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Is the Gender Pay Gap Real?

While it’s universally acknowledged women are paid less than men, there are a number of differing thoughts on why it happens. What’s more, some pundits have stated that doesn’t necessarily mean the gender pay gap really exists.

So, where does the truth lie?

Is the gender pay gap real?

Let’s take a look.

What is the Gender Pay Gap?

Simply put, the gender pay gap is the difference in pay between women and men. While there are many different ways to calculate the disparity, there does appear to be unanimity. Women are largely paid less than men.

Moreover, women of color experience an even broader gulf in compensation for their work. According to Census Bureau statistics, women earn on average 18 cents less than men. However, when broken down by ethnicity, it’s an average of 10 cents less for Asian women, 21 cents less for Caucasian women, 38 cents less for African American women, 43 cents for Indigenous women and 46 cents for Latinas.

However, some say looking at the numbers alone misses the point.

Why is it Disputed?

In a 2016 article for Forbes entitled, Don’t Buy into the Gender Gap Myth, Karin Agness Lips asserted the notion of the gender pay gap was nothing more than statistical manipulation designed to convince women they’re being victimized by discrimination.

She said the data fails to account for the different choices men and women make in terms of education and experience, as well as the number of hours worked by each gender.

To bolster her position, Ms. Lips quoted author Hanna Rosin as having stated the fact that statistics show women’s earnings are a certain percentage less than men’s, does not mean they are making a corresponding amount less for doing the same work. One must be careful to perform exact comparisons, lest the result be skewed.

On the Other Hand

Four years later, also in Forbes, in an article entitled On Equal Pay Day, What Is The Real Gender Pay Gap? Kim Elesser said while those choices do matter, that logic doesn’t hold up. Ms. Elesser’s position is that such comparisons ignore the role societal gender bias plays in women’s career choices, promotions and childcare.

In other words, simply running the numbers and saying, “it’s because men and women do different work,” fails to take into account the differences in opportunities for men and women. These can constrain the choices women can make before they ever negotiate a salary offer with an employer.

She says the only true way to accurately measure is to run a gender pay gap analysis in which an organization’s average male worker’s salary is measured against the average female’s. Where there is a discrepancy, there is also the likelihood of bias.

So, Who’s Right?

Whatever the cause, the gender pay gap is very real.

Moreover, it affects us all in a number of different ways. In households in which women are the sole breadwinner, or contribute significantly to the household income, the likelihood of poverty is greater because women are paid less. In fact, 56 percent of children living in poverty live in households headed by women.

When it comes to Social Security benefits, the pay gap means women receive lower payments each month. It also means they had less money to put toward retirement plans, so their post-career choices are often more restrictive than those of their male counterparts. As a result, more than twice as many women over the age of 65 live in poverty than men.

One more thing, closing the gender pay gap would add some $512 billion to the nation’s GDP.

So yes, the gender pay gap is very real — and we all suffer because of it.

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The Government has cancelled its review of workers’ rights – what does this mean for UK employment law after Brexit?

By Pia Sanchez

On 14 January 2021, barely 2 weeks after the UK and the EU signed the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) that covers the terms of the UK’s future relationship with the EU, the media reported that the UK government planned to ‘tear up’ EU employment law protections and that it had already started consulting with some business leaders. This was fiercely criticised by trade unions and opposition figures, which led to the Business Secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, to confirm a week later that the review of employment rights would no longer take place.  We can therefore assume no changes will be introduced, at least in the short-term.

The UK’s scope to reform employment law legislation post Brexit is fairly limited under the terms agreed under TCA in any event. The TCA specifically covers social and labour protections, setting an expectation that neither party will digress much in its legislation from the other.

The TCA contains a “non-regression” clause such that neither party can weaken or reduce its levels of social and labour protection below the levels in place at the end of the transition period (31 December 2020) in a manner that would affect trade or investment between the parties. The agreement is clear that it will also include a party failing to effectively enforce its law and standards. The purpose is to ensure that neither party waters down protections to undercut the other.

The UK will have some discretion to make minor amendments to employment law, but it is unlikely that Brussels will tolerate much deviation.  Any dispute that threatens to affect “trade and investment” will be subject to the dispute resolution mechanism set out in the TCA – how this will be interpreted and evidenced in future remains to be seen.  The government’s January announcement may have been an attempt to test the waters and used to appease calls within the Conservative party for the UK to show more independence from the EU.

workers’ rights

Under the TCA, EU Directives and EU derived legislation in existence up to 31 December 2020 will continue to be retained by the UK. Decisions by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) as at that date will also be binding.  Employment tribunals will therefore continue to apply existing EU case law and to read domestic legislation in line with EU law. The UK Court of Appeal and Supreme Court will however be entitled to depart from CJEU decisions “if it seems right to do so”. In practice, we should expect little departure by the UK courts as any major departure risks breaching the non-regression clause and may lead to protracted appeals in cases. 

In terms of future legislation, the UK will not be expected to transpose future EU Directives into domestic legislation. The non-regression clause includes a requirement for both the UK and the EU to strive to increase employment law protections, creating the expectation that the parties’ legislation will evolve in parallel with each other to avoid major differences. It will be interesting to see the approach adopted by the UK in future, particularly with new EU Directives in the pipeline.

What changes can we expect in future?

As part of its January announcement to review employment rights, the government had been expected to target the Working Time Regulations 1998 which serves to implement into domestic law the EU Working Time Directive. This Directive remains binding on the UK and it sets minimum standards on working practices such as rest breaks, weekly working hours and holiday pay.   

Employer and employees alike would welcome greater clarity and a simpler system for calculating holiday pay and clear rules for the carry-over of holiday entitlement. 

In recent years, case law interpreting the Directive has led to cumbersome requirements for employers. For example, a requirement that employers must keep detailed logs of their workers’ working time – an obligation which is often not followed by UK employers nor subject to strict enforcement.  Holiday pay and how this should be calculated if workers receive additional pay entitlements such as allowances, commission payments and overtime pay is another area riddled with complexity.  Employer and employees alike would welcome greater clarity and a simpler system for calculating holiday pay and clear rules for the carry-over of holiday entitlement. 

Less popular would be a proposal to remove the average weekly 48-hour limit. Employees in certain sectors already “opt out” of this as part of their employment contracts, but the limit remains applicable in the vast majority of workers’ contracts. 

