New Site Seeks to Circumvent Online Gambling Prohibition

by Devon Chappell, News Staff Writer

June 13, 2008

While only time will tell whether the Internet Gambling Enforcement Act is passed into law and overturns the ineffective and backwards tactics of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, some entrepreneurs, or should I say, Webpreneur's are looking for ways to offer online gambling within the loopholes of current laws. And no, I'm not referring to horserace betting, lottery and fantasy sports, which we all know are exempt under the biased UIGEA. Rather, in a model that in some ways resembles exchange betting, the most recent promising idea is that of 26-year old Victor Palmer.

Featured in a recent Forbes Business Magazine publication, Palmer's business model is described something like this: Give people free money to gamble online with. If they win more money, allow them to keep it. If they lose the money, give them more to have another go. Just how many go's people will get remains to be seen (something which could pose a serious problem with the model). However, Palmer doesn't seem to be worried. And nor do some big-name companies, who have already expressed interest in advertising on Palmer's website, CentSports - a title aptly given.

Members of CentSports (it's free to join), are given "cents" to gamble with. To be precise, they are initially given ten cents. That's right, a full dime. But for anyone who has ever placed a bet, it should be noted that a dime can turn into $20 in no time at all. But, where are all these dimes going to come from. According to Palmer's model, they will come from advertising revenue, which I already mentioned, has already been secured to one degree or another.

Skype, Pizza Hut and the National Basketball Association are just a few of the big players contributing. And you can't blame them. Palmer's website already has a player base of 200,000, many of which were scouted through You Tube. And with Forbes' exposure as well as many write ups in the online casino gambling community (this article at Online Casino Suite is no doubt helping), Palmer's player base is growing quickly, day by day.

If you are wondering how players are able to cash out winnings, while still circumventing the UIGEA's vague legislation, this is where the CentSports business model resembles that of online exchange betting. As Palmer himself states on his website, "cashouts work a little differently than you might expect". The way it works is that a certain amount of money is designated as "cashout funds" each week, which players compete over with their balances in true gambling style. Sorry to all you online casino gamblers out there. As their name says, CentSports only takes sports bets. But what have you got to lose, right? And who knows, with the instability and uncertain future of the UIGEA, online casino gambling may certainly be on the horizon there.

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