Posts Tagged ‘crime’
Tuesday, December 14th, 2010
Russia is a country having problems with gambling. In Europe it is one of the few countries that has legalized forms of gaming in the online world. It has worked hard to build up these forms of gaming and knows full well the benefits of the activities. Residents have shown that they want to wager. They want their opportunities to continue wagering and taking a chance at the big payouts online casinos are building for them. Still, the country is now having problems with regulation. Despite the openness of allowing gambling companies into the online market, there are still quite a few underground and illegal gaming facilities that are still in operation. Right now Europe as a whole is seeing a lot of growth in the market and a lot of new customers joining in on internet fun when it comes to wagering. Russia is no different. The problem though is how to legislators effectively manage the activities and assure that people are not opening their own doors to illegal activities? This is a difficult question that is creating many sleepless nights for legislators trying to get a handle on it.
The Russian President Dmitry Medvedev stated recently that he wants the illegal activities that are running rampant to immediately be stopped. This was due to the overwhelming amount of undercover and illegal gambling facilities working within the country’s borders. To combat the problem Medvedev is stating that their own legalized online and land based gaming facilities can offer better gaming and better advantages than these illegal casinos can. He is also trying to call attention to the problem with illegal gaming and how it does nothing to protect gamblers. Plus if they have any issues, there is no third-party regulator to go to and speak up for them in an effort to find a solution. This could cause problems if they do run into problems. Hopefully the president is seeing this discussion as one that will continue to deter people from patronizing illegal gambling companies. Unfortunately these companies are getting smart. They are offering gamers things that the legal casinos cannot and claiming they have a lot more to offer.
Tags: crime, gambling, illegal, Russia
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Wednesday, December 1st, 2010
If anyone has made waves in the illegal gambling headlines it is Daniel Tzvetkoff. Tzvetkoff was arrested in April of this year due to his illegal internet gambling activities. He is accused of money laundering, financial institution fraud and a myriad of other gambling-related charges of conspiracy. The US Justice Department was investigating him for a few months before they closed in on his activities and alleges that he processed over a half-a-billion dollars in payments from online casinos to gambling firms. If he is convicted of the crimes listed, in the end he could face over seventy years in prison. The odd thing about the case is that so far Tzvetkoff has sat in prison waiting investigation since April. Now though, officials granted him bail arrangements. It was out of the blue to the press that he would be offered a way out and came up with a method of negotiating. Why though? Why was he allowed suddenly the opportunity to talk? It could be a simple answer.
It is no secret that officials are trying to break up large underground gambling rings. They know that the rings are often times intricate and have a lot of spider-vein like affiliations within them. It could be that they are more interested in finding the names of and uncovering the underground billion-dollar illegal crime rings than they are of convicting one man for illegal activities. If he can give up names, companies, contact information and other pertinent information, he could be more valuable to the government as an informant than he would be as a criminal locked away in prison. Most likely Tzvetkoff came up with some type of negotiating tactic and is offering up pertinent and secret information for a lighter sentence. The bail request for Tzvetkoff was ultimately denied—most likely because he is too big a flight risk, but expect him to continue to work with the government and come up with some inside details on how online gambling works and what illegal operations are out there in today’s market. This information could ultimately protect gamers as they log into casinos and bring a new regulation to the world of virtual gambling.
Tags: crime, gambing, illegal, Tzvetkoff
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Friday, October 29th, 2010
If you have every wondered about the world of online gambling and where it is going, then look to the biggest casinos out there. If you watch their progression over the years you are going to notice how much change they have brought to their own websites. For example, a decade ago you could find a few good online casinos but few boasted top notch security. In fact, they most likely had some log-in capabilities but probably didn’t have a real money option. The reason was because internet security was not yet formulated anywhere near what it is at today. Since technology took off so in the market, it has pushed online companies to greater security options. Now you would be hard pressed to find a casino that doesn’t use hefty encryption protocols and SSL certificates that are reliable. The creation of a new type of online crime called “internet identity theft” has pushed technology developers to find new ways of pushing back at thieves. Plus casinos know that their customers are going to be sharing important and sensitive information. If they aren’t offering the best security protocols, the customers could move on to a better website. For this reason, gaming casinos put millions of dollars into building up their security systems. They know that their good customer service is dependent on it.
