Text Messaging Bets? End of the World According to One Bored BloggerTechCrunch reports today that Balderton Capital, a top venture firm, will be providing an undisclosed amount of financing to betNOW, a gambling website. Balderton has already invested in other websites such as Bebo, Codemasters, and Setanta, so this is not a new arena for the firm. Balderton's Tim Bunting will join betNOW's board as well.
This new arrangement bothers the blogger at TechCrunch, Michael Arrington, who opines, "Generally speaking, anyone who's placing bets on sporting events via their mobile phone probably has a gambling problem, which betNOW is exploiting." I would think the opposite, since the ease of new technology makes it easier for casual gamblers to indulge in the interest. Arrington then goes on to proclaim that "Gambling in general has a taint to it - historical ties to organized crime doesn't help." Again, the concern seems a bit overblown. Organized crime was tied to casinos decades ago, but these websites were obviously not around then.
The truth is that betting and gambling have taken new forms because of technology. Placing bets by text messaging is nothing compared to what the internet has done for poker games, casino games, and the like. Overall, games of chance have enjoyed renewed popularity in the United States, but not just in traditional casino cities. The average joe is now able to square off against computers and online players in web-based, software, and video games. He or she may also host personal poker parties in their garages or attend casino nights at work, church, or charities. These games have returned not only in traditional forms, but also in ways that are refreshing from the old-fashioned stereotypes of gambling.
Even now, a person can purchase affordable gambling supplies that run the gamut: poker tables, casino tables, custom chips, and playing cards. It has become, in a way, more democratized, diverse, and more distant from the seemingly seedy world of Vegas casinos where the "house always wins."
