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Ashley Alexandra Dupree could have learned a lesson from online casino sites, namely that Eliot Spitzer is not the person to associate with. Spitzer's Call Girl Dupree, the 22 year old blues singer, also known as Kristen, an alias she used when prostituting for the Emperor's Club VIP prostitution ring, has had her identity exposed, and her MySpace profile photo too. Spitzer himself has announced his resignation from the Governor Office of the State of New York, after his use of the Emperor's Club services was exposed. Spitzer's Personal History Spitzer has a history in politics that precedes his days in the governor's Office, and even the nights spent with Dupree. In 2002, then the State's Attorney General, Spitzer was in a strong position to force online casino sites to shut down, which he indeed used. His attacks, which were aimed at banks and credit card companies, were similar to the later the modus operandi adopted by the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). Spitzer's Banking History Banking accounts? Those were the keys to the federal agents' investigation that led to Wednesday's resignation. The investigation began, it was reported, when New York's North Fork Bank notified the Treasury Department about suspicious transfers involving Spitzer's accounts. The money did not go to online casinos, but rather to alleged organizers of a prostitution ring. The transfer of $10,000 from his account was broken down into smaller transfers and asked by Spitzer himself not to be under his own name. Spitzer Is History Ashley Dupree is now a name known to all as Spitzer's call-girl. Her place in history is saved. Spitzer's name too will appear in history books, and it won't be as the person behind the ban on online gambling as he would have liked it to be.
The federal government’s scrutiny of online gambling continues. Next subject of inquiry: Facebook. The Madness March Madness is upon us. Traditionally in this time of year, one of the most exciting and highly popular events takes off. This year as in every year, the top 64 college basketball teams take to the court to compete for the NCAA championship. Along with the teams, millions of Americans enter a bracket of selections for the basketball tournament. This practice has been popular at offices and workplaces, college campuses and simply among friends, for years and years. Basically, these involved paying an entrance fee, and the winnings split between those whose predictions are closest to the end results. The nature of the bets is guessing the tournament match-ups over the coming weeks. Enter Facebook As our friends, co-workers and college classmates have all made the transition to the Internet, namely to social communities, and specifically to Facebook, which counts over 100 million members worldwide, so have the March Madness pools. Facebook makes meeting friends and keeping in touch so much easier. It takes this traditional gambling practice to a new medium and to new heights as well. A simple search on the network shows there are about 20,000 online pools open for anyone to join. Not all involve cash bets, as some are merely for free play. We have covered the relationship between Facebook and gambling in the past, with the widely popular poker applications on the social network. Enter the Feds It also caught the attention of the government, now considering prosecuting those who publish their brackets on Facebook for running illegal online gambling operations. A violation of interstate wagering laws, the FBI calls it. That of course is against the controversial UIGEA law passed in late 2006, just before Facebook made its great leap and introduced such applications as the betting pools. Entry fees and prizes are two major components of online gambling. In FBI spokesman Ross Rice words: "It is fair to say this raises questions. There could be a violation if there's a payout and if the operators take a cut." Ironically, an FBI spokesman admitted, such a prosecution may be too big to handle. It is estimated that 48% of all workers play in an office pool. Prosecution or not – the chances are the FBI itself is involved in some such activity… Enter Common Sense Has the law passed one day in October a couple of years ago made half the population overnight criminals? Surely this is a bit extreme. Gambling is a part of American life, as in this case, and many honest, common and hard-working people around the world. The un-stated political-economic motivation to ban online gambling in the United States, namely that money leaves America’s shores in doing so, does not exist in this case either. The money bet by Americans on Facebook actually stays in the US. Madness Indeed How the prosecution, and the tournament, will end is anybody’s guess. Or not.
A report released by London-based research company Screen Digest predicts online gambling will grow in consumer spending by 2010. The increase will be from the current annual spending amount of 660 million pounds to 1.6 million, and from 1.1 million active gamblers only two years ago to 2.1 million. The growth from 2000 to 2008 was mainly of hard core gamblers, the report states. The next stage, which the numbers depict, will be of leisure gamblers who will join the wagon, sort of speak. This has already been the trend since 2006, and is enabled by more friendly and simple to operate platforms. In fact, gambling products are competing with other forms of mass entertainment for consumer attention and spending, the report claims.
