It's done

Well, I've signed the contract now and I'm officially going to be starting on Monday. My mood goes from extreme joy to panic, but it'll settle down.

I really appreciate everyone's comments, they've made the decision easier. My first reaction was like hfb - is it the same as working for a gun factory and claiming wide-eyed that it's not my fault if somebody gets killed? I like Mikki's version better though, and more accurate - it's a product that's meant to be fun (unlike guns, no matter what Charles Heston says) but some people just can't handle it.

Gambling is not something I know a lot about - it's never been of interest to me so I've never had to find out. So yesterday I did some research on the subject. There have been many studies made about the effects of gambling (although not that many objective ones - most of them have been sponsored by casinos, and we all know what that means), and it's undeniable that it's generally bad news.

According to John Warren Kindt, Professor of Law at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, an increase in the population of compulsive gamblers can be devastating. Every compulsive gambler impacts between seven and seventeen other people. Compulsive gamblers are a drain on society in a number of respects. The mean gambling debt of compulsive gamblers is $52,000 to $92,000. A study by Gambler's Anonymous found that 47% of compulsive gamblers had engaged in insurance related fraud or thefts where insurance companies had to pay the victims. In fact, 40% of white collar crime is thought to be caused by those with serious gambling problems. Crime in general seems to go hand-in-hand with gambling. Within three years after gambling was introduced to Atlantic City, the city experienced a tripling of total crime, rocketing from 50th to 1st in crime rate per capita. Similarly, the state attorney's office in Deadwood, South Dakota indicated that within two years after legalizing casino gambling, child abuse cases increased approximately 42%, domestic violence increased 80%, and burglaries and the writing of bad checks increased; overall, the town experienced a 50% increase in felonies and an 80-100% increase in law enforcement and police costs. Health care costs may also be affected by an increase in compulsive gambling, since compulsive gamblers are likely to have alcohol problems, and have a suicide rate 5-10 times higher than other Americans. The costs to society of rehabilitating compulsive gamblers, if it so chose, would amount to $17,000 to $42,000 per person. In all, the national price tag for compulsive gambling is currently estimated at $56 billion per year.

Not exactly what I wanted to hear, but still it's better to go in eyes open.

On the other hand, it doesn't need to be that way. Although in traditional bricks-and-mortar casinos organised crime often follows, on-line gambling suffers from this a lot less. While to start up a traditional casino costs somewhere around $300 million and will employ thousands of people, an on-line casino can be started up with only about $1.5 million and employ under 20 people - so mafia's traditional ways of getting a piece of the action don't apply. Player experience is often nicer too - you can relax at the comfort of your own home, and in theory you can have your "Gambling for Dummies" with you for guidance or you can rely on strategy charts which wouldn't be possible in a real casino. One could say that as long as you play sensibly - and it's possible - winning can be easier.

Proper reputable casions will always tell you the odds and payout rates for their games, they will let you try the games free and provide 24h good customer service. They will tell you where they are licensed, who's behind the operation, and what their game rules and cash policies are. As with every other business on the net, there are dodgy ones - as as with every other business, with little research they can be avoided.

So. I think I know what I'm doing, and I'm comfortable with it.

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