Gambling is a highly regulated business, so it’s difficult to predict what forms will be allowed on the highway. Maybe air travelers who are stuck on a plane with nothing else to do will be able to gamble with each other. Perhaps gambling services will have to provide full disclosure of the odds against you. The technology will allow people to bet on anything they choose to, and if it’s legal someone is sure to set up a service. It will be possible to bring horse races, dog races, or any other kind of live sports event into your home in real-time, so some of the excitement of the track or stadium will be made available. Many governments raise revenues with lotteries and in the future could provide plug-into electronic lotteries. The highway will make gambling far more difficult to control than it is today.
Predictor: Gates, Bill
Prediction, in context:In his 1995 book “The Road Ahead,” Microsoft CEO Bill Gates writes: ”Advances in technology have already had an impact on gambling. One of the early uses of the telegraph and, later, ticker services was to deliver racetrack results. Satellite television broadcasts contributed to off-track betting. Slot machines have always tracked the progress in mechanical calculators and, more recently, computers. The information highway will have an even more significant effect on both legal and illegal gambling … Gambling is a highly regulated business, so it’s difficult to predict what forms will be allowed on the highway. Maybe air travelers who are stuck on a plane with nothing else to do will be able to gamble with each other. Perhaps gambling services will have to provide full disclosure of the odds against you. The technology will allow people to bet on anything they choose to, and if it’s legal someone is sure to set up a service. It will be possible to bring horse races, dog races, or any other kind of live sports event into your home in real-time, so some of the excitement of the track or stadium will be made available. Many governments raise revenues with lotteries and in the future could provide plug-into electronic lotteries. The highway will make gambling far more difficult to control than it is today.”
Biography:Bill Gates, the most influential technology entrepreneur of the late 20th century, was the primary author of the prediction-packed 1995 book “The Road Ahead” and is the founder and CEO of Microsoft Corporation. (Entrepreneur/Business Leader.)
Date of prediction: January 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Economic structures
Subtopic: Gambling
Name of publication: The Road Ahead (book)
Title, headline, chapter name: Chapter 10: Plugged In At Home
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Page 209
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Guarino, Jennifer Anne