Gaming Law International

Man to Plea In Tocchet Gambling Case

James Ulmer, an accomplice in an alleged multimillion-dollar betting ring that catered to professional hockey players will plead guilty tomorrow in a deal that guarantees his cooperation against NHL coach Rick Tocchet, according to The Star-Ledger of Newark. Ulmer will plead guilty in Superior Court to promoting gambling and conspiracy with the expectation he will serve up to 364 days in county jail. Ulmer, Tocchet and former state trooper James Harney were charged in February with taking more than 1,000 wagers worth $1.7 million during a six-week period that ended with last season's NFL Super Bowl. You can read more here.

James Giordano Held Without Bail

James Giordano, the professional poker player accused of operating a $3.3 billion gambling enterprise, was ordered held without bail today in a New York City court. Giordano was indicted along with 26 others on charges of illegally operating an online sports betting gambling operation in the US.

David Carruthers Free on Bail

Former BetOnSports Plc CEO David Carruthers was freed on a $1 million bond today - read more here.

Gambling Revenue Down in Nevada

Nevada's casino gambling revenue fell 3.5% in June according to the state's Gaming Control Board, falling to $921.1 million from $954.2 million a year earlier, while the state government collected $55.1 million in percentage fees in July, up 1 percent from $54.6 million a year earlier.

HR-4411 -- US Anti-online Gambling Bill Approved by the House

Today, the US House of Representative approved the anti-online gambling bill (H.R. 4411, short-titled the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act ). The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration and if approved, would amend the United States Code by prohibiting the use of any financial instrument for unlawful online gambling. Criminal convictions under the bill carry a five-year term of imprisonment or a fine, or both. The bill also requires the US government to advance policies that promote the cooperation of foreign governments in the enforcement of the bill.

US House of Representatives to Vote on Anti-Online Gambling Bill

The US House of Representatives will vote today on a proposed bill designed to prohibit online gambling in the U.S. and prevent financial transactions with offshore online gambling sites. The bill combines two measures sponsored by Republican Representatives James Leach of Iowa and Bob Goodlatte of Virginia. The bill would exempt online gambling involving horse racing (pari-mutuel betting) and state lotteries. If approved, the bill will go to the Senate for consideration.

The crux of the bill is a set of provisions designed to prevent the use of credit cards and other financial instruments for online gambling by making it unlawful for financial intermediaries to process payments for online-gaming businesses. The bill requires financial intermediaries and web service providers to cooperate with American law enforcement agencies to restrict online gambling.

Enforcement with financial intermediaries will take at least two forms: (a) on the prevention side, financial intermediaries, such as credit card companies, will have to identify which of their merchants are involved in online gambling activities involving US based cardholders. Once they have identified those merchants, the relevant merchant account numbers used to process credit card authorizations will be restricted. This means that a gambling transaction will simply not be authorized. The prohibitions should not affect credit cards issued outside the US; (b) on the deterrence side, credit card issuers will likely be asked or compelled to provide transaction records for the merchants identified as providing online gambling services. Transaction records will show the credit card numbers that were used to gamble online, allowing an investigating authority to then obtain from the credit card issuers, the names and addresses of credit card holders who gambled online. This information will likely be used for prosecution purposes.

There are significant privacy concerns, national and international, that arise with legislative attempts to control online conduct. Those concerns should be addressed concurrently with measures intended to compel production of personal information.

As the bill is being considered at the House of Representatives, some of the largest US gaming companies, such as MGM Mirage and Harrah's Entertainment Inc., are lobbying Congress to consider whether online gaming should be legalized in the US.

New Jersey Casinos Re-Open

New Jersey's 12 casinos were back in operation early this morning after Gov. Jon Corzine signed a $30 billion compromise spending plan last night, formally ending the state's budget impasse. Read more here.     (Photo From AP)

Atlantic City Casinos Shut Down

The second-largest gambling market in the US is in a virtual shut-down today after New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, facing a budget impasse, deemed the 190 gambling inspectors who are required by law to monitor casino operations "non-essential'' state employees. Last week, several New Jersey casinos lost an appeal seeking to block the closures of the casinos. The shut-down is expected to cost New Jersey's 12 casinos an estimated $16 million in lost gambling revenue per day and leave 15,000 state casino employees out of work.

