Cleveland Plain Dealer Article: Web betting: Chances are you'll get away with it

[clevfan]

Web betting: Chances are you'll get away with it

01/26/03


Special to The Plain Dealer


Which football team is your pick to win today's Super Bowl? Tampa Bay or Oakland? If you're really confident in your choice, maybe you've even placed a bet on the game.

Not so long ago, you would either have to go to a casino in a state with legalized gambling or you would have to place an illegal bet with the corner bookie. (You can legally make a private bet in your home. Office bets are illegal, however, because an office is a place of public accommodation.)

But those days are gone. Today, it's so much easier. You can place bets on sporting events and engage in virtually any type of gambling from the comfort of your home. Just log on to your computer, have your credit card ready and you're ready to wager.

According to a report in December by the U.S. General Accounting Office, Internet gambling operators have established 1,800 Web sites. These computer casinos will generate an estimated $5 billion in revenues this year. More than half of all bets come from U.S. customers.

How do you find these electronic gambling establishments? It's as simple as doing a search on your computer. Or turn on your radio, because several of the major stations in Cleveland regularly run ads for online gambling services.

But wait a minute. Isn't gambling, for the most part, illegal in Ohio? Let's look at the current and future status of Internet gambling.

Is Internet gambling legal in Ohio?

The answer appears to be no. Although Ohio has no law directly aimed at online gambling, the law does make it illegal "to knowingly engage in conduct that facilitates any scheme or game of chance conducted for profit." Cyberspace casinos are certainly operated for profit. According to Ohio law, participating in a gambling game "facilitates" that game, so Ohio residents who log on and play are most likely violating the law. Even the radio stations carrying ads promoting gambling over the Internet may be breaking the law by "facilitating" gambling.

Is this law being enforced?

I am unaware of a single prosecution for Internet betting in Ohio. Our politicians publicly condemn the evils of gambling. So why is prosecuting Internet gambling given a low priority?

It's not that Internet gambling is any less harmful than gambling in traditional casinos.

"Internet gaming en courages addiction, . . . is rife with fraud and has strong links to or ganized crime," said U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl, an Arizona Republican.

And the GAO report suggested that Internet gambling may be used to launder money from illegal drug transactions and possibly for terrorism.

The most likely explanation for the lack of enforcement in Ohio is that it's difficult. Customers play from the privacy of their homes. The casinos/Web sites typically are far away, in foreign jurisdictions.

But although prosecution would be difficult, it's not impossible. For example, customers might be tracked down through credit card payment records.

Are there federal laws that apply?

No federal law squarely prohibits Internet gambling. U.S. prosecutors have gone after a number of online gambling schemes under the federal 1961 Wire Act. That law prohibits businesses from knowingly receiving or sending certain types of bets or information that assists in placing bets over interstate and international wires.

Unfortunately, because the law was not specifically created to stop Internet gambling, the language of the statute doesn't fit perfectly. And some courts have refused to apply the law to online betting, while others have given it only a narrow interpretation.

During the last Congress, several bills were introduced that would specifically outlaw Internet gambling. The House passed one version, but no bill was adopted by both houses.

If gambling is evil, then the laws should be strengthened and enforced. Otherwise, it should be made legal, regulated and taxed. Apparently, all those Internet-gaming operators think the odds are on their side that no changes are on the horizon.

Budish is a partner in the law firm of Budish & Solomon in Pepper Pike.

To reach Armond Budish:

info@budishandsolomon.com.

[Fishhead]

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