Software protection

In Washington, a startup software company called Quixotic Solutions, believes it is close to a solution to the issue of gambling sites' reliability. The company is developing gaming security software that verifies fairness, said Steve Davis, Quixotic's CEO.

"It gives players a way to shuffle the deck over the network so that the casino can't manipulate the shuffle," Davis said. "The player can check on their own computer to see whether they've been cheated."

In order to function, Davis said his software must be installed on the casino's Internet server as well as the gambler's personal computer. The program can't, of course, ensure that a site pays its winnings.