Gambling
Gambling with high (or even moderate) stakes is outlawed in many parts of the world. Some places that allow such gambling draw travellers from far away, and might have resorts for gambling.
Gambling often takes place in a casino, at a gambling table in a restaurant, bar or nightlife venue, at a race-track, or at a bookmaker's shop. Bookmaking can be combined with watching a sport; horse racing and greyhound racing in particular are associated with gambling.
Understand
The splendour of the casinos' architecture should remind you the direction of the cashflow; the house always wins in the long run. Set a budget for how much you can lose; when you have spent that amount, go on with your itinerary.
Regulation has encouraged venues to use loopholes to provide gambling-like services. The Japanese arcade game pachinko allows the player to win token prizes (typically packaged tiny pieces of gold), which can be redeemed for money across the street, or food and other consumables.
In many countries minors aren't allowed to gamble and may not be allowed to enter such premises. The age limit may be higher than the age of majority. In some countries your age might be checked when you have won a jackpot, and as a minor you would then not get your money.
Do
| “ | Gambling: The sure way of getting nothing for something. | ” |
—Wilson Mizner | ||
Casinos typically make many efforts to maximize time and money spent by guests. Windows and clocks are usually absent, and exits can be hard to find.
They usually have special food, drink and entertainment offers such as stand-up comedy and music, to keep guests in a good mood, and keep them at the premise. Some venues offer alcoholic beverages on the house. However, drunkenness impairs judgement, and all good gamblers know the importance of staying sober.
It's very common for casinos to give various forms of special offers called "comps" to gamblers. Occasionally these comps will be given unconditionally, but they're usually given based on how much "action" you're giving them. Despite what many people think, action is not the same as the amount of money the casino makes from you. Instead, it's the average amount of money you bet per hours, adjusted for the house edge on the game you play and the number of hours you play. This means that somebody who bets $10000 once and then quits for the day will get no comps, while somebody who bets $10 a pull while playing slots for 10 hours will get tons. These comps can be anything from discounts on meals to lavish VIP service, complete with free suites and a butler to attend to your needs. Some gamblers prefer to focus on getting comps rather than winning money by making it seem like they're giving the casino more action than they really are, which usually involves making large bets whenever the pit boss is watching and trying to make as few bets an hour as possible to avoid losing money.
There are plenty of games a person could gamble on, but the classics are slots, craps, blackjack, roulette, baccarat, and poker. By design, these games are meant to milk you out of your money, so it's very unwise to think that you could make money from gambling. However, there are two exceptions. Blackjack can be beaten with card-counting, but only if it pays 3:2 for a blackjack and isn't shuffled every hand. Understandably, it's becoming rare to find a blackjack table that meets both of these conditions. If you do find a table and end up getting caught, the casino almost always has the right to ban you from playing blackjack, although they can't take the money that you already won. The other option is poker. The casino takes a flat amount every turn, but other than that, it's you against the other players. The downside is that becoming good enough to go pro at poker is incredibly hard, and it's very easy for a streak of good luck to make you think that you're winning because of skill that you don't have. In both cases, even if you're able to make money in the long run (+EV, as it's known in the gambling community), the short term is almost entirely luck. Even the best of the best have entire months where they lose enormous amounts of money, which is why professional gambling is called the hardest way to make an easy living.
In many places, gambling on credit money isn't allowed; don't trust your credit card to work. In some situations it might be good to withdraw the money you are going to use beforehand: when your wallet is empty, you have spent your budget and should leave.
Destinations
Africa
Asia
- 2 Genting Highlands, Malaysia — the only integrated casino resort in the country
- 3 Goa, India — the only place in the country where gambling is legal
- 4 Hong Kong, China — the only legal gambling is on horse racing
- 5 Macau, China — the world's highest-volume gambling venue
- 6 Singapore — has horse racing, lotteries and football (soccer) betting, as well as two casinos
Australia
The Crown Casino in Melbourne is Australia's largest and most popular, although casinos can also be found in Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Cairns, the Gold Coast, Darwin, Hobart, Launceston, Townsville and Alice Springs.
