http://www.Fulltilt.com
http://www.Absolutepoker.com
http://www.UltimateBet.com

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