Category Archives: Gambling

First of all, do not contemplate if it's your fault that led the child towards gambling. From the day you notice a behavioural shift in your child try to take action immediately. Teach them about the pros and cons of gambling. Tell them when and how gambling will become a major problem and what are the different ways to get out of the addiction.

Parents should always be on the lookout for telltale signs so that the addiction doesn't grow on the child.

"Kids with a problem will talk about gambling, watch gambling shows, and lie about their own gambling.Parents will find scratch lottery tickets in drawers, amongst other things," says Dr. Jeffrey Derevensky, of the Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology at McGill University.

If you are into gambling and want your child to know about it, then teach responsible gambling. Remember, whatever you teach the child stays in the mind for a long time and will be considered the biggest reference.

Do not coerce your child to give up gambling, instead help the child understand what disaster gambling can bring in if it becomes an addiction. Give examples of problem gambling.

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What parents should teach their kids about gambling? - Times of India

MINNEAPOLIS - JANUARY 26: Coach Joe Gibbs of the Washington Redskins is held up by his teammates ... [+] after winning the Super Bowl XXVI against the Buffalo Bills at the Metrodome on January 26, 1992 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Redskins defeated the Bills 37-24. (Photo by Focus on Sport via Getty Images)

Thirty years ago Wednesday, Mark Rypien threw a pair of touchdown passes and the NFL team that played its home games in Washington, D.C. cemented its status as the closest thing professional football had to a dynasty in Pete Rozelles era of parity as it beat the Buffalo Bills, 37-24, in Super Bowl XXVI.

Washingtons win (more on the lack of a nickname shortly) also marked perhaps the first and nowhere near the last time The Simpsons accurately predicted the future.

Lisa the Greek, the first heavily sports-themed episode in the potentially never-ending run of The Simpsons, celebrated its 30th anniversary of its first airing Sunday. Three days before Washington rolled to its third Super Bowl win in 10 years, an estimated 23.2 million people watched Homer and Lisa bond over the latters uncanny ability to correctly pick NFL games.

Lisa, frustrated after Homer declined her invite to go hiking the Sunday after the Super Bowl in favor of going bowling with fellow barfly Barney, initially declined to pick a Super Bowl winner but eventually said Washington if she still loved Homer and Buffalo if she didnt.

After a fitful afternoon and evening of enduring long pregame shows, strange halftime shows and a Duff Bowl (won by Duff Dry because, as Moe puts it, they wanted it more), Homer cheered with relief as Washington won on a last-second touchdown. (As it turns out, in an era of Super Bowl blowouts, The Simpsons could not will into existence a second straight classic finish) The show ended with father and daughter climbing Mt. Springfield the following Sunday.

I find its very well-liked and well-regarded, longtime Simpsons show runner Al Jean said during a phone interview last week. It doesnt have as many lines that people give back to you, like I choo choo choose you or cromulent or embiggens. But every time somebody mentions it, its always like Oh yeah, that was really sweet. They love that show.

The football aspects of Lisa the Greek serve as an affectionate ode to the era that turned Jean and his fellow writers and staffers into big football fans one that helped football emerge as Americas most popular sport for television viewers and gamblers alike while turning Super Bowl Sunday into an unofficial national holiday.

Only viewers of a certain age will get the obvious references to The NFL Today featuring Jimmy the Greek, the first oddsmaker to appear on television, as well as Phyllis George, who had a card catalog entry as Lisa investigated the history of professional football at the Springfield Public Library and understand why Homer sat glued to the couch because getting up might have meant missing the rare display of all the days NFL scores.

You didnt know what the scores were you started watching Headline News to see the scores scroll, Jean said. Now on the Internet, you can find out whats going on at any game at any time. But at that point, it was a lot harder to get a result. It was a very different world.

Settling on Washington and Buffalo as the Super Bowl teams shortly before the episodes air date was another chance for the staff to put its football knowledge to use to a degree, anyway. While it would have been easy to dub in Yeardley Smith, the voice of Lisa Simpson, picking another team or teams if either of her picks lost prior to the Super Bowl, staffers were confident Washington and Buffalo the top seeds in their respective conferences as well as the only two teams to score more than 400 points in 1991 would make the big game.

