BallaDoc Posted September 28, 2018 Author Share Posted September 28, 2018 Wealth ultimately has to be based on real things. I agree that the City makes a lot of money pushing pixels around computer screens, but at the bottom of that there has to be real stuff; real coffee, sugar, oil or whatever the pixels represent, otherwise the pixels and the activities associated with them are meaningless. Similarly with Airbnb and Uber: somewhere behind the screens there has to be real activity in the real world, people cleaning rooms, making beds, filling cars with petrol, and so on. I worry about an economy which is based on little more than sleight of hand, or skimming off profits from the people doing the real work, because it seems to be that it's vulnerable to going away if circumstances change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lxxx Posted September 28, 2018 Share Posted September 28, 2018 15 minutes ago, BallaDoc said: Wealth ultimately has to be based on real things. I agree that the City makes a lot of money pushing pixels around computer screens, but at the bottom of that there has to be real stuff; real coffee, sugar, oil or whatever the pixels represent, otherwise the pixels and the activities associated with them are meaningless. Similarly with Airbnb and Uber: somewhere behind the screens there has to be real activity in the real world, people cleaning rooms, making beds, filling cars with petrol, and so on. I worry about an economy which is based on little more than sleight of hand, or skimming off profits from the people doing the real work, because it seems to be that it's vulnerable to going away if circumstances change. But this is evolution. In a world where 3D printers can build houses and an App on a smartphone can do away with your local branch of a bank we either move with the times or we wither and die. Granted we need to balance the economy with real things and I think quality organic food production can be one important market, hemp and medicinal cannabis if we had forward thinking politicians could be another. However we can't be too choosy about how we grow our economy, only that it grows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uhtred Posted September 28, 2018 Share Posted September 28, 2018 2 hours ago, GD4ELI said: Gambling has been around for 5,000 years at least and there are no signs that it'll disappear any time soon. I bet it’s longer than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbie Bobster Posted September 28, 2018 Share Posted September 28, 2018 5 hours ago, BallaDoc said: Ye Gods. Am I the only one who has a problem with this? As I understand it, the basics of e-gaming are these: you take a pound from each of 100 people on the basis that they all have a chance of winning a lot of money. 99 out the 100 get nothing. The remaining one gets 85 pounds. The organisers get 15 pounds (assuming a gaming yield of 15%, which I believe is the industry standard). No physical goods are produced. And this, according to Quayle, makes up 28% of our economy, and that's a good thing. Point of information - this is not a description of Pokerstars business model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BallaDoc Posted September 28, 2018 Author Share Posted September 28, 2018 16 minutes ago, Bobbie Bobster said: Point of information - this is not a description of Pokerstars business model. Really? I would be genuinely interested to know what the PokerStars business model is, and in particular, the gaming yield. I spent quite a long time trying to find out what the percentage profit skimmed from the punters by the gaming companies is. I did multiple Google searches for phrases like "gaming profits", "gaming overheads" "gaming revenue" etc. but came up empty handed each time. I eventually found this under "gaming yield": https://mannbenham.com/gaming-law-on-the-isle-of-man-chapter/ which is sort of what I was looking for, and mentions a figure of 15%, but I don't know if Poker Stars' profits are higher or lower than this. For an industry which makes up 28% of the economy, it's surprisingly difficult to find out basic information about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbie Bobster Posted September 28, 2018 Share Posted September 28, 2018 It's based on a transaction charge. They don't run a book if I understand correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BallaDoc Posted September 28, 2018 Author Share Posted September 28, 2018 Right. And the transaction charge is...? I've done a Google search for "Poker Stars transaction charge" and I'm still drawing a blank. Perhaps Mr Quayle would know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the stinking enigma Posted September 28, 2018 Share Posted September 28, 2018 Pokerstars take a rake from each game. Very small as a percentage but there's a lot of games played. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BallaDoc Posted September 28, 2018 Author Share Posted September 28, 2018 My curiosity has got the better of me and I have sent an email inquiry to the Gambling Supervision Commission about what the "gaming yield" is, or ought to be. I'll post any reply I get here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc.fixit Posted September 28, 2018 Share Posted September 28, 2018 .......I still don't understand, how can finance and production just keep on growing?................there must be a finite limit.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheTeapot Posted September 28, 2018 Share Posted September 28, 2018 Finance can keep growing through the constant use of debt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Non-Believer Posted September 28, 2018 Share Posted September 28, 2018 19 minutes ago, TheTeapot said: Finance can keep growing through the constant use of debt. Well, we've got plenty of debt so the sky must be the limit for us Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pongo Posted September 28, 2018 Share Posted September 28, 2018 30 minutes ago, doc.fixit said: .......I still don't understand, how can finance and production just keep on growing? You raise a good point. Far too few people have a basic concept of these issues - given that basic economics is at the root of our ability to fund essential services. The increase in the production of spoons and specific widgets, is clearly finite. Growth per se clearly isn't. And liquidity, which facilitates spending, can be created and destroyed at will by governments in concert with central banks. It's just about money really - which is just some numbers on a screen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yootalkin2me Posted September 28, 2018 Share Posted September 28, 2018 11 hours ago, P.K. said: Someone pointed out that "To some people gambling is a disease which makes the IOM a nasty little pool of infection in The Irish Sea...." How you can have a pool in a sea wasn't explained.... A whirlpool perhaps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yootalkin2me Posted September 28, 2018 Share Posted September 28, 2018 8 hours ago, Billy One Mate said: Must admit I struggle with this being a positive from a moral prospective in that its an industry just distributing money from one person to another and not actually producing anything, although some would say people get enjoyment from it just like drinking a pint down the pub. However its a Global Industry, here to stay so why not have a good share of it on the Island and encourage its growth as it definitely produces economic benefits for our Island. Anything to stop us going back in time and becoming savages eh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.