A study by NordVPN Teams, suggests that since March 2020, UK home workers have increased their working week by almost 25% staying logged on to their computers for an average 11 hours a day compared to 9 before the pandemic started.  New legislation could be introduced to protect workers and bolster existing rights, for example, to ensure that home workers can request adequate rest breaks, have a right to “clock off” from work after completing their contracted working hours, without an expectation that they should continue to check emails after hours and be contactable.  A review could also include an evaluation of the adequacy of the current body of health and safety legislation to protect the wellbeing of home workers.

Brexit

Collective consultation obligations applicable in redundancy situations is likely to be a target for reform.  Many believe that collective consultation obligations should be triggered only when a higher number of employees are affected – a proposal unlikely to be welcomed by trade unions.

TUPE legislation (applicable when there is a transfer of the ownership of a business) may also be reviewed. Employers have long complained of the difficulties caused by the legislation’s prohibition to harmonise terms and conditions of employment if changes are related to the transfer – these are rendered null and void.

Other possible changes may include the reform to The Agency Worker Regulations 2010 – perceived to be cumbersome by employers, and a cap on discrimination awards similar to the cap that applies to unfair dismissal cases.

With unemployment figures already reaching 5% affecting 1.72 million people and expected to rise by 7.7% by the Bank of England by the middle of 2021 when the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (furlough) comes to an end, any substantial reform that is perceived to water down workers’ rights is likely to prove extremely unpopular.

Calls to provide greater protection those highlighted to be the most affected by the coronavirus pandemic, such as those with underlying health conditions, women, parents with caring responsibilities -who are most likely to be selected for redundancy, workers on zero hours and in the ‘gig’ economy must form part of any review to improve social and labour provisions in the current climate. An improvement to the working conditions of those who fall in these categories falls squarely under the TCA’s non-regression clause which requires the UK to strive to improve social and labour conditions.

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About the Author

Pia SanchezPia Sanchez is a Senior Consultant at CM Murray specialising in employment and partnership law. Pia advises multinationals, law firms, financial institutions and senior executives on all aspects of contentious and non-contentious HR issues, frequently with a cross-border element. Pia is a bilingual Spanish speaker, named ‘Consultant Lawyer’ by the Mexican Government to advise its diplomatic mission in the UK.

A Brief Look at Why the Not So Quick, Not So Rich Path to Success Works for Most People

You are familiar with schemes that suggest a person can become wealthy without much by way of process. We call it a get rich quick scheme. And such ideas are universally rejected as scams. One way you can recognize a scam without even knowing the details is by evaluating how little output and effort it requires to get the promised result of great wealth. If the effort is too small, the resources too little, and the reward too great, it’s a scam. Run away!

Effort, investment, and wealth make up a classic “three things” conundrum. You have to pick two. You can get rich quickly, but it isn’t easy. You can get rich easily, but not quickly. Or you can go the quick and easy route, but not get rich. This is why the compromise of hard work, but not too hard, paired with investment, but not too much investment, gets you financially stable, even comfortable, but not rich. We call it the middle class. Put a little more time or investment into the mix and you can get to wealth. You just have to decide how much wealth you are after. Here are a few things to consider if you want to do better than average:

Risk

The stock market is a great place to learn how money works. It is also a great place to learn how to leverage risk and reward. You don’t have to be wealthy to participate in the markets. You might find it helpful to start with penny stock news. Information is the key to sound investing. You can strike it big with only a moderate investment of money. But you still need to put in the effort. Most of that effort comes in the form of research.

Striking it big is an allusion to finding gold. Relatively few people got rich that way. Most didn’t put in the research to know where to dig. Others didn’t invest in the necessary equipment and manpower to make it happen. They were willing to risk a lot for an uncertain and statistically improbable reward. Don’t allow the bulk of your investments to fall in the category of the statistically improbable. Investing isn’t gambling. It is leveraging information, effort, and resources for maximum efficiency in performance. Start with information and you will have a better chance of ending with reward.

Education

Whether it be in finance or the arts, education is the best gift you can give your child. It is also one of the best methods available to speed up the get rich equation. A great education takes time. So you can’t get rich quickly and have a complete education. Take the time to learn what you need to know, and you will have a fighting chance at whatever you desire.

Great wealth is not even the goal for most people. The path of an educator is not great wealth, but life satisfaction. Some would say that is more valuable than material wealth. Whatever profession you decide to follow, it is certain that you will make more money when you take the time to maximize your education.

Buying Happiness

It sounds weird. But money actually can buy happiness. Just try getting rid of all your resources a little at a time. You will notice yourself getting less happy by the day. The real question is how much does happiness cost. There has been a lot of research in this area. What we learn is that happiness can be measured in time as well as money.

People found that things like not having to do chores were worth about $18,000. It is a way of expressing time-affluent activities in terms of money. Would you rather have an extra $4,000, or an extra week of vacation? Happiness is not always about the pursuit of more money. It is about the things that are more important than money that money can help you achieve. You need enough money for those things, and little more. At some point, the pursuit of money detracts from the things that really matter to you and make you the happiest.

Getting rich quick isn’t all it is cracked up to be, even if you could do it. Take things a little slower and you can do a better job balancing risk vs. reward. Complete your education and ensure you can do work that is meaningful to you. And evaluate what makes you truly happy so you don’t let the pursuit of more money decrease your ultimate joy. There is a reason they say slow and steady wins the race.

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How To Upgrade Your IT Infrastructure & When Should You Do it

Adding a virtual server, Hyper-Converged Infrastructure, or cloud service can be viable options for an IT infrastructure upgrade.

A business that focuses entirely on IT-based works or services needs a timely upgrade to keep up with today’s fast-paced companies.

Most companies stick to their outdated, slow IT technologies. Therefore, they cannot satisfy customer needs & eventually lose potential clients. If you haven’t changed outdated networks, use slow-paced networks, you are still in the Bronze Age. Within a few years, the number of online devices will exceed the earth’s total human population.

So if you aim to beat your competition & provide the best user-friendly services to the customers, upgrading your IT infrastructure is of optimum importance.

Signs That Tell You That You Need An Upgrade

Stats show that, on average, most IT companies spend most of their time maintaining service quality rather than working on innovating. That happens when you use backdated, old, slow-paced networks.

The following signs are the red flags that tell you to take a look at your IT infrastructure-

1. Backdated Software

Software is the oil that keeps your IT infrastructure running. If you still like to stick to the saying, “If it ain’t broke, why fix it?” then that’s not going to work.

