If you are one who thinks gambling is a new activity that blossomed in Las Vegas in the 20th century, you may need to brush up on your gambling facts. To get a good idea of how large the gambling story is, try going back a couple of thousand years. You’ll see that games based on chance and the roll of dice have been always been a part of human history.

Not only did the Chinese and other populations enjoy gambling and games of chance, many Native American groups engaged in such activities long before the modern casino. Add to this the varieties of gambling carried around the world by European explorers and you have a global phenomenon of challenge and excitement. Here’s a starter fact – lotteries have even been used to raise funds for public construction projects.

o If you see 100 people on the street in a day, it’s a pretty safe bet that about 65 of them have placed a bet or made a wager in the past year.

o By many counts, profits in gambling casinos worldwide amount to $30 billion annually. Various studies report that Native American reservations host nearly 300 casinos.

History of gambling facts: The state of Nevada legalized gambling in 1931. New Jersey was the second state to make gambling legal (1976). South Dakota and Iowa followed in 1989.

o While casinos have operated in Nevada since the 1940s, the state created its Gaming Commission in 1959.

One myth that seems reluctant to die is that online gambling is not fair to players, because of casino control, less-than-random numbers and so on. Essentially, this is false. Safe-gaming software, eCommerce Online Regulation and Assurance (eCOGRA) and various licensing countries have eliminated much of the insecurity and unfair play. The myth may soon turn into one of the many Internet gambling facts.

o Casino style games are by far the most popular activity online, outnumbering sports betting 2 to 1. Lotteries and pari-mutuel betting are far down the list in percentage of online gambling activity, as are real-time online poker rooms.

o The Interstate Wire Act, passed in 1961, is a federal law that had the goal of reducing gambling activity. The law states that it is illegal in the United States to use wire communication (such as telephone) to place bets or share gambling information.

Interesting Gambling Facts: Sixty percent of online gamblers use English as their primary language. Second in line is Russian. Germany takes up position number three, according to a survey by Inland Entertainment Corporation. As for age, the numbers are close, but those between 26 and 34 play a bit more than others. One out of every five players is over the age of 45.

o In addition to online casinos, some of the most popular varieties of Web/Internet gambling are lotteries, sports books (wager on football, rugby, baseball etc.).

o According to a 2007 story in USA Today, the Venetian Macao casino was the largest in the world (on the southern tip of China). Foxwoods in Connecticut is also advertised as the world’s largest casino.

Very Interesting Gambling Facts: Video slots are generally considered the most popular online casino game. Roulette is one of the hardest games to win, while casino poker is often considered one of the easiest (with a little skill). If you can learn to count cards, you can move blackjack to the top of the “easier” list.

o There are 24 possible number combinations when a pair of dice is rolled.

o In 2003, a man won more than $39 million in a slot payout, after putting about $100 in. In 1997, a woman won $12 million in one payout.

Even More Interesting Gambling Facts: Gambling is technically legal in nearly every state, in some form. Other than the Wire Act mentioned earlier, there is little federal regulation pertaining to gambling by an individual.

Do some of your own research on gambling facts. Learn more about gambling history and surprise your friends with your knowledge of gambling statistics. It’s challenging and fun!

Offshore gambling is commonly defined as the voluntary risking of a sum of money called a wager, stake, or bet, on the outcome of a game or other event. Gambling is risking something of value on the outcome of an uncertain event. Gambling is central to almost everything we do as human beings. Gambling is legal in 48 of 50 states. Offshore gambling is very much a leisure activity.

Internet gambling, for the compulsive gambler is defined as follows: Any betting or wagering, for self or others, whether for money or not, no matter how slight or insignificant, where the outcome is uncertain or depends upon chance or skill constitutes gambling. Casino gambling involves betting, whether individually or in pools, in games of chance where the odds of winning or losing are artificially created so that those who win do so (at least in part) at the expense of those who lose. Offshore gambling has been branded the new “opium of the people” in a Church of Scotland report presented to the General Assembly. Internet gambling becomes a problem when it causes a negative impact on any area of the individual’s life. Internet casino gambling can include playing the on-line or video lottery games, playing cards, dice, or dominoes, playing slot machines, betting on sporting events (with or without a bookie), betting on the horses or greyhounds, betting on games of skill (bowling, pool, golf, video or arcade games), and many other activities.

