Ponzi schemes are per definition a scam and puts legitimate sites in this section in a bad light. Hopefully, the mods here can take action and at least move these sites into another section.
Why are these a scam?
Because there's no pre-arranged set of rules, no stated house edge, no provable fairness, no nothing.
"I'll just steal all your money whenever I feel like it" isn't even a numbers racket, it's just a scam.
Even outright sucker games like keno at a casino have a measurable house edge and a set of rules even a punter can understand.
Is this seriously beyond your comprehension? Have you considered getting help?
You're describing a scammer, not a ponzi scheme. When I play Ponzi's I imagine them as a massive game of Jenga. Eventually it will fall and thats ok with me.
I think the real reason that people (especially Micon) are complaining is that these games are competing with their gambling businesses.
wrong, SwC player numbers are unaffected. (very small % of overlap between a poker player and a ponzi player. Maybe Tennis only...)
I dont see ponzis, if sold as a ponzi, a scam.
Vortuarackne, I appreciate your arguments. They seem to come from a rational place. Consider this question:
how does a Ponzi usually end?
Are expectations managed properly?
Think about the expectations players have with other legitimate gambling games like bitzino, just-dice, sealswithclubs, and bitcoinvideopoker.
(not expectations in terms of win-or-lose, but expectations like the rules of the game, how payouts will be handled, how the game is scored, when it ends, etc)
I agree that a game that clearly states "You only get paid if the next guy sends coins" and a clear "reset" time is defined (maybe after 24 hours of no sends) could function as an "honest ponzi" (and I agree that would only be similar to a Ponzi, not an actual ponzi where the entire underlying business is misrepresented) maybe we need a name like a "hope next guy sends"
either way, it's not like the other gamblings. sub-cat for sure. Nevermind this appears to be only a handful of operators copy-pasting sites.
Me personally, I assess each ponzi individually, is the post well presented, explained in a fluent manner? Is their site professional looking, are they forthcoming with payments\payouts\transaction IDs or do players have to continuously chase the owner for payouts etc?
There have been some professionally operated ponzis recently which have worked well for a couple of days (which is all you can really expect from a Ponzi), but there have been others which look like they have been put together in someone’s bedroom within 5 minutes which I wouldnt touch with a barge poll.
I think the players need to take some responsibility too and admit that eventually the ponzi will collapse and they could lose some, if not all of their money in the process. If that is something they are happy with (and understand), then I dont see any problem whatsoever with Ponzis, they can be quite fun for some people.