An almost dead software is too slow & puts your entire system at risk. You can never tell when the software will shut down as it is approaching its end.

So, update your software’s security patches regularly & if it’s closing to the end of life, upgrade it. Using up-to-date software can guarantee you improved productivity & better cybersecurity. By minimizing the long-term costs, you can achieve better efficiency. Moreover, the employees can enjoy hassle-free service.

You can hire professionals like Real Computer Solutions to upgrade your software and provide many other services like software and IT management, development, and maintenance. You can visit https://www.realcomputersolutions.com to know more about their services.

2. Slow System

Nothing is more frustrating than seeing the loading sign blinking for eternity on your computer’s screen. A slow system is worse than a nuisance. It affects your employees’ productivity & willingness badly.

Moreover, the whole company comes to a standstill, not to mention your service’s image to the clients.

If you regularly face slow system issues, the problem is severe & needs immediate attention. However, the underlying issues can be storage shortage, limited bandwidth, or low processing power.

3. Regular Server Crashing

If you experience server crashing issues more randomly, it’s a red flag. The problem may be more severe than you think. The primary reasons for server crashing are low airflow to the server room, low processing power, or storage shortage.

In the worst-case scenario, your server may get attacked by malware infection or corrupted disks. If the server remains down for a while, your business can be affected badly.

4. No Cloud Service

In today’s fast-paced IT industry, the importance of cloud service is known to everyone. If your company isn’t using cloud computing, you are lagging in the IT sector’s revolution.

With the assurance of higher collaboration, scalability & flexibility, cloud computing can keep all your employees on the same software level.

Migrating to the cloud service will help the employees achieve flexibility, improved collaboration with others & overall consistency. Cloud service increases processing power & storage facilities, too.

5. No Reliable Backups

A reliable backup is pivotal for conducting any IT-based business. Sadly, most companies do not pay attention to a solid backup plan.

That said, in terms of emergency or breach, your company may get destroyed. With no solid recovery plan or backup, you may suffer from vital data loss & in large quantities.

That said, investing in a solid backup is important. Implementing a system for data recovery & establishing that process is crucial. Cloud hosting can be a viable option in this regard.

6. IT Solutions Cost Too Much

The older the technology, the more the cost for the upgrade & repair. This situation is more like the nickel & dime effect as costs build up alarmingly over the long haul.

However, your cost shouldn’t balloon out of control just to make sure your technology is up & running.

Instead of using the stopgap strategy to address the issues close to hand, focus on the existing technology’s long-term upgrade.

7. System Breach

It is the final & the worst-case scenario that reminds you to upgrade the infrastructure. No matter how minor the breach is, it’s a reminder of your service’s vulnerabilities.

That said, you should do a complete upgrading of the technology, starting from changing your old hardware, updating security and software, and implementing a devops platform as a service to better manage cloud infrastructure.

System breach can affect your reputation badly. So, take caution of the situation before it happens.

Possible Solutions To Updating Your IT Infrastructure

If you want to upgrade the pre-existing IT infrastructure, the methods discussed here can come in handy:

1. Adopting Virtual Server

Server virtualization is an excellent deal if you want to transfer to a new platform of data analyzing, sorting & sharing. Surprisingly, making this recent transition move is relatively easy & straightforward.

However, you also have to consider the limitations too. Sometimes it becomes tough to make changes & accommodate accordingly in comparison to the traditional infrastructure.

2. Hyper-Converged Infrastructure

Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI) is one of the most recent technologies for updating IT infrastructure. Here you move on from hardware-based services & adopt new form factor node technologies.

These small nodes work as storage providers to RAM, CPU & Storage with little complexity. However, to avail of this service, you need to give up the traditional infrastructure. HCI also offers many intricate services like disaster data recovery, reduplication & backup.

But this method isn’t flawless either. You become dependent on one sole provider for such services as this technology is still developing & uncommon. That said, it raises substantial financial risks.

3. Cloud Computing Services

As mentioned earlier, cloud computing services can be a viable option. It mitigates the issues with traditional IT infrastructure by allowing greater agility, performance & flexibility.

However, it’s not a cost-saving approach. You need to pay a hefty amount to keep the cloud running.

Final Thoughts

Upgrading your IT infrastructure can be daunting as there is no universal solution. You need to select one based on your suitability & convenience. However, it’s better to consult with a specialist before undertaking any upgrade for his unbiased opinion.

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9 Email Types To Start Sending For SaaS Customer Success

Selling software as a service (SaaS), particularly in a business to business  (B2B) setting requires a nuanced approach in order to achieve customer success, which in turn is vital to the success of your business. Smooth on-boarding of new customers is crucial to growth in the field of SaaS as customers expect fast and easy set-up and immediate results. Effective communication with your existing clients also ensures that they become loyal lifetime customers and maintaining retention of their interest in your software will also lead to recommendations as they refer other clients to your product. Paying  close attention to the type of emails your marketing and customer support departments send out to both clients and potential leads is vital. The message that your emails get across to your audience can make or break your company; with consumer email inboxes being inundated with hundreds of sales pitches daily, striking the right balance between simplistic efficiency and personalized attention to detail is paramount. There are a number of tried and tested strategies here to utilise best practices for customer success, and we have researched the nine most important emails you can send out to your clients for effective communication that achieves results all round.

1. The Welcome Email

One of the most important emails your team must send out, is a carefully worded welcome email to new customers. You will need to familiarise them with your brand and your product,  set the tone for your relationship and make them feel good about their initial interaction with you. First impressions really do count here, so make sure your initial point of contact is swiftly executed and personalised to make the customer feel special. This email needs to build  momentum with your client so that they feel motivated to follow through with their initial decision, and the ideal way to go about this is to include a boldly worded call to action or clickable button that sets the customer a goal to proceed with for their next step in setting up their software package.

2.  The Support Email

Many clients struggle with the initial set-up of software that they are not familiar with. In order to avoid frustrations surfacing with respect to this, it is good practice to follow up your welcome email with a support email outlining answers to frequent problems, providing links to extra guidance and offering friendly, approachable, tailored help options via your software customer support team. A positive introductory tone from your support team in this type of email can make a significant difference to customer perception of the product. Most of the interactions that your customers will make over the lifetime of their product plan will be with your customer support team should any issues with the software arise, so this is a really important area in which to build a trustworthy rapport. To go the extra mile, use what data analysis you have at your disposal to check up on your client’s usage, and pre-empt any potential glitches or bugs ahead of time.

