Why is US government so keen on shuttering gambling websites but Las Vegas is A-ok?

[nauru]

I don't get this.

They are also trying to shut down gambling websites that are not even based in the United States.

Why is gambling fine if you go to Vegas or Atlantic City, and of course fine if you are doing it in someplace outside the United States or on a cruise ship, but not fine if you are on a website?

 

[monovillage]

Probably because the government doesn't feel it's getting a big enough cut.

 

[jruchko]

It is kind of like fighting terrorism and requiring searches before getting on an airplane yet leave our borders wide open.

 

[dfuze]

Probably because the government doesn't feel it's getting a big enough cut.

If I were a betting man (bad pun intended) I would say this you're right.

 

[Kadarin]

It's ALWAYS about the money.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Physical places can be regulated and inspected

Online places can not - where is the verification that everything is legit.

Look at what was recently busted - ponzi scheme.

 

[Joepublic2]

Probably because the government doesn't feel it's getting a big enough cut.

QFT

 

[nonlnear]

Physical places can be regulated and inspected

Online places can not - where is the verification that everything is legit.

Head assplosion.
This kind of claim is the height of stupidity.

Look at what was recently busted - ponzi scheme.

So you're saying that it is possible to use laws to fight fraud even *gasp* in an online business? Do you even read what you type?

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

Full Tilt Poker was running a Ponsi scheme based out of Dublin. Wish we would have shut them down sooner. Good riddance.

 

[PokerGuy]

The government has no good way to get a cut from the off-shore businesses, but it gets a healthy take from the Vegas ones. Thus, it does the same thing any criminal organization would do in such a scenario, it tries to shut down the competition.

 

[MotF Bane]

Taxes.

.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Physical places can be regulated and inspected

Online places can not - where is the verification that everything is legit.
.

Head assplosion.
This kind of claim is the height of stupidity.

Are you stating that the online places can not be regulated and verified

Look at what was recently busted - ponzi scheme.

So you're saying that it is possible to use laws to fight fraud even *gasp* in an online business? Do you even read what you type?

I read what I typed - what was the issue. For online business, it is more difficult.

How long was the system up stealing from people before they were shutdown?

For physical locations, they can be taken down in minutes; offshore, requires cooperation of the host and tracking of the location

 

[nonlnear]

I read what I typed - what was the issue. For online business, it is more difficult.

You sure softened your stance in a hurry.

How long was the system up stealing from people before they were shutdown?

How long would it have been upif legislators had drafted sensible rules and guidance for the industry rather than ignoring it for so long and then pretending that fraud is inherently more likely for online gambling?

For physical locations, they can be taken down in minutes; offshore, requires cooperation of the host and tracking of the location

By "in minutes", you mean mobilizing assets that have huge operating costs to maintain said level of availability? An army of bodies for physical enforcement is only "easy" if you ignore the operating costs.

What makes you so sure that regulating physical gambling locations is so comparitively simple anyways? Do you have a clue what goes into the enforcement measures enacted in physical casinos to make sure they are operating within specifications? Sure shutting a place down consists of kicking everybody out and shutting the doors, but detecting systemic fraud is not much easier for physical casinos than online ones. You still need to audit the software base, inspect the hardware, monitor payouts, etc.

 

[Darwin333]

Physical places can be regulated and inspected

Online places can not - where is the verification that everything is legit.

Look at what was recently busted - ponzi scheme.

Naw, they just aren't getting their cut.

If you win a decent sum of money in a casino they give you tax forms and report it. I highly doubt such a thing happens with overseas websites.

 

[EagleKeeper]

How do you inspect online sites?

One can not legislate off shore business.

All that can happened is to investigate and determine what laws may be broken and work with the local authorities (if they cooperate) on getting the problems resolved.

The only other option is to shut down the pipeline that allows such sites to operate - money transfer.

If Nevada wanted to shut down a casino (and I have participated in); it takes less than a day to prepare the paperwork to get 10-15 marshals to move in and close down the facility. Then it is sealed until each machine is inventoried. Bank accounts tied to the casino are frozen and chips are counted.

Prior to the time optional accounts/assets have been investigated and may also be closed.

