SEARCH NEWS:

 

Cash Prizes for Online Games Might Prepare the Way for Internet Gambling

"Earlier this month, the Minden, Nev.-based WebQuest International Inc. launched OnlineChess.com - the first website to let chess players compete against each other for prizes in cyberspace. For a $25 entry fee, chess players can bet from $2 to $25 per match.

"Another website WorldWinner.com allows people to play others in cyberspace while betting on their own skill. Participants pay 60 cents to more than $9 to enter tournaments to compete in such games as solitaire or to solve jigsaw and crossword puzzles.

"…Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairman Dennis Neilander says WebQuest and WorldWinner are walking a fine line.

"…Online gambling, while not specifically banned by law, is considered by the U.S. Justice Department to be a violation of the Interstate Wire Act, a 1961 law banning gambling by telephone.

"But operators of OnlineChess say they are offering one the first legal alternatives to online gambling for U.S. Internet users. Internet gambling expert and Las Vegas attorney Tony Cabot agrees.

"…Cabot, a consultant for WebQuest, said he surveyed each of the 50 states and discovered that at least 33 and the District of Columbia allow residents to risk money on games of skill, whether it be a golf or Monopoly tournament.

"…Bill Thompson, a gambling industry expert and professor at UNLV, said there are elements of luck in the cyber games, but it is minimal.

"`In this case the government would be hard pressed to call it gambling,' he said.

"Indeed, some in government are ready to ignore the distinction.

"…WebQuest spokesman Chet Chicosky said the industry is in for dramatic changes.

"`They are kicking the door in on Internet gambling.'

< Gaming News