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The American Gaming Association (AGA) met with officials across the United States to discuss what it calls “groundbreaking new research showing the extent of illegal gambling and its ties to organized crimes”.
The AGA through its "Stop Illegal Gambling - Play it Safe" initiative, is working with law enforcement and the private sector to distinguish the highly regulated, $240 billion legal gaming industry from illegal gambling and criminal enterprises that fund horrific crimes, the AGA announced in a press release Tuesday.
While the industry may have avoided shining a light on illegal gambling in the past so as not to attract unwanted attention to itself, American Gaming Association CEO Geoff Freeman said Tuesday the group has made it a priority as they have been educating lawmakers and presidential candidates about the highly regulated industry, writes Kimberly Pierceall of the Associated Press.
"I'll take that exposure any day of the week," Freeman said.
Their research claims to have found connections between some online gambling sites and organized crime families in both New York and Philadelphia. They also revealed that a motorcycle gang and Texas drug traffickers had derived $68 million from gambling activity.
Freeman and several former and current law enforcement officials said the money from illegal sports betting was being used to fund other crimes.
"This is what oils the machine," said Ed Davis, former Boston Police Commissioner who sits on the American Gaming Association's illegal gambling advisory board that includes former Homeland Security and FBI officials. Unless investigators and prosecutors pay attention to it, more heinous crimes could follow, he said.
Those in attendance during the Tuesday September 29 3 pm PST conference were:
Mark Brnovich, Attorney General of Arizona
Keith Kaneshiro, Prosecuting Attorney General for Honolulu
Dr. Jay S. Albanese, Virginia Commonwealth University
Geoff Freeman, AGA president and CEO Members of the AGA Illegal Gambling Advisory Board
Tim Murphy, former deputy director of the FBI
Ed Davis, former Boston Police Commissioner
James Dinkins, former executive associate director at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations
J.B. Van Hollen, former Wisconsin State attorney general, U.S. attorney, and district attorney
Bill Young, former Clark County Sheriff and head of Las Vegas Metro Police Department
- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
