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Gambling911.com can reveal that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), led by one Sgt. Charlie Gillespie, has been notifying various websites that operate in Canada to be wary if they operate in the Internet gambling sector.
The province of Alberta in particular has cast a watchful eye on the Internet gambling. In 2007, The Alexander First Nation sovereign Indians of Alberta were denied the right to house online gambling websites on its land. Provincial legislation banned these types of facilities from operating in Alberta.
A number of payment processors associated with online gambling also originated from the region, specifically Calgary. In 2007, the two founders of online gambling's then most popular payment processor NETeller, were charged by US law enforcement with money laundering and eventually plead guilty.
Canadian Douglas Rennick last month was found in contempt of court after failing to comply with a subpoena issued by a US grand jury. Rennick was indicted days after Gambling911.com parent company, Costigan Media, filed a Motion to Intervene in order to obtain sealed information on an investigation of Rennick being conducted by the US Attorney's Office out of the Southern District of New York. The Honorable Judge Laura Taylor Swain awarded Costigan Media access to said information with some individual and company names still permitted to be redacted due to an ongoing investigation.
Another online payment processing company, Intabill, also had tieds to Alberta, Canada through one of its shareholders. Intabill became notorious last year for owing $30 million to various companies it did business with ($3 million to online poker rooms).
Experts who have talked with Gambling911.com about Alberta's sudden interest in the Internet gambling sector suggest there may be other variables at play, specifically a move that would have the Canadian Lotteries legalizing (and making money from) online poker.
"It's not entirely clear that Alberta alone is monitoring those sites that affiliate themselves with the (online gambling) industry," said one analyst.
Some lottery corporations across Canada are starting to place their bets on the once-underground world of online gambling, hoping that government-endorsed games will provide some credibility to the unregulated industry, according to a report in the Vancouver Sun. Loto-Quebec is the latest body to announce an online poker website, which will launch in the fall.
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Alejandro Botticelli, Gambling911.com