But while the staff decided Lisa would pick Washington to prove her love for Homer, Jean and many of his co-workers recalling teams such as the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Colts, Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins and Oakland Raiders, all of whom lost an early Super Bowl before winning one within the first 15 years of the Super Bowl era ended up making friendly wagers on Buffalo, which lost Super Bowl XXV when Scott Norwoods 46-yard field goal sailed just right in the final seconds of a 20-19 loss to the New York Giants.

Alas, that was the first of four straight Super Bowl losses for the Bills, making them a super-sized version of the Minnesota Vikings, who lost four Super Bowls between the 1968 and 1976 seasons. Lisa called Buffalos last two losses as well: In January reruns of Lisa the Greek in 1993 and 1994, Lisa picked the Cowboys.

I dont know why anybody ever picked Buffalo, Jean said with a chuckle. I remember, as a kid, a team would lose, theyd come back and they would win. With Buffalo, youre thinking OK, they lost the first one, now theyll win the second. And they just kept getting worse every year.

(Here we should note Jean said the Bills wouldnt win this year but that Lisa would pick Green Bay over Kansas City. Lets call it a half-correct prediction?)

While the Bills are back in annual Super Bowl contention, much of what aired on Lisa the Greek serves as a time capsule for the NFL and the Super Bowl circa the early 90s.

Washingtons nickname was dropped prior to the 2020 season after decades of protests by Native American groups. After two seasons of going as Washington Football Team, the organization is slated to announce a new nickname next week.

The idea of a three-hour pregame show was mocked on Lisa the Greek, but the Super Bowl 55 pregame show began on CBS last Feb. 7 at 11:30 AM.

And the Super Bowl XXVI halftime show dubbed Winter Magic and paying tribute to the upcoming Winter Olympics on CBS and including a pair of songs performed by Gloria Estefan ended up being the last of the hokey era. With networks looking to hold viewers who left in droves at halftime in 1992 for Foxs live telecast of In Living Color, the Super Bowl XXVII halftime show by Michael Jackson heralded the start of the extravagant concert era. The trailer for this years halftime show was released last week, when the playoff field still consisted of eight teams.

Fewer than two years after Super Bowl XXVI, Fox went from thumbing its nose at the NFL to becoming part of the establishment by outbidding CBS for the rights to NFC games. Fox began airings NFC games in the fall of 1994, when The Simpsons moved from Thursdays to Sundays, where it has remained ever since. For 10 straight seasons from 2009-10 through 2018-19 the seasons highest-rated episode was one airing immediately after an NFC playoff game.

Theres no question The Simpsons ratings success is hugely due to a football lead-in, Jean said.

And in January 1999, seven years after Troy McClures Handle With Care parodied the idea of launching a dud of a new show in the post-Super Bowl slot (heres to your moment in the sun, MacGruder and Loud and Davis Rules), Fox used the window following its second Super Bowl telecast to launch Family Guy, which was followed by a football-themed Simpsons episode, Sunday Cruddy Sunday. Another superstar-packed Simpsons episode Homer And Neds Hail Mary Pass aired immediately after Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005, followed by the premiere of American Dad.

Nothings changed as much over the past 30 years as gambling itself, which has moved from the periphery into the mainstream. With gambling advice available on innumerable websites and on shows broadcast on every sports network, bettors no longer have to make their picks by relying on a Jimmy the Greek type or cartoonish pitchmen touting their impossibly high success rates via 1-800 lines.

In January 1992, when Homer tried convincing Marge gambling was illegal only in 48 states, a mere $50 million was legally bet on Super Bowl XXVI in Nevada. Today, gambling is legalized in 30 states plus Washington D.C. and casinos and sports books are advertising partners with leagues. More than $500 million was legally bet on Super Bowl 55.

They used to talk about it on Monday Night Football they would be very elliptical, though: So some of you are wanting this kick to go over the crossbar, Jean said with another laugh. But now its like Theyre 3 1/2 point favorites. They know. Its just the line is completely blurred.

Theres a lot more to wager on today, too so much so that with the love of his daughter at stake in 2022, Homer would have plenty of prop bets to consider beyond the point spread or a straight-up winner.

I think he would just make the stupidest prop bet like total number of missed two-point attempts or something where theres no possible way you can think about it and calculate it, Jean said. Its just random.