Offshore gambling is the new pre-marital sex. Online gambling can be addictive, but only to persons that have an addictive personality. Online casinos are a choice adults make about how to spend their own money. Internet gambling is a more responsible way of gambling than going to a brick and mortar casino where there is no limit on the amount you loose, where you are encouraged to continue gambling. Blackjack gambling online for example, is growing rapidly over the last 2 years and attracts many companies to invest in this ancient game. Gambling systems can be better monitored to avoid problem gambling than traditional forms of land-based gambling. Online casinos have regulations in nations such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and Antigua ensure that consumers are treated fairly and the games are completely honest. Online poker fans from the States are already comparing this era of prohibition to that of the 1920s. The level of interest in online gambling remained relatively consistent throughout the year and actually increased in July 2001, at the same time as the introduction of the Interactive Gambling Act.

Online casinos as they do present some difficulties for the new player to get accustomed to, have none of the intricacies as land-based casinos do. Gambling is based on the evil desire to get money or goods, which belong to someone else without giving fair value in exchange. Offshore gambling is big business, bringing in huge amounts of cash and tax revenue, and employing thousands of state citizens. Gambling is essentially an expression of a covetous spirit and in my opinion offshore gambling is so appealing because of the opportunity to get something for nothing. Online casinos are successfully regulated in many parts of the world, so it can obviously be regulated in the United States. If you think of gambling as a form of entertainment, that seems to take a lot of the mystique away, and it may be easier to see that gambling is pretty harmless if one looks at it from an economic point of view.

Gambling is all fun and games until you hit the point where you cease seeing the fun in it, or you become irredeemably addicted.

Admittedly, most people do not see it coming. They start gambling for very noble reasons including,

1. The need to take time away from work and family pressures
2. Escape route from depressing thoughts on other issues.
3. Hopes of winning a fortune and living lavishly ever after
4. To bring a tinge of excitement into their otherwise dull lives
5. A chance to go out there, socialize and make new friends.

As you can see from the above points, no one anticipates that gambling will grow into the Frankenstein that now threatens to push them off the sanity cliff. A lot of people are able to keep their gambling under rein. They do it for fun, to pass some time and to socialize. Others lose it completely. They become slaves to online and offline gambling. It throws their lives off-balance. They start putting more time and money into gambling, and they gradually neglect other aspects of their lives.

At this point, problem gamblers look back at their lives and get surprised at how and when it happened. For a lot of people, the problem starts with a shift in mentality. A big loss or a big win, and you are hooked. You start gambling more money than you had planned to spend on gambling, you invest a lot of time in the casinos and before you know it, you are a slave to gambling. You can’t eat, sleep nor breathe without thinking gambling.

To help you understand how gambling addiction works, I have analyzed some of the most common factors that pull people deeper and deeper into addiction.

1. Illusion that You Can be in command of Chance
No one can control chance. It doesn’t favor anyone, smart or otherwise. Unfortunately many problem gamblers think that they can manage to overturn their luck on the tables through sheer power of the mind. They have this skewed illusion that they can win if only they can learn the tricks of the game. They spent hours on end in the casinos trying to perfect their game. They fail to acknowledge the fact that gambling is 100% chance and not something to be learned. There are no tricks and knowledge that will all of a suddenly overturn the tables to your favor.

2. The Lure of the Jackpot
Winning a few hands on the tables can make you feel unconquerable. Everyone loves winning, and science has proved that people remember their victories more than they remember their losses. Fortunately, or probably unfortunately in this case, new gamblers have what is commonly referred as ‘beginner’s luck’. They begin their gambling hobbies on the right foot. They become obsessed with the idea of winning the jackpot.

3. Faith of Changing Luck
In life, we are encouraged to get up after every fall. We will make it in the end. We will accomplish our goals if we do not quit. After all, who wants to quit while the gold vein could be just a few inches away. There is only one place where this advice does not apply. If your quests are governed by pure luck, there is very little chance that you will ever make it. The statistics are open for anyone who wants to take a look. Gambling only ends up in massive losses, debts and frayed social relationships. There is no better time to quit than now. Lady Luck will not smile at you anytime soon.

