FBI SPEAKS ON ONLINE GAMBLING

23 February 2007

"Online gambling is a growing problem," says FBI agent

A television station in Boise, Idaho published some FBI thoughts on Internet gambling this week in a report which superficially covered the continuing popularity of online poker.

Describing the growing poker trend, the KTVB reporter said it was America’s hottest pastime in which the digital age has "...put poker back on top of the world."

Unfortunately, the reporter was not well versed in the intricacies of US federal and state law regarding the game, which she described as "illegal and offshore" following the UIGEA: "Recently, U.S. lawmakers banned online gambling in the U.S. with the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. That act put an end to Internet casinos based in the U.S. So those casinos took their business to foreign countries!"

The report went on to recount the personal experience of one young online poker player before explaining that at any given time, tens of thousands of people are playing, 24 hours a day, every day of the week and quoting FBI agent Patrick Kiernan, who said:

"Online gambling is a growing problem, I think the FBI estimates that it’s growing at a rate of $10 billion a year.

"We don't know who's actually doing it. It could be a young child, it could be someone who is addicted to gambling, yet they don't have the money to do it. And just because you check a box that says you are over 18 and you have a credit card, they are going to take it, because it's money," said Kiernan.

"So what's being done about the problem?" the journalist asks in her investigation. She tried without much success to talk to a number of agencies about what they're doing to stop the allegedly illegal activity. Idaho State Police, the Idaho attorney general, and the local U.S. attorney’s office had no comment on the issue.

The only agency that would comment was the FBI in Salt Lake City.

"We have responsibility here for the state of Idaho, I’ve talked to the agents that work this area and it’s just not a big problem," said Kiernan. The FBI agent goes on to say there's just too many other crimes to worry about.

"Most people don't realize that there is only a little over 12 500 agents in the FBI for the entire country, and we are responsible for protecting 300 million people. So there are not too many of us around, so we have to prioritize our cases," said Kiernan.

Clearly fishing for the underage angle (and not giving the responsible gaming, technology or industry perspective on the issue) the piece claims that:

"It’s not just adults playing the games online, children are getting hooked too.

"Do you know a lot of young people that play it?” asked NewsChannel 7.

“Oh yeah, my cousins and things in high school," said Lawley (the young poker player interviewed).

"Signing up is based on honesty, and if you have the money, you're allowed to gamble online.".

"I have emailed them innumerable times, and they no longer respond to my emails. I had previously sent them my ID and such documents, and my payout that time took about 3 days.

"Eventually, and it took months of arguing and nagging and stress, they paid me $15 000 in instalments.... but then these dried up too last October.

"Shark still owes me $14,600. I have not been paid by Shark since last October 2006. Despite numerous attempts I have not been able to contact anyone at Shark since that time."

This cautionary tale speaks for itself, and we gave Shark Casino an opportunity to respond to it. After three days they have not.

In January Shark Casino was rogued by the Casinomeister information portal for lack of communication and a poor record of player treatment - further evidence that this casino management is not behaving in a professional or ethical manner.

Online Casino News courtesy of InfoPowa

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