The arrests of 33 individuals in one of the largest internet gambling related stings has had an even greater impact beyond what would otherwise be your typical routine "credit" shop utilizing offshore call centers.

This time law enforcement went after the actual software providers and hosting services, a portion of which were located in the United States.  As such, a number of big name online gambling sites have been taken offline and are scurrying to get back up.

BetCRIS.com, one of the industry's largest gambling sites, is among those affected.  They were utilizing Digital Solutions software for their own site.  Much of the back end, including 1-800 phone lines, have been affected. 

Digital Solutions has become one of the largest software suppliers for online sportsbooks.  Some of those companies affected have been able to get back up.  Others like BetCRIS.com are still working to resolve the issue.

Police say Miami's James Giordano was part of an illegal, billion-dollar gambling ring. 

The Miami Herald reports that professional poker player Giordano's laptop computer was the key to a billion-dollar-a-year illegal gambling kingdom.

"Giordano, who rarely let the computer out of his sight, left it behind earlier this year in New York while attending a wedding, police said Wednesday. But in the three hours he and his wife were away from their Long Island hotel room, investigators armed with a search warrant and computer expertise sneaked in, found the laptop on a desk and made a digital copy of the hard drive.

"The covert operation on June 15 helped unlock a sophisticated Internet-based gambling scheme that has taken in $3.3 billion in cash wagers from 40,000 bettors nationwide since 2004, authorities said. They announced charges against Giordano, 26 other defendants and three companies, including one in Hollywood and another in Davie."

''This is the largest illegal gambling operation we have ever encountered,'' said New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly. ``It rivals casinos for the amount of betting.''

Gambling911.com first broke the story of this enormous "bust" late Tuesday evening.  The Queens DA called a press conference shortly before noon the next day.

The Herald further reports that, at first, FBI agents and Miami-Dade County police tried to trick Giordano, 52, into letting them onto his property.

"They phoned him from a call box next to the entrance gate of his walled Pinecrest estate, saying they needed to get in to catch a burglar. He said no.

"Armed with arrest and search warrants, they then climbed over Giordano's four-foot wall and knocked on his front door. They arrested him about 6 a.m. Tuesday, and he was placed in police custody.

"FBI spokeswoman Judy Orihuela said FBI agents also searched the South Florida homes of some other suspects and the offices of companies involved.

"Arrested at his Long Island home in Seaford, N.Y., was Frank Falzarano, identified by prosecutors as a scout for the Washington Nationals baseball club. Falzarano, 52, allegedly was a top earner in a network of 2,000 bookies.

"Prosecutors claim the ring ran gambling wire rooms in Miami and on the Caribbean island of St. Martin, where operators took bets and kept records. Bookies assigned clients a secret code to track their wagers and monitor point spreads and results through a restricted website, Playwithal.com. The bets were on all kinds of sports, including football, baseball, basketball, hockey, auto racing and golf.

"The defendants laundered and stashed away ''untold millions of dollars'' using shell corporations and bank accounts in Central America, the Caribbean, Switzerland, Hong Kong and elsewhere, said Queens, N.Y., District Attorney Richard Brown."

The prosecutor called the $500 million asset forfeiture case ``among the largest such cases ever filed.''

The 27 people in New York, New Jersey, Florida and Nevada were charged with money laundering and promoting gambling, among other counts.

Giordano waived extradition in Florida and is expected to be arraigned next week. Prosecutors did not have the name of his attorney.

Defense attorneys told the Herald that Falzarano, who was ordered held on $500,000 bail after pleading not guilty, ''looks forward to defending himself in court,'' said defense attorney Peter Tomao.

Charges also were brought against three companies that allegedly helped Giordano develop and secure the website: Primary Development of Farmingdale, N.Y., Prolexic Technologies of Hollywood, and Digital Solutions of Davie.

"At Prolexic -- in the downtown Hollywood arts district on the fourth floor of the Harrison Executive Centre at 1930 Harrison St. -- at least three law enforcement officers were loading computer equipment from the company onto a dolly. When a reporter walked in, the officers shut and locked the door.

"The companies face a fine of $10,000, or twice the amount of their illegal gains, prosecutors said.

"The individual defendants face up to 25 years in prison if convicted."

Police launched an investigation last year after receiving a tip from a suspect in a separate organized crime probe, also involving parties from New York City. 

Over the next several months, detectives broke the code for the website and began electronic surveillance of the suspects.

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Christopher Costigan, www.gambling911.com

Originally published November 16, 2006 4:16 pm ET