There are still some problems though. The FBI is working hard to stop criminals. Recently a group of hackers were taken down by the government’s internet fraud division. Interestingly enough, the group was mainly comprised of webmasters who were using their knowledge to steal information from websites that didn’t have the proper security enhancements. The move was a huge one in the market and is indicative of where the casino world is moving. Governments are pushing for stronger rules regarding safety and they are investigating illegal operations. Some governments have even created specific divisions that are set on thwarting illegal rings. The biggest problem with them is that they open the doors to not only illegal activities within the states, but also offshore illegal activities. This is a problem that the government has, but it is using its own technological advances to hinder hackers.
Tags: crime, FBI, hack, security, technology
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Friday, October 15th, 2010
Michael Olaf Schütt is now facing criminal charges for crimes he committed in Germany. The 28-year old man is beign accused of involvement in illegally processing funds from online gambling activities. Schütt is currently facing charges in Fort Myers, Florida. He is a flight risk though so the Assistant US Attorney is requesting that he be remanded into custody until the case is brought to court. Schütt’s attorney maintains that he should be free until federal investigations start. Part of the deal is that for leniency, Schütt is working with investigators to aid them in finding out where the money laundering first happened and what offshore companies were instrumental in covering it up. There is more to the picture though. Schütt is married to Floridian Jennifer Sherman and she is worried that he could potentially try to leave the country and return to his homeland. If he does, due to Florida marriage laws, she would be responsible for his $100,000. So far this is proving to be quite an issue for the market due to the importance of his illegal gambling affiliations. Federal investigators want to know exactly who his contact were and what part they play in bigger illegal gambing affiliations.
This is just one incident in the world of gambling. Anti-gambling activists note that the number of illegal incidents are going to inevitably grow as the market expands. They believe that if legislators are going to push for legalization, they are setting economies throughout the nation up for disaster. It will cost too much to keep things in tack and not fall to more illegal practices. Only time will tell what is going to happen in the market. Most believe that sooner or later the US is going to legalize online gambling. The question though is what changes and laws are going to have to be in place to make it all work together? What changes are legislators going to have to make to assure that communities are safe and gambling companie are trustworthy? This has yet to be seen. US legislators are still trying to put together the proper gambling law to handle the issue.
Tags: crime, criminal, German, illegal, Schütt
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Wednesday, September 8th, 2010
If you have heard anything negative about online gambling most likely it has revolved around illegal activities. Online gaming has been around for a while, but many anti-gambling activists cite a growth in illegal activity as their number one concern. They are worried that the growing number of casinos will open the door for crime, corruption and addictions to take over the market. Due to the difficult financial situation most people are still in, this could bring them to the brink of financial disaster. Though this hasn’t been proven, the rise in gambling has brought some significant changes. There are some high profile cases that are showing a rise in illegal activities. One was the recent illegal activities Douglas Rennick was caught up in while he was in Canada. Rennick was accused and arrested for online fraud. The main complaint was his transfer of money to US gamers from offshore casino companies. Basically he initially established the businesses to transfer the money at a time when US gambling was not yet legalized. He went on with the illegal activities for two years before being caught by authorities and arrested. The fine can come with six to twelve months of prison time and he has to relinquish $17 million in the agreement.
This is just one example of the illegal activities that are possible in the world of online gambling. Overall Rennick took away $350 million with his illegal activities. With this kind of money it’s no wonder that Rennick was trying his best to make the business model work. It also is going to be tempting for other companies to move in on illegal activities in an effort to capitalize on the gambling money. It is a lucrative business and that means that there are going to be more and more companies that are tempted. With the rise in gaming numbers, that only means that more people are going to be entering the market and bringing in more millions of dollars. It is difficult and legislators are going to have to shore up laws to make sure that illegal activities don’t increase as the market continues to grow and develop.
