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State tries to freeze sports-bet Web sites
TRENTON -
Eight Internet sports-betting sites accepted wagers from New Jersey residents, including minors, a violation of state and federal law, officials said Tuesday.
Officials, including J.P. Suarez, the director of the Division of Gaming Enforcement, and Mark Herr, director of the Division of Consumer Affairs, announced civil actions against the eight Internet-based sports-betting operations Tuesday.
It was advertising that brought the sites to officials' attentions. One site placed a billboard, since removed, on the westbound side of the Atlantic City Expressway near the Pleasantville toll plaza. Another site used radio advertising. A third actually sent a mailer to a poorly chosen post office box - that of state Attorney General John Farmer Jr.
To conduct the investigation, investigators placed bets, in some cases hundreds of dollars, on various sporting events. In some cases, state officials were able to start placing bets without identification or age verification.
Herr said the state will continue to prosecute illegal betting across the "new frontier" of the Internet.
"Betting against task enforcement from New Jersey is a sucker's bet," Herr said.
The actions brought Tuesday are the next step in an ongoing operation by state officials against Internet sports betting that could be expanded to cut off the lines of communication - and revenue - for such sites in the near future.
Suarez said the sports-betting sites violated the state constitution, the Casino Control Act and the Consumer Fraud Act.
"Sports-book wagering is also unequivocally a violation of federal law," Suarez said.
In a unique twist, officials are calling for the phone companies that provide services to the Web sites to stop, and soon may clamp down on Internet service providers and credit-card companies used to make such wagers as well.
Monday evening, state officials contacted various telephone companies that provide toll-free service to Internet sports-betting clients asking them to stop providing the service.
All the sites have an option to log on or call an 800 number to place a bet.
The telephone-service providers, including such industry giants at World Com, Pacific Bell and Sprint, are being asked to cancel the service.
"When a federal law-enforcement official informs a telephone carrier that the service is being used for an illegal activity, that law enforcement official can demand that the telephone carrier cease and desist immediately," Suarez said.
Herr said the focus may shift to Internet service providers and credit-card companies. For instance, Herr said, the state has an arrangement with Internet auction company eBay that the company will remove any items that violate state law.
"For those people who don't think there is a next step, stick around," Herr said.
The sites were based in various places outside the United States, including addresses based in the United Kingdom, Antigua, and Costa Rica.
The sites - 2betdsi.com, Intercasino.com, Laythepoints.com, Sportingbet.com, Sportsbook.com, Intertops.com, BetonSports.com and Betmill.com - list various bases of operation outside the United States, including the United Kingdom, Antigua and Costa Rica.
Their offshore locations make serving the accused more difficult but not impossible, officials said.
And if these compamies in different countries don't heed to your requests... Is there going to be another campaign similar to Afghanistan???
"Those operators who think they are operating with impunity by operating offshore are sorely mistaken," Suarez said.
The complaints were served via regular mail, because most of their locations are known due to connections to advertising agencies.
This is the second complaint state officials have brought against Internet gaming sites in recent months. Three sites were accused in the previous investigation. Suarez said two of the sites have responded to the complaint, claiming they are not the operators of the site. Suarez said those sites may be served with electronic complaints via e-mail.
Beyond the illegal betting, there also were problems with the business techniques of some of the sites, which refused to offer credit back or forced consumers to jump through nearly impossible hoops.
"If they were a legal operation, that sort of erection of obstacles would be an unconscionable commercial practice," Herr said. "If you're entitled to get your money back, you should get it back."
In announcing the results of the probe Tuesday, Herr said that investigators' bets included Rutgers football and Yankees baseball.
They won the Yankees bet, Herr added.
"Like (Monday) night's game proved: Never bet against the Yankees," Herr said.
[ 10-17-2001: Message edited by: Fedya Fussball ]
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