ARTICLE: Justice department warns Montanans against starting online casinos; sparked by Sirbet newspaper ad

[clevfan]

Justice department warns Montanans against starting online casinos

Associated Press

HELENA - The state Justice Department is warning Montanans not to become Internet gambling entrepreneurs because doing so is illegal.


Justice officials have for years said that gambling online is illegal in Montana, but now they've learned a company is offering Montanans the chance to set up gambling Web sites as well.


An advertisement published in The Billings Gazette on Friday encouraged people to operate their own online casino, Gene Huntington, state Gambling Control Division administrator, said Tuesday.


"Quite commonly we get reports of people gambling on the Internet," Huntington said. "This is the first time we've seen someone trying to set up Montana as a place to start your own Web site" for gambling.


The ad says the company, Sirbet.com, will help interested parties set up a site for online sports betting and games of chance for less than $499, after which the operators can make $5,000 to $10,000 a week as their share of the profits.


So far, the department hasn't had heard of anyone trying to take the company up on its offer, but Huntington said the department is "trying to catch it in time."


Huntington said all gambling is illegal under Montana's Constitution unless specifically authorized by the Legislature, and lawmakers have not approved online gambling.


Also, a law bars Montanans from gambling on credit, and most Internet sites require credit cards to place wagers, Huntington said.


Repeated calls by The Associated Press to Sirbet.com were not returned Tuesday. The Web site says Sirbet.com is licensed and operates from the island of Curacao in Netherlands Antilles in the Caribbean.


A disclaimer on the Web site encourages interested people to check the laws in their area before participating.


The state Justice Department tries to make sure gambling sites identify Montana as a state that prohibits gambling online, Huntington said. A department review of the sites that his staff could find showed that in most cases, Montana is on the lists of prohibited places, he said.


There's really not much else the state can do, said John Tooke, a member of the state Gambling Advisory Council and owner of the Golden Spur Casino in Miles City.


"It's going to be difficult to stop people unless you start kicking down doors and that's not a viable public policy," Tooke said.


It's a conundrum that affects those business owners who do obey Montana's gaming laws, he said. Instead of being customers in casinos, gamblers are at home on their computers, he said.


"I want live, breathing customers in my joint," Tooke said. "We want people in the seats … and we spend an awful lot of time developing that customer base. It's really frustrating because there is not a lot you can do to compete."

[clevfan]

As a follow up, here is the press release from Montana Attorney General:

News Release
ATTORNEY GENERAL MIKE MCGRATH
STATE OF MONTANA
FOR RELEASE: December 5, 2003
CONTACT: Gene Huntington, Gambling Control Division Administrator, 444-1971
Department of Justice Warns that Internet Gambling Illegal in Montana
HELENA – An ad that appeared in the classified section of a daily Montana newspaper Friday encouraging people to invest in an on-line gambling casino could create some problems, Gambling Control Division administrator Gene Huntington said.

Huntington warned anyone considering such a business that Internet gambling is illegal in Montana and that anyone conducting such a business here could face criminal prosecution.

The ad offered: “OWN YOUR OWN CASINO.” For $499, a company in Phoenix, Arizona, would set up a web site for people responding to the ad. The customer would then solicit others to visit the site to make online sports wagers, or to gamble on on-line activities such as roulette, craps or slot machines, all of which are illegal in Montana, Huntington explained.

Huntington said that the Gambling Control Division is interested in hearing from anyone who has already invested money to set up such a web site, believing it to be legal. Anyone who has invested in such an Internet “casino” or any other Internet gambling scheme is urged to contact the Montana Department of Justice, Gambling Investigation Bureau, in Helena at 406-444-1971.

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[Unitas]

Sure make that call so they can break down your door and arrest you and then take your hpme and car , and charge you under the RICO ACT LMFAO MERRY CHRISTMAS UNITAS