How To Know If You Are Addicted To Gambling
Although there are clear pointers that indicate you are going down the addiction lane, it can be extremely difficult to identify them if you do not know what they are. This is probably the saddest thing about addiction. We never know we are addicted until we take a step back and look at ourselves in hindsight, at which time the damage has already been done.

In this section, we will discuss the 5 major red flags to watch out for.

1. You Just Can’t Stop
Remember the wise Gambler who Kenny Rogers sings about? Every wise gambler knows when to hold and when to fold. Compulsive gamblers on the other hand do not have limits. They will gamble everything they have thinking that they are having bouts of fun, when in actuality they are driven by compulsions beyond their control.

2. Gambling with Money Not Meant for Fun
Problem gamblers will gamble with money that they can’t stand to lose. They do not have a set gambling budget and will often risk money meant for important things such medical bills and other utility bills.

3. Gambling to Win or to Recover Losses
If you find yourself gambling more for the sole purpose of hitting the jackpot than for fun, you need to reevaluate yourself. Same case applies if the main driving force behind gambling is to recover losses that you had suffered earlier.

4. Obsessively Thinking about Gambling
If you eat, drink and sleep thinking about gambling, you might already be too deep in the trench.

5. Borrowing to Finance Gambling
Have you ever borrowed money to finance gambling? Chances are if you have, things are not looking so good.

What other key pointers do you think indicate a problem with gambling? I believe that you know them better. You know what triggers that red flag and siren at the back of your mind. A lot of gamblers realize the symptoms that point to problematic gambling in their lives, yet stopping becomes a quagmire.

What is Web Analytics?

Web analytics gives information about user experience and the journey that the customer makes through the website. It gives real data about the customer’s movement through your sight. It is collecting this data from your website and converting it into insights.

Web analytics tools can be used to learn more about your website’s visitors. Web analytics provides you with data. The following are the different types of data:

1. Metrics – Things that can be counted like the number of visitors and the time they spend on your website. Tracking how much money is made and how many goods are sold. Metrics are measured by using dimensions, which is another type of data.

2. Dimensions – It is any kind of data that can be used to describe something you are tracking with words. E.g. Device type, geographical location.

It answers your questions like which device your customers are using more to get to your website. With this information, you can optimize your website accordingly.

Make Web Analytics Work for You

Analytics can measure any kind of online marketing you decide to do, and also measure the entire digital journey of a customer. It captures important insights.

Analytics can tell you which search engine people are coming to your website and also if they are engaging well with your website by spending time.

It’s important to make sure you’re measuring progress toward your own particular goals. That means you’ll want to customize your analytics a bit, to make sure you’re tracking things that really matter to you.

When a website visitor completes a goal like completing a purchase it’s called a conversion. Web analytics tools have the ability to break downloads of data about your visitors and what’s happening on your sites to give information that can help increase the conversion rate.

Add conversions points like “subscribe to our newsletter” and when people subscribe, you will know that they are interested in your business. This way you can send emails to them and convert them into customers. To make this happen you can add a coupon of 10% off when people subscribe to your newsletter.

With analytics, you can also know during what time of the week there’s more traffic on your website. With this information, you can advertise more heavily by adjusting your campaigns when people are more likely to take action.

Get Success with Analytics

Web analytics helps you by providing information about how many people are visiting through different search engines from organic search results.

With Google analytics, you can also find out which keywords people are using to find your business. This can be found out by integrating Google analytics with the Google search console.

Web analytics can also show how well your improved content is working and what its impact is. It will also show you if your keywords are translating into more visitors reaching your site. Analytics will help find out which keywords are the best ones for you to bid on, how to tailor your ads to make them more effective, and how to decide how much to bid for the spots that are the most cost-effective for you.

The key is that you’ll still be tracking what happens after you make your changes, and that means you’ll be able to see if your fixes raise that conversion rate from 1% to something better! That covers a few different ways you can measure the keywords you’re bidding on.

When you write ads, you want it to be clear and compelling to the readers but it’s they who decide if it’s clear and compelling, Analytics can help you with this too.

Firstly, use segmentation to break down all those visitors by different groupings as segmentation gives you some insights you can action.

Lastly, analytics tools can help you understand just how much you should be bidding for ads, to make sure you’re getting a good return. By using analytics, you’ll know exactly where you perform the best, and that means you’ll be getting more out of your investment than your competition.