In addition, horse racing and greyhound racing can also be found in all of Australia's major cities.
Caribbean
Central America
- 8 San José, Costa Rica - gambling is legal in Costa Rica, casinos are in San Jose and in some hotels, some games are unique to the region or have regional variations
Europe
- 9 Baltic Sea ferries
- 10 London, England
- 11 Finland: A casino in Helsinki, as well as slot machines at supermarkets and gas stations around the country, and several horse-race tracks; all owned by Veikkaus gambling agency.
- 12 Baden-Baden, Germany
- 13 Monaco
- 14 Northern Cyprus
- 15 Sweden: A casino in Stockholm, as well as tables and machines at nightclubs around the country, and several horse-race tracks
- Most cities in the 16 Balkans
- 17 Norway: Gambling is strictly regulated and mostly boils down to lotteries and sports (including horse race) betting. Gambling online on foreign sites is illegal.
South America
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- Foxwoods, Connecticut
- Mohegan Sun, Connecticut
- Shreveport, Louisiana
- Biloxi, Mississippi
- Tunica, Mississippi
- 20 Las Vegas One of the biggest gambling hubs in the world.
- Reno, Nevada
- Niagara Falls, New York
- 21 Atlantic City, New Jersey A 19th-century beach resort turned Las Vegas of the East Coast
- Deadwood, South Dakota
- Council Bluffs, Iowa
- New Orleans, Louisiana
Canada
Due to their special status, many Native American Nations may legally run casinos in states where they are otherwise prohibited. Some states allow riverboat gambling in which a casino can operate only on a boat along the river (especially the Mississippi River). Riverboat casinos were also once common in southern states along the Gulf of Mexico coast.
Stay safe
| “ | Play poker with old friends and new cards, not the other way around. | ” |
—American proverb | ||
Reputable casinos in well-known destinations (e.g. Las Vegas, Monaco or Macau) take security very seriously, with cameras covering virtually every square inch of the property, so one is unlikely to be a victim of crime in these venues. Outside the casino may be a different story. As gamblers bring much money to town, gambling venues attract scams and other dubious businesses. Think twice before visiting a pawn shop, a loan provider, or another service near a gambling venue. Also inside the venue, fees for using ATMs and similar may be significantly inflated.
If you are lucky enough to win a large jackpot, you can usually ask the casino to hold your winnings in its safe or to pay you with a check so that you are not walking out the door with a large amount of cash. Casinos may also have security personnel available to escort you upon request if you insist on receiving all your winnings in cash.
Some unauthorized games might be scams themselves; stick to casinos, and other well-reputed venues. Even legal gambling is sometimes associated with organized crime. Normal gamblers who pay their stakes upfront won't usually be affected by that, however.
Some countries, such as South Korea, have laws that allow them to prosecute their own citizens for gambling while overseas.
Stay healthy
Problem gambling is a mental disorder which affects one's mental health, finance and social well-being. Most countries should have some charities or non-governmental organizations specialized in helping those who suffer from problem gambling. Government agencies responsible for social welfare are also often involved. If you think you need to win back what you lost; consider contacting such a charity or agency right away. As the saying in poker goes: don't throw good money after bad.
In some jurisdictions, those who wish to quit gambling due to problem gambling may apply for an exclusion order to ban themselves from casinos. Such orders are usually processed by gambling supervisory authorities like the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau in Macau or agencies specialized on helping problem gamblers, such as the National Council on Problem Gambling in Singapore.
In addition, family members who are troubled with other member's problem gambling are usually allowed to apply for exclusion orders on behalf of the person. Regardless, anybody concerned can contact relevant agencies for advice.
Respect
Photography and mobile phone use are usually prohibited, or very restricted, inside venues — partly to keep other guests' privacy, partly since they could potentially be used for cheating.
Various cultures have different views on gambling, which can differ significantly from government policies. Islam, Judaism and a number of Protestant Christian denominations oppose gambling.