Addiction in any form is dreadful and addiction of gambling is an obsessive-compulsive disorder. Gambling occasionally can be enjoyable, but prolonged interest in it, can turn into an obsession, compelling the gambler to gamble continuously, irrespective of whether he wins. Gambling addiction takes a toll on the addict’s finances and affects him socially, psychologically and physically. It devastates the gambler’s life and has serious consequences on family and friends.

How does gambling addiction start

People generally resort to gambling for various reasons, like curiosity, trying once and winning and getting hooked, but mostly gambling addiction is the escape route from personal relationship problems or any past or current failure in life. The simplest way someone gets addicted is to try once or twice, and with beginner’s luck, he wins, but after that he starts losing. In an effort to gain back the entire money, the gambler goes on playing, till he is left with nothing. Addicts do not hesitate to beg, borrow or steal money to continue their routine of gambling.

This situation must be tackled before it moves beyond control, but the most difficult task is to locate and identify an addict. An addict gambler is very smart to hide his characteristic traits. However, one symptom can give them away – they always try to sneak around, lie about their whereabouts and ask people to lend money.

Self-help for treating gambling addiction – What are the options?

The first step in curing gambling addiction is to confess in the presence of someone else. The presence of someone close would help the addict remain motivated to his efforts. This is the most difficult step as one who can admit that he is an addict, is half way through the curing process because most addicts shy away due to the fear of social rejection.

After the admission, the addict must avoid visiting the places where he gambles, like casinos and clubs. If he is addicted to online gambling then he must remove all sites from the computer. The next step is to engage in some fruitful activity that distracts the addict from gambling, like taking a walk, or visiting a gym.

Following natural therapies are better and safer than trying some kind of medicine, because all medicines have side effects and runs the risk of creating drug dependency. Gambling addicts can also join gambling anonymous support forums, where they can see others like them, trying to get rid of this dangerous habit.

Another step towards a better life can be self-hypnosis. An addict can either get a hypnotist / hypnotherapist, or buy a CD of self-hypnosis, or use a mix of the two methods. A hypnotist will not only hypnotize, but listen to his problems and identify the reasons for gambling and state a solution. However, if this option is not possible to avail for someone, self – hypnosis CDs is a good option too. Remember, getting rid of gambling addiction is an ongoing battle that an addict has to continue fighting unless chances of relapses end completely.

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!

For better or for worse, online gambling is coming to New Jersey.

In late February, Chris Christie officially signed into law a bill that legalized internet gambling in Atlantic City.

Initially the bill was vetoed by the Governor because of issues surrounding transparency and taxes. Lawmakers adjusted the text and the amended bill passed by an overwhelming majority in the legislature and earned Christie’s seal of approval.

Here are the basics of the bill:

- Casinos located in Atlantic City will be able to apply for a license to offer online gambling. Only the twelve official Atlantic City casinos will be eligible for the license. No other organizations can offer internet gambling, and face stiff fines if they do. All facilities used for the operation of internet gambling must be located within city limits; only bets that are received by a server in Atlantic City will be legal.

- Players must be “physically present” in New Jersey to place wagers. In the future, New Jersey may develop agreements with other states where internet gambling is legal to permit out-of-state gambling. The casino’s equipment must verify players’ locations before accepting wagers.

- Any games available to play in the casinos can be played online. (For comparison, Nevada only allows poker.) As of now, sports betting will not be protected by this bill, although the state of New Jersey is trying to fight the federal statute barring the legalization of sports betting.

- The bill has all kinds of provisions to keep gambling addiction at bay, such as requiring the prominent display of the 1-800-GAMBLER hotline number, a way to set maximum bets and losses over a certain period of time, and tracking player losses to identify and limit users who may demonstrate addictive gambling behavior.

- Revenue from online gambling will carry a 15% tax. The Christie administration states that about $180 million in revenue for the state will be generated from this tax, but some analysts think this number is seriously overestimated.

