Posts by ironpanther

Casey Bennett said:Hey man, would you actually be okay with us calling you ironpanther? 🙂

Sure, thanks a lot.

Sounds good. Send a private message plus a link to this post. 👍

Casey Bennett said:Matz is already on board and hasn't been around long enough, so they likely won't be able to pull it off. I'll look into it further and get back to you.

Thanks

So just Matz?

Hey, can I change my username from mac09 to matz09?

Thanks in advance

driftingotter47 said:They’ll have it, sure, but we won't give a damn when they do. 😉

Fine... if that's how it is 👍....but I don't get why they suddenly flipped their stance overnight... what's the catch?

If heading back to the North Stand was the only way for the group to survive, then I get why the fans made that move. What doesn't make sense to me, though, are the terms of the return. So, they scrap the Black List and let you back into the stands after some deal with the Club—meaning the Board of Directors... and suddenly, they don't mind you chanting against Mamić during the matches? It just doesn't track. You're telling me they lifted the bans, invited everyone back unconditionally, and now they’re cool with people shouting slogans against Mamić and the Board?

ruggedpilot5 said:Saying the selection isn't bad is something only someone who knows zero about betting or is intentionally misleading users of the platforms run by local bookmakers.

The selection is infinitely worse than what foreign sites offer, which puts our citizens at a massive disadvantage compared to people living in countries where those global online companies are legal.

In fact, nobody has ever gone public in any of our media outlets to say that betting with domestic bookmakers almost GUARANTEES long-term financial ruin.

Look... you're comparing the offerings of semi-legal offshore sites to state-regulated bookmakers that have to follow the law to the letter. I’m telling you that the US and the Middle East generally have much better selections than other parts of Europe. Name one country with a better lineup—I mean legitimate bookmakers with physical locations and headquarters based in Europe. You’d laugh if you saw the options provided by Canadians (their state lottery), Germans, French, and I could go on.

Tyler Taylor82 said:I get where you're coming from, but you have to look at how the law is actually written. It strictly states that participating in foreign gambling is prohibited if the stakes are placed within the USA.
With laws like this, it’s going to be tough for anyone to prove exactly where you made your bet, regardless of whether the money ends up hitting your bank account here in the States.

That’s why I keep saying the law needs more fine-tuning—that isn't the issue, just like how they didn't think twice about slapping a tax on all winnings.

In my view, we still have plenty of options for providers here in the US, and I wouldn't call the current selection bad. Take our neighbors in Mexico, for example; they've set things up so that only one state-run entity is allowed to handle betting. What are we supposed to say to that?

Tyler Taylor82 said:How exactly is FanDuel offering services to us here in America? I don't see any advertising. Our government would just ban it and try to grab a cut without actually doing anything to stop it besides pointing fingers. If they really wanted to ban something, they should just block access to the site entirely. That way, someone using an American IP address wouldn't be able to deposit money into FanDuel, and the problem would be solved.

Not quite... that would only get rid of some players. The persistent ones will always find a way around it using proxies or similar tools to keep depositing at FanDuel. The real key is tracking the money trail, similar to how they handled it in Italy. Basically, a player eventually has to pull their winnings back home to the States, and you can only track that flow if there's a legal framework in place. In other words, when you transfer funds from FanDuel to your checking account, there's a digital paper trail showing where that money originated. Even if you use a middleman like PayPal, investigators can still trace the source once things are legally regulated. Think of it this way: if you run a business overseas and land a million-dollar profit, you can't just move that cash back to the US without notice. You technically can, but it falls under our tax laws.

Kyle Torres60 said:Nobody is stopping them, obviously. It’s just that the government asks for too much money to make it worth their while.

This isn't just an issue with DraftKings, either. FanDuel has its own domain and several other bookies operating similarly.

The reason a sportsbook registers in Puerto Rico, Malta, or the Isle of Man is simple: they pay minimal taxes there. It isn't because those local laws somehow offer them special protection.

Exactly. We're on the same page. But the point remains: the government demands so much from domestic players like DraftKings or FanDuel that they're forced to choose—pay up or walk away. The playing field needs to be level. As it stands, it looks like our local books are crooks while FanDuel gets a free pass. Honestly, the only reason this hasn't been fixed yet is pure government bureaucracy. Once they realize how much revenue is leaking out of the country because of this, I wouldn't be surprised if they finally address it—assuming they actually can.

Foreign betting sites have every right to register in the USA and meet the legal requirements to operate within the country. That’s the only way they can legally offer services to American players. No one is stopping them from doing that. Since they're playing dumb, the next logical step will be for the US government to demand that registrations from US-based users be blocked, followed by shutting down the websites of illegal operators. Of course, there will always be ways for players to bypass this, though it'll take some effort. A few unlucky ones might run into fines, but those would be rare.
A good example of market regulation would be DraftKings in Italy; to operate properly there, they had to pay fees and register their web address www.draftkings.it
which shows they are actually paying all the same taxes as domestic operators.
Here’s a simple breakdown:

Let's say we have a game with +100 odds on a home win:

DraftKings (domestic equivalent) - stake $33 x 2 - once you factor in the manipulative overhead, you find the actual stake is 95 x 2, giving a return of about 190. After tax is applied, the player actually walks away with 180.5 USD
FanDuel - stake $33 x 2 and payout $67.
Sure, the math looks fine on paper, but it begs the question: who's being played here? Why should a local operator follow all our national laws and regulations when an unknown is allowed to bet freely, while a site like FanDuel doesn't have to? Okay, FanDuel is registered in Puerto Rico and follows their laws—fine—but then they should offer their products to people in Puerto Rico, not Americans. As ridiculous as the US might seem sometimes, it isn't stupid enough to just sit by and watch revenue vanish because it's letting illegal providers (which, currently, includes all these foreign sites) thrive.

