Maryland county receives nearly $500K thanks to online gambling sting

[The Buzz]

Are you someone who wonders what happens to all the money that gets seized in those online gambling stings? Then here's a story for you. The Anne Arundel County Police Department received a check worth $470,407.62 from the U.S. federal government for its involvement in a two-year investigation called "Operation Texas Hold'em."

From The Baltimore Sun:

A little more than a month after indictments were returned against two Internet gambling businesses, the Anne Arundel County Police Department has hit the jackpot — getting nearly a half-million dollars for working with the federal agency in a sting operation that closed down the operation.

Calling it "the single largest asset distribution in county history," County Executive John R. Leopold accepted a check Thursday worth $470,407.62 for helping to seize millions in a two-year investigation called "Operation Texas Hold'em."

Leopold said that the department expects to receive more forfeited assets in the future. William Winter, the special agent in charge of the Homeland Security Investigations office in Baltimore, said that the Maryland State Police, which also participated in the sting, will also receive some money.

[RBS]

Nice so they are going to spend US players money on weapons for the police, instaed of making sure players gets paid.

See how happy they look with the check below:
http://odenton.patch.com/articles/co...mbling-seizure

lol @ USA... hey lets use the poker players money on new weapons

[nsawins]

Nice so they are going to spend US players money on weapons for the police, instaed of making sure players gets paid.

See how happy they look with the check below:
http://odenton.patch.com/articles/co...mbling-seizure

lol @ USA... hey lets use the poker players money on new weapons

Correct me if I'm wrong, but USA players money should still be paid by the Poker Rooms and Sportsbooks that had their funds confiscated for committing bank fraud. If Google gets sued for copyright infrigement or has to pay 500 MILLION dollars in fines like they just did should we let them off the hook if they blame that 500 MILLION dollar loss as a reason not to pay Google Adsense clients?

I mean, I just don't get why people want to let these poker rooms and sportsbooks off the hook for funds they still owe and are obligated to pay just because they had their funds frozen. Businesses get sued and lose money in lawsuits all the time. That doesn't give you an excuse not to honor your own contracts and agreements.

If sportsbooks and poker rooms want to make millions and live high on the hog taking USA players than they also have to eat it and suck it up when they get their funds frozen. That's life in the big city and they get no pity or passes from me.

[boczom1]

A little more than a month after indictments were returned against two Internet gambling businesses

makes me wonder how that term is twistedly defined these days...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but USA players money should still be paid by the Poker Rooms and Sportsbooks that had their funds confiscated for committing bank fraud. If Google gets sued for copyright infrigement or has to pay 500 MILLION dollars in fines like they just did should we let them off the hook if they blame that 500 MILLION dollar loss as a reason not to pay Google Adsense clients?

I mean, I just don't get why people want to let these poker rooms and sportsbooks off the hook for funds they still owe and are obligated to pay just because they had their funds frozen. Businesses get sued and lose money in lawsuits all the time. That doesn't give you an excuse not to honor your own contracts and agreements.

If sportsbooks and poker rooms want to make millions and live high on the hog taking USA players than they also have to eat it and suck it up when they get their funds frozen. That's life in the big city and they get no pity or passes from me.

Finally, I agree with ya on something.

[arkyt]

WOW - so they got half a million for helping close down some poker shops? GEESH - maybe I should contact my state DA and let them know what I have on a few sites that have been sticking it to me! Hmmmmmmm.

[nsawins]

WOW - so they got half a million for helping close down some poker shops? GEESH - maybe I should contact my state DA and let them know what I have on a few sites that have been sticking it to me! Hmmmmmmm.

LOL, I hear ya. I just might open up a new site soon and start listing all these cheats and frauds operating offshore and linking to that site from all my sites and doing SEO to get it ranked high in the serps. These rip-off artists offshore are worse than the mob. At least the mob pays when they owe you. They just crack your head when you stiff them lol.

Seriously, everyone keeps saying we need the US govt to regulate this industry. Why? Is it their job to clean this mess up and slap out the rip-off books or shouldn't we as an industry start saying enough is enough and take matters into our own hands and start bashing these rip-off operations relentlessly until they finally stop screwing people over and go out of business?

All I know is operators never say anything in these discussions about their competitors because they are afraid of stepping on toes. That's BS. If a book or casino is screwing people over and it's obvious like BetUS is with their stats and silence, than why shouldn't they be called out by their competitors, webmasters and GPWA as a group? Do we really think that behavior would be allowed if the USA govt regulated this industry? Please. BetUS would be out of business before you can blink an eye if this industry was regulated. If Amazon.com was screwing their affiliates their stock would plummet so far they would be ALL DONE.

This industry can't even get behind each other to weed out the bad apples ourselves but suppossedly big Uncle Sam is going to ride in with shining armour and do it for us. LOL, what a joke.

