Posted on 01/21/2007 7:11:27 PM PST by STARWISE
The Justice Department has issued subpoenas to at least four Wall Street investment banks as part of a widening investigation into the multibillion-dollar online gambling industry, according to people briefed on the investigation.
The subpoenas were issued to firms that had underwritten the initial public offerings of some of the most popular online gambling sites that operate abroad. The banks involved in the inquiry include HSBC, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and Dresdner Kleinwort, these people said.
While online gaming sites like PartyGaming and 888 Holdings operate from Gibraltar and their initial public offerings were held on the London Stock Exchange, companies that do business with them and have large bases in United States have come under scrutiny by regulators in Washington.
None of the biggest United States banks like Goldman Sachs or Citigroup underwrote the initial public offerings in London, ....
(snip)
Unable to go directly after the casinos, which are based overseas, they have sought to prosecute the operations’ American partners, marketing arms and now, possibly, investors.
(snip)
These offshore casinos, typically based in Costa Rica or Antigua, allow American bettors to use their home and office computers to place wagers on a range of contests.
(snip)
.... with the arrest last year of David Carruthers, the chief executive of an Internet sports book, BetonSports. The company is based in Britain and has operations in Costa Rica, but Mr. Carruthers was detained at the Dallas airport while traveling through the United States.
(snip)
Several weeks later, agents of the Port Authority of New York arrested Peter Dicks, the chairman of Sport-ingbet, which offers online sports betting and, like Mr. Carruthers’s company, trades on the London Stock Exchange. Mr. Dicks was arrested at Kennedy Airport.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Ya think this has anything to do with all the money the Indians and the gaming industry give to politicians?
Cha . .PING!
Dunno .. you?
Lets attack people engaging in consensual crimes on the internet, that is a great use of our resources!
Have they found any evidence of terrorists actually using online gambling sites to launder money?
its just unreal how motivated DOJ can be - for nonsense like this. but on other stuff, they just seem to run away. anyone prosecuted for national security leaks? no. sandy berger? walks. and on and on.
Ya think this has anything to do with all the money the Indians and the gaming industry give to politicians?
-----
Right on. And such a serious issue...our country continues to be invaded by unknown illegal foreigners, with unknown intentions, and all Washington can do is worry about on-line gambling. About as important as drugs in baseball.
Yes, a real responsible government.
Tell me about it. So stupid.
I'm gonna have to listen to Neil Cavuto tomorrow afternoon. He will have the skinny on this.
But isn't day trading the same thing as online gambling?
that's the other irony here. these same firms, during the internet bubble, defrauded americans out of billions. any federal prosecutions?
It's different in that day trading is not a zero sum game. However, the general point is well made... in favor of gambling. A bunch of people are setting the probabilities of the outcomes of a certain event. Just pontificating about it doesn't work, they put money on it, it is the money that forces the right probabilties.
In, say, the commodities markets, this is important. It is important in the economy to know the best probabilities of certain outcomes. Capital is allocated around those probabilities. Now football... some people would say who cares? That is why it's illegal. But for millions of Americans, it is important. Certain people have decided to take federal agents away from fighting terrorism, identity theft, etc. because fighting online gambling is more important.
No. Casinos all want to get into the online gaming business. This has EVERYTHING to do with nosy social conservatives who just can't stand anyone having a good time.
This is an example of social conservatism's downside.
Ya think? I don't know..it's the government pissed off they don't get a cut of all that money.
Sad but true. After years of working with Gov't enities I have just about tossed in the towel. This kind of crap is all they really care about.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.