thanks Clevfan from MW for the read
Mar 28, 2006
Wheel of fortune
CHRISTINE COX
Tribune Staff Writer
Whether it involves clicking on an online slot machine, laying down at a Web poker hand, or spinning an on-screen roulette wheel, Internet gambling is hotter than blazing sevens.
Gambling Web sites hauled in $12 billion worldwide last year, up from $8 billion the year before, according to Christiansen Capital Advisors, a research firm that tracks gambling statistics. Online gambling is expected to double to $24 billion by 2010.CCA estimates 9 million U.S. residents gamble with "some regularity."
This despite online gambling being illegal in the United States.Federal law prohibits online casinos from operating in the United States, and the estimated 1,800 Internet gambling sites are run from foreign countries.
The Department of Justice also says it's illegal for individuals to gamble online, though three judicial rulings have questioned the law.
Several states, including Indiana, have created their own laws restricting Internet gambling. In Indiana, the activity falls under the category of "unlawful gambling" and is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to 180 days in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.
Despite the layers of law, an online bettor has a better chance of winning the World Series of Poker than being arrested for Internet gambling, says attorney I. Nelson Rose, an expert on online gambling.
Only one person in the history of Internet gambling has ever been arrested, Rose says. That North Dakota man paid a $500 fine, moved out of the state and became a very successful gambler, Rose says.
"At least one person wins the World Series of Poker each year," he says.
Police and prosecutors "don't want to be in the business of knocking on bedroom doors and going after $5 bettors," he says.
Catherine Wilson, spokeswoman for the St. Joseph County Prosecutor's Office, says her office would potentially prosecute online gamblers and would possibly refer such cases to the U.S. Attorney's Office or FBI.
She doesn't know if the office has ever prosecuted online gambling but says no cases have been brought to prosecutor Michael Dvorak since he took office in 2003.
Whether it's legal or illegal, experts expect online gambling to continue to grow.
"The big question is how long we're going to keep doing this and not license it, and regulate and not collect taxes on it," says Indianapolis attorney Greg Hahn, who's worked in the gambling industry since the 1970s.
"Gaming in our society is accepted by probably 80 percent of the population, and as more and more people get a home computer ..., it will only continue to get bigger."
Though governments are discussing Internet gambling constantly, "There's no technical way you can block it," Hahn says. "We'd have the same screaming and howling over (right to privacy as with) the eavesdropping over e-mails and telephones."
In the end, Hahn predicts, governments will decide to benefit from Web gambling. "They are going to come to that point where it's the same as going to the riverboat, and we need to regulate this and tax it. That's the bottom line."
Mar 28, 2006
Wheel of fortune
CHRISTINE COX
Tribune Staff Writer
Whether it involves clicking on an online slot machine, laying down at a Web poker hand, or spinning an on-screen roulette wheel, Internet gambling is hotter than blazing sevens.
Gambling Web sites hauled in $12 billion worldwide last year, up from $8 billion the year before, according to Christiansen Capital Advisors, a research firm that tracks gambling statistics. Online gambling is expected to double to $24 billion by 2010.CCA estimates 9 million U.S. residents gamble with "some regularity."
This despite online gambling being illegal in the United States.Federal law prohibits online casinos from operating in the United States, and the estimated 1,800 Internet gambling sites are run from foreign countries.
The Department of Justice also says it's illegal for individuals to gamble online, though three judicial rulings have questioned the law.
Several states, including Indiana, have created their own laws restricting Internet gambling. In Indiana, the activity falls under the category of "unlawful gambling" and is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to 180 days in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.
Despite the layers of law, an online bettor has a better chance of winning the World Series of Poker than being arrested for Internet gambling, says attorney I. Nelson Rose, an expert on online gambling.
Only one person in the history of Internet gambling has ever been arrested, Rose says. That North Dakota man paid a $500 fine, moved out of the state and became a very successful gambler, Rose says.
"At least one person wins the World Series of Poker each year," he says.
Police and prosecutors "don't want to be in the business of knocking on bedroom doors and going after $5 bettors," he says.
Catherine Wilson, spokeswoman for the St. Joseph County Prosecutor's Office, says her office would potentially prosecute online gamblers and would possibly refer such cases to the U.S. Attorney's Office or FBI.
She doesn't know if the office has ever prosecuted online gambling but says no cases have been brought to prosecutor Michael Dvorak since he took office in 2003.
Whether it's legal or illegal, experts expect online gambling to continue to grow.
"The big question is how long we're going to keep doing this and not license it, and regulate and not collect taxes on it," says Indianapolis attorney Greg Hahn, who's worked in the gambling industry since the 1970s.
"Gaming in our society is accepted by probably 80 percent of the population, and as more and more people get a home computer ..., it will only continue to get bigger."
Though governments are discussing Internet gambling constantly, "There's no technical way you can block it," Hahn says. "We'd have the same screaming and howling over (right to privacy as with) the eavesdropping over e-mails and telephones."
In the end, Hahn predicts, governments will decide to benefit from Web gambling. "They are going to come to that point where it's the same as going to the riverboat, and we need to regulate this and tax it. That's the bottom line."
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