Will the first player to score a touchdown have a name starting with H? Thats the bet he would make and put a lot of money on.

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Lisa The Greek Turns 30: Al Jean On Super Bowl XXVI, Gambling And The First Simpsons Sports Episode - Forbes

The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, Shell and ExxonMobil are among those pursuing high cost oil projects that wont pay off in a 1.8C world

Fossil fuel firms are gambling on global warming going unchecked and the price of oil remaining high, a Carbon Tracker analysis has claimed.

The analysis says that, if the goals of the Paris Agreement are met then many oil exploration projects will not deliver the returns that their investors are expecting.

It names five projects which are particularly dependent on climate failure although report author and former BP geologist Mike Coffin told Climate Home News they were just five of thousands.

They are the expansion of the Lower Fars heavy oil in Kuwait, Shell and ExxonMobils Bosi field in Nigeria, Petrobrass Tupi and ExxonMobil and Equinors Bacalhau projects in Brazil and the Ichalkil Full project in Mexico.

Four of the five are offshore as these projects tend to be larger and therefore more expensive and time-consuming to build. They all require an oil price of above $50 a barrel to break even.

Oil and gas analyst Axel Dalman is the reports lead author. He said: Companies may see high prices as a huge neon sign pointing towards investment in more supply. However, this could become a nightmare scenario if they go ahead with projects which deliver oil around the time that demand starts to decline. Shareholders could face catastrophic levels of value destruction as prices fall.

The report says that the current high oil price of around $90 a barrel will not last as the worlds transition towards clean energy, particularly for vehicles, lowers demand for oil.

In a 1.8C warming scenario, oil demand will peak and then fall rapidly. To maximise their profits, Carbon Tracker said fossil fuel firms should only meet the rising demand with shale projects, which deliver faster.

To limit global warming to the strongest target in the Paris Agreement of 1.5C, the International Energy Agency has said that there is no room for any new oil and gas production (including shale).

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Even if the world reduces oil demand and the projects disappoint investors, Coffin told Climate Home News that many will continue anyway because, with so much money already spent, the remaining costs will be covered by revenue.

Of the five projects, the most expensive is state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corporations Lower Fars project, at $7.5 billion. Its part of the huge onshore Ratqa field in the north of Kuwait.

To make 10% returns on their investments, the default rate of industry analyst Rystad, the project needs the price of oil to be in the high $50s. That means a huge demand for oil, incompatible with the world meeting its climate targets.

Chatham House Gulf analyst Glada Lahn told Climate Home News: Projects like this gamble on a desperate world in which oil may trade for higher prices as hope of reining in climate change is lost. No sensible investor should be banking on a future for heavy oil.

This project is particularly horrendous from an environmental as well as economic perspective, she said, because it requires high levels of energy and water to get the oil out of the ground and to turn it to a liquid so that it can be transported.

Germany backs gas as transition fuel in EU green finance guidelines

Kuwait is a member of the oil-producing countries club OPEC, which does not expect oil demand to peak until the late 2030s. This is why development in oil production is going on, said Aisha Al-Sarihi, research fellow at the National University of Singapore who has worked on climate policy in several Gulf countries.

The emirate has a target of producing 4m barrels of crude oil a day by 2040, up from 2.4m in 2020.

Kuwait has what claims to be the worlds first sovereign wealth fund, which invests oil wealth in a range of international sectors to enable future generations to face the uncertainties ahead with greater confidence.

Now it urgently needs to invest in transition domestically, said Lahn. That $7.5bn could far more beneficially be spent on efficiency and climate resilience.

Kuwait has suffered increasingly from heatwaves, water shortages, dust storms, sand storms and rising sea levels. According to its governments latest climate plan, these are all made worse by climate change.

Al-Sarihi said Kuwait should use its oil revenues to invest in economic diversification, renewables and hydrogen. If the returns on the Lower Fars project are low, Kuwaiti people will suffer as the government will have less oil revenue to spend, she said.

But, according to Chukwumerije Okereke, a Nigerian professor in environment and development at Reading University, fossil fuel firms pulling out of these projects will also cause problems.

While Nigeria is vulnerable to climate change, it also relies on oil economically. Oil and gas accounts for up to 86% of Nigerias foreign exchange revenues. Nigerias poverty rate is 40%, four times higher than the global average.

