Panel Discussion on Internet Gambling
Jenny Woo here and I gotta be honest, my ADT is in full force. Sitting through a conference is brutal. Then there are the distractions....that would be all those hot men I've been eyeing while trying to keep up with the latest industry discussions.
But as a reporter, I must keep my focus and being multi-tasked to the extreme really helps. So here are my notes from the second discussion here at CAP Euro.
"If players can't deposit, turn out the lights. The game is over."
This was the overriding theme. Sheesh....I know the feeling. How many credit cards has Jenny had cancelled? lol
There is apathy in the press. Americans have a short attention span (sound familiar?) Americans will say, I can't gamble online anymore, so oh well.
It's up to the press, and their responsibility to educate the public about the law that has passed.
There was a non-American attorney on panel, who, aside from being gorgeous, was super informative:
The wire act does NOT cover casino and poker, so they say...even though the US Justice Department has gone after the Discovery Channel and Esquire Magazine for featuring online poker ads, something the panel neglected to mention but that I was aware of.
The new act is directed at operators. However, processors may be charged with aiding and abetting.
Compliance to the act so far, has been voluntary. The banks got worried, and to protect their financial position, they have stopped the transactions. This action alone has caused more fear, than anything the authorities have done.
Extradition - can a foreign citizen be extradited? Attny said there is an unfair policy. If the DOJ complains, they can extradite someone from the UK. The courts in the UK only have to hear if the US has a reasonable basis to extradite, ie, fraud, money laundering, there is no DETAILED fact finding.
Travel for foreigners thru the US - If they arent taking sports bets and not one of the highprofile, then they will probably not come up on the radar.
The consequences of being arrested are enormous. For a business man arrested, w/ no previous arrests or offenses, the arrest process is very life- shattering. That thought ALONE is scaring many chiefs of industry right now,and that is why they are turning away billions of dollars instantly and shutting down US business.
Retroactive action: All crime is historic by the time it's investigated. Where laws are passed, they are usually NOT retrospective. Charges of Neteller will be for moneylaundering, and most likely NOT on the new law that was passed. The US gov. will of course have to prove that.
The tactics from the US is intimidation.
Press is supposedly NEGATIVE, according to the panel. They do NOT report on the other side. ie, the NETeller guys may walk, but will the main stream press report it?
Dunno about that one. They've been great to us here at Gambling911.com and when we speak with the media, nine times out of ten, the reports are positive reflections of the industry. It is often a matter of the publication and how information is given to them.
David Baines of the Vancouver Sun was brought up. My editor spoke extensively with him the other day and Mr. Baines position is that his generation (which probably understands the internet less than it does online gambling) may perceive "vulnerable" aspects of online gambling and how it can affect families, children, blau blau blau. There goes my ADT again!
An industry favorite of mine, David Caruthers - he's in Missouri for 7 months so far, and it could be another year. he is imprisoned for a year and a half. WTF??? If he is proven innocent, he will not get that life time back. Will the newspapers stand up and defend after the fact?
The industry will be better off with Carruthers found "innocent" and Carruthers will forever have a place in this industry.
Previously, the DOJ has NOT gone after an exclusive internet only gaming company. The went after phone betting because it violated the wire act.
However, now they are because they will 'risk it' and try to say the orevious wire act from the 60's applied to the internet.
The FCC - a year and a half ago, made a ruling, that the internet is NOT equal to the telephone. Is the FCC decision binding? Although the FCC is an expert opinion, the DOJ can say overrule that. It is unclear if the FCC decision matters.
Anyway, these are my live notes. Stay tuned throughout the day Friday for more from the highly informative CAP EURO.
BTW, if you are wondering about the early hour....Jenny up at 6:46 am? This is typically when I head to bet but we are on British time here, 5 hours ahead of the time stamp.
Cheers!
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Jenny Woo, Gambling911.com
Originally published January 26, 2007 6:46 am ET
