It appears that the U.S. government is taking a hard-line stance against online gambling companies, and the American-based bettors who brought them billions last year. But a
Wall Street Journal
report says that for gamblers, recent government action likely amounts to little more than scare tactics. It could be a different story, however, for companies like BetOnSports, whose CEO was recently
carted off to prison. BetOnSports' David Carruthers and 10 others were charged with racketeering and fraud. Prosecutors allege that the site "almost exclusively" accepted sports bets from Americans.
While the government went on to shut down the Costa Rica-based site, it did not file a single charge against any bettor. Instead, it asked the betting company to return funds held in users' accounts.
Why? U.S. bettors illegally spent roughly $6 billion on offshore gambling sites last year. It turns out that gambling is more of a state issue--there is no federal law barring individuals from placing
bets online, and only a few states do. As the Justice Department tells the
Journal, "There is certainly not a law that expressly prohibits a bet by a casual bettor." So it's only legal under
"casual" circumstances? In any event, the Feds firmly say that advertising for offshore gambling companies is illegal because it "misleads the public in the United States to believe that such gambling
is legal, when in fact, it is not." Don't do it--and publishers, make sure your affiliates don't, either.
Read the whole story at Wall Street Journal--paid subscription required »
