There are many kinds of easily accessible online gambling sites and activities. Easy access to gambling is a potential disaster for a person with a compulsive gambling disorder or an inclination to having a problem with gambling. With an abundance of online casinos and betting sites, anyone with a gambling problem and an Internet connection is faced with temptation twenty-four hours a day.

Is compulsive gambling a real problem? Why can’t they just stop?

A compulsive gambler often wants to stop. After all, he is losing his money, his friends, ruining his family . . . But he can not stop. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) – the American handbook for mental health professionals, Compulsive Gambling is a mental disorder that requires treatment.

How do you know if someone a compulsive gambler?

Problem gambling is characterized by a difficulty to limit money and/or time spent on gambling activity which leads to harmful effects on the gambler himself as well as to others. Pathological gambling is now defined as persistent and recurrent maladaptive gambling behavior meeting at least five of the following criteria:

1. Preoccupation. He/She has frequent thoughts about gambling experiences.

2. Tolerance. He/She requires larger bets to get a “rush”.

3. Moody.. Restless and irritable when they try to stop gambling.

4. Escape. Gambles to “feel good” or get away from problems.

5. One more time. Trying to win back gambling losses by gambling.

6. Lying. Lies to hide his/her gambling habit.

7. No control. He/She has unsuccessfully attempted to stop gambling.

8. Law breaking. He/She has broken the law to get money.

9. Risked relationships. Gambles despite risking an important relationship,.

10. Bailout. He/She turns to family or friends for financial help.

How Can you Stop Someone from Gambling on the Computer?

Open communication is the best way to approach a loved one with a suspected gambling problem. If the problem is that they are gambling online, you can do a lot to help them. First of all, get rid of the temptation. That does not have to mean getting rid of the family computer or canceling the Internet connection.

If your loved one admits to a problem and wants your help to overcome the problem, you can agree together to start by eliminating the easy access they have to gambling online. Simply by installing an effective web filter, you can easily block out gambling and betting websites from your PC.

Louisiana is known across the country for its great food, music and festivals. Louisiana is also known for its gambling. People come from across the South to enjoy the food in casino restaurants and to gamble on riverboats. While the Mississippi Gulf Coast has numerous casinos, almost all forms of gambling are illegal in neighboring Texas and Arkansas. This article provides a brief summary of gambling activities that are legal in Louisiana and those that are not.

Gambling in Louisiana is defined as “the intentional conducting, or directly assisting in the conducting, as a business of any game, context, lottery, or contrivance whereby a person risks the loss of anything of value in order to realize a profit.”

LEGAL GAMBLING IN LOUISIANA

Age restrictions: To participate in the state lottery or horse track betting you must be 18 years old. To gamble in a casino or on a video poker machine, you must be 21.

Casinos and Racetracks: Riverboat casinos are legal in Louisiana. “Riverboat” refers to anything floating in the water, which results in many riverboats consisting of large structures on anchored barges near the shore. A land-based casino is licensed by the state in the City of New Orleans and on Indian tribal land. Betting on horse races are legal but dog racing is illegal.

State lottery: The Louisiana Lottery began in 1991 and lottery proceeds are legislatively earmarked for improving Louisiana’s educational system. The Louisiana lottery includes numbers drawing, Power-ball, and scratch off tickets.

Video poker: Casinos and racetracks in the state have video poker machines, as do a number of restaurants, gas stations, bars and truck stops. In Louisiana, if a business has a liquor license, this license allows you to have up to three video gaming machines. Truck stops can operate more video poker machines depending on the amount of fuel they sell.

Social Gambling and Charitable Gambling: Social gambling (for recreational purposes and not for business purposes) such as pool games, personal bets or betting on sports is legal in Louisiana as long as nobody takes a “cut” or fee from managing the transaction (other than awards to the rightful winner). Certain gambling activities such as raffles, bingo and keno which are directly associated with charitable fund-raising for non-profit organizations is legal.

Commercial cruise ships in international waters: Gambling on commercial cruise ships that travel internationally (beyond 12 miles offshore) is legal.

Taxes: Any establishment that gives a one-time gambling award of $600 or more is required to report the winning, along with the recipient’s social security number, to the IRS and Louisiana Department of Revenue. Residents are required to report gambling revenue as taxable income on their federal and state tax returns.

ILLEGAL GAMBLING IN LOUISIANA

Dogfighting and gambling related to dogfighting: La. R.S. 14:102.5 makes it illegal to own, possess, keep or train a dog for the purpose of dogfighting or to possess any paraphernalia used in training dogs to fight. Violation for a first conviction results in a fine of up to $1000 and/or not more than one year imprisonment. A subsequent conviction results in a fine of up to $3000 and/or imprisonment of not more than three years.

Cockfighting and gambling related to cockfighting: La. R.S. 14:102.23 makes it unlawful for any person to organize or conduct any commercial or private cockfight where it is reasonably foreseeable that chickens would be injured. It is also unlawful to possess, train or purchase any chicken for cockfighting purposes. A first offense conviction results in a fine of up to $1000 and/or 6 months imprisonment. A second offense conviction results in a fine of up to $2000 and/or one year imprisonment. A third offense conviction results in a fine of up to $2000 and/or three years imprisonment.

