Monthly Archives: April 2023

Micro-betting: a dangerous form of gambling luring in vulnerable Australians

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Any sports fan is all too familiar with micro-bets, and the problems they cause. A micro-bet is when bookies offer odds that a particular ball in a cricket match will be a no-ball, for example, or a given serve in tennis will be a fault.

These bets on small events during live play have been linked to sporting corruption – those in the know make hefty profits in betting markets because a player agrees to bowl that no-ball or serve that fault at a pre-determined point in play.

Now, we have found evidence that more than a third of regular Australian sports gamblers are making micro-bets using offshore operators – and worse, this dangerous type of betting is very strongly linked to problem gambling.

Don’t be fooled into thinking micro-betting means small bets. The “micro” refers to a small event within play – but the sum wagered can be huge.

The findings come as legislators in various countries and regions, including the United States – where sports betting has been is illegal or restricted – are under pressure to make sports betting more accessible.

Baca juga: With sports betting on the rise, can we avoid a tsunami of gambling harm?

Micro-betting is technically legal for Australian licensed operators. But sporting bodies have not approved it, owing to the difficulty of policing the integrity of their sport given the notorious instances of corruption.

Despite calls for micro-betting to be outlawed completely, we found that Australians are using many offshore operators to engage in micro-betting – operators who are not supposed to offer services to Australian punters but do anyway.

In our most recent paper, in a sample of 1,813 regular sports bettors, we found 667 (36.8%) had bet on micro events in the past 12 months.

Of those, an alarming 78% were classified as problem gamblers.

Only 5% of those making micro-bets were non-problem gamblers, with the rest at some risk of developing gambling-related problems. And when we looked at only those who bet on micro events, those classified as problem gamblers were also likely to place a higher proportion of their bets on micro events. It’s important to note we recruited many regular (rather than occasional) sports bettors, leading to a higher representation of problem gamblers in the sample (46.8%). Nevertheless, the relationship between problem gambling and betting on micro events is striking.

Because micro-betting markets open and close fast, usually over just minutes, this betting needs to be impulsive, and those classified as problem gamblers tend to be impulsive. Also, this is yet another way to bet, and people classified as problem gamblers tend to gamble in many ways – sports, races, pokies – at venues, by telephone, and online.

A dangerous, impulsive form of betting
In Australia, sports betting in general is increasing each year. We cannot watch a sporting event without being bombarded with gambling advertising, and this advertising works.

Because sports betting is so common in Australia, many may be surprised to learn sports betting is not offered in some parts of the world, including many states of the US. However, legislators in many jurisdictions are legalising or decreasing restrictions on sports betting, and face questions about what should be allowed.

Baca juga: Advantage gambling, but corruption risk surely isn’t worth it for tennis

Micro-betting is the most extreme example of in-play or live betting, itself an evolution from the time sports betting was simply on which player or team would win the match – with bets on match outcomes placed hours or even days before the result is known.

Micro-bets reduce the gap between placing a bet and the outcome to minutes or even seconds – essentially allowing bettors to bet continuously. This is concerning, because continuous forms of betting are strongly associated with gambling-related problems – think pokies.

When the Australian government originally legislated Internet gambling, it allowed sports betting because it was not a continuous forms of gambling, and was therefore seen as relatively benign. However, live/in-play sports betting (including microbets) cannot be offered online by Australian-licensed operators. Instead, bettors must place a telephone call to the operator or bet in a venue.

In fact, betting on micro events is a particularly dangerous form of gambling because it is continuous, requires impulsive decisions (impairing the ability to reflect on recent gambling), and offers variety. All of these factors appeal to people at risk of problem gambling.

Calls to ban micro-betting
Two reviews of the gambling legislation recommended that betting on micro events should be specifically outlawed, even if bets are placed via telephone (or in-venue), because of the high risk of gambling-related harm. When the Interactive Gambling Act was amended in 2017, no such change was made, partly because it was difficult to legislate against betting on micro events without unintended restrictions on other forms of betting.

Betting on micro events has also been linked to spot fixing, where a player purposefully stages an event (for example, loses a particular point) so that others in-the-know can bet on it. This has been observed in many sports, and is a key reason that Australian sporting bodies don’t endorse betting on micro events. It is far easier to get a single player to lose a point, than it is for a player or team to lose an entire match.

Baca juga: Sporting codes’ deals with gambling companies force them into a Faustian bargain

So while micro-betting is not currently offered in Australia, Australian bettors can place micro-bets with overseas bookies, despite the federal government’s efforts to stop this. Given that betting on micro events is so clearly related to problem gambling, and corruption in sports, legislators worldwide should strongly consider whether this form of gambling should be offered as they shape the laws for their jurisdictions.

