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November 17 - If you're going to run a sports betting operation from within the USA and you aren't sitting in a Las Vegas sportsbook you need your head examined. If your brilliant plan also includes laundering billions of dollars via online gambling websites then you're on your way to jail, as more than 30 indicted individuals have just discovered.
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Gone are the days of running a bucketshop in the back room of a bar using only a telephone and a man named Guido. Today's techno-savvy bookie prefers using sports gambling websites, even though operating those sites from within the USA is completely illegal and utter lunacy.
This sports betting operation was one of the largest that police had ever seen, and a police chief was quoted as saying that over $3.3 billion dollars worth of bets had been booked via these websites over the 28 months that they were watched by the law.
More than 2,000 bookmakers were apparently involved in the scheme whereby bets would be accepted in the USA on credit and these bets would then be booked offshore via the Internet.
The case is getting a lot of attention because it involves some high-rollers, notably James Giordano who is a well known poker player, and an as yet anonymous scout for the Washington Nationals (not surprising that he has a second job). Since people with Italian last names are involved and the bookies were headquartered in the Bronx it probably won't take long before the dreaded Mob is mentioned.
These are the first charges since the bill to criminalize online gambling became law but this would have been a crime without the law, and really has nothing to do with reputable online gambling firms that operate out of regulated jurisdictions. Naturally most of the mainstream media is ignoring this last point as they attempt to tar and feather the entire online gambling industry causing panic and spreading misinformation.
The whole point of regulating online gambling is that these types of sleazy betting shops, whether online or offline, would be eradicated and organized crime would have to work that much harder to move their money from Las Vegas to New York. Instead reputable online gambling companies are demonized, forced underground or to tropical locales, and the space is left wide open for Tony Soprano and his family.
A final point: the sports betting website in question was called "Betwithal.com". Anyone who feels safe and secure placing a bet at a website with a name like that deserves to run into shady characters. Was "Betwithalorwewillbreakyourkneecaps.com" too long, we wonder?
Related Gambling Articles:
- Monday Night Football Giants Jaguars Preview - 11-20-06
- USA Friendly Online Casino and Gambling Sites - Update - 11-20-06
- NFL Preview Of The Latest Odds And Betting Moves - 11-19-06
- Online Casino Gives Thanks To Its Players - 11-18-06
- Michigan Ohio State Latest Betting And Expert Picks - 11-17-06
- Austrian Online Casino and Sportsbook Announces Results - 11-17-06
- Online Casino Group Powers On In The USA - 11-16-06
- Online Gambling Shakeup As Betcorp Bought Out By Bodog - 11-15-06
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