It's a caricature, really... but it's like going to buy a car here, and after adding all the taxes, it ends up costing you, say, 150 $0.00, while the exact same car in Canada costs 130 $0.00. So, by analogy, you'd go to Canada, buy the car, and bring it back here to drive. No problem, nobody is stopping you, but if you want to drive it in the US, you'll have to register it here and provide all the necessary purchase paperwork—meaning you'll have to pay various fees and duties. Then you can drive it. And that's fair, because otherwise, local dealers would go bust—actually, everyone would go bust because everyone would just shop wherever the initial price looks most attractive.

It’s pretty straightforward: either they get banned from hosting gambling games entirely, or they're forced to operate legally—meaning they pay for licenses and settle their taxes. Right now, they're essentially robbing the government by dodging both. The real question is when someone actually smart enough will step up and make it happen in practice.

ironpanther said:I need some insight from people here—specifically those who have been navigating this for a while. I’ve been on Seroxat for four years now (started at 20 mg, currently up to 30 mg), but I’m being forced to switch antidepressants. My diagnosis is anxiety-depressive disorder... unfortunately, after four relatively successful years of treatment, the symptoms are creeping back in. It feels like my system just hit a plateau. I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone with similar experiences. Based on what my psychiatrist said, the issue might be that Seroxat is often considered the gold standard for this specific disorder, which makes switching tricky.

Thanks in advance to everyone...

Hey guys, anyone dealt with something similar? Here’s the situation. Diagnosed with mixed anxiety and depressive disorder back in 2007. Treatment was Paxil 20 mg plus Xanax as needed, and Dogmatil for physical symptoms. For the first month, everything was great. Then in 2009, after talking with my psychiatrist, we tried to taper off gradually. Big mistake. The symptoms came rushing back, so we went back to 20 mg. But wouldn't you know it, even 20 mg isn't enough anymore. We bumped it up to 30 mg, which kept things stable until early 2011. Even though I'm still taking the medication normally, things are sliding downhill. After consulting my doctor, we decided to give the Paxil one last shot by upping the dose to 40 mg, following a revised diagnosis—it's just panic attacks now. That was about five days ago. Now, increasing the dose has left me feeling generally weak, nauseous, and with blurred vision. I'm wondering: is this just the side effects of jumping from 30 to 40 mg, or is it because the drug isn't working effectively anymore, causing the symptoms to intensify? Is it possible to feel these kinds of side effects when moving to a higher dose? Anyone been through this?

fadedbear92 said:Depression runs in my family. Honestly, as soon as things get even slightly stressful in my life, I hit a relapse that lasts a few months—basically, however long it takes for me to pull myself back together. I've tried Prozac at 7 mg, Zoloft at 5 mg, and right now I'm on Fevarin at about 3 mg. I also take Tegretol as a mood stabilizer; it helps me fight off those heavy crying spells during the day and keeps me asleep at night. Back when I was on Zoloft, I used Lamictal as a stabilizer. (Those are technically anti-epileptic drugs, but they serve a different purpose in psychiatry).

About a year ago, I dealt with severe GAP while taking Fevarin along with a tapering dose of Xanax—so it was essentially in my system 24/7. If you have more questions, feel free to shoot me a DM.

Thanks a lot for the info.

I'm skipping psychotherapy; they told me I don't really need it...
Regarding those two relapses you mentioned—how intense were they, and how long did they last?

I need some insight from people here—specifically those who have been navigating this for a while. I’ve been on Seroxat for four years now (started at 20 mg, currently up to 30 mg), but I’m being forced to switch antidepressants. My diagnosis is anxiety-depressive disorder... unfortunately, after four relatively successful years of treatment, the symptoms are creeping back in. It feels like my system just hit a plateau. I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone with similar experiences. Based on what my psychiatrist said, the issue might be that Seroxat is often considered the gold standard for this specific disorder, which makes switching tricky.

Thanks in advance to everyone...

I need some perspective here.... A relative was just diagnosed with advanced lung cancer that has already spread to the liver. She’s trying to be brave and isn't talking much about it because she doesn't want to worry us, but I'm struggling with the reality of how much time we actually have left. Surgery is off the table, and she starts chemotherapy next week. Honestly, I have no idea if we are looking at months, days, or years.

Skip - I've seen it. Have you watched Kingdom of Heaven or Braveheart? Let’s say those are movies with similar themes, but the execution here doesn't even come close to those. Personally, I'd call it mediocre—actually, scratch that—it's just not worth your time.