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!
Quote:
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.
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