The more and more I work in this industry the more and more dirty I feel. It's a shame because I disagree 100% with the USA gov't stance on online gambling and think it's hypocritical and foolish. We can use the tax revenue and allow people to do what they want with their money. However, i simply can't sit back and support this industry and hope it gets regulated until I see the industry as a whole standing up and uniting against these bogus, lying PUNK operations that screw players and affiliates and sit back in their million dollar mansions down in Costa Rica sipping on Martinis.

I will never support or donate to a regulation cause until the people in this industry(including operators, affiliates and players) all unite and stand by one another when rip-off operations start stealing from us. It's a farce.

[boczom1]

The more and more I work in this industry the more and more dirty I feel.

I hear ya & have felt the same the last few days.

Almost feels like were gettin it from both ends. (not that i'd know what that physically feels like)

[nsawins]

I hear ya & have felt the same the last few days.

Almost feels like were gettin it from both ends. (not that i'd know what that physically feels like)

Ya man. It makes me want to start focusing on the UK/Euro market from here on out and deal with regulated books. I love the few books we still promote that take USA players and have never had a problem with ANY of them but I think we're going to stop adding anymore and start adding UK/Euro books that are regulated. Too many of these Costa Rica and Antigua books taking USa players are shady, cheats and liars.

[GamTrak]

Ya man. It makes me want to start focusing on the UK/Euro market from here on out and deal with regulated books.

That is the route I'm going.

Now that folks are listing the brands that still take US Players, IMO they are 'marked' as targets and I'm not sure if it's a good ideal to place effort in generating income that could be seized in the future.

BTW good points in your post above as you called out some troubling events in our industry that clealy needs to be addressed. Everyone MUST be held accountable for thier actions and IMO those that do nothing, which can have a positive affect on the situation, is just as bad as those that are doing the bad deeds.

I got so fed up with the crap that I took two years off.

[nsawins]

That is the route I'm going.

Now that folks are listing the brands that still take US Players, IMO they are 'marked' as targets and I'm not sure if it's a good ideal to place effort in generating income that could be seized in the future.

BTW good points in your post above as you called out some troubling events in our industry that clealy needs to be addressed. Everyone MUST be held accountable for thier actions and IMO those that do nothing, which can have a positive affect on the situation, is just as bad as those that are doing the bad deeds.

I got so fed up with the crap that I took two years off.

I feel ya man. We are starting a couple new sites outside of this industry altogether and not because we feel this industry is doomed. Not at all. In fact, we feel the public's urge to gamble will simply grow and grow. It's just we worked hard at promoting a brand that we trusted and they simply have turned out to be the biggest frauds in the industry. BAR NONE.

I think we will lick our wounds, take our money hit from the BetUS fiasco and work on building a strong non-USA stream of revenue. Hopefully some day the BIG BOYS from Vegas will be allowed in so they can show these wannabes like BetUS how it's really done. Vegas books would eat them alive and I will love every second of it. What goes around comes around.

The bottom line is fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me. The non-USA books are the way to go.

[rak]

Nice so they are going to spend US players money on weapons for the police, instaed of making sure players gets paid.

I thought the same thing, but apparently the money is from the profits of the processing company (Linwood) the DOJ setup for the sting.

[RBS]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but USA players money should still be paid by the Poker Rooms and Sportsbooks that had their funds confiscated for committing bank fraud. If Google gets sued for copyright infrigement or has to pay 500 MILLION dollars in fines like they just did should we let them off the hook if they blame that 500 MILLION dollar loss as a reason not to pay Google Adsense clients?

I mean, I just don't get why people want to let these poker rooms and sportsbooks off the hook for funds they still owe and are obligated to pay just because they had their funds frozen. Businesses get sued and lose money in lawsuits all the time. That doesn't give you an excuse not to honor your own contracts and agreements.

If sportsbooks and poker rooms want to make millions and live high on the hog taking USA players than they also have to eat it and suck it up when they get their funds frozen. That's life in the big city and they get no pity or passes from me.

I undertand your points, but you can explain it in a million ways if you like. The fact is that most of these indicted companies will most likely go bankrupt and will never have money to pay US players back, since the DOJ took it. Now 7 weeks after black friday, only Pokerstars paid US players. Good luck looking for the rest of the money The DOJ also took US player funds no matter how you explain it.

Regarding Google: Well i am sure they have made advertisers pay in the long run anyway. The price goes up when the costs gets higher.

I thought the same thing, but apparently the money is from the profits of the processing company (Linwood) the DOJ setup for the sting.

I did not know that, but I am sure the other seized funds are not going to collect dust, so thats just a matter of time.

[nsawins]

I undertand your points, but you can explain it in a million ways if you like. The fact is that most of these indicted companies will most likely go bankrupt and will never have money to pay US players back, since the DOJ took it. Now 7 weeks after black friday, only Pokerstars paid US players. Good luck looking for the rest of the money The DOJ also took US player funds no matter how you explain it.