Shell and ExxonMobil have said they will develop the Bosi offshore oil field. Carbon Tracker finds the project needs $6.7bn in capital expenditure, wont start pumping oil until 2029 and needs an oil price in the high $50s per barrel.

Shell has promised to reduce its oil production 1-2% a year and focus on value over volumes, making it more cautious about taking on expensive or contentious projects. If it pulls out, Nigerian taxpayers and workers could suffer.

Okereke said: Oil exploration is a major source of climate pollution in Nigeria but also, at least for now, the lifeline of Nigerias economy. The situation in Nigeria now is grave. Nigeria is between the devil and the deep blue sea with regards to stranded assets in particular and climate change in general.

As well as the economics of the global energy transition reported on by Carbon Tracker, Okereje said that local factors like insecurity and environmental degradation were making oil companies rethink their commitment to oil drilling in Nigeria.

It is sad that the poor will be the most impacted by the loss of jobs associated with unplanned energy transition in Nigeria, he said.

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Named: The oil companies gambling on climate failure - Climate Home

To say that Drake makes a lot of money would be the understatement of the century. Through music, which turned him into the biggest superstar on the planet currently, Drake has been able to step into ventures that generate wealth for the unforeseeable future. Not only are his songs andalbums still doing astronomical numbers, Drake has clothing deals,battle rap campaigns (with Smack and the URLTv team),record labels, and other operations bringing in a ridiculous bag. Almost unfairly, his gambling luck struck in a big way recently as well.

Drake posted on an Instagram story that he was playing roulette. This isn't a surprise, due to the copious amounts of money he can blow without issue, as referenced in a 2009 track with Lil Wayne and Birdman. The result of his gambling? A whopping $354,000 output for him to add to his wallet. All of this happened in the comfort of his lavish 50,000 square foot mansion in Toronto.

Speaking of Drake's home,Google recently tabulated the numbers of searches regarding rappers' living quarters. Drake came out on top in search quantity, with more than 1 Million people browsing with the intent of seeing his estate. The only person that accumulated more search action was Elon Musk, billionaire and aspiring entrepreneurial astronaut.

While $350,000 is chump change to a mega millionaire, that is an absurd sum of money to win, especially while sitting in your favorite chair or chilling in bed. We'll see what else the year holds for Drake as 2022 unfolds.

What is your favorite business venture that Drake has had a hand in? Tell us your opinions down below.

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Drake Won $350,000 Gambling From The Comfort Of His Home - HotNewHipHop

Online gambling has become a vast market, especially since the start of the pandemic. As most human entertainment activities shifted to long-distance, so did the gambling games, and the results are astonishing.

The players are now spoiled for choice when it comes to their favourite games, available on smartphones through fancy, sleek apps. These online gambling games will keep you on your toes if youre a fan of pursuing a high score.

This is one of the most popular choices for online gambling, with tournaments going live 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There are both casual and pro poker apps available so that you can play with virtual as well as real money. The game interface is constantly being developed and updated. The games themselves are engaging and fun, so if you are a fan of Poker (whether it is Pineapple, the 5-card draw or the most popular Texas hold em variance), youll instantly fall in love with it.

Online Poker apps are also a great way for building your skills and developing your strategy for the real thing, whether you play with your friends at home or you want to become a professional.

All betting statistics are clear 74% of people in the UK gamble online playing casino games and Blackjack is among their favourite choices for online gambling games. The rules of the game are easy; its all about decision-making, so players dont have to develop any particular skill set. That will keep the senses occupied and the emotions high.

If you want a thrilling game that keeps you engaged while not leaving the comfort of your own home, Blackjack is a no-brainer.

While Poker and Blackjack are experiences that are best felt in person (since human interaction is their pivotal part), slot games are the same wherever you decide to play in a virtual casino or at a brick-and-mortar one. It all comes down to man vs. machine in the end.

They are also the easiest, include no skill whatsoever, and the player relies solely on luck. In the digital versions, the player presses the button and waits for the virtual slot machine to present the results.

There are several variations of the game; some include certain decision-making for the next role, while some just make the player pull the lever and wait to see if the big jackpot is coming their way. It would seem that the fun lies within the simplicity, which makes these online games a staple option for gambling fans.

