With the development of new information and communication technologies , above all computers and the internet, new forms of online commerce have emerged. The gambling industry began using the
power of the rapidly developing virtual market by offering its services in online casinos. The phenomenon of online gambling has encouraged researchers to direct their work into various areas, including the characteristics or profile of online gamblers. In light of the data on the growth
of the market for online gambling it is evident that, in the relation between the many types of traditional and online gambling, visits to traditional casinos predominate, as do predictions about the development of the internet.
Gambling has many different meanings depending on the cultural and historical context in which it is used. In western society, it usually has an economic definition, referring to ‘wagering money or something of material value on an event within an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money or material goods’. Typically the outcome of the wager is evident within a short period of time Cabot (1999) defines gambling as any activity in which a person risks something of value on the outcome of an uncertain event, in which the bettor does not exercise any
control or is determined predominantly by chance. The notion of online gambling is, like the phenomenon itself, relatively new. In the relevant literature the following expressions that describe
gambling over the internet can be found: ‘online gambling’, ‘internet gambling’, ‘casino gaming on the internet’, ‘cyber gambling’, ‘online wagering’ or ‘remote gambling’. It should be noted here that two main types of gambling occur on the internet: gaming (casino style games) and betting or wagering (racing and sports events). The generic term ‘gambling’ refers to both types.
In the context of this research and article, we will use the term ‘online gambling’ to mean playing casino style games over the internet.
Online gambling is possible via two technologies: the internet and digital television. It is characterized by three factors: electronic operation, service-based organization in the field of gambling, and consumers (or buyers) of gambling services. In the paper we speak of online gambling
when the key activities typical for games of chance (usually taking place in a traditional casino) occur in the virtual space with the help of the internet. To realize the idea of an online casino, a suitable piece of technology is required which represents a complex information solution. A basic requirement for an online casino provider or an online games provider is to have a relatively powerful server, appropriate software and suitable support activities, all interconnected in a logical way that creates a unified and integrated system. On the other hand, a player needs a computer equipped with software that allows access to the internet and supports graphically demanding programs. The link between the two is the internet – a virtual medium between the casino and the player.
We can establish that online gambling is a global activity, from both a technological and an organizational viewpoint. In terms of technology, this is understandable because it works via the internet; in terms of organization, this is less evident. The cause of such an ‘organizational globality’
rests in the indeterminacy of the legal operating of online gambling. Due to the lack or even absence of regulation, online casinos have discovered means of operating out of several countries simultaneously. As certain authors indicate online casinos often carry out their activities such that they have their headquarters, server for games and support centres dispersed over various locations in several countries, depending on the regulations of each individual country.
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