|
 Risky
Online Gambling
Sites Close Just
Like Risky Banks
Play
where there is a a
great risk and
chances are you
might get burnt.
This has long been
the case with an
online gambling
industry which
witnesses a few
dozen or so "fly by
nights' open
annually, only to
close up shop and
leave customers high
and dry.
But
risk is evident in
most business
sectors, not just
online gambling.
Banks are no
exception.
Federal regulators
announced the
closure of ANB
Financial National
Association banks in
the state of
Arkansas after
discovering "unsafe
and unsound"
business practices
there. Anyone
holding under
$100,000 in their
banking accounts
will receive
refunds. Those
with monies above
that amount will
lose the remainder.
It
was the third
closure this year of
an FDIC-insured
bank. Douglass
National Bank, a
Missouri bank with
$58.5 million in
assets, was shut in
January; another
Missouri institution
with assets of $18.7
million, Hume Bank,
was shut down in
March.
Many
naysayers have
claimed that
gambling online is
"dangerous", like
throwing money out
the window. In
reality, the
activity is among
the safest when one
considers that only
a handful of the
major betting firms
have actually shut
down owing customers
over the last
decade, the biggest
of which was
BetonSports
following
indictments by the
US Government in
July 2006.
"There is risk in
most industries,"
points out
Gambling911.com
Operations Manager,
Payton O'Brien,
citing the airline
industry as one.
"Over the last
month, several
airlines have gone
out of business
across the globe and
many travelers lost
money."
Passage of the
Unlawful Internet
Gaming Enforcement
Act (UIGEA) may very
well have helped
reduce some of the
rogue operations
from coming into
existence.
"That
legislation has made
it difficult for
many of these new
shops to process
credit cards and to
market," claims
O'Brien.
"Their exposure is
severely limited."
----
Christopher
Costigan,
Gambling911.com
Publisher
CCostigan@CostiganMedia.com
Originally published
May 10, 2008 9:23 pm
EST
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