Stupidity, Opinions & Politics: APCW Perspectives for 18 January, 2019

[APCW]

Stupidity, Opinions & Politics

The U.S. Department of Justice has changed its mind:
The Federal Wire Act is not just for sports betting...
it restricts all forms of Internet gambling in America!
But what will this actually mean for online gambling & poker?

WATCH ON YOUTUBE



Links to News Stories:

Betin Kenya Affiliates: https://www.apcw.org/affiliate-progr...nya-affiliates
Department of Justice Opinion: https://www.gpwa.org/article/new-us-...ambling-228811
DOJ to Wait 90 Days: https://calvinayre.com/2019/01/16/bu...e-act-opinion/
UK Stocks Tumble: https://www.reuters.com/article/gamb...-idUSL3N1ZF30W
DOJ Decision Chills Industry: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...st-sports-bets

[Cash Bonus]

Nice video, J. Todd. Always pointing out the problems in our industry and helping us to avoid them and to make the right decisions. Things are getting harder on our already struggling industry. We'll find out in 90 days time what the DOJ has decided to do regarding the Wire Act. This is obviously nothing new since it's been around from 1961. It's all about the money in this world. Fingers crossed everything will work out just fine.

[FictionNet]

Thanks as always, JT. I've not watched it yet (downloading as I type). Will watch later in bed with the missus 'cos I can watch it on the TV that's in there. It's always a fun moment when she thinks we're done with work for the day and we settle down in bed for the evening to relax and watch TV and then I pop on the latest apcw video

[Integrity]

...I've not watched it yet (downloading as I type). Will watch later in bed with the missus 'cos I can watch it on the TV that's in there.

Hey! Been meaning to ask you about this, as I've done some modifications with filming and editing over the last month or two.

Was wondering if you (and the missus) have noticed any difference in the quality of the show on the television? Simply watching it on a computer or a phone, it's hard to notice an increase in quality. But on a television, it should be noticeable... and I'm hoping it has been!

[FictionNet]

We haven't noticed a change, sorry. We copy/paste the youtube link into http://convert2mp3.net/en/ (be warned, the site can have some awkward cartoon porn ads - more funny than erotic) and then save the mp4 to the laptop, cut/paste it onto a memory stick and whack it into the back of my very-average Samsung HDTV.

Maybe if we watched a new and old format vid together then we'd be able to tell the difference. Perhaps on a super-modern new TV there IS a noticeable difference where I'd be saying "whoa! look at the detail in that bottle of booze he's holding" or similar.

ETA: the quality has always been high, imo.

[Integrity]

Hmmm..... thanks for the info.

I've discussed this with GPWA Anthony and he noticed a significant difference when he switched to 720p and 1080p on YouTube. I think YouTube defaults at 480, and I am wondering if that's what it downloads at.

You could try another downloader I used to use (minus the cartoon porn lol) here: Save Form

Or even better, I now use Ummy Downloader which allows you to choose the quality all the way up to 1018 (if the video is that high). There's a free trial and it's really cheap.... and no, I am not making a commission

[TheGooner]

I was fascinated in the response at the time by casino/ poker that was happy to throw sportsbetting "under the bus" at the time accepting the screwed logic and thinking it would hold. The expansion into all protecting gambling had to happen with cronyism, protectionism and biased lobbying.

All this DOJ decision means is "grey market" wins.

It's the same with crypto and the US regulators at the moment.
Protectionist thinking is restricting blockchain development in the US - so it's all happening in Europe and Singapore.

All the protectionism means is the US misses out on the top minds, and the business opportunities.
The US is rapidly becoming a fallen empire - holding onto the "good ol days" of the 1960s with coal, and physical locations, and local markets.

[Integrity]

The expansion into all protecting gambling had to happen with cronyism, protectionism and biased lobbying.

I see this too, but I have a slightly different take. My feeling is that the US Federal Government decided to bring sports betting under their control (tax authority) once they realized how rapid the expansion was. That's why they are pushing for the Federal Regulations.

