Gambling on HubPages

1. 72

   Mutiny92posted 9 years ago

   Doing my civic hubhopping duty (smile!) I notice quite a few hubs on gambling.  This is a prohibited topic according to the pop-up
   
   "Promotes gambling or links to sites that promote or offer gambling for money"
   
   So, a simple search on hubpages for "blackjack" reveals http://hubpages.com/search/blackjack 546 mentions of the phrase.  Certainly, not all of them are "promoting gambling" but the first few titles seem to fit that category:
   
   5 Ways to Win at Blackjack
   Blackjack Card Counting Trainer
   How to beat Single Deck Blackjack
   
   Then a search of another popular term "roulette" http://hubpages.com/search/roulette+system reveals 83 more.  I tried simply "roulette" but it is harder to see all of them due to infusion with "chat roulette".
   
   Again, gambling promotional titles like:
   
   Roulette Betting Systems
   Automate Any Roulette System
   
   Online Poker:  http://hubpages.com/search/online+poker - Only 702 results!  Certainly many of these are included with hubs that telling people why it is bad to use them, but... More titles:
   
   List of Online Poker Rooms
   Online Poker Room Reviews
   
   (To be fair, there are online sites that you can play these gambling games for free.  They use imaginary chips like in Facebook.  So there probably is a distinction between "real betting" and "betting imaginary money".
   
   So, 1) Should we be flagging hubs that "promote gambling" and 2) is there a script that HP can run to ID the suspected out-of-compliance hubs for further review?

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   1. 71

      Maddie Ruudposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Not all Hubs about blackjack or poker are actually promoting the betting of money, which is what we are concerned about.  Please do flag any Hubs you come across that promote gambling with money.  Hubs talking about poker rooms that do not involve chips backed with real currency are perfectly fine.

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      1. 71

         Michael Willisposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         I have wondered how far is too far on Gambling at times on Hubpages.
         I wrote an article about Oaklawn Horse Racing Track which is near me, but never published it because I was afraid it might trigger a red flag with HP or Adsense. It never promoted but mentioned the Gambling aspect, the place, special event and where to stay.
         Would this article have passed or was it best to have left it off of HP as I chose to?

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            bgamallposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            IMO that article would be fine. It is more of a travel article than a gambling article. Just don't have links to betting. JMO.

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            1. 71

               Michael Willisposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               Even if the place, such as Oaklawn Race Track has betting? Maybe could just leave that link out, but if I was a reader I would want that link.

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                  bgamallposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                  You aren't profiting off the link so I think you just need to email staff on that link.

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         2. 78

            Sally's Troveposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            I'd like to read that article. I've got a Hub or two in draft about my experiences at Santa Anita and the now-gone Garden State Park. When I write that Hub about Santa Anita, I surely want to link here:
            
            http://www.santaanita.com/
            
            This site is full of the good information you'd expect, but it appears that there is no way to place an online bet on that site (correct me if I'm wrong). Probably the same is true for Oaklawn.
            
            If there are no links to gambling-for-money sites in your Hub (and it seems the major racetrack sites don't offer that convenience), then there shouldn't be a problem.

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            1. 71

               Michael Willisposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               That is what I am thinking. But do not want to lose Adsense (what is left of it-lol)

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               1. 78

                  Sally's Troveposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                  HAHAHA! There do not appear to be any Google ads on the Santa Anita site. What ads there are, are totally upscale...major hotel chains, beverages, cars. This is where I have to applaud HP for their new Ad Program.
                  
                  I'd like to be laughing all the way to the bank, but I'm still hurting from the g-slap. However, the HP Ad Program seems to be picking up the difference.
                  
                  Maybe racetrack site advertising models might point the way down the right road in the future.

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      2. 72

         Mutiny92posted 9 years agoin reply to this

         thanks Maddie!

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   2. 0

      Home Girlposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Why are you taking on yourself a job that clearly belongs to HP? Are you so keen on flagging? Let them be.

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      1. 72

         Mutiny92posted 9 years agoin reply to this

         HomeGirl, I am not "keen on flagging" but I AM keen on protecting the tremendous amount of time and effort I spent writing articles.  It is troubling to see my income evaporate after the google update.  While there is a lot of  speculation on the causes, it is clear that HP was severely impacted.
         
         If I can help by flagging hubs that appear to be out of line with the authorized topics, I think it is appropriate to do so.  I hope that my efforts, coupled with the efforts of all other hubbers will help to reverse this unfortunate adjustment.

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