Microsoft Advertising Texas Hold Em
Too funny. As though MSN Search results didn't already have enough spam in them, now Microsoft is adding further incentive to spam by running advertisements for Texas Hold Em.
Is this Paul Allen's way at getting back at US authorities for fining his Sporting News for advertising online gambling?
Is advertising a search result which leads to online gaming sites legal? If it is legal, would it remain so if they offered paid inclusion like Yahoo! does?
- Y! MyWeb
Why *wouldn't* they
Why *wouldn't* they advertise Texas Hold'em?
P.P.C (the old acronym of "Porn, Pills, Casino") has *always* made money hand over fist.
did you look at the ads on
did you look at the ads on MSN Search for Texas Hold Em... notice there are like none or one or two (depending on when you look)? US online gambling ads are frowned upon in the search space...ie: Yahoo! and Google (at least officially) do not sell them.
>>US online gambling ads are
>US online gambling ads are frowned upon in the search space...ie:
>>Yahoo! and Google (at least officially) do not sell them.
like child porn then eh
Welll....
Being a hardcore gambler, I don't see a problem with gambling ads until I get spammed with the damn things. Besides, with ESPN showing poker tourney's 24/7 it's definitely mainstream, probably going to be in the next Olympics as an official event.
Considering MS is the biggest poker player on the planet, you never know what hand Bill Gates is holding as he bluffs an entire industry before showing his trump cards, I really don't see the problem.
BTW, when Gates uses the lavatory is it a Royal Flush?
I don't get it
Poker is legal all over the US and the world. Why are you thinking this ad is notable?
The better question is why they would advertise a search result where they deliver results very much worse than Google.
Actually..
I'm not 100% certain on the law, but I believe the law states that it is illegal to aid in the promotion of a casino? The DOJ sent out a warning letter last year. I think Google and Yahoo! would run the ads if they didn't feel it'd be a quagmire legally.
I am curious why the search engines haven't caught on to the TV networks by simply allowing these sites to advertise the non-gambling .net version.
I would've worry about it.
I would'nt worry about it. They're Microsoft.
Poker is legal all over the
Actually - its not. Not where poker = online gambling
Most PPC services specifically exclude advertising of gambling:
https://adwords.google.com/select/contentpolicy.html
http://advertising.msn.com/Home/Article.aspx?pageid=708&linkid=3211
Actually it is
The thing just says Texas Holdem, and nothing at all about playing online. Texas Holdem is legal anywhere when not played for money. It's legal when played for money in a lot of places in the US and the world.
All the ad says is to find out about what Texas Holdem is via the free search. Big deal, move on.
Well what if a page says
Well what if a page says "find out about preteen models" and then they advertise it and the serps have a bunch child porn results?
The point is the ad does move people toward something that is illegal. and if it is not illegal to advertise that then what is to prevent any of us from starting our own search engines and filling them with our organic search results for online pharmacies etc?
It's not illegal
You're alleging something absurd. Texas Holdem is perfectly legal, just like the ad could say "What are models?" The organic results for such a search could include kiddie porn pages, but that doesn't mean that it would be wrong to point a link to organic search results for models.
The #1 search term on the Lycos top 50 is poker. There is nothing illegal about poker, although in some places it can be done or promoted or used illegally.
Really, I can't imagine what you are thinking here. The ad does not say "come here to find the ways you can play Texas Holdem illegally." It just points to a popular search that is completely legal everywhere under the right circumstances (played for free).