Tags: ban, crime, gambling, illegal, law
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Thursday, July 29th, 2010
One of the main concerns of legislators and opponents of online gambling’s legalization was a rise in crime. Many opponents said that inevitably gambling brings in money laundering, corruption, gangs, theft, and addiction. Without the proper programs to manage the surge in problems, states would be hard-pressed to fix the repercussions. It could mean potential disaster for all involved and cause a greater cost to fix the problems. For example, a rise in crime would necessitate an increase in police protection and possibly even the development of a task force solely focused on gambling watches. One incident recently proved that opponents of legalizing gaming have point.
In the Chicago-land area a police officer, Dino Vitalo, plead guilty to conspiring to obstruct justice when he was found to be feeding information to various mobsters in the area. He told them about surveillance camera positioning throughout the city and also helped them by running various license plates for them. The goal was to help them to avoid various undercover police officers and tell mobsters if they were in danger of being caught for their illegal activities. Vitalo is now facing charges but is maintaining that his motivation was friendship. He claims that his actions, though he knows they were wrong, were namely done to help out his friends who have been loyal to him over the years.
There very well may be a surge in illegal activities since the question of gambling is being debated. There will be an added financial aspect to the communities up for debate and that means added temptation for various residents—even municipal workers. It’s an age old problem- people who work for the state or city government are asked to help the “wrong” side of the picture. They are tempted and fall. So what can be done? Possibly all cities that legalize gambling will have to shore up their own police forces and create task forces to monitor and police gambling. It may take the move to truly protect people from the possible temptations of illegal activities. If people know there are task forces specifically working to uncover their actions, they may think twice prior to committing crimes.
Tags: crime, guilty, plea, police, Vitalo
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Friday, April 30th, 2010
There is a huge amount of growth in the world of online gambling. Many opponents of legalizing online gambling believe that the main problem with the issue is the growth in crime, corruption and addiction. If communities aren’t ready to handle the added cost of protecting consumers, this could lead to a growth in financial disasters, foreclosures, repossessions and loss of overall well-being for millions of in-danger citizens. Though there is no research to prove that the legalization of gambling will increase crime, there has been a notable increase in illegal activity as of late.
Recently, Australian payment processor Daniel Tzyetkoff was indicted. The charges allege that he was illegally processing payments that totaled to well over $500 million. In the past year, that amount was accumulated via processing for online gambling operators. Tzyetkoff opened bank accounts throughout the financial world and used them to pay off online gamers. Charges include gambling conspiracy, fraud, and money laundering. Tzyetkoff was in the midst of many illegal activities and those are going to be brought to light in upcoming months of investigation. There is also a long line of evidence against the defendant that have yet to be released.
The landmark change with these charges comes from the fact that for the first time the charges were a direct delineation from the UIGEA of 2006. The UIGEA was a bill written that was supposed to police and stop online gambling. For the most part the bill was unable to do anything of real value for the market. In fact, it failed to stop gambling and pushed many online gamers to work with offshore companies instead. The US ended up losing millions of dollars in revenue thanks to the UIGEA’s shortcomings. The Tzyetkoff case was framed directly as a result of the bill though and this is the first time the legislation proved to be effective.
Now that the world is moving closer to legalizing and regulating online gambling, it will be interesting to watch the developments of not only the UIGEA, but additional amendments and legislation. Leaders everywhere are well on the road to writing new rules and regulations for online gambling and time will tell whether or not it is immediately effective. If not, legislators will have to return to the drawing board and rewrite their gambling legislation.
Tags: corruption, crime, Tzyetkoff, UIGEA
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Thursday, April 29th, 2010
One of the issues with a growth in online gambling is the rise in crime. It’s no secret that a lot of opponents of legalizing online gambling are worried that the activity naturally brings a rise in money laundering, crime, corruption and addictions. They believe that countries are not prepared to handle the issues due to a lack of funding earmarked for additional policing agencies. Many legislators are against legalizing gambling but state that if the necessary safeguards were possible and in place, they may change their minds and open the door for gambling online.
One controversial company is StoxPoker.com. The website’s owner Nick Grudzien has been accused of mismanaging finances for players. The website is a well-known training website for gamblers all over the globe. With this issue, many players have left the business in search of a more reliable website to meet their gambling needs. To save the company Grudzien has stepped down as head of the company. His hope is that without his controversial activities, the company will be able to rectify itself and once again gain the good graces of gamers who left.
