gov'ment says online gambling is illegal
d3ad baby 3at3r
Massachusetts, he hopes to clamp down on the explosion in Internet
gambling by making it illegal for state residents to place a bet on
line. He has proposed jail terms of up to two years and $25,000 fines
for violators.
The provision, buried deep in Patrick's bill to allow three casinos to
the state, puts the governor at odds with a fellow Democrat: US
Representative Barney Frank, the sponsor of federal legislation to
license and regulate online gambling nationally. Yesterday Frank
strongly criticized the governor's plan to punish online gamers while
inviting casino operators to set up shop.
"Why is gambling in a casino OK and gambling on the Internet is not?"
Frank said. "He's making a big mistake. He's giving opponents an
argument against him."
A 46-year-old federal law prohibits betting using telephone lines, which
the US Department of Justice has interpreted as prohibiting all online
gambling. The government's policy has been to prosecute the operators of
Internet gambling sites, but not the gamblers.
Patrick's provision takes aim at both and would levy the same penalties
on either end of the transaction. Courts have been divided over the
legality of placing bets on line, and state laws vary on the issue.
Massachusetts currently has no prohibition, and if its ban is adopted.
it would join such states as Utah, Nevada, and Washington.
Patrick officials declined yesterday to explain the governor's rationale
for including the provision in the proposed legislation. They also would
not respond to Frank's comments.
"Several of the provisions of the governor's proposed resort casinos
bill seek to clarify the laws relating to gaming in Massachusetts,
including online gaming," said Kofi Jones, spokeswoman for the
governor's chief gambling adviser, Daniel O'Connell, secretary of
economic development. Others suggested the provision was included to
make casino licenses more lucrative by preventing competition from
online operators.
"If you were cynical about it, you'd think that they're trying to set up
a monopoly for the casinos," said David G. Schwartz, director of the
Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Patrick's casino legislation, which has been introduced at the State
House but is not expected to get a hearing until next year, would
license three casinos in three regions of the state. Casino developers
would bid on the licenses, and Patrick expects they would attract 10-
year licensing fees of $200 million to $300 million for each casino.
Since the first Internet casino went live in 1995, online gambling has
exploded nationwide. Users have flooded thousands of gambling sites,
punching in credit card numbers for the rights to play cyberbingo and
real-time poker from their homes. It still lags behind brick-and-mortar
casinos, but online gambling has become a formidable industry, totaling
$12 billion in 2005, according to Christiansen Capital Advisors, a
Maine-based research firm.
Based on its reading of the 1961 Wire Act, which bans using telephone
line to place bets, the US Department of Justice contends that operating
online gambling sites is illegal, although most of the sites are
operated offshore and do not fall under US laws. Last year, Congress
approved a gambling bill that bars credit card companies from making
payments to online gambling websites, making it more difficult to place
bets. Frank's bill, which was filed earlier this year, would effectively
overturn that law and license and regulate online gambling in the United
States.
"I believe in personal liberty," Frank said. "Adults should be able to
do what they want. I wish my fellow liberals would not be so
inconsistent on this issue."
Patrick's provision, which is described in three paragraphs of the bill,
applies to anyone in Massachusetts who places or receives a wager of any
type using a telephone, cellphone, Internet, or local wireless networks.
It also applies to anyone who knowingly installs equipment for
transmitting wagers. The provision also specifically exempts the
proposed casinos from the law.
It does not say specifically how the state would enforce the ban, but
the bill would establish an independent Gaming Control Authority and a
division of Gaming Investigation and Enforcement within the attorney
general's office, which would have broad powers to enforce regulations
and investigate crimes.
But in trying to ban online gambling while expanding casinos, the
governor's administration appears to be alienating a constituency that
might otherwise support his gambling expansion.
The Poker Players Alliance, a group that says it represents the
interests of online gamblers, began a letter-writing campaign last week
and has generated 1,700 letters to the governor and various state
legislators. The Washington-based organization has 16,000 members in
Massachusetts, which is a fraction of what the alliance estimates are
the 250,000 online poker players in the state.
