Free Republic

Prosecutors and defense attorneys in the Allied Veterans of the World case are disputing whether Attorney General Pam Bondi must answer a subpoena and testify. Court records show the state has asked a judge to quash a subpoena for Bondi, who is scheduled for a deposition next week by attorneys for several defendants in the gambling and money laundering case. Bondi argued in her motion that her testimony is no different from what other witnesses could offer and she is entitled to “testimonial immunity” due to her rank. Defense attorney Curtis Fallgatter argued in court documents that Bondi was briefed...

Two Republican senators running for president reintroduced a bill Wednesday that would effectively ban Internet poker and other forms of online gambling—legislation that has long been championed by casino magnate and GOP mega-donor Sheldon Adelson. Both Lindsey Graham and Marco Rubio joined a handful of Republicans and one Democrat in reviving the Restoration of America's Wire Act, a measure that proponents say would "restore" the proper interpretation of a decades-old federal ban on some gambling operations by expanding it to include Internet gambling.

Conservative advocates, including Grover Norquist and Lawson Bader, joined the fight to stop Congress from banning internet gambling, through H.R. 4301 and S. 2159, companion bills both titled “Restore America's Wire Act” with a blistering coalition letter. “The real intention of this bill is to remove the states' 10th Amendment authority to regulate online gambling as states see fit within their own borders,” the letter said. “We hope you will not allow RAWA to become yet another instance where the federal government expands its encroachment into the states’ purview,” the letter said. “State governments are more than capable of making...

In February, an attack ad titled "Don’t Let the Games Begin" started popping up in online gambling forums. The ad opens on two shadows shaking hands in a dark city alley. We see a distraught mother at her laptop, a young child at a computer in a dim bedroom, police cars with sirens. A narrator with a scaly voice comes on. "An established al-Qaeda poker network could extract enough untraceable money from the United States in just a few days to fund several 9/11-sized attacks," he says. "Say no to internet gambling."The message is clear: internet gambling will fund terrorism...

With the closure of the recent Atlantic Club Casino Hotel, rumors of the bankrupt Revel being sold to Hard Rock, Las Vegas real estate prices remaining depressed, casinos opening up all around the country and online gambling legislation underway in various states, it seems as if the reasons for the very existence of Atlantic City and Las Vegas are in serious jeopardy. Beginning in the late 1940s, Las Vegas became known as the 'adult playground of the world.' Celebrities knew they made the big time when their names graced the billboards of ‘Sin City.’ Gamblers hoping to make money would...

(Reuters) - The Obama administration cleared the way for states to legalize Internet poker and certain other online betting in a switch that may help them reap billions in tax revenue and spur web-based gambling. A Justice Department opinion dated September and made public on Friday reversed decades of previous policy that included civil and criminal charges against operators of some of the most popular online poker sites. Until now, the department held that online gambling in all forms was illegal under the Wire Act of 1961, which bars wagers via telecommunications that cross state lines or international borders.

This is the terrifying moment two armed robbers stormed a Florida internet cafe, in a dramatic shoot-out which left one man dead. Chilling footage shows the men, dressed in dark clothing and bandannas, charge into the store before being confronted by a security guard. Customers can be seen hiding under their chairs and computer screens as bullets rip through the store. The security guard then shoots down one of the robbers, 21-year-old Gary Bryant, who crawls away from the store to a getaway car before being dumped by his accomplices in a nearby parking lot. Bryant later died in hospital...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The District of Columbia is becoming the first U.S. jurisdiction to allow Internet gambling, moving ahead of traditional gaming meccas like New Jersey and Nevada in a bid to bring in millions of dollars in extra revenue. Permitting the online games was part of the 2011 budget and a 30-day period for Congress to object expired last week, said D.C. Councilman Michael A. Brown, who authored the provision.

WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia is becoming the first US jurisdiction to allow Internet gambling, in a bid to bring in millions of dollars in new revenue. Permitting the online games was part of the 2011 budget, and a 30-day period for Congress to object expired last week, said Councilman Michael A. Brown, who authored the provision. The gambling would be operated by Intralot, a firm based in Greece, and would be available only to those making bets within the borders of the district. Officials were not sure when the gambling would begin. Though other states have contemplated legalizing...

Thompson might still be hanging in there in national polls , but those trading money on the probability of Thompson becoming the nominee are increasingly bearish on his chances. At one point, the probability of Thompson winning the GOP nomination was trading at 35% at Intrade . Over the last month his position has deteriorated, and in the last several days crumbled. At Intrade Thompson is trading at 8.4%. At Iowa Electronic Markets 7.1%, The validity of future’s markets is sometimes questioned. No one was questioning them, however, when Fred was trading at 35% .

