Online gambling bust

2Tone · #1 11-15-06, 02:43 PM

Criminal charges have been brought against more than two dozen individuals and corporations in four states in connection with a billion-dollar-a-year gambling Web site, authorities said Wednesday.

Authorities declined to name any of those charged. One of the corporations is an offshore Internet company with an American counterpart, said Kevin Ryan, a spokesman for Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.

Talking Poker · #2 11-15-06, 03:06 PM

At first, I thought this was talking about going after people USING the site... but it sounds like it was going after the people RUNNING the site.

But still... damn:

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Search warrants executed in several locations resulted in the seizure of gambling records, computers and hundreds of millions of dollars in property.

The property includes four Manhattan condominiums, millions of dollars in cash, tens of thousands of dollars worth of casino chips from the Bellagio casino in Las Vegas, art, jewelry, gold coins, and a football signed by the 1969 New York Jets following their Super Bowl victory.

The scheme involved placing sports bets through bookies via a secure Internet site. The bets were taken on all kinds of sports, including football, baseball, basketball, hockey, car racing, and golf.

The charges include enterprise corruption, money laundering and promoting gambling.
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The U.S. government really sucks.

Penguinfan · #3 11-15-06, 04:47 PM

This was not your typical setup that you and I know, but this is inching closer.

These people didn't even take payment over the internet (don't ask how I know), they did take bets over the interent, but had a runner meet up with you in person and collect or pay.

I'm not even sure how this violates the new law, but it is mentioned in the article. More to come on this I am sure....

Talking Poker · #4 11-15-06, 04:56 PM

I'm going to merge this into the thread we already have about this.

Penguinfan · #5 11-15-06, 05:00 PM

Didn't see it sorry.

Kurn · #6 11-15-06, 05:49 PM

It has nothing to do with the new law. The new law targets financial institutions and those have until July to comply. I doubt the DOJ even has an enforcement plan yet.

This is just a multi-state bookie operation that happened to use a web site. In almost all US States, this type of operation has been illegal for decades. Like in any gambling enforcement, the operators get busted.

Talking Poker · #7 11-15-06, 05:53 PM

Yup... and then the media spins it all wrong and tries to tie it to the new law. They came right out and said that in the article, and I was sitting here shaking my head, wondering if I was missing something...