Two founders of NETeller Pic, a payment processor for gambling sites, were arrested last week on U.S. charges that they transferred billions of dollars from American citizens to overseas companies. Stephen Lawrence was arrested in the U.S. Virgin Islands and John Lefebvre was arrested in Malibu. Both men are Canadian citizens. Andrew Beyer, writing in the Washington Post, says the Justice Department's crackdown on Internet gambling is "another war that America didn't need to wage." Beyer chronicles how we got to this point and talks about the recent decision by Pinnacle Sports to get out of the U.S. market, noting that there will probably never be another Pinnacle. "Historically, bookmakers have required customers to lay $110 to win $100 on a sports bet. ... Yet Pinnacle cut the normal margins in half — sports bettors had to lay odds of 105 to 100 — and immediately attracted the biggest players around the world. Cyberspace displaced Las Vegas as the hub of American sports betting." Thanks to Tom Kirkendall.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Another Blow to Internet Gambling
Two founders of NETeller Pic, a payment processor for gambling sites, were arrested last week on U.S. charges that they transferred billions of dollars from American citizens to overseas companies. Stephen Lawrence was arrested in the U.S. Virgin Islands and John Lefebvre was arrested in Malibu. Both men are Canadian citizens. Andrew Beyer, writing in the Washington Post, says the Justice Department's crackdown on Internet gambling is "another war that America didn't need to wage." Beyer chronicles how we got to this point and talks about the recent decision by Pinnacle Sports to get out of the U.S. market, noting that there will probably never be another Pinnacle. "Historically, bookmakers have required customers to lay $110 to win $100 on a sports bet. ... Yet Pinnacle cut the normal margins in half — sports bettors had to lay odds of 105 to 100 — and immediately attracted the biggest players around the world. Cyberspace displaced Las Vegas as the hub of American sports betting." Thanks to Tom Kirkendall.
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2 comments:
I know you're primarily a college site, but if you haven't seen this before, here is a really interesting expose on the influence the NFL had in getting the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act passed. Their involvement also explains why there was a carve-out for fantasy football.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/10102006/business/nfl_makes_fantasy_pass_business_geoff_earle.htm
Sorry..forgot to tag here's the link in one easy click
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