The official regulations, which the bill required the Division of Gaming Enforcement to produce, were released on June 3, and are subject to a “public comment period” until August 2 before being finalized. These rules include details such as how a casino acquires the appropriate licenses and procedures for maintaining network security on gambling sites.

So, will online gambling actually benefit the state?

The Good

Revenues from Atlantic City casinos have been on the decline for the past seven years, and online gambling could be what saves the failing casinos. Since 2006, casino revenue has dropped from $5.2 billion to around $3 billion. Online gambling could be a $500 million to $1 billion industry in New Jersey, which may be enough to keep struggling casinos afloat and save jobs in Atlantic City. Further, even though estimates of tax revenue are all over the map, there is potential for online gambling to be a considerably valuable source of money for the state. The casinos will also have to pay a tax to the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, which will provide further assistance to struggling casinos in Atlantic City.

For the player, low overhead costs mean better prizes and more opportunities to play. Casinos can incent players with free “chips” that have minimal costs for them but give players more opportunities to play and win. The convenience of gambling online allows players to play more with less travel.

BAD:

One of the goals of the bill is supposedly to attract more people to visit the brick-and-mortar casinos, but it is hard to say if online gambling will actually lead to this outcome. One could speculate it could even cause people to go to the casinos less (However, this seems unlikely; the social element and the free drinks are lost in online gambling. Also, research indicates that, at least with poker, internet gaming does not reduce casino gaming.) Advertising for the host casino will be allowed on the online gambling sites, which could possibly encourage people to visit the casino but could also be annoying for players.

Online gambling could be seriously devastating for people who have gambling addictions, or even cause people to develop them, raising financial and moral concerns. Even with all the preventative steps the bill requires, it will definitely be much harder to cut off compulsive gamblers if they can place bets anywhere with an internet connection.

Conversion rate is a word of paramount importance when it comes to website development. Businesses invest in several strategies to improve the look and feel of their websites with the core agenda of boosting conversion rates. However, not everyone gets the chance to taste the flavour of success. Thus, before selecting the right way of increasing your website conversions, it is prudent enough to know about the most custom approaches which, are efficient and result-driven.

Here are some of the proven conversion rate optimisation strategies which, can offer a steady flow of traffic to your website, increase your conversions and boost your ROI.

Improving Store Search
There is a set of advanced technologies that allows online merchants to help customers in finding their desired products easily and quickly as well. It will help in optimising the customer experience by setting search acronyms, stop words and weighted attribute values. Investing time in improving the search process of customers has shown great results in improving the conversion rates.

Developing a Precise and Clear Product Summary
Online shoppers coming to your store normally expect a brief summary of the product along with its purpose. Customers generally tend to rely on eCommerce stores which, host a brief and good summary of products. Uploading a product video is also highly effective for attracting customers to the store.

Defining the Return Policies Clear
Along with considerations related to order and shipping, you must define the return policies properly. Often, Magento online stores announce free return offers which, have a prescribed set of conditions for cost, time and other issues related to the product. Thus, highlighting the return policies on the right place and occasion of the storefront will greatly help in increasing the conversion rate.

Simplifying Checkout Process
Magento boasts a set of powerful checkout features, however, sometimes, stores face several roadblocks. Moreover, they need certain kind of professional and personal information apart from the basics by placing various fields of texts for filling up. Filling up extra information like permanent address, shipping address, temporary address and other details might occur as a daunting task for the mobile device users. Thus, it is important to have one page and a short and crisp process for your online store.

Final word
There is a range of strategies available for eCommerce businesses, however, only a few of them are practically applicable when it comes to boosting the conversion rates. Thus, it is ideal to test implementation of the strategy before selecting it as the best fit. Using different types of eCommerce analytics are a great way to keep track on the online store traffic. However, seeking professional help of experts will serve as the right way of planning, organizing and implementing the right technique in the right way.