DISCLAIMER: The following information is essentially an opinion which you may place a reasonable degree of reliance; but, such an opinion cannot be considered absolute. It is based on conversations that I had today with people in the offshore industry and you are free to either believe it or to disregard it. I prefer that Jonnyblaze not even read it as he clearly is not capable of forming an opinion on his own and obviously has no respect for those that I offer.
As ---- posted earlier today, the word around the offshore gaming industry is that Pinnacle was told by the United States Department of Justice to cease doing business in the US or face charges. The investigation that prompted this ultimatum is a direct result in the sting in New York City a couple of months ago when a major bookmaking operation was dismantled by the Queens District Attorney’s office. It seems that a significant part of this operation was actually local agents for offshore books that were managing their accounts locally while allowing their customers to place their wagers online. Pinnacle was apparently heavily involved with this gambling ring and when this came out in the investigation, the information was past on to the DOJ.
It is hardly a coincidence that the ultimatum was given to Pinnacle this week as this weekend, the NFL playoffs kick into high gear and the number and amount of NFL wagers historically are seen to increase sharply during this time leading up to the Super Bowl which is one of the most heavily wagered on events in the world. Pinnacle was not given an opportunity to implement this ban on US wagering and were in fact told to take it or leave it by this morning. With 20% of their business being based in Europe and another 20% originating from Asia, the Pinnacle management made a business decision and discontinued taking wagers from US based accounts. They have stated that they plan to promptly cash out these accounts and I guess we will see if that is indeed true.
Some posters at -------- have taken this action to mean that the offshore gambling industry is on its way out as far as US customers are concerned. The recent efforts by Congress and the DOJ clearly indicate that there are many within our government who want to put an end to online gambling. Several offshore books have responded to this by deciding that continuing to do business with US based bettors is simply not worth the risk of being prosecuted but until today, it has only been publicly traded companies that have made this decision. If the rumors about Pinnacle are true, then the reason they got out of the US is because they had been caught dealing in illegal gambling by having agents collect and payout wagers on American soil.
Placing a wager online with a company that is not located within the US Borders is not illegal in most states. To my knowledge, there is not one single federal law that makes it illegal to do so but a handful of states have recently passed legislation that does make this illegal. I personally only do business with foreign books who are licensed in the country where they are located and are privately owned. I also believe that while the industry is certainly volatile, the books with whom I do business have earned my trust and will continue to do business as they have for many years as they operate legally under the laws of their respective companies.
To date, I am only aware of one offshore gambling company that has ceased doing business with US customers and failed to refund the money in those accounts. BetOnSports had several subsidiary books under their corporate umbrella and since their CEO was charged with racketeering conspiracy, no progress has been made in this matter. All of the other gambling companies that have chosen not to accept wagers from the US have returned their customers’ funds and we are hearing now that Pinnacle has already begun to do so as well. I am not sure what all of the panic is about. I understand the disappointment of Pinnacle customers who had become accustomed to their discounted juice but what I have read sounds like they all feel somehow betrayed.
Each person has to make his own decision regarding how secure they feel about monies they have on deposit in a particular offshore book. Call the upper management of these books and talk to them, get to know them and ask questions. It might surprise you to learn that most really are regular guys and appreciate your business. If you are uncomfortable then it is foolish to leave large sums of money on deposit with them so either reduce your balance with periodic withdrawals or even limit your wagering to local books.
As ---- posted earlier today, the word around the offshore gaming industry is that Pinnacle was told by the United States Department of Justice to cease doing business in the US or face charges. The investigation that prompted this ultimatum is a direct result in the sting in New York City a couple of months ago when a major bookmaking operation was dismantled by the Queens District Attorney’s office. It seems that a significant part of this operation was actually local agents for offshore books that were managing their accounts locally while allowing their customers to place their wagers online. Pinnacle was apparently heavily involved with this gambling ring and when this came out in the investigation, the information was past on to the DOJ.
It is hardly a coincidence that the ultimatum was given to Pinnacle this week as this weekend, the NFL playoffs kick into high gear and the number and amount of NFL wagers historically are seen to increase sharply during this time leading up to the Super Bowl which is one of the most heavily wagered on events in the world. Pinnacle was not given an opportunity to implement this ban on US wagering and were in fact told to take it or leave it by this morning. With 20% of their business being based in Europe and another 20% originating from Asia, the Pinnacle management made a business decision and discontinued taking wagers from US based accounts. They have stated that they plan to promptly cash out these accounts and I guess we will see if that is indeed true.
Some posters at -------- have taken this action to mean that the offshore gambling industry is on its way out as far as US customers are concerned. The recent efforts by Congress and the DOJ clearly indicate that there are many within our government who want to put an end to online gambling. Several offshore books have responded to this by deciding that continuing to do business with US based bettors is simply not worth the risk of being prosecuted but until today, it has only been publicly traded companies that have made this decision. If the rumors about Pinnacle are true, then the reason they got out of the US is because they had been caught dealing in illegal gambling by having agents collect and payout wagers on American soil.
Placing a wager online with a company that is not located within the US Borders is not illegal in most states. To my knowledge, there is not one single federal law that makes it illegal to do so but a handful of states have recently passed legislation that does make this illegal. I personally only do business with foreign books who are licensed in the country where they are located and are privately owned. I also believe that while the industry is certainly volatile, the books with whom I do business have earned my trust and will continue to do business as they have for many years as they operate legally under the laws of their respective companies.
To date, I am only aware of one offshore gambling company that has ceased doing business with US customers and failed to refund the money in those accounts. BetOnSports had several subsidiary books under their corporate umbrella and since their CEO was charged with racketeering conspiracy, no progress has been made in this matter. All of the other gambling companies that have chosen not to accept wagers from the US have returned their customers’ funds and we are hearing now that Pinnacle has already begun to do so as well. I am not sure what all of the panic is about. I understand the disappointment of Pinnacle customers who had become accustomed to their discounted juice but what I have read sounds like they all feel somehow betrayed.
Each person has to make his own decision regarding how secure they feel about monies they have on deposit in a particular offshore book. Call the upper management of these books and talk to them, get to know them and ask questions. It might surprise you to learn that most really are regular guys and appreciate your business. If you are uncomfortable then it is foolish to leave large sums of money on deposit with them so either reduce your balance with periodic withdrawals or even limit your wagering to local books.
read between the lines boys...all you theory's are fun to read..but the real reason is a simple as it gets.