The days of old
If you were born before the Internet came about, you likely have some notion of the reputation that gambling used to have. And indeed, it was largely deserved in times past. Gambling used to be associated with all sorts of other nefarious activities, crime, and addiction. But many argued that it was precisely because of its illegality that all these other consequences came about.
Still, things didn’t change much until the birth of the Internet. Then everything became wide open, and people either had to deal with subjects they found uncomfortable straightforwardly or try to block them. And there are, of course, still sites that can only be seen on the dark web: terrorism, pornography, and others.
But the gambling industry has largely been treated differently. Take a look at a site like 1xbet bonus to see what a legitimate site looks like.
It makes sense
Why is it that gambling and sports betting have comfortably made their way into mainstream society? Well, mostly because it isn’t inherently bad; it’s just the things that used to come out of it that were bad. Plus, when something remains illegal, it is natural that it will lead to other illegal things (this is also many people’s argument for legalizing certain drugs).
If you think about it, gambling isn’t much different from sitting around with the family playing cards or board games. There’s nothing wrong with that, right? In fact, these things are generally considered classic family activities. The only difference with formal gambling is that you’re putting money on the line.
What exactly has changed?
When the Internet first came about, betting sites started popping up all over the place. Things were not at all regulated at that time, so there were site managers that didn’t use fair practices, money went missing in odd places, etc. There were also legitimate sites, but the lack of regulation meant that people could get away with doing things that should have been cracked down on.
But then regulators started stepping in. And on a global level. National governments now enforce several laws that aim to shut down sites that don’t operate fairly and leave the market to legitimate ones:
- Any site that includes gambling or sports betting has to have a license. If you’re not sure whether a site you’re looking at has one, there is a national register that you can look up to see who is on it.
- Gambling sites have to agree to be audited. They need to include a database of all their activities, and these activities need to match what they advertise to their customers.
- Site managers must “segment” the money they earn appropriately. What this means is that any given customer’s payments must be categorized as having come from that customer, and winnings must match what was advertised. This prevents managers from skimming money off of people’s accounts.
- Payments are now more secure than ever. Legitimate sites are encrypted with “SSL encryption.” This stands for Secure Sockets Layer, and it is the highest level of encryption possible. This means that your money can’t be stolen when you put your banking information into a site.
What can you do in the meantime?
If your kids are not yet of age, you can teach them how to bet responsibly. When you’re playing games around the house - especially if it is something like poker that involves wagering - you can encourage kids to be responsible in the way they use their chips, and not to get too greedy.
Addictive behavior can manifest itself in many different ways. If you teach kids the concept of moderation in general, they will be less likely to develop addictive habits. And this goes just as much for drinking and other habits as it does for gambling.
Start early
Again, kids are going to have access to everything imaginable as they grow up. Trying to remove them from any aspect of society is usually an exercise in futility as they will likely be even more intrigued by things that are forbidden to them. What you can do as a parent is teach them the right way to look at things like gambling. Then they will be more likely to make mature decisions about it, and life in general.