I think they also see that online gambling and poker will soon follow sports betting once the states realize they can regulate it and profit from these activities. So, the logical step from their perspective would be to bring all web-based gaming under their thumb.

At least, that's how the tea leaves look to me...

[Mario The Gambler]

Of course I understand that the American states that legalized online gambling are the first in the line of sight of the DOJ

What I'm wondering is this: Will the DOJ take advantage of this new opinion to aggressively fight overseas casino operators serving the US market? Like Bovada for example? Should we expect another Black Friday? Or the situation will remain similar to what it is now for foreign operators?

Or even worse, could it be that the DOJ is starting to do like in Italy or Romania and aggressively pursuing affiliates?


I guess do not panic too fast but since Black Friday, I'm a paranoid...

[Integrity]

...I understand that the American states that legalized online gambling are the first in the line of sight of the DOJ...

I don't think the Wire Act gives the DOJ the authority to go after states that regulate the activity completely within their borders... with the important word being "completely". I don't understand the logistics of how New Jersey, for example, does business with British bookmakers. So I could see them targeting that sort of activity... and especially the payment processing if that is done out-of-state (think Neteller).

What I'm wondering is this: Will the DOJ take advantage of this new opinion to aggressively fight overseas casino operators serving the US market... Should we expect another Black Friday?

That is something I had not considered, but certainly in Uncle Sam's playbook. Perhaps the easy targets would be the operators working in the open with the states (you know, the ones trying to do things properly). I dunno how they would go after an operator like Bovada... who has no license to target. They could only go after the money and the processing, which you would think they were already doing... maybe?


* EDIT - I say think Neteller in reference to how the Feds targeted the company...
... and I believe Black Friday was enacted under the UIGEA, not the Wire Act, if that makes any difference.

[Mario The Gambler]

I dunno how they would go after an operator like Bovada... who has no license to target.

to seize their domain name, maybe? as they did with Full Tilt?
https://torrentfreak.com/feds-seize-...omains-110415/

to try to seize the personal bank accounts of company executives? That's what they did with Full Tilt:
Department of Justice Issues Warrant In Rem Against Bank Accounts

* EDIT - I say think Neteller in reference to how the Feds targeted the company...
... and I believe Black Friday was enacted under the UIGEA, not the Wire Act, if that makes any difference.

I have the impression that the DOJ can take the pretext of any law to act. I hope I'm totally wrong.

[Integrity]

to seize their domain name, maybe? as they did with Full Tilt?

Possible... but surely Bovada wouldn't be stupid enough to leave themselves exposed like that????

I *think* the Full Tilt/Absoulte/UB domains were held at a well know registrar who cooperated with the DOJ/FBI... but I may be remembering wrong. It has been a while... and I'm getting old lol

[TheGooner]

to seize their domain name, maybe? as they did with Full Tilt?

The US can only seize .coms - as they did with fulltilt and pokerstars when UIGEA was enacted.
Within 3-6 months most large offshore gambling companies that service "North America" moved off .coms to other country domains.

Other suffixes like .ag .eu and .lv are owned by other countries and are outside the reach of the United States.

[Cardy007]

Thanks for your videos! Ill be intersted to follow how this works out...

[Former Member 14]

The US can only seize .coms

They can also seize .org, .net, and .edu, these all fall under USA regulation. They can't seize EG: net.nz... .com.in, I'm sure you get the picture!

Furthermore, I have a gut feeling, .biz, .info, and .mobi, are also under USA jurisdiction.

[TheGooner]

They can also seize .org, .net, and .edu, these all fall under USA regulation.

Yeah - not too many gambling operations are using .org .net or .edu ...

Although Casino.edu would be kinda cool ...

[Former Member 14]

Yeah - not too many gambling operations are using .org .net or .edu ...

Agreed, but wanted to clarify (aside from gaming domains) the USA also have claim to the other TLD's I mentioned. That correct information may actually save someone's future business one day