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I was actually glad to read a fascinating story today concerning online gaming. I am a big fan of places like gaming news and other purveyors of online gaming news. As someone who has loved gambling for quite a while now, first as someone who loved off- track betting on horses and for the last 7 years primarily engaging in sports betting, this industry fascinates me. Online gaming and gambling in general seems to me an industry that is a sleeping giant, an industry that will one day be legitimate and far more enormous than it is now. All you have to do is see the popularity of states that adopt lotteries or other forms of gaming to realize how widespread gaming is and can be and the incredible revenues it brings in to states and people who need it when it is properly regulated.
The story concerns a sportsbook that I actually lost money in when the ceo was arrested. News reports are stating that the United states government has opened the process of giving online gambling winnings to people around the US who feel they are owed the money from BetOnSports.com. The websites founder, Gary Kaplan, reached a plea agreement with the US last week, and he was forced to hand over $43.65 million to the government.
The government is preparing to allow customers of BetOnSports.com to fill out a petition stating why they are owed money. If everything checks out, people who lost money with B.O.S might be entitled to receiving the funds.
People shouldn’t be too prepared to jump right in though and claim their lost funds, some people are suggesting that the government is fishing for information but I really don’t think so. Alot of folks are rightly pointing out the hopelessness of trying to outlaw online gaming and the incredible loss of revenues the country needs right now.
On Tuesday, the government website forfeiture.gov published a notice asking for anyone who believes they are owed some of the $43.65 million seized to file a written petition for their lost funds. Stay tuned to our site for more news on this interesting development in the governments war on gaming.
August 21st, 2009 6:01:09 PM GMT+5 | Posted in Gambling Law, News by johngm | No Comments
I have written before on Barney Franks noble attempt at Bill HR2267 and a few congressmen’s attempt to bring some reason to the gambling debate and bring some much needed revenue to our states. According to a press release issued by Franks office, Barney Frank’s Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act (H.R. 2267) now has 50 co-sponsors in Congress.
I’ve written about the Bill and I dont want anyone to get too excited about the opportunities for legalized gambling in the US or online, because even if the bill were to pass it is far from perfect. According to press releases Frank’s bill would seek to establish “a framework to permit licensed operators to accept wagers from individuals in the US”. The bill would also allow each individual state to determine whether or not they would allow Internet gambling activity, as well as letting them determine “other restrictions on the activity if determined necessary”.
It seems to be a primarily Democratic supported bill but I am really glad to see Ron Paul supporting this bill. Alot of people are saying on the forums that the next couple of years may be the best chance that we have at pushing this bill through.The main reason being the amount of additional revenues that the United States could collect from legalized online gambling. Independent sources estimate that as much as $3 billion dollars in annual revenues could be realized in Internet gambling tax dollars in the United States. Thats alot of money and Obamas administration will be looking for that revenue.
Despite many methods of transferring money being unavailable to American players and news coming out every day about crackdowns on banks who deal with gambling sites, the United States is still the largest, by a wide margin, market for online poker in the world.
The UIGEA, no matter how much its backers claim it can be effective if implemented fully, cant stop online poker and gambling. In fact , as I read in an article that banks really despise the UIGEA. Banks have spoken out strongly against the UIGEA, claiming that it is nearly impossible to enforce and extremely costly and time consuming.
Proponents of the UIGEA, made a huge mistake when they decided to put the responsibility on the shoulders of banks when it came to preventing Internet gambling related transactions.
We shall see if this factors in the passage of HR2267.
July 30th, 2009 1:21:41 PM GMT+5 | Posted in Gambling Law, News by johngm | No Comments
When I wrote my articles on the efforts made to legalize online gambling and legalize sports gambling on the east coast, I said the news out of Delaware was actually more interesting than the Frank bill. Here is the reason why, this story illustrates what can happen when you get the ball rolling. You have a strong effort by Delaware to make sports gambling a reality in the Mid Atlantic region and the state of New Jersey sees it as a threat to Atlantic City and they start to get the ball rolling. This is what can happen once something start to snowball, lets hope this New jersey initiative is the start of good things to come.