3.  The Thank You Email

All consumers respond positively to good manners and gratitude from businesses that they have chosen to invest their time and money into. While recipients of the “Thank You” email are unlikely to spend much time responding and may only briefly scan this follow-up message, it will nevertheless score you brownie points in their general perception of your brand and keep your company at the forefront of their mind. While it may seem like a small gesture, you can make  additional use of this type of email by politely requesting customer feedback. This is a good opportunity to engage further with your clients and develop a lasting relationship, by troubleshooting early and responding to their opinions.

4.  The Product Changes Email

All software services require fundamental fixes and updates from time to time. This is a necessary aspect of an industry that relies on current behavioural trends and technology. However, humans are often innately resistant to change and as such, when surprised by  unexpected software updates can feel alienated. Ensure that your clients are aware in advance of any changes you intend to make to your software in order to prevent any frustration in this area, and list how it will affect their usage.

5. The Advertorial Email

Many software service users do not make full use of the potential capabilities of the product they invest in, and as a result can end up dissatisfied with it’s productivity. Wise words from  our tame tech blogger, Jonathan Saunders at Big Assignments and Paper Fellows, are to “keep your clientele up to date with creative new ways to utilise your product by sending them handy how-to tutorials.”

6. The Incentivised Plan Email

Generating a new lead is always great for growth, but so is building on existing leads. Encourage existing clients to upgrade their plan by up-selling or cross-selling them your premium packages. You can incentivise this type of action by marketing a discounted deal for new or loyal customers, or by offering a free trial period during which they can experience the benefits for themselves.

7. The Business Blog Email

When it comes to engaging with new clients, publishing free content is one of the most effective tools. Consumers have been shown to respond best to businesses that provide the most  accessible information, so circulating a regular company blog is a real winner. This type of content can make good use of positive testimonials and also provide helpful guidance from software experts. You can also use customer success story templates to show your previous clientele.

8. The Milestones Email

Finally, we have a great piece of advice from a professional email writer at Essay Help and Boomessays. Eva Santiago stresses the importance of “give[ing] your clients something to celebrate. Mark important milestones in your customer- relationship  with a personalised email and share your business achievements with them too.” Success breeds success, so ensuring your customers are aware of your progress as a competitive company will likely encourage lifetime value from them.

Armed with these nine varieties of emails to send to your clients, your software service business is certain to prosper. Keep your content simple and friendly, with personalised touches where possible, and that all important consumer relationship will ensure your clients stay on board, wherever your business is headed.

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About the Author

E-learning consultant, Lauren Groff, writes at Essay Writing Service and Paper Writing. Lauren’s also contributes to State Of Writing.

Saving the Philippines’ Overseas Workers

By Maria Pilar Lorenzo

Mobility regimes have for a long time enabled overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to harness new capital and boost development back home. But amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the precarity of these workers’ lives has been made all too clear. Both land-based and sea-based OFWs are among the hardest hit by this tide of unemployment.

While 323,537 OFWs lost their jobs from February to May 2020, this number is estimated to reach over one million by the end of 2021. Over 200,000 OFWs had already returned home by August 2020 — 102,652 land-based repatriates and 101,048 sea-based — and this figure may reach 400,000 by the end of 2020.

For the Filipino labour migrants who remain abroad, many of them suffer from income loss due to the ‘no work, no pay’ scheme. Border closures and lockdowns are common, resulting in restrictions on movements that affect labour schemes. Although the direct effects of these restrictions — foremost being the loss of income — may be temporary, the employment gap can generate secondary impacts that could outlast the pandemic and create various forms of insecurity.

A job loss not only affects an OFW but also their family. The First Quarter 2020 Consumer Expectations Surveyindicates that 94 per cent of OFW households allotted remittances to food and other household needs, 67 per cent to education, 51 per cent to medical expenses, 45 per cent to savings, 23 per cent to consumer durables and 17 per cent to debt payments.

Looming prospects for repatriation compounded with the possibility of contracting the virus is also a source of depression for OFWs. Undocumented and irregular migrants — and those who work in informal sectors — are more vulnerable to the risks of COVID-19 due to inadequate access to healthcare and already crowded living conditions. Many are entangled in poor working conditions.

Only a limited number of labour migrants from developing countries are equipped with social protection coverage as most hail from the lower bracket of society. Research shows that 23 per cent of international migrants have either legal status but no access to social protection in their host country or live as undocumented migrants with limited access to social security.

More explicit provisions of employment protection and social safety nets need to be offered in both migrant-sending and migrant-receiving countries. Previous crisis situations — especially the Gulf War experience that resulted in the biggest repatriation of OFWs prior to COVID-19 — caused the Philippine government to craft a crisis framework. This includes the mandated foreign employers and companies’ contingency plan for OFWs in times of crisis, repatriation assistance as enshrined in the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995, and the Joint Manual of Operations in Providing Assistance to Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos produced by various Philippine government agencies.

But unlike previous epidemics such as SARS, Ebola and MERS where the impact was geographically contained, the Philippine government is confronted with the formidable challenge of assisting OFWs scattered across the world. The pandemic requires not only a whole-of-government approach but also of a whole-of-nation approach. It is within this ambit that Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte raised the COVID-19 Adjustment Measures Program in his 2020 State of the Nation Address.

The Philippine government has already extended some financial assistance to displaced OFWs through the DOLE-AKAP initiative. But at US$200 per worker, this aid may prove to be insufficient in the long-term considering that the lockdown has spanned for months and prospects for employment are uncertain given the economic recession. Other long-term means of relief — such as the Department of Labor and Employment’s Displaced/Disadvantaged Workers (TUPAD) program — need to be maximised, as such programs target employment generation and not merely cash assistance.

In migrant-receiving countries, the Commission on Human Rights has urged Philippine diplomatic missions to provide unconditional opportunities for OFWs to register their grievances, especially before they are repatriated. Policies encouraging OFWs to undergo retraining and reskilling instead of repatriation have to be promoted. The Philippine government needs to leverage its diplomacy to attract the best deal for OFWs and avoid resorting right away to providing livelihood programs for repatriated OFWs.

In better days, OFWs have been lauded for the economic boost they inject into the Philippine economy despite the social costs they endure abroad. Effective and swift labour migration policies and programs could be the best demonstration of a renewed appreciation towards these worker heroes. Long-term recovery measures show that the migration-development nexus is not only about seeing migrants as instruments and objects for development, but first and foremost as human beings in need of protection amid the crisis.

