Quote:
Originally Posted by Kimmykim
The two are not the same. While I am not advocating the arrests, the US point is not that this was a non-US business run by non-US citizens.
The point is that the business was targeting US citizens, allowing transactions from US banks -- encouraging them -- and profiting from an enterprise that the US government has long considered to be illegal -- as far back as 1961, with the implementation of the Wire Act.
Account deposit gaming is illegal, it's been illegal, and it continues to be illegal. Anyone who has participated directly in facilitating ways to 'get around' that law is hugely at risk for incarceration, imo.
At the moment, horse racing -- and then ONLY if the bets go into the pari-mutuel track pool instead of being booked as an account deposit -- is the only legal gambling on the net for US citizens.
The poker craze got kicking with the internet fueling it, and while its sad to see it decline, something else, probably horse racing, will come in and take it's place. Americans aren't going to stop gambling online, that money -- just like water -- finds the path of least resistence and a trickle turns into a river.
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I have to disagree with you there. It's similar to the German government arresting me because my websites don't have the age verification system required in their country, and some of their citizens used a German credit card to access my site.
We can't be expected to follow the laws of every country in the world, that would be impossible since doing what's required by law in one country (giving model id's to secondary producers for instance) violates the law in another country. (EU privacy laws)
We can only follow the laws where we reside and incorporate our businesses, otherwise we'd be subject to prosecution from every jurisdiction in the world that has an internet connection.
This is way over the line IMHO.