Online Casino “Watchdogs” Sometimes Have Conflicts
The boom in online gambling — along with concerns about sending money to Internet casinos that operate out of loosely regulated locales like Aruba, Costa Rica and Belize – has spawned a cottage industry: Web sites that purport to tell gamblers which operations they can trust, and which have reputations for cheating players.
These self-styled watchdogs publish reviews of online sportsbooks and poker sites, and maintain lists of recommended casinos. But gamblers may not realize that several of the watchdog sites have conflicts of interest. Many take advertisements from gambling operations, and some are paid commissions for driving traffic to casinos. One site, MajorWager.com, owns one of the sportsbooks it recommends.
The upshot: gambling operators sometimes get sparkling grades on watchdog sites where they have advertising or business relationships, while receiving poor marks where they don’t. David Kesmodel at Wall Street Journal
Our Full Disclosure: Online Gambling News accepts advertisements from online gambling operators based on monthly advertising fee or commission from profit. OGN reviews highlight the positive aspects of online gambling operators for easy comparison by casual online gambling consumers. OGN only works with established operators.
December 18th, 2005 at 6:06 am
“I am very proud to show off MajorWager. I am proud of all the people that participate at this site. I am proud that we don’t pay people to post in support of our positions, I am proud that we don’t trick people into believing we don’t take advertising. And most of all I am proud that the WSJ has taken a keen interest into what we do. In the long term articles such as these will only help us improve the way we do business.” Russ Hawkins, CEO of MajorWager comments on the watchdog conflict story