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View Full Version : Offshore gambling accounts are FBAR reportable


MikeH
06-23-2014, 10:53 PM
http://www.forbes.com/sites/irswatch/2014/06/19/fbar-penalty-applies-to-offshore-poker-account/

highnote
06-24-2014, 09:32 AM
Good example of the deep financial trouble the U.S. is in. The gov is going after any money they can get their hands on to support its unsustainable spending.

Don't be surprised when the U.S. gov pulls a Cyprus and forces people to turn over money from their bank accounts to help pay the bills.

Robert Goren
06-24-2014, 11:04 AM
I don't understand why anybody would think it wasn't. Whether you want to take the risk that government would catch up to you is another story. If you are/were a huge winner, you have to assume they are looking for you.

highnote
06-24-2014, 03:28 PM
One interesting thing the article pointed out is that the courts determined that these offshore gambling sites are the equivalent of banks. So that would mean that every ADW is a bank.

I would have never considered an ADW a bank, but apparently the government does.

And for that matter, every racetrack that allows wagering is also a bank!

The government claimed that FirePay, PokerStars, and PartyPoker are all financial institutions because they function as “commercial bank[s].”

The Fourth Circuit in Clines (United States v. Clines, 958 F.2d 578, 581 (4th Cir. 1992) found that “[b]y holding funds for third parties and disbursing them at their direction, [the organization at issue] functioned as a bank [under Section 5314].” In Hom, the Federal District Court determined that since FirePay, PokerStars, and PartyPoker functioned as banks, the online accounts in which John Hom admittedly held an interest with them are reportable.

Robert Goren
06-24-2014, 05:09 PM
It is pretty hard to argue that FirePay.com is not some sort of financial institution. Poker Stars and Party Poker probably isn't in the traditional sense. But the way the law is written, they are. ADWs are too. Basically they are saying if "people" have something resembling an account, then they are financial institutions.
Online poker brought out the anti-gambling nuts in force and they have been pushing the government to enforce some laws that they had previously used on gambling operations and write new laws. Give these people an inch and they will find a way to turn it into a mile. They are not above pitting gambling operations against each other to achieve their goals.