Despite the changes the company has had, there were plans to affiliate with CardRunners.com. The merger is scheduled to still happen as planned. Operators of each casino are hoping that the merger of the two poker giants will take the focus off of alleged illegal activities that have plagued the company’s owner for some time now. Prior to the release of the issues, the company stated its intention of merging together. There was a large promotional and advertising plan put together to cap off the festivities. It included a wide range of bonuses and specials for existing customers and for new customers to join the casino. Now that there is some trouble in the market for the company, operators still plan on going full thrust with their former plan. It is a difficult time for StoxPoker.com and only time will tell whether or not the company will be able to truly recover from the problems it has endured. Grudzien is hoping with his detachment from the actual company, the public perception of the company will once again be able to return to a positive one.
Tags: accounting, crime, Grudzien, poker, Stox
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Wednesday, April 28th, 2010
The UK is making waves in the world of online gambling. Because the market overall is very new to the area, legislators are trying to work out rules that protect gamblers from the start. A new website called GamblingIn.co.uk is being put together to help thwart scams in the online world of wagering. One argument that has been made over the years of online gambling growth is that legalizing gambling will only bring more opportunities for money laundering, fraud, addiction and crime. This new initiative by the UK is hoping to stop that, or at minimum cut down on the amount of illegal activity coming into the member-states of the EU, or European Union.
This website belonging in the UK, presses casinos to offer gamblers what they want in terms of an online casino. The website offers a comprehensive listing of reputable and trustworthy casinos for playing poker, bingo, table games, and taking sports bets. The website’s operators have done research on the most damaging activities some scam websites have. Things like identity theft, non-payouts, and overcharging customers are all top level concerns of the UK and in turn, of the GamblingIn.co.uk website. It is trying to provide a full list of gambling options where players can log in and enjoy safe gambling. Many casinos today are registered in Gibraltar due to the lower taxes. It is one of the most cost-efficient areas in the world of gambling and blowing up as a center of online casinos. The biggest advantage is that the country is building workable laws to bring in more companies focused on gambling.
The biggest problem coming is the country has to eliminate problems by doing research on what has worked so far and what hasn’t. There are prototype countries that can be used and watched. There are a wide range of online companies that are toying with various online rules. Due to the newness of the market, it is still a great time to write rules and test them to see if they work. More and more countries are being instrumental in the changes and development of the market of online gambling. It is an interesting time to watch the market as it evolves.
Tags: crime, illegal, legislation, UK
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Wednesday, March 31st, 2010
Organizations that are against online gambling generally believe that the biggest negative repercussion of legalizing it would be the increase in crime, corruption, and money laundering. Numerous reports have arisen and brought a wide range of scams, negative publicity, and those who have no concept of how to run an online business, much less a casino. Slowly but surely countries worldwide are beginning to legalize online casinos. Though gambling has had a negative perception over the past years, now things are changing. Tune into a movie from the 40s and you’ll see gangsters, money laundering and lives of crime. Today though, it is quickly changing. The rules and regulations are in place to ward off problems. US banks, for example, have to track any transaction that is over $10,000.
One disadvantage is that the virtual world can orchestrate an electronic transaction that is difficult to implement and then follow. Because of this it opens the door for illegal activity when it comes to any online gaming activity. With so many regulations and an eye on the online casinos it is more difficult to use them for money laundering these days. In addition, countries are operating in the online gambling arena and yet have few or very lax regulations to follow when it comes to banking. For instance, the Cayman Islands and some European countries have historically had less lenient rules that allowed for money laundering.
The only problem that virtual casinos create is that they may cause debt to rise. Many countries are fighting against it by using taxes. For example, The UK saw a heightened increase in taxes, and that is why some companies relocated in Gibraltar. Though these countries are seeing changes in the virtual world, they still want to protect their players. This inevitably calls for an increase in online security. Virtual casinos are feeling the negative effect of scams when it comes to sports betting too. There is a definite benefit for casinos to have high standards in terms of regulation and offer as much protection to patrons as possible. Watch the future and see how much online casinos are going to increase their security. It is a great time to be in on the world of virtual gaming and experience great gaming.
Tags: corruption, crime, legal, rules
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