June 10, 1995
Jason Matthews
Playboy Magazine
Bits & bytes: Finally, a truly valuable service on the Internet: gambling. A small company called Internet Casinos plans to offer a casino and sports bookmaking operation on the World Wide Web in mid-May. Here's the tricky part: Players would have to either wire their money or present a credit card before they're allowed to play. But people won't be sitting in a Las Vegas casino where they can see their piles of money get fatter or smaller; they'll be sitting in front of a computer screen, and it may take as long as 48 hours before they receive their winnings. "It's all a matter of trust and credibility, which we have to establish," said company President Warren Eugene. "Why play Doom when I can play and win money at a casino?" Eugene, whose firm is based in the Bahamas, says he is not affiliated with any high-roller backers who dominate the gaming world "although I have had people offer me money that I didn't want to get involved with -- if you get my meaning." We do indeed.