This should tell you right here just how screwed up the U.S. government really is. The DOJ is sitting there attacking all the cooperate indites and one that just starts taking offshore gaming revenue.
"USAToday" latest to jump on the Internet betting wagon
"USAToday" latest to jump on the Internet betting wagon
Imagine my surprise when I found out that USATODAY.com is running online sportsbook ads on their website. According to a statement posted on their website, "USATODAY.com and Covers.com have joined forces to create the most comprehensive odds and game matchups site on the Web."
And I am just busting a gut. Yes, I was kinda surprised. And then again, I wasn't.
We have published in a few articles that ESPN.com is also running advertisements for online sports betting websites, and that ESPN.com is owned by Disney. Thus, to find out that a major news portal was running advertisements for online sportsbooks is not a big deal. But at least ESPN was running the ads on their non-USA facing portals.
What really shocks me is that USATODAY.com has advertisements on their USA website, and that those ads are for Sportsbook.com - an online betting site allowing U.S. residents to bet on various sporting events. Of course, those ads could come from Covers.com, but the main point is that they show on the USA Today website.
Surprised - yes, shocked - yes, happy - hell yeah! It was about time. The advertisers and the whole industry have been on the ropes and taking heavy punches for quite a while. Recent events, such as Google pulling out all gambling-related advertisements from AdWords this month, the UIGEA late last year, and I vaguely remember a case where a sports news portal had to run "sports betting is illegal" banner for one year, because they advertised online sportsbooks. Not to mention the PayPal online gambling policy, the Neteller case, etc. All these made the Internet gambling advertisers very uncomfortable.
The only publishers with some guts were the folks at CasinoCity who actually started a legal battle to be allowed to run gambling advertisements on their websites.
When will the government take a hint?
And I am just busting a gut. Yes, I was kinda surprised. And then again, I wasn't.
We have published in a few articles that ESPN.com is also running advertisements for online sports betting websites, and that ESPN.com is owned by Disney. Thus, to find out that a major news portal was running advertisements for online sportsbooks is not a big deal. But at least ESPN was running the ads on their non-USA facing portals.
What really shocks me is that USATODAY.com has advertisements on their USA website, and that those ads are for Sportsbook.com - an online betting site allowing U.S. residents to bet on various sporting events. Of course, those ads could come from Covers.com, but the main point is that they show on the USA Today website.
Surprised - yes, shocked - yes, happy - hell yeah! It was about time. The advertisers and the whole industry have been on the ropes and taking heavy punches for quite a while. Recent events, such as Google pulling out all gambling-related advertisements from AdWords this month, the UIGEA late last year, and I vaguely remember a case where a sports news portal had to run "sports betting is illegal" banner for one year, because they advertised online sportsbooks. Not to mention the PayPal online gambling policy, the Neteller case, etc. All these made the Internet gambling advertisers very uncomfortable.
The only publishers with some guts were the folks at CasinoCity who actually started a legal battle to be allowed to run gambling advertisements on their websites.
When will the government take a hint?