Officials stormed into a facility housing an illegal video gambling club this Thursday evening in Texas. The officials are detaining the players and have seized $40,195 in cash and approximately $130,000 worth of slot machines. The Underground Gambling scene seems to be surfacing in Texas as Capt. Glenn Yorek, Houston Police Department Vice, and HPD Lt. Charlie Vazquez take matters into their own hands. The Star The occupied facility was known as The Star. Vazquez claims that the owner of the facility had gained close to $700 a day per machine. "People need to realize that these places are illegal — they're not regulated. If you go to Coushatta or somewhere else and gamble the machines are regulated. These aren't. They're rigged so that 99.9 percent of people lose their money," said Yorek. In order to detain customers at The Star, the staff provided complimentary snacks and non-alcoholic beverages. On special occasions, the owner would bring fried chicken or pizza to encourage players to spend more time in the club. Similar to the actions of casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas, The Star also offered weekly cash drawings and prizes. Illegal Operations Conning customers is not the only crime involved in the industry. The HPD believe that illegal activity, such as underground gambling, attracts more crime to the county. "There is a lot of theft that goes on. Anywhere you have a lot of cash, especially in an illegal operation, you are going to have a high chance of armed robbery," Yorek said. Although no charges were made on the night of the raid, the machines will be destroyed and the HPD and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office will enjoy the benefits of the funds found in the vicinity. Those who were found at The Star were fined as high as $279 plus legal expenses. Raids to Continue The HPD believe that there are approximately 400 to 500 illegal video gambling facilities in the city and proper publications of the raids are needed in order to assure other underground casinos to shut their doors for good.
A bill to regulate online gambling in South Africa has advanced last week and seems headed to approval. South Africans may very well be able to gamble online one day soon. The current law - the National Gambling Act, Act 7 of 2004 - forbids any such activity. South Africans are not allowed to play casino games or bet online, even if the website operator is located outside the country. As for licenses to operate within South Africa, none such were ever granted. In fact, gamblers face prison sentence and massive fines for gambling. Of course the current legal state also means that players have no protection from corrupt websites. Licenses, which will follow legalization, will lead to independent and state protection agencies, said Themba Marasha, chief operations officer of the National Gambling Board. Gambling Today The number of gamblers in South Africa is unknown. They bet at sites based outside the country. The most popular of them SilverSands, Piggs Peak and African Palace Casinos. The legal state of gambling has a company challenging the ban on gambling in court, which in itself may have motivated the reform that seems upon us. What's Next Now that the Bill passed to the Select Committee of National Provinces, before moving on to the National Assembly for final approval, a change may indeed come. Online gambling sites will be allowed to freely operate (although under restrictions and regulations) and advertise their products. Internet gambling operators will simply have to meet the requirements of South African national technical standards.
Support might be gaining slowly, but it is gaining nonetheless. Congressman Tim Bishop, a Democrat representing the 1st District of New York State, serving his third term in office, has added his signature in support of a regulated online gambling industry in the United States. IGREA - the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act - was introduced in 2007 by Massachusetts Congressman and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank. Also known by its ID, HR 2046, the bill currently counts 47 co-sponsors. Rep. Bishop is the former Provost of Southampton College. His website lists fighting for middle class families and seniors, securing the homeland, and safeguarding the environment among his top priorities. As a New Yorker, and now a supporter of regulated online gambling, Bishop has even won a friendly wager on Super Bowl XLII earlier this year.
The 100 million members strong social community Facebook "does not condone the use of the site for any unlawful purposes, and users must agree as part of the terms of use not to conduct illegal activity." Such was the statement made by the company, following reports that the FBI was looking into its NCAA basketball tournament, also known as March Madness, betting pools. Online betting on the tournament reached mass popularity this year via platforms available on Facebook. The FBI got involved recently as it suspected illegal activity under the United States federal law, banning any sort of online betting. It was illegal, it claimed, for the operators to take a cut, it said. This threatened to dampen the widely popular practice of college students, office workers, and just about anyone who have traditionally participated in NCAA college basketball tournament betting pools. These applications – their number is estimated at several thousands – are not merely by and of individual users. CBSSports.com itself has developed an application that makes it easier for Facebook users to become involved in betting pools. Users can fill out brackets and compare picks with their friends on the site. CBS senior vice president LeslieAnne Wade has commented on the legal developments, saying promoting online gambling was "not our intent with the application." Facebook and CBS are two mainstream ways in which the American population participates in March Madness betting pools. The new media and openness it provides is alarming to the FBI and its conservative ethics. The authorities might have to accept the changing times and endure some of the betting, which is, at the end of the day, nothing new.
