Headline April 03, 2016/ ''' INTERNET SPORTS BETTING ''' : *THE EXPANDING UNIVERSE*

''' INTERNET SPORTS BETTING ''' :

 *THE EXPANDING UNIVERSE*

'' TO BET ON SOMETHING with the potential to win more money or lose money is...........Gambling''.

When United States prosecutors say offshore gambling sites are beyond their legal reach, they may not realize what solid leads exist around the corner.......

WHEN ONE  NEW JERSEY company was recently asked why it hosted gambling sites, the company initially denied it-

Then immediately removed more than  100  of those sites from its network. Another network removed two sites after inquiries.

In defiance of United States law, some offshore sports books openly solicit United States customers with slogans such as  ''Because You Can.''  One even helped a reporter fund an illegal wagering account-

Then later explained, how the transaction would be falsely recorded on his credit card as a purchase from a work clothes company.

The  2006  law also failed to foresee how the developing Internet and a mania for  ever-finer  permutations of sports statistics would fuel a gold rush in fantasy sports.

At the time, fantasy sports was a low key competition in which bettors assembled their own teams, then watched how their players performed over an entire season. The legal exemption for fantasy sports was based on its definition not as gambling but as a game of skill.

Today, fantasy sites offer daily contests,  million-dollar prizes and bets on individual sports such as golf,  mixed martial-arts and  Nascar races, magnifying the element of chance and making the exemption tougher to defend.

In recognition of the riches to be mined, the fantasy sports company DraftKings became  Television's  No. 1 advertiser when it showed a commercial every minute and a half in the week leading up to the National Football League season, according to iSpot.tv- which tracks national advertising.

''Why wait until the end of the season to see who was going to win? Let's do it every day,'' said Jeffrey Derevensky, a psychiatry professor at the McGill university who runs an international center that treats problem gamblers.

Seeking a Solution: Concerned that organized crime was reaping huge profits from sports gambling,  Congress in 1961 prohibited the use of telecommunications to transmit betting information.

Another law specifically prohibited most forms of sports betting in all states except Nevada.

Over time,bookies circumvented federal law against taking bets over the telephone by setting up shops overseas.

The arrival of the  Internet  greatly expanded their overseas business because it was quicker and cheaper, said  Steve Budin, a sports handicapper who ran one of the early offshore sites.

That combination of  technology and  geography, Mr. Budin said, ''took away the ability of the  U.S. government to control it.''

Congress tried anyhow. ''It's a fallacy that people think you can stop Internet gambling,'' said Mario Galea a Gambling specialist from Malta. 

''So you try cut around it, to make sure that funds don't reach the operation.''

After nearly 10 years of maneuvering, compromises and, ultimately, anger, the House of Representatives in its last official act before adjourning on Sept 30, 2006, passed a bill at 12:32 a.m. that proponents believed  would-

Deflate the expanding Internet gambling industry by prohibiting credit card payments or electronic fund transfers for any illegal Internet wager. 

Chris Grove, who writes an influential blog,  Legal Sports Report, questioned whether the bill's authors even knew what they hoped to accomplish. ''You are talking about a law that was passed with no input, that was passed with no consideration, no deliberation, no debate,''  Mr. Grove said.

To avoid illegal credit card transactions, wagered money usually remains in the united States, creating the need for the shadow banking system. Bettors settle up in person with the ring's agents or money collectors.

When the police confronted  Joy Tomchin with pictures of her receiving the cash, she said she was merely a conduit for her brother. 

Gerard McNally, a New York City police detective, now retired, said he asked Ms. Tomchin to show him the money. 

''And she did,'' he said. ''She took us to the bank where the money was and she brought us into the safe deposit box and opened it up.''

Ms. Tomchin eventually turned over  $450,000  in cash, Mr. McNally said. She was not indicted, but the Queens district attorney charged 25 people, including Ms. Tomchin's brother, who was identified as a senior operative of Pinnacle Sports, the Website at the core of the vast gambling ring.

Pinnacle was not indicted; Stanley Tomchin forfeited  $1.7 million and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor.

Joy Tomchin did not respond to requests for comment.

Three years ago, the United States attorney in New Jersey charged  13 people tied to the  Genovese organized crime family, including a  ''made'' member, in connection with the online gambling site Beteagle.com based in Costa Rica.

The prosecutor. Paul J Fishman, said a  ''new wrinkle''  in mob-run gambling rings involved the processing of bets offshore.

The authorities did not charge Beteagle itself, nor did it vanish. Several months ago, using electronic search tools,  The Times discovered that Beteagle was being hosted on equipment in Piscataway, N.J, just 28 miles away from Mr. Fishman's Newark office.

The Times, in researching Beteagle's location, uncovered a nest of more than 100 online gambling sites   -none licensed by the state  -connected to the Internet at the Piscataway  data center. [Online sports betting is illegal in New Jersey, though other forms of online gambling are permitted].

A spokeswoman for New Jersey's Division of Gaming Enforcement, Kerry Langan, said the agency had not not been aware of the Piscataway gambling sites.

''The division routinely refers possible illegal activity to the appropriate law enforcement agencies and will certainly do so in this case.'' she added.

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With respectful dedication to the Leaders, Students, Professors and Teachers of the world. See Ya all on !WOW!  -the World Students Society and the Ecosystem 2011.

''' Betting Expectations '''

Good Night and God Bless

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless