The gambling industry is often portrayed as a gray area, balancing the freedom for individuals to make their own choices with the obligation to protect them from potential harm. This dichotomy is not always understood, especially by those who don’t partake in gambling and struggle to comprehend its appeal.
While gambling can be seen as morally ambiguous, it’s essential to recognize that the field does not exist in a moral vacuum. Personally, I adhere to a guiding principle in my work: I aim to engage in rewarding endeavors alongside people who share similar ethical standards. This principle has consistently served me well, offering clarity and direction. I approach my work with honesty, aiming to keep things straightforward despite occasional challenges.
I often reflect on the saying, "If you never lie, you never have to remember anything," a sentiment I appreciate due to my poor memory, except when it comes to movie trivia from the 70s and 80s.
However, not everyone shares this straightforward approach. Recently, I've observed several complaints about gambling content being appropriated without consent. While established news sites typically credit their sources or link back to the original articles, the issue at hand goes beyond simple content sharing.
This situation involves outright theft. Numerous B2B gambling content sites have had their material scraped and repurposed by various websites, often using AI for minor restructuring without any attribution to the original creators. Entire sites have been duplicated, rebranded, and sold without any of the effort involved in original content creation. These repackaged sites often evade scrutiny because their presentation appears polished, making it easy for others to overlook the lack of integrity.
Generating news stories requires significant investment in time and resources. From conducting research and interviews to editing and promoting, the process demands skill, creativity, and dedication. In contrast, theft merely requires access to AI tools and a disregard for ethics.
The B2B sector has recently blurred lines, with some news portals acting as affiliates. While not all affiliates are problematic, many emerging sites resort to content stealing out of necessity, lacking the resources or creativity to create original content themselves. These opportunists aim for quick profits without the hard work.
In the industry, individuals are often labeled as “bad actors.” I propose an even more fitting term for the most egregious offenders: Steven Seagal.
A significant example of this issue comes from Zoltán Tűndik of Hipther. He mentions previous challenges with copycat sites that, although frustrating, credited back to the original site. However, he later discovered sites that replicated his work entirely, even including author bios, creating a near-identical mirror of his website. With the advent of AI tools, the ability to replicate websites has only accelerated, allowing for the swift reproduction of entire platforms.
Mihail Criclevit from OnlyiGaming has also faced similar challenges. Initially, he chose to ignore the theft until it became evident that a competitor had not only copied the design but had also duplicated the entire content of his website verbatim. Mihail highlighted that his platform’s unique content could not simply be replicated, as it is user-generated. He found it disheartening that there were numerous pages copied exactly, which he considered clear evidence of theft.
Although Mihail had a suspicion about the identity of the culprit, his efforts to address the issue in an industry forum were dismissed, leading to his exclusion for being “too negative.” This illustrates the challenges of defending one’s intellectual property in a community that prioritizes maintaining positive vibes over addressing unethical behavior.
Content theft is prevalent across various sectors globally, not just in gambling. Those engaging in such practices must consider their choices seriously. They aren't stealing out of necessity, nor are they acting heroically. Far from being modern-day Robin Hoods, they are simply thieves using technology to exploit others’ work.
It's crucial to reflect on how they present themselves in social contexts. Rather than admitting to their theft, they might misrepresent their professions, opting for something more respectable rather than owning their misdeeds. This industry is tightly knit, and encounters at events, product launches, or casual gatherings are inevitable. We may very well cross paths and have the opportunity to discuss these issues directly.