Here is a brief synopsis of the story out of New Jersey. New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine today announced he would seek to intervene in support of a federal lawsuit filed by state Sen. Raymond Lesniak in an effort to overturn a federal ban on sports betting in New Jersey and 45 other states.
“The federal government’s prohibition on sports betting for some but not all states is fundamentally unfair,” Governor Corzine said. “There should be uniformity in the application of federal law. If one state is allowed to legalize betting on sports events, all states should be allowed the same opportunity.”
Since 1992, federal law has outlawed wagering on sports except in four states, Nevada, Montana, Oregon and Delaware. Last month, Delaware took advantage of its exemption in the federal law to legalize sports betting and table games at its three horse racing facilities.
Legalized sports betting in Delaware is a cause for concern within the gaming industry in New Jersey because it puts Atlantic City at a competitive disadvantage. Some estimates say as much as $10 billion could be bet on sports annually in New Jersey if such wagers were legal and could generate $100 million in tax revenue for the state.
“Delaware’s entry into sports wagering and table games is a serious threat to the both the casino and horse racing industries in New Jersey,” Governor Corzine said. “We must do everything in our power to stay competitive.
This is exactly what punters need to see, states looking at an economic crisis and becoming realistic about the revenue from gaming.
June 11th, 2009 6:20:08 PM GMT+5 | Posted in Gambling Law, News, Sports, Sports Betting by johngm | No Comments
I have kept the majority of my blogs on the efforts like the Frank bill that are being made to try and undo the damage the horrendous bush era laws have dome to this prosperous business. I have really noticed a major change in online gaming since the loss of neteller and thankfully efforts are being made to undo these laws that have stymied online gaming.
One of the most fascinating developments in gaming is happening in Delaware. Here is a brief summary I have compiled by reading the news reports in the online gaming news and various journals and forums. This is actually much more exciting than the Hr 2273 in my opinion. Lets take a look at the story and I will have my thoughts afterwords.
Delaware’s new sports betting law complies with the state’s constitution, the state Supreme Court has concluded in a ruling to be issued this morning, paving the way for bets on football games and other sports as early as September.
In an advisory opinion signed by all five justices, the high court ruled that the sports betting law signed this month by Gov. Jack Markell would constitute a lottery, the only kind of sports gambling — besides bets on horse races — permitted under the the constitution.
An attorney for the National Football League had argued before the justices last week that sports betting involved too much skill to be considered a lottery whose outcome was based on chance.
The court ruled, however, that the constitution “allows lotteries to involve an element of skill, as long as chance predominates” and wrote that the games that are created for gamblers “must assure that chance is the predominant factor.”
The NFL has suggested it might sue the state over the issue, just as it had done unsuccessfully in 1976 when Delaware had a short-lived sports lottery. The state prevailed in that federal court case, however, and in today’s opinion, the justices wrote that they concurred with U.S. District Judge Walter Stapleton’s opinion then that lottery “games or gaming embraces a far wider range of activities than those based on pure chance.”
Markell has said he wants to have three kinds of bets: single-game using a point spread; over-under bets on the total number of points scored, and parlay games.
The justices ruled that parlay games, in which a better picks the winner or more than one game, meet constitutional muster, but chose not to rule on whether betting on a single game would constitute on a lottery.
“I very pleased with the Supreme Court’s decision,” Markell said in a written statement. “This decision resolves the legal issues that have been presented and provides a solid legal framework for our sports lottery. With this guidance in hand, we are moving forward with implementing a successful sports lottery in Delaware.”
Alright. so what does this mean and what are the chances of this succeeding. It means that you could drive up to Delaware and actually have the pleasure of live sports wagering, the great atmosphere, players club, horse track and table games on location, and most importantly cash in hand in seconds after finish. Of course ,these places will never effect online gaming because of the variety of options available online and the better lines. If anything this would attract more people to wagering, this is what I wish more online books would do, offer deals to costa rica and let the player have the atmosphere of live gambling. One of the main things I hope doesnt happen is that this bill only allows parlay cards sort of like the canadian Proline. The odds are horrible on these things and it really wouldn’t be worth it to drive for parlay lotteries.
