.net and gambling sites (1.Viewing)

We're seeing more gambling website ads in Canada now, with legal changes happening -- especially noticeable on sports broadcasts (as expected).

One thing I notice is almost all of them are .net. I cringe every time I see/hear it.

Obviously we would all say .com is king and you would only go to .net if desperate. Originally I thought these sites can't get the .com and resort to .net (or that .net is more common for gambling sites - as so many of them now promote the .net - that possibly new sites jump on that for consistency).

Then I punch a few of them into my browser with .com and they do, in fact, reach the correct site (albeit usually a different version). The .net usually is a standalone site (i.e. is not a TV tracking redirect, seems).

Some will tell you .com is for a different region: "This site is not available in this region." -- and, for some, the .net features hockey (the Canadian site? - granted could be personalization at play).

One new one (to me), uses the .net as the full functioning site, and .com is a placeholder of sorts -- just a prompt to create an account. Are they saving .com for a larger market?

Thoughts on this?

(side note: I saw one using .eu in a Canadian ad as well!? - the Matt Sundin one)

For most major casino/poker sites, they use .net for free play and the .com for real money play.

In the past because it was illegal to advertise gambling on TV they would use the .net to bypass that law. In some cases it may be still against the law to advertise gambling on TV and provincially they want you to bet locally so I’m not sure that law has changed.

Exactly, they use the .net so that the "brand" part is identical, but the .net is only a free-to-play site, allowing them to advertise legally. But its really a loss leader so they can upsell you into their pay-to-play site, the .com.

rlm said:

Exactly, they use the .net so that the "brand" part is identical, but the .net is only a free-to-play site, allowing them to advertise legally. But its really a loss leader so they can upsell you into their pay-to-play site, the .com.

Click to expand...

Ahhhhh, makes sense. You can tell I don't partake - heh. Thanks.