This article was first published on East Asia Forum and is part of an EAF special feature series on the novel coronavirus crisis and its impact.

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About the Author

Maria Pilar Lorenzo

Maria Pilar Lorenzo is a PhD candidate of Social Sciences at Ghent University.

Healthcare Trends in 2021: Innovation through eHealth Startups

The COVID-19 pandemic did more than just highlight certain vulnerabilities and shortcomings within the existing healthcare model, it also presented opportunities for healthcare startups to innovate their services to better adapt with the overwhelming demands of the industry. 

Introduction

It is safe to say 2020 has more than pushed the healthcare sector to new heights, with its startup economy being a key player in essentially remoulding the entire landscape of medicine and remote health. The concept of virtual care delivery has been widely accessible, the transformation to go fully digital being accelerated at a faster pace, and more technologies have been adapted to cater to the demands of a changing society as we knew it.

With human tragedy sometimes being mutually exclusive with human ingenuity and innovation, the biological need to evolve and adapt was borne out of people’s desires to not let COVID-19 put a damper on their plans. This type of evolution can be seen with the healthcare sector rushing to rapidly advance their digitalisation efforts, especially within digihealth startups. The pandemic has then nudged the direction of the industry into more technology-based platforms and a proliferation of digital health ventures.

In 2020, the healthcare startup economy saw great feedback and support from investors all over the world. It experienced a record-shattering funding of $15.3 billion, from its previous years’ already generous $10.6 billion. With this level of support, it will most likely grow in the coming year as more importance on personal health is being widely encouraged.

As we get whiff of the COVID19 vaccine being in its last manufacturing stages, 2021 will also be seeing health and wellness being one of the major driving forces for the year’s success, with these startups helping it get there.

1. Maru Health

As the pandemic forced people into isolation for prolonged periods of time, you can expect more people seeking out solutions to cope with the mental strain it has put on their lives. Meru Health offers a virtual 12-week program to address anxiety, depression, and burnout to provide the best treatment plan for their clients. Patients can receive detailed reports and support for their situations, including licensed therapists, psychiatrists, anonymous peer support, biofeedback, and mindfulness practices.

2. Babylon Health

This digital health startup focuses on providing accessible healthcare for millions, whether it’s the flu or pneumonia. Babylon Health connects patients with doctors through a video appointment or digital consultation around the clock, 24/7 every day, making the platform accessible to even international clients. The company currently has employees from over 60 countries and have established protocols for the UK, US, Canada, Rwanda, and APAC.

3. LivNao

This digihealth startup, LivNao, uses this mindset as the foundation for its business model. It passively tracks every user for early indications of changes in their mental health state, and by doing so being able to deliver interventions just in time before the symptoms progress. Primarily utilised to prevent burnout in the workforce, LivNao also enables organisations, insurers, and healthcare systems to make better data-backed decisions for their patients dealing with mental stress.

4. VillageMD

Value-based primary care health tech startup, VillageMD, pioneered a 3-step model to address medical concerns. Their VillageModel Clinic allows them to gain access to physicians, setting up virtual visits through the web, and then finally home visits, where medical professionals can get a more in-depth look at the condition of patients and then assess accordingly. VillageMD’s proprietary operating system connects thousands of clinical source systems with patient data to make sure all their information is updated in real-time and physicians can make informed decisions for their patients whenever.

5. HealX

Putting a spotlight on rare diseases, HealX is a British digital health startup making an active effort to expedite treatments for such rarities. They work towards making drug discovery faster for patients with more than unusual medical conditions. HealX’s Rare Treatment Accelerator program also acts as a bridge between patients who suffer similar rare diseases as a form of support group, with their clinicians also being able to exchange data that might aid each other’s treatment plans.

6. Novoic

Novoic makes use of a comprehensive speech analytics tool to detect neurological disease decades earlier than current diagnostic methods. By identifying and monitoring subtle changes in speech patterns with AI, clinicians can intervene sooner to support the best health outcomes for patients.

7. Hyfe

An unorthodox cough detection and analysis platform, Hyfe makes fast and affordable virtual diagnostics. Vocal biomaking technology for this relies on people’s cell phones, as it tracks organic, naturally occurring coughs from the in-tracking technology of the app to make for more reliable data. They record frequency, time of day, context, and amplitude. This startup especially comes in handy during flu season.

8. Alector

Alector, founded in 2013, has made a name for themselves as one of the pioneers for neurodegeneration through immuno-neurology. They have since identified 40 novel targets and set up 4 clinical programmes. Alector operates around the brain’s immune system to combat diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia, making the portfolio of their programs very specific to the elderly or special cases of neurological complications.

9. Freenome

Freenome is a biotechnology health startup that works at the junction of biology, machine learning, and medicine. Along with a spectacular team of programmers, ML experts, computational biologists and clinicians, Freenome helps with the detection of early-onset cancer with only a simple blood test. This startup from California is on its way to radically transforming the management of cancer patients through knowledge, tools, and expertise to maintain a healthier lifestyle.

10. HealthCrowd

HealthCrowd is a SaaS platform for healthcare communications. Founded in California, this health tech startup combines domain expertise in healthcare with ad analytics and machine learning. Through their process, they are able to help organisations deliver business results, even going so far as being one of the top mobile health messaging markets in the United States. Their platform engages text, voice, email, and nanosites all working in conjunction to provide informed results regarding various medical concerns.

Conclusion

The technology embedded in healthcare startups has no doubt taken a central role in society’s collective effort to mitigate the risks posed by COVID-19. As much of the world grapples with this ‘new normal’, medical startups have opened the door for more discussion regarding how modern-day health solutions should look.

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Bucket List Travel On The Cards For Many In 2022

With lockdown life having become the new normal in recent months, many imprisoned Brits resorted to daydreaming about a return to the good old days – as in the days where we could sit in a public place with others we know – long ago. Beyond lingering questions around what our first drink will be when the pubs reopen, one of the biggest things, if not the biggest, people have been thinking about is their next holiday.

With virtually all of 2020 taken away from us, and in all likelihood the nice hot part of 2021 off the cards, too, the rise of true “bucket list” holidays in 2022 is set to be huge. But how has a global pandemic encouraged a universal wanderlust among us?

The return of YOLO

Remember “you only live once…” – AKA “YOLO”? What about the fear of missing out, otherwise known as “FOMO”? Well, thanks to coronavirus, both are back with a vengeance, and that nationwide desire to get back out there and “live” is likely to manifest itself largely in our holidays when we’re allowed to go away again.

