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CORRECTION: I received an email that corrects one of the statements I make below. It reads:

As for the legality of the games, the site accepts real money players from all over the US except for these 14 states: Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Montana, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont. Residents of these states are still welcome to join the community and play the free games.

Sorry for any confusion this may have caused. On with the post….

These international ReviewMe requests are getting pretty interesting. I was first asked to review an Israeli job site and now I’m doing a review of a website that is technically illegal in most (all?) of the United States.

While other gambling sites induce the inner poker player or slot machine fanatic in all of us, Trivia On Net wants to rack your brain about sports, entertainment, and more. It’s like Jeopardy, but for normal people. And you know what, it’s actually pretty fun! Too bad Americans can’t get in on the action, because online gambling has effectively been outlawed in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Answer Questions in a Timed Format

The gist of Trivia On Net is that you can participate in a series of trivia questions with each session lasting only a minute or two. There are different categories and formats to enjoy. For example, you could be bombarded with a series of multiple choice queries on sports. Alternatively, you may prefer entertainment trivia in the form of true or false questions. There are six categories in all, as shown here:

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Getting started with this online trivia site is quite easy. Click on any of the “play now” icons near the middle of the homepage and a pop-up window will come up where you can either log in with an existing account or enter your information to create a new account. You don’t even need to verify your email address (though you should, and I’ll explain why in a sec).

After your account is up and running — which takes less than a minute — you’ll enter the lobby shown above, choosing your favorite category of trivia. The Jackpot category is particularly interesting, because it features the biggest prizes. When I last checked, there were some jackpots in there that would award winners with thousands of dollars. Not bad for knowing the difference between Bette Midler and Marilyn Manson.

There’s Always A Game To Play

Under each category are a number of game choices. Some of these are free and can be played alone, but they come with zero cash rewards. Think of these as practice, but they’re not where the appeal of online multiplayer trivia games comes into the picture. Instead, you’ll have to choose a paid game and prices range from 50 cents to a few dollars.

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The higher the entry fee, the bigger the potential prize. Naturally, you’ll need a (human) opponent, because there is no “house.” Because Trivia On Net is still in beta, there are very few users. As such, it can be difficult to find yourself a game. It’s because of this “gambling” aspect, though, that Trivia On Net is effectively banned in the USA.

Free Money is Free Money

According to the FAQ, the minimum deposit is $25 and the minimum withdrawal is $30. Payment can be done through credit card or Paypal.

Remember how I said that you should verify your email address? That’s because when you first register for an account on Trivia On Net, you’re comped $2 in real money to play in their games. You get an additional $3 when you verify your email address. In effect, you get $5 worth to start. It’d be nice if they gave more, but free money is free money.

Overall, I’d say that the service and layout on Trivia On Net is well-implemented. The site is easy to navigate and the games are quite fun, especially for trivia buffs like me. Some of the questions were a touch on the easy side, which can either be a good thing or a bad thing. Now if only they could do something about that US ban.