State may seize property connected with illegal gambling: The state may seize any property connected with illegal gambling and upon conviction may sell the confiscated property at public auction.

Computer gambling: Gambling by computer is prohibited in Louisiana. Computer gambling is the conducting as a business of any game, context, lottery or other activity whereby a person risks the loss of anything of value in order to realize a profit when accessing the internet. A conviction results in a fine of $500 and/or up to 6 months imprisonment.

Gambling in public: Unauthorized gambling in public is specifically prohibited by statute. Violation results in a fine of $500 and/or up to 6 months imprisonment.

Underage gambling: It is unlawful for anyone under the age of 21 to play video poker devices or to gamble in a casino. It is unlawful for anyone under the age of 18 to participate in the state lottery or in horse track betting. Violations result in a fine of $500 and/or up to six months imprisonment.

There is a wealth of information on the internet about gambling and betting. How to start a gambling website, what do people bet on, is a betting exchange better than a sports book or casino website, or do users prefer betting online rather than betting offline? What is lacking in many of these posts is not the information they provide on starting a gambling website, but rather exactly where to start. So Where do you start, you ask? and how do you start? Would you require funding when thinking of starting your own gambling website? Are there legal pitfalls in running an online sports book or casino gambling website?

Asking these questions is only a tip of the iceberg in knowing exactly what you are getting yourself into in running a betting exchange or any of the other gambling websites, but knowing the answers will better your chance or odds in running a successful online gambling site. So where do you start? You can search and search around the world wide web and gather all the information (highly recommended) on starting your own casino, running a proper betting exchange, or on providing a fair online sports book atmosphere to your users, but knowing exactly how to use this information is key in running your outfit.

Before we get into how to use the information you gather properly, you may want to visit some of these places if you have not already done so: gambling forums, casino pages, sports website, news pages on gambling, pages on the “internet gambling regulation act” and how it will affect your online website, laws governing gambling and paying close attention to the dates the country each specific information pertains to and so on.

By now you must be thinking this is a bit to extreme. But ask yourself this: do you know what each gambler want, do you know what will make them use your site over the next Joe website. Simply put you need to know the things that will drive advertisers, sponsors to your site (funding) and most importantly what will drive users to your site. You can have the best house on the block but if not one knows about your house or you, well you get the picture.

If you have visited the suggested headings listed above and read up a bit more on gambling and the laws governing online sports book, casinos, poker rooms and betting exchanges and still wish to continue then read on my friend, you have gotten over the first hurdle. Now that we have you thinking outside the box and have a better understanding on what’s in store for you lets tackle the first and very most important question you would first need answered “Is gambling legal”.

Now this is the most important because if you are thinking of conducting or running a gambling website in a country, city, state, province, town, what ever it may be and its not legal. Like monopoly you will be fined or worst you will go directly to jail. Sorry boys and girls but we need to make one thing clear here being online business doesn’t mean a thing to the government and the authorities. You will need to register a business or acquire a business license (not the same as a gambling license), you will need hosting and you will need a bank account to hold the money generated from your sports book, betting exchange, poker or casino website. So finding out if gambling is legal where will be running your business is extremely important.

To give you a better picture of things 9/10 planning to run a gambling website have had to opt for an offshore operation. Why you ask? Well that obvious of course. In places like Costa Rica there are laws in place for gambling, but there are no law against online gambling neither is there a need for a gambling license (more on gambling license later), but you will again have to do your research, if you are serious about running a sports book or any of the other gambling websites, prepare yourself to gather information. Here is Tip #1 – Speak to a Lawyer (a reputable one if you can) they will shed a LOT of light on your situation and point you in the right direction.

So this brings us to our next question, licensing, and no its not your drivers license. A gambling license is required to run a betting exchange, sports book, casino, poker or any other gambling website most of the time but not always. This is why again you will need to do your research. But you know what they say, when in doubt get one. That was a joke Joe. If you are really unsure speak to that lawyer friend that you spoke to in tip #1 about this and any other documents you may need to complete this process, ask your local gambling or gaming authorities/associations in the jurisdiction where you plan to run your online gambling website for advise. So remember a gambling license is recommended but may not be required. Tip #2 Visit the local gambling authorities.

By now you should have gathered enough information to get you on the right track and keep you out of jail or worst a state prison.

Let us touch on a few more key areas on running your own gambling website. You will need some (the more the better) research and marketing to be done. But haven’t you already gathered enough of your own research? No Joe. That was just information gathering, getting your feet wet, getting to know how the industry thinks. Don’t assume anything. There are rules to every game, and yes there are rules to running an online business and especially a sports book, betting exchange, poker room or casino. Just because you know a little about running a website, the rules and strategies change for each business, and you will definitely need to know about these rules if you are even dreaming of becoming successful in the online gaming and gambling industry. This doesn’t mean visiting all those forums and readings were for nothing, they will definitely help when you are ready to run your advertising and marketing campaign, you will be more than glad that you did.