"I feel betrayed by the very existence of this legislation," the letter
read. "It's especially aggravating that this language is contained in a
larger bill to expand casino gambling in the Commonwealth. This contrast
is utter hypocrisy."
The organization, which recently campaigned against Governor Ernie
Fletcher of Kentucky for nixing a proposed casino referendum, supports
the governor's proposal for three Massachusetts casinos, but plans to
oppose the overall bill.
"It makes absolutely no sense to me," said Randy Castonguay, director of
the Massachusetts chapter of the Poker Players Alliance. "It's actually
kind of laughable if you think about it."
Laura Everett, spokeswoman for Casino Free Massachusetts, a coalition of
anticasino advocates, said that while some in the group may oppose
online gambling, the organization is focused on fighting brick-and-
mortar casinos. "We think the whole bill is a problem," she said. "One
provision is not going to make a difference."
--
Rob Cypher
robcypher.livejournal.com
Usenet vet '96 to infinity....
MZ
news:Xns9A0384897...@62.76.176.130...
> Even as Governor Deval Patrick seeks to license three resort casinos in
> Massachusetts, he hopes to clamp down on the explosion in Internet
> gambling by making it illegal for state residents to place a bet on
> line. He has proposed jail terms of up to two years and $25,000 fines
> for violators.
Smart move, Deval. Now you'll have bookies taking $25k bets on whether or
not they'll get caught.
Paris Geller
<deadhea...@spine.org> wrote:
>Even as Governor Deval Patrick seeks to license three resort casinos in
>Massachusetts, he hopes to clamp down on the explosion in Internet
>gambling by making it illegal for state residents to place a bet on
>line. He has proposed jail terms of up to two years and $25,000 fines
>for violators.
My understanding is the movement against on line gambling originates
with the credit card companies and the banks.
The complaints genarally are not against on line gambling itself
but the credit fraud that often accompanies it.
If the on line gambling industry is to survive they have
to figure out a way to do it without the accompanying credit
card fraud.
IMHO you can gamble on line. But no you can't use my
credit card to do it.
I have yet to find anyone with a solution to this problem.
(My understanding too is if you use a credit card and
it's for gambling that the credit card issuer can't
collect the debt.)
trijcomm
Resort gambling is under strict regulations and is taxed, sending
money to help schools and state government coffers.
J Buck
Baldacci to see who can be the most two-faced hypocrite?
s0183616
Then make it legal, do it in the US, and regulate it. Duh.
Jon
> Even as Governor Deval Patrick seeks to license three resort casinos in
> Massachusetts, he hopes to clamp down on the explosion in Internet
> gambling by making it illegal for state residents to place a bet on
> line. He has proposed jail terms of up to two years and $25,000 fines
> for violators.
>
What does this have to do with guitars, fool?
trijcomm
It's legal in many places -- where they can regulate it. Can't
regulate it overseas. Umm, you ever heard of Vegas? Duh.
Julio Sanchez
the Bede
"Julio Sanchez" <hoolio3...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:a975898c-0906-4574...@r29g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...
> xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>
what newsgroup are you in?
Sharona Fleming
Except you can't completely regulate it on the internet.
Someone can always put it on a server in Rumania
or some other country outside of the jurisdiction of
the US of A.
Oh and there are problems with on line gambling too.
For example each year when the Super Bowl rolls around
These gambling sites get nailed for extortion by
those who would shut them down by DOS attacks if they
don't pay.
F~A~R~V~A: Last of the Post-hicans
--
>>> _
>>> /'_/)
>>> ,/_ /
>>> / /
>>> /'_'/' '/'__'7,
>>> /'/ / / /" /_\
>>> ('( ' /' ')
>>> \ /
>>> '\' _.7'
>>> \ (
>>> \ \
"Kick him when he's down, he's easier to reach."
---Scott Hall
#1 ranked poster in RSPW history....