The Internet has taken the middleman out of tasks such asscheduling classes and buying textbooks for students. Now illegalbookies can be added to the list of campus occupations the Internethas replaced.
Betmaker.com is a gambling service based in Costa Rica thattargets college students in the United States.
Users can join pools with bettors from other schools and friendsall over the world to bet on college and professional sports.Students sign up for a pool of 10 bettors and are offered manymarketing and promotional advantages that campus operations cannotprovide, said Sean Jameson, marketing director for Betmaker.
The site is based out of the country because betting is illegalin 49 U.S. states, Jameson said.
Jameson said using the online service is not “specificallyillegal,” but Paul Edmunson of the Louisiana State Police saidLouisiana legislators had drafted legislation prohibitingparticipation in online gambling.
Edmunson said the owners of online betting could run their sitesin other countries without being subject to prosecution in theUnited States
“There are major jurisdictional issues,” Edmunson said.
Despite the laws, Jameson said betting online is increasinglypopular every year and that it is safer than using a bookie.
“You’re pretty much anonymous,” he said. “You don’t know whoyou’re betting against, and there’s no bookie so there’s no shadydealing.”
The site offers convenient information like up-to-date injuryreports and team statistics, Jameson said.
Advertisers for Betmaker.com promise students a 15 percent bonusfor betting on LSU. Jameson said when bettors sign up for Betmaker,they have an option to choose their favorite teams. If they bet ontheir favorite team and win, they get the bonus.
Jameson said though the site has been operating for years, thisyear they began targeting college students.
“This is not geared for problem bettors, but for entertainmentbettors,” he said. “I have no moral issue with it, because it’s notlike you’re going to go into debt.”
Jameson said the average bet was about $50.
Chemical engineering seniors Keyon Azarnia and Kurt Davis agreedthat on-campus gaming should not be heavily regulated.
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it,” Azarnia said.”Gambling’s your own responsibility. You shouldn’t gamble all thetime, but it’s fine if you’re making bets with your friends.”
Davis suggested the University take advantage of its onlinecapabilities.
“They should set up roulette on PAWS to make some funds for theschool,” he said.
Azarnia was skeptical about the site’s security.
“It seems more high risk,” he said. “They want your credit cardnumber and there are a lot of hackers out there.”