<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width="100%"><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=ReviewHeaderBottomBorder>Excuse me if this has already been posted, I just saw it.
Online Casino Gambler Gets Busted over $500
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top>14 November 2004 </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=3 height="1%"> </TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=3>Most people who play at their favorite online casino on the net generally feel pretty safe while playing and don´t consider their actions illegal in any way. But for one unfortunate online gambler, that myth was recently shattered. Jeffrey Trauman became the first and only online casino player that has been charged by the government for wagering online in the US. Some say this may have broader implications for the online casinos but others say it was an isolated incident that was blown out of proportion.
Trauman, a car salesman from North Dakota, was charged with placing an online wager over $500 which is considered a misdemeanor in his state. He decided to plead guilty and consequently was fined $500 and given a one-year deferred sentence. Trauman decided that making sports bets online from home would earn him extra income on top of his job as a car salesman. In a search of his house in April 2003 police found $43,000 in cash in one desk drawer and it was discovered that had another $300,000 in overseas accounts.
Because sports betting became his major source of income, he put "professional gambler" as his occupation on his federal tax return. He was making more from online gambling than he was as a car salesman. The State Gaming Division received an anonymous tip about Trauman which led them to open an investigation. There is speculation that the tip originated from the IRS. It is more than likely that the going assumption was that Trauman was a bookie and the charge of betting over $500 was just to ensnare him.
The grey area in the charge of betting over $500 is the law does not specifically deal with online gambling and online casinos that are not located on US soil. The law raises questions about things like where the gambling actually took place –online gambling doesn´t take place in a land based casino so in fact it is done in a virtual realm that has no fixed address. Also, the online casino operations are not located in the US. Therefore it is questionable that Trauman should be charged with this outdated North Dakota law.
North Dakota is home to tribal-owned land based casinos sports pools, charity betting and a state lottery was recently approved. The case involving Jeff Trauman is not cut and dry and there is still the question about the large sums of money found in his possession but the law under which he was convicted is questionable. The affect his case will have on the online casinos is yet to be seen.</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Online Casino Gambler Gets Busted over $500
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top>14 November 2004 </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=3 height="1%"> </TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=3>Most people who play at their favorite online casino on the net generally feel pretty safe while playing and don´t consider their actions illegal in any way. But for one unfortunate online gambler, that myth was recently shattered. Jeffrey Trauman became the first and only online casino player that has been charged by the government for wagering online in the US. Some say this may have broader implications for the online casinos but others say it was an isolated incident that was blown out of proportion.
Trauman, a car salesman from North Dakota, was charged with placing an online wager over $500 which is considered a misdemeanor in his state. He decided to plead guilty and consequently was fined $500 and given a one-year deferred sentence. Trauman decided that making sports bets online from home would earn him extra income on top of his job as a car salesman. In a search of his house in April 2003 police found $43,000 in cash in one desk drawer and it was discovered that had another $300,000 in overseas accounts.
Because sports betting became his major source of income, he put "professional gambler" as his occupation on his federal tax return. He was making more from online gambling than he was as a car salesman. The State Gaming Division received an anonymous tip about Trauman which led them to open an investigation. There is speculation that the tip originated from the IRS. It is more than likely that the going assumption was that Trauman was a bookie and the charge of betting over $500 was just to ensnare him.
The grey area in the charge of betting over $500 is the law does not specifically deal with online gambling and online casinos that are not located on US soil. The law raises questions about things like where the gambling actually took place –online gambling doesn´t take place in a land based casino so in fact it is done in a virtual realm that has no fixed address. Also, the online casino operations are not located in the US. Therefore it is questionable that Trauman should be charged with this outdated North Dakota law.
North Dakota is home to tribal-owned land based casinos sports pools, charity betting and a state lottery was recently approved. The case involving Jeff Trauman is not cut and dry and there is still the question about the large sums of money found in his possession but the law under which he was convicted is questionable. The affect his case will have on the online casinos is yet to be seen.</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>