If you wish to find and download one of the online slot games, various developers have a plethora of options, so youll have no trouble finding what you like the most.

Similar to slot games, dice are luck-oriented and straightforward.

Dice are tossed at the push of a button, and the outcome will decide the winner.

Most dice games have the same rules as poker games; the players try to score the best hand by owning combinations that are the same as in Poker the higher number, a pair, two pairs, three of a kind, the straight (numbers in an increscent order like 1,2,3,4,5), and a poker (four of the same number). There are different iterations of dice games as well, but all of them are simple, easy to learn, and require no skill, so feel free to try them out.

One of the most popular gambling games in history now has an online version. Instead of a physical wheel, there is a virtual one spinning on the screen of your smart device or computer.

Its your job as a player to bet your chips on numbers and colours on the virtual roulette wheel or a combination of numbers and colours while waiting for the roulette ball to land on one of the fields. If the ball falls on a field that youve put your stakes on, its a score for you.

There are several roulette variations, such as European roulette, American Roulette, French Roulette, Mini Roulette, Multi-wheel Roulette, and Live roulette. These various options differ in the total number of fields, combinations of fields that you can stake on, and game mechanics, but the games core system remains the same.

Roulette offers more initiative (compared to dice and slots) to the player who makes the predictions and stakes their chips, so if that is what you are looking for, roulette could be your thing.

Modern technology has managed to fit the entire casino experience in your pocket. So if you are looking to spend your free time staking your chips, playing against others, developing your gambling strategies, or making some easy money, the options are at your disposal.

Finding the best-rated apps, learning the rules, and registering for different gambling games has never been easier. Its up to you to decide what the best way to make your bet is.

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The Most Popular Games in Online Gambling - Salon Priv Magazine

But it may be a difficult row to hoe for the states.

Another National Football League playoff weekend is on the horizon and betting on NFL games is now commonplace in many states. The league itself encourages betting. It has partnerships with gambling businesses. One team, the Arizona Cardinals, will have an in-stadium sportsbook. Not every state has sports gambling but there is a possibility that some of the non-gambling states could have some form of gambling by the 2022 NFL season or in 2023. The candidates for sports betting are Alabama, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri and Vermont but there are some major obstacles to overcome in those states.

In Alabama, legislators have advanced a bill that will permit a state-run lottery and statewide mobile wagering. In Georgia, sports ownership groups including the Atlanta Falcons, the Atlanta Braves, the Atlanta Hawks and the Atlanta United along with voters want sports gambling but lawmakers have said no. Kansas politicians are trying to figure out if they can support a sports gambling bill. Kentucky Republicans are not on board with gambling. The Maine legislature supports gambling, the Governor Janet Mills doesnt. In Massachusetts, the Republican Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker and members of both parties in the Democrat-controlled General Court support sports betting. But no one can agree on various aspects of sports gambling and that has been a hang up for a couple of years. Missouri lawmakers have problems with video gaming terminals. Vermont lawmakers could move ahead with online sports gambling but nothing is certain at this point. Sports leagues protested when New Jersey planned to open a sportsbook after voters said yes to legalized sports gambling in November, 2011. There were lawsuits with lower courts siding with the sports leagues. In 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act that limited betting on college and professional sports.

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Eight States Could Take Up Sports Gambling Legislation This Year - Sports Talk Florida

23 January 2022, 21:50 | Updated: 24 January 2022, 08:48

This was the moment Camilla Tominey was moved to tears by the story of a caller who was saved from his life of gambling by his daughter.

It comes as three former gambling bosses are lobbying investors andMPs tobegin treating the harm that's caused by betting in the same way that they've treated those of tobacco.

Matthew, 50, from Croydon picked up a gambling addiction in his teens, which started with using machines at amusement arcades.

"I got hooked, I don't know how," he said.

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Camilla replied: "The problem withtoday, and why it's so pernicious, is that now a man of your age at the time can just go online and spend all this money."

Matthew explained that a turning point in his recovery was having a daughter.

"I bought her a bottle of bubbles for 40p from a shop. I remember sitting with her watching her trying to blow a bubble, she just couldn't do it. I helped her.

"I walked away from that and I thought you know what, that's the best 40p I've ever spent in my life, and I never gambledagain."