The Beauty of Nature Photography

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Nature is all around us, and its beauties are unlimited. In this fast-paced world of mocha-lattes and traffic jams at rush hour, too many of us take the beauty of nature for granted. Luckily, there are still people in the world who see this beauty and choose to share it with those of us that are too busy to normally take notice. Poets and photographers are great at this. They take what seems like the ordinary and present it to us in a way that shows us the elegance, the magnificence and the amazing that is on this rock we call Earth.What is Nature Photography?So what do we mean when we say nature photography? Well, it may seem obvious but let’s go ahead and explain. Nature is our natural environment. It is those things that exist in our world without human intervention; such as trees, grass, flowers, a forest, a river, and animals in their natural environment.Nature photography is the photography of these things. There is a wide spectrum that is included in nature photography. Pictures of sunsets, sunrises and ocean waves lapping at the shore are all nature photography. So are the trees in the forest and beautiful flowers growing in an open field.But nature photography can go even deeper than that, showing us parts of the world that we may not be able to see otherwise. If you live in the south, you may not see snow-capped mountains if it wasn’t for nature photography. You may not be able to see a deep canyon, a volcano, or a beautiful beach if it were not for photographs of these places.The photographers that bring us pictures of these places give us an image of something we may never see. It’s truly an amazing gift to give.Nature PhotographersBut what if you are one of the people taking these pictures? What if you are the nature loving photographer that gives this fantastic gift to someone else? You are giving a gift to other people. But you are also doing something you love. Nature photography can only be achieved by someone who has a love for nature and sees its beauty and can capture it in a photograph so others can view it and have a touch of the same experience.So how do you take great nature photography? The first step is to have an eye for these beautiful images. The second step is to have a camera. That’s really all it takes. But as you grow as a photographer, you will learn how to take the best pictures and capture the image in a way that others can view it as the amazing sight that you saw. You will learn about lighting and backgrounds and focus and you will take better pictures.Nature photography is a rewarding experience for the photographer and also for the people who get to view the results. You have taken a piece of nature that may otherwise go unnoticed such as a rainbow, and you capture it permanently in an image that you can look at any time you choose. This is a pleasing and rewarding part of photography. In nature photography, you are able to take two things that you love and combine them in a beautiful and artistic way.

Getting Temporary Or Short-Term Car Insurance Coverage

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If you are looking for short term car insurance you should know that you may not even need it. If you are thinking about getting car insurance for a short time period you are probably about to rent a car or borrow a vehicle…Renting a car:The rental car service will offer you some form of accident protection, liability insurance, loss damage waiver, and/or personal effects coverage. You do not need any of these offered insurances as long as you have your own car insurance because the insurance coverage you have on your car transfers over to the rental vehicle. It, however, does not transfer over if you are using the auto for some sort of business trip (something that is not recreational). In the following list you will find each of the 4 rental auto insurance possibilities and why you should probably skip each one…Liability Insurance: All car insurance comes with liability coverage, which will transfer over to any car you drive. Keep in mind that liability coverage does not protect you, your passengers or you car, but those around the car (pedestrians, property, and other cars on the road).Loss Damage Waiver: This protects the rental car from damage or loss. Some LDW’s only cover damage to the car if you are found to be innocent in an accident. Regardless, getting an LDW is pretty pointless if you have collision coverage (which would pay for repairs to the car regardless of who is at fault) and comprehensive coverage (which pays for damage or done to the car from things such as theft and collisions with wild life).Personal Accident Coverage: It is very likely that you do not need this type of coverage because you either have health insurance, Medical Payments Coverage, or Personal Injury Protection.Personal Effects Insurance: Your renters or homeowners policy will pay for the loss of items not only in your residence, but outside of it as well. If you want to insure something expensive, however, be sure to fill out a floater for that specific item.If you are not absolutely sure if you are covered by your own car insurer, read your policy and, if you don’t understand something, give your auto insurer a call. You should also know that if you pay for the rental car using a credit card, the credit card company may provide short term coverage for that automobile.Borrowing a car:A lot of folks wonder if they need short term or temporary auto insurance if they borrow someone else’s car. Generally, no you don’t. The borrowed person’s car insurance coverage will transfer over to you as long as he or she gave you consent to use that car, making getting any type of short term car insurance useless. However, there are some things to keep in mind…The liability insurance of the person from whom you borrow the car may not be enough to pay for liability damage that you cause while driving their car. If you have your own car insurance, this probably isn’t an issue. If, however, you don’t have your own car insurance and are held responsible for property damage of bodily injury liability fees after an accident, the liability insurance that is transferred over to you may not be enough. Say you cause $25,000 in damage and the lender’s liability coverage only goes up to $20,000. You are responsible for the additional $5,000, unless you have liability coverage yourself, which is at least $25,000.You can easily correct the aforementioned problem by getting a non-owners auto insurance policy.