First the good news...

Sportingbet.com announced yesterday that a Greek player, K. Vasileiadis, managed to win approximately $1.5 million playing at Paradise Casino.

Playing the Super Seven slots game, Mr. Vasileiadis proved that it takes no gambling talent whatsoever to become a millionaire online. The press release does not indicate how much money Mr. Vasileiadis had lost to Sportingbet prior to his big win.

I like this story because it does a nice job of reminding people that online casinos are big enough to have significant jackpots, and are reputable enough to pay out when the jackpots hit.

Now the bad news...

Australia has been following the story of Kym Andrew Sellers, who by all appearances was a well-trusted shares trader, but who also was a pathological gambler responsible for defrauding his clients in the amount of $343,044 AUD (about $320K US) over a 2.5 year period ending in September of 2007.

This situation reveals a system and environment that just wasn't working for poor Mr. Sellers.

Not only was he able to continue losing literally thousands of dollars per day without being targeted for help or exclusion by the gambling site, but as the article describes:

Sellers mounted four computer screens in his office to allow him to work and gamble at the same time.

One screen was permanently fixed on an internet gambling site so Sellers could monitor latest betting fluctuations.

Of course, Sellers is ultimately responsible for his actions, but this is a situation where seemingly any kind of responsibility exhibited by the gambling site or his employers could have easily staved off a bad situation before it started affecting Sellers' innocent clients.

The unnamed gambling site made a few dollars off of Sellers, but they have also put a bit of tarnish on an industry that already struggles to maintain an image of corporate responsibility.