But then there is nothing run-of-the-mill about the case that Mr. Mendel, a Texan who was born and raised in Southern California, has been waging against his own government before the World Trade Organization, the body in Geneva that sets the ground rules for global trade. The dispute stretches back to 2003, when Mr. Mendel first persuaded officials in Antigua and Barbuda, a tiny nation in the Caribbean with a population of around 70,000, to instigate a trade complaint against the United States, claiming its ban against Americans gambling over the Internet violated Antigua and Barbuda’s rights as a member...

The Skill Game Protection Act Defines Poker as a Skill GameA Florida politician who believes poker should be considered a game of skill has introduced a bill that would allow people to play online poker legally with government protection in the United States. The Skill Game Protection Act had been introduced by Representative Robert Wexler (D-Fla.). The bill would make several games, including poker, mah-jongg, bridge, and chess, exempt from current laws aimed against online gambling. Basically, the bill aims to clarify which games are skill games and which games are not. The bill specifically calls poker a game of...

On March 16th the United States government asked for and was granted a continuance in their case against NETeller founders Stephen Lawrence and John Lefebvre. The schedule hearing will now take place on April 16th, 2007 according to an announcement by the Information Office of the United States Attorney in New York. Department of Justice spokesperson Rebecca Carmichael informed reporters that the extension had not been opposed by the two NETeller founders, both of which posted bail bonds of $5 million following their arrests by the FBI. Lawrence and Lefebvre are still confined to the New York City limits until...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Miami executive and his wife pleaded guilty to participating in a $3.3 billion (1.7 billion pound) illegal Internet sports gambling operation in New York on Friday, the Queens District Attorney's office said. Daniel Clarin, 32, and his wife Melissa Clarin, 31, pleaded guilty in court to enterprise corruption and conspiracy charges for taking part in the operation that ran over a 28-month period, according to a news release. Sentencing was set for April 26. The operation took bets on sports including horse-racing, football, baseball, basketball, hockey, NASCAR races, PGA golf and professional tennis, the release...

The FBI has frozen funds held in customer accounts at Neteller, the "virtual wallet" payment processor, as part of its case against the firm's two Canadian founders who were last month arrested and charged with racketeering and money laundering. Neteller refused to disclose how much had been frozen but company filings make clear huge sums were flowing between its US customers' "e-wallets" and online merchants - particularly gambling websites - up until the firm was pressured to close its American operations in the wake of last month's arrests. Over a six-month period last year the company processed transactions worth $5.1bn...

THE US Department of Justice has ordered the world’s biggest investment banks, accountants and law firms to hand over all e-mails, telephone records and papers connected with internet gaming firms as part of an investigation into illegal online gambling in America. HSBC, Dresdner Kleinwort, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank are known to be among the banks that have been issued with subpoenas — official requests for information — as part of a worldwide hunt to build a case against those who benefited from illegal online gambling. Britain has been the fundraising centre for many internet gambling companies, with a number...

Stephen Lawrence and John Lefebvre Detained while Traveling Separately Two former NETELLER executives were detained while traveling separately through the United States yesterday (Jan. 15) in "connection with the creation and operation of an Internet payment services company that facilitated the transfer of billions of dollars of illegal gambling proceeds from United States citizens to the owners of various Internet gambling companies located overseas," according to the U.S. Attorney General's office of Southern New York. NETELLER suspended trading its shares on the London Stock Exchange in lieu of the detention of founding members Stephen Lawrence and John Lefebvre. Besides owning...

One of the problems inherent in being just one voice in 300 million is that it's easy to believe that individual votes do not matter. Not only do individual votes matter, but the mainstream has noticed that the voices and votes of gamblers may have had a crucial impact in a few key races in the recent mid-term elections. On Wednesday, Robert Novak of the Evans-Novak Political Report published his morning-after overview of the wave that washed many Republicans out of office. Here's his quick take on the unexpected defeat of Representative Jim Leach, (R-IA), who was the original author...

“Online gambling is on the rise, and there is a need to do something about this at a global level'' Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell told reporters, during a conference outside of London, at a famed, 300 year-old horse racing track. Internet gambling revenues have more than doubled in the U.K. during the past five years, a study for the government, released this week, demonstrates. The report bolsters the case that online gaming regulation -- as practiced by the British government -- works, experts are telling Onlinecasinocrawler.com. Gene Koprowski, UPI

A new poll, sponsored by the Mountaineer Race Track and Gaming Resort, shows that a majority of West Virginia residents support legalized "table gaming," including poker and blackjack throughout the state. The survey indicated that 64.9 percent of state residents "favor" table gambling, while 42.1 percent are set against it. In Hancock County, where the state capital of Wheeling is located, 67 percent of residents are in favor of legalizing gambling, and 26 percent are now against it. Gene Koprowski, UPI