News

Sunday, 16 May 2010 23:53

The first person ever to be arrested under the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act has been indicted and charged by the United States District Court, Boston.

This news has recently been released by the US Justice Department, whereas prior to this, the hammer was dropped on any Internet gambling operators who flouted the laws using the Wire Act. The man charged with no less than thirty six counts of racketeering, money laundering, operating an unlawful gambling business, interstate travel for racketeering, filing falsified tax returns and many similar charges related to illegal gambling is Todd Lyons, a 36 year old from the state of Massachusetts.

Lyons has been indicted and charged under the law regarding the UIGEA for the acceptance of cheques from gamblers based in Massachusetts through an online betting website called Sports Offshore. This indictment similarly alleges Lyons sent cash from his home in Massachusetts to a location in Antigua where the Sports Offshore website had been reported to operate.

If he is found guilty, Lyons could face as much as twenty years behind bars for racketeering and money laundering. He could also face a further ten years on the many other charges that are listed on the indictment. Fines in the six figure range along with supervised release also await a guilty verdict.

The UIGEA was passed back in 2006 and had made operating any form of online gambling websites in the US illegal. The Act outlaws any form of financial transactions carried out between financial institutions and online gambling websites. It was set to become fully operative by 1st December, 2009 although a six month postponement was obtained, pushing that date back to 1st June, 2010.

There is currently legislation being created that is designed to overturn the UIGEA that is being sponsored by Rep. Barney Frank and has been named the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act. This Act will establish a functioning regulatory body that will oversee the US online gambling industry and be responsible for the generating revenue for the US Treasury from that industry. So far, that legislation is still going through the process of gaining enough support to guarantee its progression through the House and into the statute books.

Meanwhile, anyone connected with the Internet gambling industry in the US is vulnerable to indictment and charge if the authorities catch up to them, as they already have done in the case of Todd Lyons.