If 2020 and lockdown gave us anything, it was an abundance of time to reflect on life and the things that matter most to us. The severity of the crisis has led to a “life is too short” mindset in many, and that – combined with a pent-up desire to do something fun and some surplus funds lying around waiting to be spent – has caused a spree of once in a lifetime holiday bookings.

Book now to avoid disappointment

As early as late summer 2020, it appears that many British holidaymakers saw the writing on the wall for a longer-than-anticipated lockdown. Towards the back of last year, luxury travel companies saw a substantial rise in long-term bookings – those that extended beyond the typical booking range of six months – as customers looked past 2021 and to 2022 and beyond to secure a guaranteed holiday of a lifetime.

Right now, holidaymakers are booking trips that are longer, more diverse and multiple in nature. Thus, if you are yet to plan your own big adventure away, you might be surprised, and indeed disappointed, to find schedules of many travel providers already chock-a-block. Most importantly, in the US, packing bags and carrying them all through your trip might cause trouble in exploring more options around you. Rather you can choose short term luggage storage services nearby landmarks like luggage storage Penn station. You can leave bags at Vertoe safely and enjoy your trip.

Generational affairs with a longing for adventure

There are two predominant themes to the influx of future bucket list holidays. The first is to make any getaway a generational matter – a grand scale event that includes family from multiple generations from far and wide. This ties into the aforementioned YOLO attitude going forward, with grand villas being booked in the likes of the Maldives, Seychelles, Mauritius or the Caribbean as people try to reconnect.

The other theme, again based off of similar YOLO/FOMO motives, looks to be adventure heavy, as travellers look to regain what it feels like to live life at its best. Seeing the furthest corners of the world, taking on new challenges and pushing things to the extreme will all be popular approaches, so we can expect to see friends and family return from cross country road trips, far-reaching cycling holidays and remote explorations on masse.

The travel industry, like any other, is influenced massively by supply and demand. With a surge in demand for epic holidays away over the next 18 months, expect to hear about plenty of pricey trips, and find getaways in the near future come at a premium as UK holidaymakers, along with the rest of the world, look to start enjoying themselves again.

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Gamestop—And the Game That Never Stops!

By Dr. Rasmus

This past week a video game company in trouble, Gamestop, became the center of media attention.  Day traders had driven up the company’s stock price by thousands of percent in just one day. The mainstream media narrative was the ‘small guy’ investor challenged the big boys of finance who had bet Gamestop stock price would contract, not rise sharply.  The little investor, so the story goes, initially won big but Gamestop’s stock price escalation was stopped in its tracks by coordinated forces of Wall St., as trading was abruptly halted later in the day in the midst of the run-up. But that narrative, that media spin, has it wrong.  The real meaning of what has happened is quite different.

The Facts

Earlier in the week stock day traders gathered on the platform called Reddit in what’s called a crowdsourcing event. They communicated among themselves in a forum called ‘WallStBets’ and as a group began betting up the stock price of Gamestop, using the no cost stock trading platform called ‘Robinhood’. Similar moves were made against the movie theater chain, AMC, also in big financial trouble, with little revenue coming in but loaded up with mountains of junk debt. A couple other companies in similar condition were targeted by the day traders as well.  Stock prices of these companies—all losers or about to be losers—were in a matter of hours driven to record heights in some cases—as if these companies were raking in profits like a Tesla or Google. But there were no fundamental reasons for the price acceleration; in fact just the opposite.  Betting so, hedge funds and other financial market speculators were short selling their stock, betting their price would fall; and by ‘short selling’ they were actually manipulating the stock to force a price decline.

Short selling has a time limit on the bet. If the stock price doesn’t fall by a certain time, then all the money ‘bet’ by the short selling hedge fund is lost. As Gamestop’s price kept rising, some of them found themselves short of ‘liquidity’ (money) to cover their short sale bets. They had to sell other assets to pay for them. Or they have had to borrow money from other speculators and lenders (and pay interest) to cover their failed bets.

This had never happened before! That’s not how the system is supposed to run, the hedgies cried! The day traders weren’t playing by the rules of the game, they shouted!  But of course they were. It was the hedge funds very own rules. It was all quite capitalist legal.

It was kind of like a poker hand at a Casino.  If you bet your opponent isn’t holding a winning hand, you can raise the stakes and hope he drops out. You win the pot. But if some other player puts money on the table and raises you back, i.e. in this case raising the price of the stock like the day traders did with Gamestop, then they in effect call the hedge funds bluff; the hedge funds lose!  The hedgies didn’t like that, of course.  They are used to short selling without interference and then taking home the entire pot. But this time they didn’t. The day traders were winning the bet—at least the first hand played for the hedge funds got the Casino manager to change the house rules at the last minute to minimize their losses by halting further trading.

So the hedge funds, the big finance capitalist price speculators—as opposed to the crowdsourcing small day trader speculators—immediately changed the rules of the game, i.e. their rules, in order to teach the upstarts a lesson.

Robin Hood of Capitalist Finance

The small speculator capitalists used a trading system called Robin Hood in order to place their disruptive bets to drive up Gamestop’s stock price.  What’s Robin Hood? It’s a finance trading competitor to the Schwabs, Interactive Brokers, and other low cost stock trading platforms. In recent years there’s been a ‘race to the bottom’ in charges for stock trades across the trading industry. Who can charge the least per trade can steal trading market share from the others. Robin Hood broke into the sector by introducing ‘no fee’ trades. It appealed to the ‘day trader’ by peddling the message that Robin Hood was about enabling the small trader to compete with the big boys. Robin Hood promised to enable the small speculator day trader to make more money at the expense of the big boys like the hedgies.

Except Robin Hood kept it a secret from its day trader clientele that it was funded in large part by the same big hedge funds. In fact, one of its biggest, Citadel Securities, which reportedly had a $2.7B stake in Robin Hood. Robin Hood is therefore an extension of the Hedge Funds sector.

This was quickly obvious when Robin Hood halted the day traders’ speculation in Gamestop…and almost certainly at the behest of Citadel and other Wall St. finance capitalists. By stopping the day traders driving up the price of Gamestop stock, it saved the hedge funds and other short sellers billions of dollars of potential additional losses should the stock price of Gamestop kept rising. They next day, January 28, Gamestop and other targets’ stock prices began to retreat once again. While Robin Hood has since indicated day trading of Gamestop could resume, it would have certain limits on trading and Robin Hood made it clear it would halt trading again if necessary. And not just for Gamestop. Robin Hood/Citadel has since identified a list of other possible ‘Gamestops’ for which it would limit trading. Citadel, the hedge funds, and Wall St. aren’t about to let another Gamestop event catch them by surprise.

