Misty Fountain from CT Moore on Vimeo.
Here’s some footage I shot of the fountain just outside the Palais des Congres this past Tuesday and Wednesday. I was there for the Next Generation in Gambling conference (organized by Clarion Gaming).
I know online gambling has a really bad rap on this side of the pond, but there were extremely smart and interesting people there who (I believe) have the common sense to look past that stereotype and judge each online gambling site on its individual merits.
One of the people I got to meet (and interview on video) was Chris Collins, the Director of Enterprise Business Systems at Second Life. Another one was Victor Palmer, the founder and President of CentSports.
Victor’s baby is actually one of the more innovative products I’ve seen in a while. It’s a web 2.0 take on an online sportsbook, complete with social functionality. Users can maintain friend lists, bet against each other, and publicly taunt one another for the bad bets they make.
Where it really differs, though, is that you cannot bet with your own money. Rather, they give you 10 cents when you register, and when you build it up to $20 or more, you get to cash out. It’s also this free money give-away that allows CentSports to get around the UIGEA which makes it pretty much impossible for an online gambling site to operate in the US.