Online casinos have a shaky relation with the law, and especially with law enforcement officials. The online casino industry was first shaken by the arrest, earlier in September, of Sportingbet Chairman Peter Dicks. Dicks was arrested at JFK airport in New York on charges of "gambling by computer." This week his finance director, Andy McIver, said that he too is working on the assumption that Louisiana law enforcement officials have a warrant out for his arrest on online gambling charges.
Newspapers in England reported this week that Louisiana had issued three more arrest warrants for Sportingbet staff. McIver took note of the publication. "I'm personally working on the assumption that it is a stronger possibility rather than a weaker possibility," he said. He also said U.S. law on online casinos had not changed since 1997, and anti online gambling laws are in place.
The legal battle in the United States against online casinos started in July, with politicians promoting a ban on online casinos. A law proposal against online casinos, with the exception of horse racing gambling, is being pushed in the Senate. The sentiment has shifted also to Europe. Besides the arrests, online casino companies' shares throughout the sector have taken a plunge, losing sums of hundreds of millions of dollars. |