"Aww Matt you're making me well up here, honestly," Camilla said.

Matt explained he must've gambled up to 500,000 but that that moment of connection with his daughter made him think "why did I do all that?".

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Camilla Tominey moved to tears by caller's gambling recovery story - LBC

The furious Democrats who revile Kyrsten Sinema dont know her very well.

She may not have single-handedly derailed President Joe Bidens presidency by ensuring that none of his ambitious legislative agenda ever reaches his desk, but Arizonas senior senator certainly has become the face of the Democrats circular firing squad.

And her highly choreographed speech a week ago in which she rhetorically dug Bidens political grave from her quavering voice to her purple dress to her silver cross necklace understandably made her public enemy No. 1 for outraged Democrats across the nation.

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In the wake of that speech, and the assurance that nothing will ever persuade her to end the filibuster, change how it works to make it more difficult to use to enforce minority rule orcarve out an exceptionto it for voting rights legislation despite the hypocrisy that, barely a month earlier, shevoted to do just that for a bill that raised the debt ceiling pundits have sought to explain her motivations and predict her political fortunes.

Particularly on the left, theres been near unanimity among national political analysts and talking heads that Sinemas obstruction on the filibuster all but destroys her chances of getting re-elected as a Democrat in a state that is in the deep purple phase of transitioning from red to blue.

But I think any analysis that writes Sinemas political obituary wildly underestimates how shrewd she is and fails to recognize a relatively simple truth about todays politics.

Make no mistake: If Kyrsten Sinema thought it was in her best political interest to change the filibuster, shed have been leading the charge.

Ive seen up close how her ambition and politics have changed since 2004, when she was first elected to the Arizona Legislature, and I have no doubt that shes as canny and conniving a politician as Arizona has ever seen. What shes doing now with the filibuster and Biden echoes things she did years ago that have flummoxed if not infuriated her ostensible progressive allies.

Like how she praised Russell Pearce, the scion of xenophobia and nativism who was facing a recall election in 2011, and boasted about being able to work well with him. Or when she co-sponsored legislation that was used to criminally prosecute immigrants who paid to be smuggled into the United States.

Those were both done in service of shoring up her centrist bona fides in advance of a 2012 congressional bid in a purple district. Sinema rightly calculated that those policy positions and votes may anger progressives, but wouldnt alienate most of the white liberal voters she needed to win over in a three-way primary. And when the general election rolled around she could (and did) point to those and other bills as examples of how she would work across the aisle in Congress.

Sinema was elected in 2018 by a slim margin, and she achieved victory because she won over enough moderate Republicans and right-leaning independents who were turned off by Donald Trump. Her opponent was Martha McSally, a fellow congresswoman and a moderate Republican who, in the pre-Trump days, had fashioned herself as someone with an independent streak who wouldnt be beholden to the GOP.

That was a problem for Sinema and the Democrats, who would have much preferred Trump sycophant Kelli Ward who now heads the Arizona Republican Party win the primary, as McSally was tailor-made to appeal to the center-right crowd.

But Trump changed the GOP and McSally, faced with a primary election against Ward, ditchedher outspoken criticism of Trumpand insteadembraced the then-president, believing her senatorial hopes would be dashed if she didnt. That hard pivot gave Democrats all the ammunition they needed to paint McSally as a Trump lackey and for Sinema to present her record of independence as the real deal, unlike her opponents politics of convenience.

In the process, Sinema went so far in crafting her brand as an independent that shewholly distanced herself from the Democratic Party, didnt endorse its candidate for Arizona governor and refused to say if she planned to vote for Republican Gov. Doug Ducey

Heres where the conventional wisdom about Sinemas chances in 2024 falters: There wont be someone who can present themselves as a middle-of-the-road Republican on the ballot. Extremism is the coin of the realm in the modern Republican Party, and its all but certain that whoever wins the partys nomination in 2024 will be less like Martha McSally and more like Kelli Ward. As angry as they might be with her, Sinema knows Democrats will still side with her over a Big Lie-spouting, pandemic-downplaying, misinformation-peddling Republican.

And shes banking on that in her craven pursuit of power. The most important audience ofthat speech about the filibusterwas those center-right voters she won over in 2018. Sinema campaigned as a centrist, and centrists dont do anything that could remotely be considered radical and theres little more radical in the Senate than scrapping the filibuster to pass controversial legislation.