Regarding Google: Well i am sure they have made advertisers pay in the long run anyway. The price goes up when the costs gets higher.



I did not know that, but I am sure the other seized funds are not going to collect dust, so thats just a matter of time.

I respect your opinion but disagree. The Poker sites broke the US laws. Plain and simple. Using US banks to process transactions is against the US law and obviously Poker Stars and the other sites knew it because they deliberately either lied about the true nature of the transactions or bribed the banks with investment money. Now that their funds have been taken it's still their responsibility to pay back the players.

Also, these poker sites have a ton of international players and not just USA players. Therefore, they should have enough revenue to still pay back all their USA players and they'll simply have to just eat the loss themselves. They can't whine and cry and refuse to pay the USA players and blame the US govt because they took their money. They marketed themselves to USA players as a legal and safe way to play online. They lured USA players in. They can't now turn around and act like USA players are somehow also at fault and can't get paid back because their funds were confiscated.

This is the problem with these wannabe offshore gambling companies. They want to come into the states and take all the action and live high on the hog all the while knowing there is big risks involved but then run and hide when they get caught and stiff the players that they marketed to as a safe, legal online betting destination. It's wrong and that's why they get little respect. They have to realize that before they decide to play in the USA market. They always are looking to play victim and they simply are not. The players are the true victims.

[RBS]

I respect your opinion but disagree. The Poker sites broke the US laws. Plain and simple. Using US banks to process transactions is against the US law and obviously Poker Stars and the other sites knew it because they deliberately either lied about the true nature of the transactions or bribed the banks with investment money. Now that their funds have been taken it's still their responsibility to pay back the players.

Also, these poker sites have a ton of international players and not just USA players. Therefore, they should have enough revenue to still pay back all their USA players and they'll simply have to just eat the loss themselves. They can't whine and cry and refuse to pay the USA players and blame the US govt because they took their money. They marketed themselves to USA players as a legal and safe way to play online. They lured USA players in. They can't now turn around and act like USA players are somehow also at fault and can't get paid back because their funds were confiscated.

This is the problem with these wannabe offshore gambling companies. They want to come into the states and take all the action and live high on the hog all the while knowing there is big risks involved but then run and hide when they get caught and stiff the players that they marketed to as a safe, legal online betting destination. It's wrong and that's why they get little respect. They have to realize that before they decide to play in the USA market. They always are looking to play victim and they simply are not. The players are the true victims.

It´s fine to disagree

But why are the banks that were bribed, not shut down ? Ohh yes thats right it´s a US company, my mistake sorry

Ohh and which federal law did players break ? Why should DOJ not pay their money ? Money are not growing on trees and no one else will pay the players back.


And lol, we all know this is the first step to make poker legal in the US with US based companies.

Finally, i actually hate PokerStars and Fulltilt, so i am not defending them. And I do feel sorry for the average Joe American with lost dollars, not the sites. This is actually just the American attitude slapping back, newsflash: USA does not own the world nor the internet, but they surely think they do.

[boczom1]

am I the only one that feels like some affiliates have already gone to the feds within the last couple weeks....to make themselves look like the 'good guys'...and to avoid any type of possible future prosecution ? Or would that be too stupid on their part to even think about doing ?

me wonders...

[nsawins]

am I the only one that feels like some affiliates have already gone to the feds within the last couple weeks....to make themselves look like the 'good guys'...and to avoid any type of possible future prosecution ? Or would that be too stupid on their part to even think about doing ?

me wonders...

Last time I checked affiliates weren't opening up bank accounts under false information to process illegal gambling transaction. Affiliates also aren't accepting bets from USA players making millions of dollars of profit and paying no taxes. USA affiliates have to pay taxes and do.

Also, last time I checked affiliates don't owe any players or affiliates money and haven't ripped anyone off. Plus, on top of it, there is NO black and white law prohibiting affiliates from pushing brands that accept players worldwide. It may be a grey area but certainly not black and white. If and when it becomes black and white like the recent anti-gambling law than I'm sure all USA affiliates will take ads down or move to another country to continue working legally.

However, it is black and white that it is illegal to use USA banks to facilitate gambling transactions. That's a fact. The books that have gotten in trouble lately have not got in trouble for booking or taking action. They have gotten in trouble for using USA banks to process the transactions. They know it's wrong but they are greedy and love the money so they take the risk.

I have no pity for the books that get caught. None. They make millions of dollars and they need to know the risk. Either deal with the heat or get out the kitchen. They have no problem throwing lavish parties outside of the states off of USA players dollars right? Well, if you want to enjoy the good side of it than deal with the bad side like men instead of crybabies.

I love going over the speed limit when I travel to get there faster. Guess what? I understand if I get pulled over I will have to pay a fine. Not the cop's fault it's my own and I pay the fine and keep my mouth shut. These poker sites and sportsbooks need to grow a set of balls and do the same if they want to take action from the states and end up getting caught.