As if the UIGEA were not enough … the FBI has arrested two founders of Neteller for allegedly conspiring to transfer illegal funds — crimes committed before the new, tougher anti-online-gambling law even went into effect. Some of you may recall that the Department of Justice has claimed online poker to be illegal all along. Stephen Lawrence and John Lefebvre (Canadian citizens) were both taken into custody on Monday in coordinated arrests in California and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Both face up to 20 years in prison, as federal prosecutors paint them in a Ken Lay light:
\”Blatant violations of U.S. law are not a mere `risk\’ to be disclosed to prospective investors,\” U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia said in an official statement. \”Criminal prosecutions related to online gambling will be pursued even in cases where assets and defendants are positioned outside of the United States.\”
Lawrence and Lefebvre led the company when they went public. Trading of Neteller (NLR.L) on the London Stock Exchange was suspended upon word of their arrests.
This is a case that, frankly, the poker world is probably prepared to handle. (PartyGaming stock was up 1 percent yesterday.) But the rest of the internet … I fear the non-poker world may not see what is coming. Billions and billions of dollars get transfered around the internet for clearly legal transactions every day. And many of these transactions have long gone untaxed. [colbert]Too long, some would say.[/colbert]
See where this is going? Right now the Feds need us. Online gambling, online poker … ye vile merchants of addiction! Expect the crackdown to continue, because without villains, how else will Uncle Sammy be able to justify trying to take a rake on Al Gore\’s invention?
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Monday, July 2, marks the day that UIGEA enforcement is supposed to really go into effect — whence it falls on banks and internet service providers to forcibly prevent God-fearing Americans from playing poker online. It\’s the same week that the main event of the 2007 WSOP begins.
Can we say interesting time?