Of course, her gambit isnt without risk. Just this week, Sinema lost a longtime supporter when pro-choice groupEMILYs List withdrew their support.An effort is well underway to mount a primary challengeagainst Sinema, with hundreds of thousands of dollars being pumped into it. Progressive icon Bernie Sanders sayshe would support a challengeto his colleague. A few dozen well-heeled donorstold Sinema theyll close their walletsif she doesnt reverse course on the filibuster.

But if progressives cant find a viable candidate someone who already has a base of support, can raise money and mount an aggressive campaign their disgust with Sinema wont matter. Phoenix Democratic U.S. Rep.Ruben Gallego would fit the bill, and will top progressives wish list. Barring someone like him getting into the race, Sinemas strategy to piss off the left in order to attract the center-right is likely to pay off and position her for a 2024 campaign win.

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Kyrsten Sinema is gambling that her filibuster vote will help her win again in 2024 - Ohio Capital Journal

PayPal has introduced Gamban as part of its online payment settlement service. As a result, online casino players and sports bettors will have the option to self-exclude gambling services. The Gamban software is used to enable vulnerable and at-risk players to take control over their spending habits and ensure that they keep themselves in check when it comes to their hobbies.

Consumers are now able to block payments towards games of chances and games of skill, casino games that run the full spectrum of table and card titles, such as sic bo, pai gow poker, pachinko, keno, blackjack, craps, and more.

Sports betting and race betting are also part of the Gamban solution which will allow players to suspend anything from off-track betting to pari-mutuel betting, sweepstakes, or simple betting. Peer-to-peer offers through dedicated exchanges are also part of the available exclusion and so are lottery ticket sales.

PayPal also can introduce further control on spending habits to help consumers avoid loopholes such as using third parties to facilitate betting or sending money to services that process the funds to send to offshore gambling companies.

As the United States and United Kingdoms gambling industries continue to expand rapidly, PayPals decision to step up and introduce new exclusion and gambling recovery tool is refreshing. The solution comes on top of existing options such as GAMSTOP and GamCare, which allow consumers to exclude themselves further.

Gamban emphasized the importance of payment processors being more involved with gambling-related transactions. One case cited by the company involves a young man in the United Kingdom who had been able to wager $202,000 (150,000) overnight. He used PayPal to deposit, Gamban said detailing the case.

The company reminds us that there are no available statistics that indicate how much money people spend on gambling using PayPal. In the meantime, Revolut, another payment method, introduced changes last week that guarantees that players in Ireland would not be able to use credit cards to fund their accounts and then subsequently deposit into gambling sites.

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PayPal Adds Gamban Solution to Tackle Excessive Gambling in UK, USA - GamblingNews.com

Russian President Vladimir Putin has moved to escalate tensions with Ukraine in recent months by putting a huge and unprecedented Russian military force on its borders while launching a concerted coercive diplomatic effort sketching out new red lines for NATO.

While his next steps are uncertain, some still believe he will ultimately deescalate. However, it is far from clear whether he can do this without losing face if, as seems likely, NATO and Ukraine only concede to very few of his demands. This will loom large in his decision-making process from here on.

So far, Putin has secured a number of wins from the current crisis.

He has got the attention of the Biden administration and the West in general. Biden rewarded him with a summit call in late December, while there have also been subsequent high-level meetings between Blinken and Lavrov and their deputies.

It is important to remember here that the likes of US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan had earlier persuaded Biden to pivot to Asia and focus on the three Cs: Covid, Climate and China. Instead, this year it has been all about Russia. Putin has made clear that he is not just a footnote in US foreign policy but remains the first chapter and maybe an entire book to be written later this year.

Putin has enhanced his image as the guy who calls the shots and the poker player with all the cards. More than ever, he is seen as a leader who everyone has to contend with if they want solutions to the geopolitical problems that he typically creates himself.

He has also forced NATO to focus on security challenges in Europe. By setting outrageous red lines in terms of no NATO deployments to members that joined after 1997, he has made people question further enlargement, particularly to Ukraine.

