new casino on the internet

[Dave Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

Here we go!!!!!!


rom PC Week:


Bits & bytes: Finally, a truly valuable service on the Internet: gambling.
A small company called Internet Casinos plans to offer a casino and sports
bookmaking operation on the World Wide Web in mid-May. Here's the
tricky part: Players would have to either wire their money or present a
credit card before they're allowed to play. But people won't be sitting in a
Las Vegas casino where they can see their piles of money get fatter or
smaller; they'll be sitting in front of a computer screen, and it may take as
long as 48 hours before they receive their winnings. "It's all a matter of
trust and credibility, which we have to establish," said company President
Warren Eugene. "Why play Doom when I can play and win money at a
casino?" Eugene, whose firm is based in the Bahamas, says he is not
affiliated with any high-roller backers who dominate the gaming world
"although I have had people offer me money that I didn't want to get
involved with -- if you get my meaning." We do indeed.


-----------
> WANNA BET ? Company says plan for casino in cyberspace doesn't break the law,
> but some observers wouldn't put money on it.
>
> Bloomberg Business News
>
> ST. MAARTEN, Netherlands Antilles -- It's a gamble, but a company called
> Internet Casinos Inc. plans to launch a casino on the Internet.
>
> The company intends to begin providing casino games, entertainment and sports
> betting over the global computer network beginning May 15 from its base in St.
> Maarten.
>
> Internet Casinos, which is incorporated in Nassau, Bahamas, thinks it
> won't run
> afoul of U.S. state and federal laws prohibiting the placing of wagers across
> state lines and through the country's communications networks.
>
> ``Because we're completely offshore, we eliminate all that nonsense,'' said
> Warren Eugene, Internet Casinos's 33-year-old founder and president.
>
> U.S. laws clearly forbid people from accepting wagers from abroad on U.S.
> soil,
> Eugene said. The law doesn't specifically prevent people from placing wagers
> and transferring money to gamble in a casino offshore, just as it doesn't
> prohibit people from traveling to the Caribbean to gamble, he said.
>
> Others remain skeptical that the Canadian entrepreneur will get very far
> before
> attracting the attention of law enforcement agencies. Guy Michael, an attorney
> specializing in gambling law, said he suspected the U.S. Justice Department
> would investigate an operation like Internet Casino.
>
> He also said, however, that it isn't clear whether wagers placed from the
> United States to offshore locations are legal or illegal. ``The
> technology is a
> little bit ahead of the law here,'' he said.
>
> Eugene said it's legal in the Antilles for Internet Casino to accept bets from
> the United States. He conceded, however, that U.S. citizens may be in ``a very
> gray area'' if they place wagers offshore from their home phones and
> computers.
>
> Under Internet Casino's system, gamblers will first establish an account
> with a
> minimum of $50, sent either by wire transfer or mail or paid over the phone by
> credit card, Eugene said. Winning bets also would be paid through a wire
> transfer, he said.
>
> To view Internet Casino's home page on the World Wide Web, turn your Web
> browser tohttp:// www.casino.org/cc.
>
> --What do you think about gambling on the Net? Voice your opinion. Use
> keyword:
> MC Talk, select Browse Boards, then Tech Talk, then Internet / Online Services
> folder. Or, choose Letters for Publication in the scrolling window.
>
> Published 3/16/95 in the San Jose Mercury News.
###