Sameer, Ian, and then Tim wrote: <many different snips throughout>

...

Any enterprising cypherpunks in gambling-friendly jurisdictions interested? I figure it would make ecash take off.. and you'd get rich.

Does anyone know what jurisdictions allow lotteries/gambling?

Here's an off-the-cuff idea:

[Disclaimer: The following post is a gedanken experiment. It should not be interpreted as condoning or encouraging anyone to break any laws, no matter how stupid the laws are.]

Personally, I have long had great _hopes_ for using crypto for non-sanctioned gambling, but I'm pretty skeptical that many people will do it. For one thing, anyone knowledgeable enough to be comfortable with the crytography knows that gambling when a house cut exists is a lose. (And gambling with no house cut is, at best, a wash.)

And then Allen wrote:

How about gambling on something other than random numbers? Idea Futures are one instance, as is sports gambling for those interested in that sort of thing.

[I am posting anonymously, but about a half-dozen of you will know who I am. Please keep it confidential. I have posted (anonymously) a while back on this subject, and I am aware of the lame, hard to use college site which does something similar to what I will again suggest.] I would like to see e-cash gambling on US Presidential elections/primaries [as is currently done in London & Moscow]. There was an interesting W$J article that pointed out how the odds in these gambling houses track the results of elections more accurately (from thousands of miles away) than Gallup & Roper ever have, (and without calling me at suppertime)<g>. The W$J article appeared right after Clinton's victory over Bush. A web-page in London giving the odds in easy-to-read form would be nice, and might quickly lead to demand for actual gambling from "this side of the pond." This could be accomplished through anonymous remailers & strong crypto. It would accomplish the cypherpunk goals of setting important information free through use of our technology, it would encourage gamblers to learn about strong crypto, and it would use crypto for something besides child porn or drugs, which will be good PR for us. There will, of course, be lame arguments about this "demeaning the integrity of the process," but I think Letterman and Leno could be trusted to handle them without our help. ;) <obalice(s) -- please, make it stop!> <obNutscrape & clipper II "cold, dead neurons.">