The CEO of Robin Hood was interviewed on CNN shortly after these events by host, Chris Cuomo, who asked outright: “How do you make sure Robin Hood isn’t rigging it for the Sheriff of Nottingham?”—the Sheriff of course being Citadel, other hedge funds, and other short selling institutional speculators.  Robin Hood’s CEO hemmed and hawed during the interview and hid behind the claim that it wasn’t Citadel or other  that made him halt the buying of Gamestop stock and its price escalation. No, Robin Hood was just following regulatory requirements by the SEC and other government regulatory bodies, its CEO argued.

Left unanswered, however, was why did Robin Hood stop the buying of Gamestop stock when the SEC and other real regulatory bodies did not intervene themselves to stop the trading in the stock?  When asked what regulatory agency asked Robin Hood to do so, the CEO had no answer to Cuomo. And why did Robin Hood halt only the buying of the stock that was driving up the price, but not the selling of the stock? Why did Robin Hood act as regulator, when the regulators saw no need to intervene? After all, the buying of Gamestop stock was no less legal than the short selling of Gamestop stock, according to capitalist regulatory rules. Government regulators didn’t tell Robin Hood it had to shut down Gamestop trades.  A smoking gun anyone?

A Finance Speculator Food Fight

What happened with Gamestop, Robin Hood, Citadel and who knows what other big boys behind the scene, is best understood as a feud between two wings of Finance Capital. This isn’t about the small mom and pop day trader David vs. the Hedge Fund Goliath! It isn’t about Goliath telling David to put down his sling because it’s not allowed to fight that way.

Both the hedge funds and the day traders are financial asset market speculators. What’s a speculator? It’s someone who ‘invests’ (aka bets) that the price of some stock or bond or derivative or currency will rise (or fall). The speculator then bets on the rise or fall by buying or short selling the stock. The objective is to then ‘flip’ the stock purchased in a relatively short time and thereby make a quick capital gain. It isn’t investing in a normal sense. It’s just the mere buying or selling of a piece of paper (or now mere electronic entry) claiming temporary ownership of the paper.  An actual investment is buying and holding a stock longer term in expectation of the company realizing future profits that will eventually drive up its stock value—in a company that actually makes things or provides an actual service, that requires hiring workers who in turn earn wages or revenue that would benefit the real economy.

In contrast, financial speculators are interested only in boosting demand for a stock in order to artificially drive up its price, then to flip it, and realize a financial profit—i.e. a capital gain.  Speculative investing is about making a purchase and then a quick sale to realize a capital gain. That may also take the form of a short sale—i.e. a contract to buy a stock after its price had fallen and sell it at its higher price at the time of the contract.  In both cases, its about selling after a price appreciation.

Make no mistake: the day traders driving up the price of Gamestop stock price weren’t doing it for the pleasure of tweaking the nose of short selling hedge funds. They were doing it to accelerate the stock price in order to later quickly sell it—just as the hedge funds were ‘short’ selling it for an expected profit as well. Only the method of the selling is different.

So both sides were planning on ‘selling’ Gamestop stock—just in different ways. The day traders by driving up the price by buying it first; the hedgies by reserving the right to sell the stock at yesterday’s price, after they ‘buy’ it when the price collapses tomorrow.

In other words, they’re both financial stock speculators. They’re both committing money capital that could—and should—be invested in the real economy not in paper claims of temporary ownership. Real investment is about longer term money capital commitment in order to make real things or services that required hiring and paying wages.

Both forms of stock price speculators are thus vultures preying on the real economy and undermining its recovery! They divert much needed money capital from the real economy into the financial sector that produces no actual economic growth, no jobs, no wage incomes, no consumption. The day traders aren’t the ‘poor little guy’ being exploited by big Wall St. hedge funds. They’re part of the problem.

Day Trading Is Also Casino Capitalism

Crowdsourcing day trading stock speculation is just the latest form of Casino capitalism, clashing with traditional financial speculators dominated by hedge funds, private equity companies, investment banks, and the other forms of shadow bank institutions that have risen in recent decades to prominence and power in 21st century capitalism. The newcomers are just fighting for a piece of the finance asset speculation pie, previously eaten whole by the hedge funds and the other shadow banks and professional investors.

It’s therefore absolute nonsense to make the latest specie of financial speculators—the crowdsourcing day traders—appear as if they are the ‘little guy’ being crushed by big guy Wall St. players. This isn’t about small financial speculator good, large financial speculator bad. This is a family food fight between sectors of capitalist finance.

The real question is what has given rise to the family food fight? What has enabled it in the first place? And how does it reflect a deeper social crisis in the country?

Technology the Great System Destabilizer

Technology in general, and social media in particular, has contributed significantly to the growing political instability in America. It has enabled conspiracy theories and lies to displace debate over facts. Without technology and social media there would have been no Trump, Trumpism, Breitbart, Parler, Proud Boys-Oath Takers, political institutional collapse, and now accelerating decline of Democracy in America. Technology may not be the fundamental cause of the above, but it certainly has been a major enabler of the deepening of the more fundamental causes.

Think of Reddit, the day trader’s WallStBets app, Robin Hood, etc. as the financial markets analog to the Breitbarts, Parlers, etc. in the sphere of political markets! Technology is disrupting 21st century capitalism in myriad ways. The Moloch has begun to devour itself!

Technology has enabled the day trader speculator gang to challenge the hedge funds and other shadow banks’ ability to manipulate the capitalist speculator show as they will.  It has enabled the ‘small’ investor to aggregate his bets into a big enough play to compete with the traditional finance capitalists; it has enabled the ‘small’ investor to inter-communicate and coordinate those bets; and it has enable the concentration of financial bets to move a stock or even perhaps a market—contrary to the bets of the hedgies and other traditional speculators.  And that’s what has really pissed off the latter.

So the old speculators quickly struck back! And their political allies will now hold meetings and deliver yet another slap on the wrist of the newcomers. Congress has already called committee hearings to figure out how to deal with it should it happen again.

