Wednesday 24 February 2010

Latest radio 1 show

Latest radio show about Bad Boy Brown, from last Monday - in Dutch. 
Click on the link and my item starts straight away.


www.bnntoday.com / www.radio1.nl

Game over

The introduction of webfilters in Australia has inspired other governments to do the same. Tifatul Sembiring, the Indonesian Minister of Information and Communications, announced last week that his country plans to ‘filter content on the internet by using a system like the one Australia has chosen for’. 

A monitoring committee would determine what online content is to be blocked. Under the new web regime, internet service providers (ISPs) would be forbidden to transmit or distribute pornography ‘or anything else considered to be illegal or immoral’, as well as ‘lies and misleading information’. The Ministry has made clear that article 4 of the proposals covers online gambling, already illegal in Indonesia. Online betting has become a relatively popular spare time activity in the island state, and although there are no Indonesian gambling websites, hundreds of international operators manage to reach many Indonesians every day. The statement by the Ministry has caused outrage many Indonesians, the Alliance of Independent Journalists have condemned the proposals saying it ‘is a violation of political and internet freedom’. Many fear the proposed system is vulnerable for abuse and it effectively means the end of freedom of expression and the right to information. And – if the filters will be introduced – it is a safe bet to say it will be the end of online gambling in Indonesia.

 Michiel Willems (2010) - Published earlier in E-Finance & Payments Magazine, London

 

Friday 5 February 2010

Latest radio show

Latest radio 1 show in Holland, about homeopathic remedies, vitamins, pharmaceutical scams and a mass 'overdose'. Click on the link, the item starts straight away:

http://player.omroep.nl/?aflID=10613951&start=00:31:58

Monday 1 February 2010

It's a women's world

If you thought online gambling is merely for old, cigar-smoking men, sitting behind their PCs late at night, you need to think again.

The UK Gambling Commission conducted a survey in 2009 which found that the number of women gambling online has increased enormously, especially during daytime, when the kids are at school. The survey concluded that women feel safer gambling online than in a casino and many websites are taking advantage of that. Marketing strategies are gradually more aimed at women, with ‘female-friendly’ gimmicks, including pink formats, gambling horoscopes and ‘hunk of the month’ pictures. The typical age for women who gamble online is 25 to 34, according to the survey, and some websites have an 80%, or more, female audience, such as getmintedbingo.com. The National Problem Gambling Clinic has confirmed that more women than in previous years have sought help. Overall, online gambling has gone up. In June 2009, the Gambling Commission’s survey found that 10.2% of adults questioned said they had gambled online in the previous year, up from 7.2% in 2006 and – as we now know – many of these ‘new gamblers’ are women. 

Published earlier in "World Online Gambling" magazine, Michiel Willems (c) 2010