If you have not already done a business and/or marketing plan this will more than likely lead to the development of one. Getting to know your target market, trends, location, gender, users’ habits, wants and dislikes etc will all help you to become better aware of your strategies and help in your success. So hire a reputable marketing company or speak with a friend or someone in the marketing field that can shed a bit more light on your exact situation and point you in a better direction. You don’t want to find out the hard way that the market you were targeting does not care much for gambling. Tip #3 Get proper research done.

This brings us to our next area of interest “staff or team”. From your information gathering and research you must have realized that ever if you may want to make this a one man show you will need a team or some sort of staff. Now a team does not mean you have to hire on a full time staff. Even big time giants like Microsoft, IBM, Logitech contracts out from time to time. It just means you will need a little more than just yourself in certain areas. Even if you know the gambling world it would be wise to contract some professionals in key areas (even if its for a little while) to show you some hidden places you have not yet covered. You would definitely need a technical someone or a development company that will be able to handle any problems you may encounter, updates you may need for your website, programming you might require, designs you may want to give you that look and feel to set you apart from your competition etc. You will most likely need a bookie, bookmaker, (maybe more than one) who knows about bookmaking to set, update, prepare events, lines and odds on your sports book, casino, betting exchange or poker website. So a team or individual staff is definitely a must, but can be inexpensive if you plan properly and consider contracting. Tip #4 Put together a proper team.

Now we’ve touched a bit on your website, but what sort of website or software will you require. The next on our list will be Software. First ask yourself what sort of gambling website will this be; A full Casino, poker, Betting Exchange, sports book or better yet why not all? This is where your research and information gathering comes into play, review ask questions, speak to your lawyer, and make a solid decision. What are the risk factors, who are my competitors, where do you get my line feeds from? Those are all questions that should have been included in your research and answered by now.

After that is settled it is now time to choose a development company that specializes in online gaming (more specific online gambling). Most if not all would already have products readily available that have been tested and will usually do modifications to fit your needs, it is usually more cost effective than having a website developed and put together from beginning to end. Software can range in prices, expect to pay between EUR 10,000 EUR to EUR 60,000 EUR. Some places of interest may be: Playtech (Rated for their Casino software), E-Prompt C’s BetMore – BetMore Software (Rated for its betting exchange & sports book software), Microgaming (Rated for their poker software). Tip #5 Get good software.

Well that should be it. But lets not forget the last and one of the most important on our list “Financing”. Sports book, betting exchange, poker, and casino websites are by far the most expensive business operations you can ever run, and this does not change the facts for an online operation. You do not need a building, but you will need hosting, you do not need slot machines but you will need software, you do not need cashiers but you will need payment merchants and/or gateways. Speak to your lawyer, speak with your marketing and research team, they will give you pointers to get funding, you will definitely require money to run this business constantly, so find sponsors, investors that will partner with you unless of course you have the cash and is willing to use your own money, Here is a hint you will need more than just EUR 500K EUR. Tip #6 Get funding.

What is Git?

Git is basically a source controlling package that Linus Torvalds initially created to track differences during the advancement of the Linux kernel. It’s aimed at making cooperation on projects easy by enabling locally preserved repositories to be arranged against a privately stored master copy.

As always, the option of a source controlling package inclines to be a personal and prejudiced matter. We chose Git because it offers good assistance for many tools that we operate at a fair price.

Then, what is GitHub?

GitHub is the most basic web-based cooperative means that depends on the git package. It permits many users to go through the git projects called repositories and track differences, manage modifications, and merge different versions.

Git is a software management tool formulated for exceptionally large coding projects such as Linux. While Git uses a command-line interface, GitHub was built to provide Git a creative looking web interface. Git is said to be the heart of GitHub. It is a common open-source program that is used for code. It can be used to organize any category of file folders like final projects or any word document.

GitHub is Git repository hosting assistance, but it expands with many features. It gives access to manage various basic collaboration characteristics, such as a basic assignment and wikis managing tools for every project.

What is Repo?

Repo is a short form of the repository. Repo is just like a folder of records or registers, and all the modifications made to these files are recorded. Upon any difficulty with the file, you can check back in time to know the modifications you made to it. Mostly repos are used to manage huge code projects. Repo tracing is useful for various applications in the world of hardware encompassing firmware, PCB layouts, and documentation.

What is Git commits?

Git commit is generally a snapshot of the Git tree that is its hierarchy and the subjects of the records that is Git blob in a specific Git repository. The endpoints of the two will permit you to read, write, and examine commit objects on GitHub to Git database. It is similar to saving the edited file that is a commit record alter to more branch files. Git gives every commit a special ID, called a hash.

What is GitHub Contribution?

You can bring out contributions to your projects on GitHub. When you commit to any project’s insolvency branch or opening an issue, recommend a Pull Request, it will be figured as a contribution. Your last impact orders repos or Repositories. A commit that will be made today will be more suitable than the one made last week. The contributions calendar will indicate how often you have contributed over time, and the Contribution activity can help you notice what somebody has done on GitHub.