Another exciting aspect of this bill is what delaware park could end up being like, I started wagering in horses in Richmond and Baltimore/DC area and I would love to go to Delaware park if this bill passes. Here is a statement from Delaware park
WILMINGTON, Del.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Delaware Park issued the following statement from its Chief Operating Officer Bill Fasy in response to the Delaware Supreme Court’s ruling today on Sports Betting.
“We are obviously pleased with the ruling handed down today by the Delaware Supreme Court. We believe that the single game sports lottery, with a proper betting line, will provide an exciting entertainment option for our guests and we intend to add a sports betting operation at Delaware Park as soon as the Lottery finalizes the rules and regulations.
We expect to be operating by the end of the summer. Our plan is to create the finest, state-of-the-art sports betting facility, integrated into our existing large simulcast racing rooms, which are already equipped with floor-to-ceiling, big-screen televisions; easy access to fine food and beverages; and more.
It will be the most fun and thrilling place to watch and wager on sports this side of Las Vegas. With the addition of sports betting today and table games in the near future, we are building an unrivaled entertainment venue and tourist attraction that will benefit all Delawareans.”
This would be great to have sports betting live like this on the east coast.
My main concerns are the hypocrisy of these governments and sports leaders proclaiming that this could damage children. Please. Horses, Lotto and casino, these are no problem of course. Another concern I have is the time it may take but having a Vice president from
Delaware should help move things along. Sports should be up by September and tables by January next year. We shall see, I am actually more hopeful about this development than the Frank bill passing with any teeth.
Stay tuned for more news from our site on this exciting development in Gaming.
Cheers
May 30th, 2009 7:51:02 PM GMT+5 | Posted in Gambling Law, News by johngm | No Comments
In my previous blogs, I touched on briefly some of the wording in this bill introduced by Barney Frank. In order to refresh peoples memory let me reiterate some of the bill and its possible implications. U.S. Representative Barney Frank hasl unveiled legislation that would supposedly roll back a U.S. ban on online gambling, according to his statements.
The Internet Gambling Regulation Consumer Protection & Enforcement Act would establish a federal regulatory and enforcement framework for online gaming. Frank said the bill would give the U.S. Treasury Department the authority to establish regulations and license Internet gambling operators.Though the new bill would exempt operators that are licensed and regulated from the ban enacted in 2006,
The Massachusetts Democrat said his legislation “will enable Americans to bet online and put an end to an inappropriate interference with their personal freedom.”
This all sounds great. The only problem is once you start reading the bill and analyzing it, the bill really doesn’t do much.
I though the most interesting comment was the one Frank made about introducing legislation that would freeze alot of the horrendous policies of UIGEA.
The Massachusetts Democrat has told reporters he is introducing separate legislation to freeze the implementation of online gambling regulations under a Bush administration-era law.
The law passed under president Bush has really hurt our countrys trade relations especially with Europe. European online gambling firms lost billions of euros in value after Congress made it illegal for banks and credit card companies to make payments to online gambling sites.
The word from most of the gaming magazines I have read are pretty pessimistic in terms of the bill really accomplishing much. Initially the bill was described by Rep. Frank as a way to repeal the anti-online UIGEA gambling law which was passed by Congress attached to the unrelated Port Security Act. The consensus I have read is that it is mostly left to the states and it basically is just a way to let financial institutions protect themselves without really changing the Bush law
The bill seems to be extremely murky especially in regards to the states and Indian jurisdiction and who would enforce the laws. It also seems to be very poorly written at least from the online gaming industry’s point of view (which was clearly shown by the action that alot of online gambling stocks have taken since the frank bill was introduced on the London Stock Exchange).
I will post some more of my thoughts on the Bill and some other thoughts people have had on the forums in another blog so stay tuned to the site for more discussion on this interesting and important development in online gaming.
Cheers
May 28th, 2009 5:13:50 PM GMT+5 | Posted in Gambling Law, News by johngm | No Comments
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