[yahboohoo]

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I really wish that you people would read a bit about money laundering before spouting off.

The traditional definition of money laundering is the three stage process of placement, layering and integration. I say traditional because legislative changes (not sure what exactly maybe Patriot Act) meant that any cash transaction in relation to a crime automatically could also be money laundering, even though there was no attempt to hide the origin of the cash.

Placement, getting cash into the financial system, is by far the most difficult stage of the process and as online casinos don't handle cash they can't be utilised for this purpose. Clearly B&M can and offer a facility to move the cash into the financial system by cheque or bank transfer.

OK there is some argument that online poker could be of some use in the layering (multiple transactions to obscure original source) and integration (transaction(s) that present funds as legally acquired), but virtually any commercial transaction can be used for these purposes, many with far less transparency than fully recorded hands of poker.

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The fact is that NETeller and online gaming sites made it very easy for large sums of money to be transferred (once or many times) without the U.S. knowing about it. This could be (I repeat: COULD be) utilized by criminals, terrorists, or just average folks who want a "second economy" free of taxes. All these could be construed as attempts to "conceal the identity, source, and/or destination of money" -- or, in other words, money laundering.

When Uncle Sam sees large volumes of money going in one direction (online gaming) and can't figure out who is getting how much on the back end, it makes them very nervous.