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By creating a crisis in Eastern Europe, Putin has succeeded in exposing Western weakness and divisions, both within the EU and in terms of Europe's relations with the US. Herein note Emmanuel Macrons ludicrous idea that Europe can decide on its own security arrangements. How does the French President hope to defend Europe against Moscows overwhelming conventional military superiority without US troops?

Germanys role has also been brought into question by tribulations over NS2 together with Berlins incredible double standards in not providing defensive weapons to Ukraine and preventing others from doing so.

Meanwhile, energy prices have been driven higher by the current geopolitical crisis, helping improve Russias balance sheet. That said, this could have been achieved without a military escalation and by just restricting energy supplies to Europe, which also seems to have been done according to IEA chief Fatih Birol.

The crisis has allowed Putin to highlight Russias significant military capability to the world and demonstrate his willingness to use it in support of coercive diplomacy. The build-up along the border with Ukraine has served as a showcase for the huge upgrade achieved thanks to the investments made in the Russian military over the past decade. However, this impressive vision of military might has yet to pass the ultimate test of effectiveness in action and might still be a Potemkin Village.

These are all clear wins for Putin, even if he chooses to go no further. But what about the other side of the ledger?

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If the Russian leader does not proceed with some form of military action in the weeks ahead, his bluff will have been called. Critics will inevitably say that while he was able to move thousands of troops up to the border and make threats, he lacked the gumption to pull the trigger. He had the chance to take Ukraine and he bottled it, they will argue. As a result, any future attempt to threaten a major escalation may not be taken seriously.

By backing away from a military escalation, Putin would risk being accused of failing to secure serious concessions on Ukraine or from NATO. He would be seen as a man who talks a lot and threatens but, when faced with a tough response from the other side, eventually backs down.

While exposing divisions in the West, Putins coercive diplomacy has also shown him to be the main threat to European security. Even in Germany and France, the PR campaign has been lost by Putin and public opinion is shifting against him. The West is uniting around the idea that Putin is a problem and needs to be countered.

This crisis and the pressures put on energy markets in Europe will re-enforce the view that Russia is an unreliable energy supplier. Irrespective of the ongoing debate over the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, this will accelerate Europes diversification away from Russian energy and Russian trade in general, weakening the Russian economy and increasing its dependence on China. This might not be particularly appealing for Putin as Russia faces a huge long-term security threat from China in its Far East.

Crucially, Ukraine has not buckled under Kremlin pressure. Instead, Putins military build-up and the threat of a full-scale invasion have cemented opposition to Russia in the country. Ukrainians have rallied in large numbers to join self-defense units, while the West has come out clearly in defense of Ukrainian sovereignty and the countrys right to self-determination.

Ukraine is currently being re-armed at an accelerated pace, despite this being one of Russias main concerns. Ukraine is now considerably better able to defend itself that at the beginning of the crisis just a few months ago. US military aid has increased while Britain, the Baltic states, Poland, Canada, the Czechs and the Dutch have all stepped up military support or vowed to do so. As a result, the cost of any Russian military victory in Ukraine is now likely to be significantly higher.

Putin is already paying a price for the current confrontation, which is further damaging Russias image as an investment destination. Geopolitical and sanctions risks have increased. Fewer foreign investors will want to invest in Russia and those already there will reduce exposure.

This means higher cost of capital and lower growth. It also means lower living standards for Russians and a greater risk of Kazakhstan-style social unrest. Putin will likely respond with more repression. Russia risks becoming trapped in a vicious cycle of less foreign investment, lower growth, and declining living standards.

Given the numerous negative outcomes Putin presently faces, I would argue that he risks emerging from the current crisis as a net loser unless he proceeds further. Does he see it the same way? If so, will he escalate from here? At this point, he may feel that he has little choice.

Timothy Ash is a Senior Sovereign Strategist at Bluebay Asset Management in London.

The views expressed in UkraineAlert are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Atlantic Council, its staff, or its supporters.

The Eurasia Center's mission is to enhance transatlantic cooperation in promoting stability, democratic values and prosperity in Eurasia, from Eastern Europe and Turkey in the West to the Caucasus, Russia and Central Asia in the East.

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Image: Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Mayor of Moscow Sergei Sobyanin at the Kremlin. January 20, 2022. (Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS)

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Ukraine Crisis: Putin the gambler may have gone too far to back down - Atlantic Council