Monthly Archive: April 2016

High Rolling and Charity

April 18, 2016

casinoIt’s no secret that I actually know several people who use gambling in order to help charity. It really is a win-win-win situation for everyone involved – the people get to enjoy some fun casino gaming a few nights a month, the casinos receive attendance, various amazing causes are aided and on top of it all my American friends also get a very nice tax write-off because their donations are tax-deductible. It seems like an ideal proposition, but as everything related to gambling, it’s got a certain amount of risk attached to it, but it’s not the kind that you’d think. No the risk here falls down to a single question – “How much is enough?”

Now, I’m not really talking about gambling addiction, even if that question is often associated with it (though I am absolutely going to point out that if you find yourself struggling with addiction there’s plenty of sources to help you out). I’m talking about the inherent risk which comes with gambling for charity, especially in high roller online casinos such as the ones listed at highstakecasinos.co.uk and, of course, in physical casinos on high roller tables. Imagine, if you will, the following situation – you’ve just earned 500 on your last blackjack hand. Now, 500 (be it dollars, quid, euro or whatever your currency is – the analogy works in most gambling countries) may seem like a huge sum to most gamblers, but it’s practically pocket change for high rollers, and it’s also a relatively small amount for most charity organizations. You can probably double that amount with another hand, thus ensuring that you’ll be able to seriously help out the charity organization that you’re supporting… But should you?

After all, if there was no or very little risk involved, then the answer would be undoubtedly yes – I mean, who wouldn’t want more money for a good cause, am I right? But there’s also the fact that you can always lose, and if you do, you’re not going to be giving ANY money to the charity. You won’t be losing any of your own personal finances, but whoever you’ve chosen to support is, sadly, going to remain very disappointed. And considering that, 500 is better than nothing, right? But at the same time 1000 is better than 500, but… UGH! Yeah, this circular logic is the bane of many gamblers, not just those who gamble for charity. And the interesting thing is that there isn’t a right way to solve the dilemma. Everyone has their own solution, and as far as I’ve noticed, the answers seem to be split right down the middle.

So what about you, dear reader? Which part of the fence are you on? If you could make that fateful decision, would you bet or quit while you’re ahead? And don’t say “I’d only bet part of the money”, because that’s cheating! Let me know by using the Contact option right above!

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Extra Life – Gaming for Charity

April 1, 2016

extra lifeI think we can both agree on one thing – games are awesome! Whether they’re videogames, casino games, board games or card games, they’re some of the most fun activities that you can possibly have in your life. I assure you, there’s nothing quite like relaxing with a controller at the end of a long day at work, and I probably don’t need to tell you that getting a few spins on your favorite online slot every now and then is pretty great. But these activities are for relaxation purposes only – they’re meant to entertain you, provide you with a bit of fun every once in a while, they can’t possibly help anyone… Or can they? Make sure you’re sitting tight, because I’m about to blow your mind!

Enter Extra Life – a charity organization that allows you to play games and help out a children’s hospital in the process! Basically, it works like this – one day of the month (November 5th for 2016) is officially labeled Extra Life Day. On it, you’re encouraged to stream yourself playing games for 24 hours straight (though you don’t have to do the full 24 hours, or you can swap with a partner from time to time). For those of you unfamiliar with the term, streaming is when you do a live broadcast of yourself (featuring your screen and sometimes your face) while playing games so that others can watch you play. Your spectators can leave comments on your game and you can interact with them, sometimes even letting them influence your game (this was taken to the extreme in “Twitch Plays Pokemon”, where a streamer gave the people watching the game full control over his game of Pokemon). It’s most commonly done with videogames, but really, you can stream any kind of game! Streaming yourself gambling online is just as easy as streaming yourself playing a game, and using an app such as Periscope you can stream directly from your phone’s camera to show yourself playing a board game or something like that.

Now, where does the charity aspect fall into this? Well, before you start streaming, you can pick a hospital from a huge list of them, located all over the US and Canada (sadly, international hospitals aren’t supported, but there’s nothing stopping you from setting something up on your own outside of Extra Life). Next, when you start streaming you’ll be given a link that you can place on your screen, or send out to the people watching you. When they go to that link, your viewers can donate to the hospital of your choice in your name to support you during your gaming marathon. It’s not exactly simple to set up, and you might need to jump a few hoops in order to get everything going, but overall, “Extra Life” is an absolutely phenomenal way to do what you love while supporting children who need your help. And ultimately, there are few things better than that in the world.

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