CryptoLogic Ltd., one of the industry's leading companies, reported its fourth quarter numbers today. The growth in income, a year since the ban on gambling in the United States came into force, was surprisingly high. The Internet gambling software provider, based in Ireland, where it moved to from Canada, reported its net income for the final quarter of 2007 reached $4.3 million, seven percent higher than a year earlier. The numbers are calculated after a $1.75 million write-off, no less. The numbers are even a surprise for CryptoLogic, which expected them slightly lower than they turned out. The company's recently appointed CEO Brian Hadfield stated that the numbers "demonstrated the resilience of its business." Europe and Asia are thus established as an even greater and more reliable (i.e. profitable) bases for the industry. European and Asian players, new casino games, and some special themed games are regarded as major boosts for the impressive financial report.
A sad day for professional poker players as the parents of Ernest Scherer III, himself a player, were found dead in their home in Pleasanton, California, this past Friday. Scherer's father, Ernest Scherer Jr., is also a respectable poker player who has participated in six poker tournaments winning over $25,000. While the men of the family were playing their cards, Charlene Abendroth, Scherer Jr.'s wife, taught accounting at California State University East Bay. The Discovery After multiple attempts to contact the couple, Scherer Jr.'s daughter contacted the country club and requested their assistance concerning her parents' disappearance. The couple was later found by a staff member of the club who immediately called the authorities. A Poker Career Ernest Scherer Jr. accomplished an honorary amount during his time as a professional poker player. Many men lay behind lacking the proper skills to qualify for the competition, but at the age of 59, Scherer Jr. came in 18th place of the World Series of Poker winning a total amount of $7,775. WSOP Success Scherer III, 29, has made his father proud with his innate success within the gambling society. Scherer III came in 8th place in a Texas Hold ‘em tournament in the 2006 WSOP winning a total of $34,362. The Scherer family gene is reflected in Scherer III's success in 23 poker tournaments earning a total of nearly $300,000. The Investigation According to Alameda County Sheriff Sgt. J.D. Nelson, authorities believe that the couple were beaten and were left for a week before discovered. "They were beaten severely," said Detective Sgt. Scott Dudek, a homicide investigator for the Alameda County Sheriff's Department. "There was a lot of blood everywhere. These people suffered a great deal." In addition to the attack, the house was turned upside down. There have been no arrests so far and authorities are still in search for a motive. Due to the family's association with poker, authorities are looking for a connection between professional gambling and the violent murder. Of course it is still early to claim violence as the cause of death, the case does bring to mind recent events in which poker players were the target of attackers. The family of the deceased has announced a $25,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer or killers.
My pick (OK, I am adopting Sports Illustrated's Stewart Mandel's top pick) is UCLA. The team, the players, the tradition, the coach and the comfortable California-based schedule makes it a favorite to win it all But wait a minute, nobody asked me. I could have sworn that someone said something about March Madness, the annual American festival, in which 64 college basketball teams meet in one of the world's most exciting tournaments. They did say something. But it wasn't about the sport. It wasn't even about the betting that surrounds it. Rather it was about the investigation carried out by the FBI into innocent (or not so innocent) Facebook applications that provide platforms for such betting pools so familiar from practically anyone's office days. How Did This Happen? Betting pools have been as seasonable in March as St. Patrick's Day. They have been as widely accepted as coming into the office late the morning after St. Paddy's. So what is it that made the FBI all of a sudden notice these bets, which an estimated 48% of office workers participate in (only a few percentage points short of Super Bowl betting participation rates)? It's that US ban on online gambling is what it is. UIGEA. What a mess, to suddenly turn this American pastime into a crime, no less. The Feds are not to blame. They are following the letter of the law. UCLA But I stop short of criticizing the law. I stick to my humble guesstimate: UCLA will win the title.
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