The Real Origins of the Conflict

The ‘small guy’ crowdsourcing financial speculators aren’t really so ‘small’. Virtually all the stock trading by day traders is done by players who are easily within the wealthiest 5% of households in the US, and probably even fewer.  So where have they gotten their money capital to make such bets sufficient to challenge the established rules of the game? The same place that the hedge funds and others ultimately get their money capital.

Since at least the past quarter century the central bank of the US, the Federal Reserve, has pumped tens of trillions of dollars into the banking system. The big commercial banks affiliated with the Fed—i.e. Chases, Wells, Citi, Bank of America—in turn have loaned the tens of trillions of dollars to the shadow banks—i.e. investment banks, private equity, VCs, hedge funds, etc. They in turn redirect much of it into financial asset markets—stocks, bonds, derivatives, etc. They reap record financial profits for themselves and their owners and members, who then redirect it back into the same markets as well.

At the same time, the US tax system has been turned on its head:  More than $15 trillion in tax cuts has flowed to the investor class since 2001. That too gets largely redirected into financial markets.

Then there’s the corporate conduit itself. US corporations have redistributed more than a $ trillion dollars a year on average, every year, since 2010 to their shareholders in the form of stock buybacks and dividend payouts. Under Trump, the average for 2017-19 was $1.3 trillion a year. The deep tax cuts on capital gains since 2001 means the shareholders then get to keep more of the buybacks and dividend payouts, and that in turn means even more funneled into financial asset markets.

So the Fed’s monetary policy, the US government’s tax policy, and corporations’ buybacks-dividend practices have all converged the past two decades to keep the US and global stock markets ever rising.  But the hedge funds haven’t been the only investors grown fat on the redirecting of massive money capital to investors. Nearly all within the top 5% of the income scale—and that means the day trader crowd—have benefited as well.

The crowdsourcing ‘small guy’ has had excess money capital with which to risk in speculative trades like Gamestop no less than the hedge funds—thanks to the Fed, government, and corporate America.  Add the new technologies to the dry powder of excess speculative capital and the mix is explosive. It’s a witches brew of financial speculation!

The Realization Behind the Appearance

What appeals in this story of Gamestop is the appearance of ‘small guys’ getting screwed by the big guys even after they figure out how to ‘win one’.  The Gamestop affair is just another confirmation for John Q. Public that the system is rigged. Gamestop is an example of how those with wealth and power are able to change the rules of the game in the middle of the game to ensure they will always come out on top! And they not only do it to ‘us’. They do it to each other. The big fish always eat the smaller, even the smaller of their own species.

But one should be less concerned about day traders getting burned, and more about the tens of millions of Americans families going hungry, jobless, being evicted from their rents, and dying in the hundreds of thousands due to a failed health care system and gross government mismanagement. The day trading stock speculators will survive. Many who have no idea what a stock trade is may not.

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About the Author

Dr. Jack Rasmus

Dr. Rasmus is author of the 2020 published book, ‘The Scourge of Neoliberalism: US Economic Policy from Reagan to Trump’, Clarity Press. His website is http://kyklosproductions.com, twitter handle @drjackrasmus, and he blogs athttp://jackrasmus.com. He hosts the Alternative Visions radio show every Friday at 2pm eastern time.

The Capital Behind the Casino: Costs of Running a Casino

We all know that there are some ridiculous odds and winning prizes when it comes to casino games. Famous stories about people with incredible luck can easily spread. and these life-changing experiences inspire players all over the world. However, we also know that the number one winner in every one of these stories is a casino.

Casino games are all designed to have a house edge, so no matter the game you play the chances are tilted in the casino’s favor. Still, jackpots happen and you need amazing capital in order to pay off the winner. Moreover, there are tons of other expenses, so it would be interesting to see just what kind of capital is needed to open a casino.  

It’s Not as Expensive as You Think

When we talk about casinos, we usually think about bit resorts and hotels much like the ones we see in Las Vegas. However, these are multi-million dollar investments and need to have an amazing turnaround in order to work. Clearly, it’s not impossible as there are over 100 gambling venues in Las Vegas, but it does not mean your casino won’t be successful if it does not mimic that model.

A casino can also be a gambling joint, which is one or two rooms with different casino games. You don’t even have to own a property, as renting is also an option. So take into account how many slot machines you wish to have and bear in mind that a single one of these can cost between $15,000 to $25,000. These are probably the most important expenses, considering how slots are the most played games in a casino, and most profitable for the owner.

You Can Start With an Online Casino

This isn’t exactly a budget-friendly solution when you compare it with the previous example, but it definitely allows you to accommodate more players. Online casinos that have the best slots with deposit bonus offers have turned out to be a really lucrative business model. And even some of the bigger land-based gambling venues are now expanding on the digital environment as well. However, you need to be prepared for a lot of expenses related to licensing, and software development as those are the main components of starting an online casino. However, once you launch the platform getting users can be easier than you think. All online casinos rely on Welcome and Slots Deposit Bonuses to attract new customers. These slots deposit bonuses usually give players free spins or more credits for playing slots games.

Location

Sihouette

Whether you are going for a big establishment or a small casino, location is going to play a huge role. In order to attract guests or players, you need to be in a visible and busy location, which can turn out to be easier if you are going with a smaller setup. Hotels need massive parcels of land, whereas finding space that you can rent in an already noticeable spot can be easier.

Expenses for new games

Younger audiences might not find the traditional casino games as appealing as some of the regular players. Skill-based video games are more their speed, as a lot of them like the idea of making money playing online games, nowadays. Casinos were quick to act upon noticing this trend, and today there are lots of arcade machines that are optimized for casinos. These are all titles and gameplay mechanics players are familiar with, it’s just that the win condition is altered or adjusted to fit into the casino game category.

The costs of these machines are very similar to the slots, however, the winnings players can achieve here are way lower. In their essence these are skill-based games, so the more someone plays the better they get, whereas luck-based games have the same odds all of the time.

Conclusion

It is without a doubt one of the more lucrative ideas for startups that have been tried and tested. The problem is there are a lot of hurdles you need to go over before you open up or launch your product. This is a heavily regulated industry, and yes you will need a sizable capital for payouts as well. However, once you open your first casino, expanding the business will come easier. That being said, other circumstances must be taken into an account as well, like competition, and if the locals strongly oppose that business model.

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About the Author

Chris Bell is a long-time fan of poker, sports, and esports. He loves blogging about iGaming and casinos. He works as a software developer and a dedicated team member at Gamblizard. In his free time, Chris plays FIFA, Poker, Snooker, and table football.

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