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Gambling has always been a popular pastime among Israelis. But one game, available “on-line” has turned out to be a “winner” for some and a nightmare for others. Unfortunately, I wound up being one of the “others”. It seemed very simple at first: just register and give all your personal information, including card info, bank account (for depositing all those winnings they hype about) and start playing. Americans who play the game find out quickly that the sporting events offered for playing are not those like the NFL or College football, or that Great American Pastime, baseball. Though some NFL games are occasionally offered, most of the sporting events are games that are popular with Israelis like basketball; and Israeli and European football leagues, otherwise known as soccer. Soccer also includes the new American National League Soccer matches played during the “off season” period for the NFL and NBA.

Ok, I grant you that there are plenty of NBA games to wager on, as well as Euro League baskeball matches, which are in the same league the Israel’s star hoopsters, Maccabee Tel Aviv, play in. For all the “punters” from the UK, there are all their football league matches too, including the Barclays Premier League, and other English, Scottish, and Irish Leagues as well. There are also European and South American football league matches, so nearly everyone can find something to throw their money away on.

Although the web site is noted as a safe site (regarding giving financial information) the ease of being able to “go online” to place a bet, instead of doing it at a local kiosk or sports betting store, and that bets on games played in North America can be placed until nearly midnight, made it very tempting to do this instead to humping it over to the nearby “Pitsuchim” nut and cigarette shop to wager on NBA teams like the Lakers, Nicks, or Celtics.

After more than six months of this business, I finally reached the point that I was ‘upside down’ in regards to my losses over winnings; and although I’m sure that some people do win at this game, they probably are sports mavens who follow all the games intensely both locally and abroad.

Online betting has become a phenomenon that has spread all over the world, and not only involves wagering of sporting matches, but literally all kinds of gambling, including horse racing and Los Vegas types of casino gambling on computerized versions of poker, blackjack, roulette, craps, and of course, the “slots”.

Getting back to my own predicament, I have finally decided to go “off line”; and hopefully, I will think twice next time before walking through the rain and wind to the nut shop, at 10 p.m. at night, to place my 10 or 20 Shekel bet.