Even if it remains illegal, emerging technologies will make gambling on the Internet all but undetectable by law enforcement. Encryption, for instance, will make it possible to hide the contents of illegal transactions from federal wiretappers.
Predictor: Schwartz, Evan I.
Prediction, in context:In a 1995 article on online gambling for Wired magazine, Evan Schwartz quotes Jason Ader, a gaming analyst at Smith Barney, a New York brokerage house. Schwartz writes: ”Then there is the matter of trust. In a real casino, for instance, you can see the blackjack dealer insert a finite number of brand new decks into the card tray. But what’s to stop a virtual casino from fixing the order of a bottomless sequence of cards? ‘They could put a secret algorithm in the program to pull more 21s when the house gets behind,’ notes [Jason] Ader. But the real sleight of hand will most likely be in fooling the government, not the customers. Even if it remains illegal, emerging technologies will make gambling on the Internet all but undetectable by law enforcement. Encryption, for instance, will make it possible to hide the contents of illegal transactions from federal wiretappers. And the advent of digital cash will enable the wagering of small amounts – from 50 cents to $5 – with all the anonymity of real George Washingtons.”
Biography:Evan Schwartz was a 1990s journalist with a computer science degree who covered information technology. He was a former editor at Business Week, where he covered software and digital media and was part of teams that won a National Magazine Award and a Computer Press Award. He also wrote for the New York Times, Wired, and MIT’s Technology Review. His books include “Webonomics” and “Digital Darwinism.” (Author/Editor/Journalist.)
Date of prediction: October 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Economic structures
Subtopic: Gambling
Name of publication: Wired
Title, headline, chapter name: Wanna Bet?
Quote Type: Partial quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://hotwired.lycos.com/collections/internet_law/3.10_gambling_pr.html
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Stotler, Larry