No casino wants to be closed down - it is a license to print money.
Closure happens when they can not meet the financial requirements and/or fraud is smelled/suspected (not just proved). Allegations of fraud are checked out seriously before a casino is allowed to reopen the affected section.

A person standing up in the middle of the room complaining is not considered to be fraud.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Naw, they just aren't getting their cut.

If you win a decent sum of money in a casino they give you tax forms and report it. I highly doubt such a thing happens with overseas websites.

You are correct in terms of lost tax revenue.

However, when a site "banks" 100K from players, yet only has 20K of real money to back up the "bank"; there is a problem.

Even slot machines that hit jackpots have the total properly funded for land systems.

Virtual systems, there is no such accountability.

 

[nonlnear]

How do you inspect online sites?

Your argument from incredulity is strong.

You develop regulations outlining necessary disclosures and specifications (including odds, randomness, etc.) and audit the software being used according to relevant industry standards.

One can not legislate off shore business.

Tell that to Kim Dotcom.

If there were a sensible regulatory framework for domestic online gambling there wouldn't be such demand for offshore sites. People actually like the place they gamble to have a measure of trust.

All that can happened is to investigate and determine what laws may be broken and work with the local authorities (if they cooperate) on getting the problems resolved.

The only other option is to shut down the pipeline that allows such sites to operate - money transfer.

If Nevada wanted to shut down a casino (and I have participated in); it takes less than a day to prepare the paperwork to get 10-15 marshals to move in and close down the facility. Then it is sealed until each machine is inventoried. Bank accounts tied to the casino are frozen and chips are counted.

Prior to the time optional accounts/assets have been investigated and may also be closed.

No casino wants to be closed down - it is a license to print money.
Closure happens when they can not meet the financial requirements and/or fraud is smelled/suspected (not just proved). Allegations of fraud are checked out seriously before a casino is allowed to reopen the affected section.

A person standing up in the middle of the room complaining is not considered to be fraud.[/QUOTE]
I'm not sure what point you are trying to make here: that shutting down a casino is a quick 15 minute operation, or that the entire process requires a significant investment in enforcement. There is no core function of gaming law enforcement on the Vegas strip that couldn't be duplicated for online gambling. The real reason is the entrenched gaming lobby didn't have a stake in the online action early on so they snuffed it.

 

[Matt1970]

You have to blame the credit card companies. The credit card companies had a law passed that all transactions from a gambling site on a credit card needs to be reported as such. The gambling sites were not complying.

 

[rudder]

The FBI doesn't want it's help lines flooded with calls from people saying they were ripped off by an out-of-country online casino.

 

[nonlnear]

The FBI doesn't want it's help lines flooded with calls from people saying they were ripped off by an out-of-country online casino.

Are you saying that is a reason for or against legal, regulated online gambling?

 

[monovillage]

Are you saying that is a reason for or against legal, regulated online gambling?

Sounds like you have a personal and financial interest in online gambling. Do you?

Not meant about personal gambling, but as a money making operation.

 

[tydas]

My question is how penny auctions are not gambling? They should be shut down next...I'm for online gambling but I would guess the gov would need to develop guidelines and such to allow...

 

[nonlnear]

Sounds like you have a personal and financial interest in online gambling. Do you?

Not meant about personal gambling, but as a money making operation.

No. I have a principled personal interest in liberty.

I hold no investments in anything related to gaming. (Not counting if any of the mutual funds in my retirement account has some tiny holding, but I hope you would concede that is immaterial.)

 

[crownjules]

You want the real reason? Online gambling was taking a huge chunk of profits away from B&M casinos. So they lobbied government to ban them, tugging at the strings of Congressman by feeding them the lines of "People avoid paying you taxes on online gambling winnings" and "You're protecting the American people from themselves/these are criminal groups taking their money."

Law goes on the books. People have to go back to the casinos to gamble.

 

[monovillage]

No. I have a principled personal interest in liberty.

I hold no investments in anything related to gaming. (Not counting if any of the mutual funds in my retirement account has some tiny holding, but I hope you would concede that is immaterial.)

Thank you for a straight forward reply. I really appreciate it. Any small holding is immaterial.