One of the battle cries adopted by those who are so violently anti online gambling is the fact that they believe that there is no place for a form of entertainment that relies only on elements of luck, especially when we’re dealing with money.  So let’s clarify a few things first, before I move on to my counter argument. I personally believe that any adult who has earned his or her own money is entitled to spend the money in any way that pleases them, within the law.  Whether the game is based on skill or not has nothing to do with that line of reasoning.

Now, let’s get back to the question of luck. What many anti-gamblers may not realize that there are actually a lot of games that don’t rely on luck and are based on skill instead. Games of luck are those such as slot machines, roulette and keno, where there is pretty much nothing you can do to change the odds in your favor.  There is no denying of course, that these games are highly entertaining and are a pleasure to play, but that goes without saying.

There is another category of online casino games that allows you to shift the odds in your favor if you develop skills in the game. Take blackjack as an example. If you go blindly into blackjack, without being familiar with the rules and strategies, you may win or you may lose – that’s the luck factor. But if you get to know the basic strategy of the game and know what moves to make according to the cards you are dealt, you will do much, much better in the game.  As such, this is a game of skill.

Poker is another game that relies heavily on skill. There is a long runing debate in the legislative sphere, questioning whether poker is a game of skill or luck, but it has been pretty much determined that the outcome of the game relies more on on skill than chance. With that in mind, all those who argue against online casinos need to take into account that luck doesn’t always come into it, and there is no reason on earth that someone who has developed a skill should not be abe to pitch that skill against others on the internet, just as they’d hold a virtual chess game.

And now I’m climbing off my soapbox!