The full report can be read at ABC News online.

Ruth Parasol - A Self-Made Billionaire

This month's edition of Forbes Magazine is carrying a short profile of Ruth Parasol (sans photo) as part of their feature on billionaires. See "Women we Envy." Only six of the listed women billionaires are self-made, including Parasol, who was the brains behind PartyGaming Plc, the world's most popular online gambling operation. PartyGaming runs PartyPoker, the largest online poker site worldwide. Interestingly, the feature person on the cover of Forbes' billionaire edition is Canadian Calvin Ayre, another online gambling operator.

L'Affaire Tocchet - C'est pas Joli

L'affaire Tocchet is certainly rattling the world of hockey in Canada, especially since word got out that Wayne Gretzky's wife, Janet Jones, may be involved in the gambling ring allegedly financed by Tocchet. Earlier tonight Jones issued a statement saying that she never placed a bet on behalf of her husband. The statement didn't comment on her role in the alleged gambling ring, if any. Jones' statement was released shortly after the Associated Press, citing a person with knowledge of the investigation, reported Gretzky had been recorded on a wiretap talking to Tocchet about how his wife could avoid being implicated in the case. No charges were laid against Jones.

Tocchet is scheduled to be arraigned in New Jersey state court on February 21 on charges of promoting gambling, money laundering and conspiracy. If convicted of money laundering (the more serious offence), Tocchet could face a prison sentence of 10-20 years. There is also talk of a possible investigation into L'affaire Tocchet by the U.S. federal government for violations of the U.S. Wire Act and tax evasion, a conviction of either of which may carry a prison sentence of between 5-20 years if any of the allegations prove true. (photo Associated Press)

Former Hockey Star Accused of Financing Gambling Ring

Former NHL hockey player and Coyotes assistant coach Rick Tocchet was served with a criminal complaint yesterday on allegations of promoting gambling, money laundering and conspiracy, according to New Jersey state police. According to the complaint, Tocchet is alleged to have financed a sports gambling ring in the US, accepting football bets from a few current NHL players. The state police complaint said that in a 40-day period, the betting ring took more than 1,000 wagers exceeding $1.7 million on professional and collegiate sporting events. You can read the story directly at the Seattle Post-Intellligencer.  Updated story here.

Illinois Considers Carding Gamblers

The Illinois Gaming Board is considering implementing a requirement that gaming service providers verify the identification of all visitors to state casinos. As you can imagine, the plan is not popular among the gaming service providers who will likely have to bear the costs of the new identification requirements. The requirement would be aimed at preventing compulsive gamblers from entering casinos and prevent underage gambling.

Washington State Bill Would Increase Gambling Age to 21

If passed, a proposed bill presently before the Washington State Legislature would change the legal age for gambling in Washington state at state-regulated casinos from 18 to 21-years-old. The bill also makes it unlawful for anyone to assist, participate with or knowingly allow a person under the age of 21 to engage in any wagering activity in Washington. The amendment is available here.

Mississippi Casinos May Re-Open By Year End

Three of Mississippi's gulf coast casinos, severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina, may be open by the end of 2005, according to the Mississippi Gaming Commission. Read more here.

Gambling Machines Seized In Kentucky

The Kentucky State Police have seized 58 video gambling machines from nine businesses across the state. Read more here.

Card Games Trumping Machine Gaming

The Las Vegas Sun is reporting that card games are generating about six times as much revenue than gaming machines at tribal casinos in Oklahoma. Other states are reporting quite a rise in card game revenue as well but it may be too soon to tell if the trend is permanent.

Underwriting Online Gaming IPOs

According to TheLawyer.com, Skadden Arps is warning investment banks not to underwrite online gaming IPOs because of fears that online gaming may be illegal in the United States.

Future of Card Rooms in Washington State

The Puget Sound Business Journal has published an interesting story today about the future of card rooms in Washington State. Card rooms (or minicasinos as they are also called) generated $282 million in revenue in 2004, a 5% increase over 2003 while charitable games and horse racing lost market share. Despite the improvement in revenue, a number of Washington State muncipalities are proposing to either freeze the number of card rooms or ban them.