Online gaming will never rival the real thing. “They like to have the cards in their hands, they like to handle the chips and the money. They even like to hear the sound of the coins dropping in the trays. Regardless of what they hear or what they’re told, they’re going to think that somebody manipulated the results. Sports betting has a chance, but I don’t think it’s going to fly for casino games where they can’t see the event taking place in front of their eyes.”
Predictor: Curtis, Anthony
Prediction, in context:A 1995 article on online gambling by Yardena Arar for the Los Angeles Times was shared in a TechnoCulture Archive newsgroup discussion. In the article, Arar quotes Anthony Curtis. Arar writes: ”Anthony Curtis, publisher of the monthly Las Vegas Advisor Newsletter, says there are several reasons why online gaming will never rival the real thing. ‘I think people like the activity itself,’ Curtis said. ‘They like to have the cards in their hands, they like to handle the chips and the money. They even like to hear the sound of the coins dropping in the trays.’ Curtis also wonders whether people who play games of chance will trust online casinos, especially when they lose. ‘Regardless of what they hear or what they’re told, they’re going to think that somebody manipulated the results,’ he said. ‘Sports betting has a chance, but I don’t think it’s going to fly for casino games where they can’t see the event taking place in front of their eyes.'”
Date of prediction: January 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Economic structures
Subtopic: Gambling
Name of publication: The Techno Culture
Title, headline, chapter name: Virtual Casinos Test Legal Limits of On-Line Gambling
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://technoculture.mira.net.au/hypermail/0033.html
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney