Feds Prosecute "Bet On Sports"

[Hosshead]

Who's next?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,207999,00.html

[MikeDee]

I guess the moral of this story is that if you run a off shore gambling site don't set foot in the USA :)

[Pgh. Gere]

Interesting timing, what with the exhibition NFL games just starting. Has anyone read or heard anything about whether this is isolated? Or are the feds looking to go after other sites?

[Rico8812]

Seems to be isolated for now. The only other site I'd worry about it Bodog. BOS and Bodog spend millions in advertising in the US and the Bodog CEO Calvin Ayre is turning into a celebrity so it wouldn't suprise me if the DOJ wanted to make an example of him also.

Gotta feel bad for the people with money in BOS. The company has disbanded, and they are claiming they don't have enough funds to pay everyone. Management is trying to get the hell out of Costa Rica w/out being arrested. Looks like the players are going to get screwed.

[sq764]

Seems to be isolated for now. The only other site I'd worry about it Bodog. BOS and Bodog spend millions in advertising in the US and the Bodog CEO Calvin Ayre is turning into a celebrity so it wouldn't suprise me if the DOJ wanted to make an example of him also.

Gotta feel bad for the people with money in BOS. The company has disbanded, and they are claiming they don't have enough funds to pay everyone. Management is trying to get the hell out of Costa Rica w/out being arrested. Looks like the players are going to get screwed.
I would bet Ayre is smooth enough to 'take care of' US officials to help them look the other way..

[LaughAndBeMerry]

Bet On Sports might be the first, but they won't be the last. I have had 4 different people tell me this past week (an on-shore site, a manager for 3 off-shore players wagering $50 million annually, a distributor of professional handicapping products, and a tote company) that

a)the feds are not done
b) the off-shores will be out of business in 18 months

Virtually every pro I have spoken to thinks the days of the off-shore are numbered. Some have even mentioned that it is not out of the realm of possibility that the feds go after a couple of the larger PLAYERS that reside in the states and wager through non-parimitutel shops. Contrary to what many think, the "exception for horse-racing" only applies to those sites that have contracts with the host tracks (i.e. not the bookmakers). If you play through Pinnacle, you are breaking U.S. law. You might not care, and I might not agree with the feds position, but it is illegal nevertheless.

JMHO, but an educated one.

[BetHorses!]

Some have even mentioned that it is not out of the realm of possibility that the feds go after a couple of the larger PLAYERS that reside in the states and wager through non-parimitutel shops.



The wire act states it is illegal to take bets not place them. The only way they can get the players is on tax evasion

[Pace Cap'n]

The wire act states it is illegal to take bets not place them. The only way they can get the players is on tax evasion

Although certain states have enacted laws prohibiting the placing of bets.

[LaughAndBeMerry]

The wire act states it is illegal to take bets not place them. The only way they can get the players is on tax evasion

Do you really think these guys, many of whom have accounts under fictious names and/or have beards placing the bets for them are declaring their winnings to the IRS? BTW, they're probably also in violation of federal anti-money laundering statutes.

I'm not saying these guys are going to the pen for 30 years but once the feds have you in their sights they can make your life excrutiatingly painful. Ask David Carruthers.

[BetHorses!]

Do you really think these guys, many of whom have accounts under fictious names and/or have beards placing the bets for them are declaring their winnings to the IRS?



Lets just talk horse wagering and forget about sports. You have two issues here:

1) Bookmakers -the player placing horse wagers where the money does not go into the pool. Not illegal to place the bet although Pace Cap'n stated some states prohibit now. Maybe Jersey is one? Answer NO not reporting to IRS

2) The players under fictious names who bet legally into the pools at licensed places must have a Soc. Security number on file with the account. Now if I have an account but using your SS # (assuming you are a partner trying to earn the 10% rate) money is being reported and it is very difficult to prove fraud.

Back to what you said about the Agents going after the PLAYERS that reside in the States for betting horses....not going to happen and this is where I disagree with you

[classhandicapper]

Bet On Sports might be the first, but they won't be the last. I have had 4 different people tell me this past week (an on-shore site, a manager for 3 off-shore players wagering $50 million annually, a distributor of professional handicapping products, and a tote company) that

a)the feds are not done
b) the off-shores will be out of business in 18 months

Virtually every pro I have spoken to thinks the days of the off-shore are numbered. Some have even mentioned that it is not out of the realm of possibility that the feds go after a couple of the larger PLAYERS that reside in the states and wager through non-parimitutel shops. Contrary to what many think, the "exception for horse-racing" only applies to those sites that have contracts with the host tracks (i.e. not the bookmakers). If you play through Pinnacle, you are breaking U.S. law. You might not care, and I might not agree with the feds position, but it is illegal nevertheless.

JMHO, but an educated one.


Are they also going to close down all the poker sites like Party Poker, Ultimate Bet, Full Tilt, Pokerstars, etc.... There are WAAAAY more US residents playing poker illegally than horses.

[LaughAndBeMerry]

Are they also going to close down all the poker sites like Party Poker, Ultimate Bet, Full Tilt, Pokerstars, etc.... There are WAAAAY more US residents playing poker illegally than horses.

I can't say because I don't know. The difference is the feds are being bombarded by lobbying efforts by track owners, state pols and horseman to do something. The poker sites aren't taking anywhere near as much money from the locals pockets since it's illegal most everywhere here.

[bigmack]

I have had 4 different people tell me this past week
b) the off-shores will be out of business in 18 months
Just out of curiousity do you stand by this?

[LaughAndBeMerry]

Just out of curiousity do you stand by this?

I stand by the fact that 4 people told me that this week. Those 4 are obviously expressing their opinion, but these are 4 individuals with ties to the racing business so their opinion should be an educated one. And they don't all have an ax to grind. One of the four is a player pushing $25 million a year through the windows off-shore and he told me he is actively looking for a new place to play. Don't get me wrong, I don't agree with the government getting in the middle of this. Seems to me there are bigger fish to fry, like Bin Laden for one. In fact, I happen to have an off-shore account in addtion to an on-shore one. But the heat is really on re on-line gaming and the island shops have no one to watch their back unlike the folks in this country that retain some pretty high-powered lobbyists. Could it be 24 months, sure, but I don't think it's too hard to tell which way the wind is blowing and how this is likely to play out.

[bigmack]

I don't think it's too hard to tell which way the wind is blowing and how this is likely to play out.
D Carruthers with BetonSports was so busy making a splash of himself that the feds put him up as the poster child for the first case with strong intent to send a message. More than likely next to fall will be BoDog as their adverts have become splashy.

The DOJ incompetent as they are, do not like fly in their face cases/examples as evidenced in the Martha Stewart,Ivan Boesky's...

The internet is upon us - phones have been around for a while
Offshore betting will be at our avail for quite a spell

[BetHorses!]

D Carruthers with BetonSports was so busy making a splash of himself that the feds put him up as the poster child for the first case with strong intent to send a message.


Its really Kaplan they want and Janet Reno had a hard on for him years, also.