The war starts?

[JPFisher55]

If this article is true: http://www.gambling911.com/Banks-Onl...ng-012007.html
Then the DOJ is about to start a litigation war with the entire online gaming industry, including poker. It could involve UK and other countries. This will force the industry to fight some sort of litigation battle in US courts, maybe international courts.
This despite the WTO ruling and the fact that the only federal case law has held that the Wire Act only covers sports betting.
INO the DOJ is out of control. How does the DOJ subpoena PartyPoker?
Good news is that this will likely force the entire industry to fight the DOJ rather than run. And it may force the hand of Congress. Certainly the WTO may be proded to take much more immediate action than in a normal WTO case.
Of course, the article may not be accurate or may overstate matters.

[Uglyowl]

I really found this article very interesting. I will be very curious what happens going forward. Probably not too much trouble messing with Antigua, but start bullying around large foreign banks, etc. hmmm



US Gaming probe rocks top banks

I wonder if the British government will say "enough is enough".

-"THE US Department of Justice has ordered the world’s biggest investment banks, accountants and law firms to hand over all e-mails, telephone records and papers connected with internet gaming firms as part of an investigation into illegal online gambling in America.

HSBC, Dresdner Kleinwort, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank are known to be among the banks that have been issued with subpoenas"

-"One source said: “To say the situation is sensitive is the understatement of the decade. The problem is, even if you know you have done nothing wrong, you have no powers of resistance.”"

-"The source went on: “The Department of Justice has taken a shotgun, not a rifle approach in relation to lots of gaming companies and has just asked everyone to hand over all the information they have.”

[sobefuddled]

This is not a new war. Google "Gold Chip Technologies." Granted those guys were stupid but....Follow the money. Who really stands to benefit. These things happen because someone somewhere will benefit big time. How do they benefit? Follow the money.

[Poker_Ace]

Much of this is old news. A friend of mine from the UK with ties to some of the publicly traded gaming companies told me that DOJ threatened the U.S. investment banks with prosecution if they participated in underwriting the IPOs; the U.S. investment banks withdrew in response. This looks like DOJ is following up on that threat.

[JoseGonzlez]

No, i think you misread the article.
I got the impression the DOJ was going to investigate the investment banks that brought the gaming companies public.

Seems odd since all the listings were done in London.

[JPFisher55]

[ QUOTE ]
No, i think you misread the article.
I got the impression the DOJ was going to investigate the investment banks that brought the gaming companies public.

Seems odd since all the listings were done in London.

[/ QUOTE ]
Maybe, but what right does the US DOJ have to investigate the foreign investment banks that assisted these companies to go public on the LSE, a foreign stock exchange?

[Kneel B4 Zod]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
No, i think you misread the article.
I got the impression the DOJ was going to investigate the investment banks that brought the gaming companies public.

Seems odd since all the listings were done in London.

[/ QUOTE ]
Maybe, but what right does the US DOJ have to investigate the foreign investment banks that assisted these companies to go public on the LSE, a foreign stock exchange?

[/ QUOTE ]

all of these companies have significant US operations

[StellarWind]

[ QUOTE ]
No, i think you misread the article.
I got the impression the DOJ was going to investigate the investment banks that brought the gaming companies public.

[/ QUOTE ]
I don't think so. The investment bankers have committed no obvious crime. But they probably have lots of information which may be used against their gaming clients.

[malo]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
No, i think you misread the article.
I got the impression the DOJ was going to investigate the investment banks that brought the gaming companies public.

[/ QUOTE ]
I don't think so. The investment bankers have committed no obvious crime. But they probably have lots of information which may be used against their gaming clients.

[/ QUOTE ]

I am ignorant about the nuances of international finance, so forgive my dumb questions.

My understanding has been the Swiss view the banker-client relationship as confidential, just as the US views the lawyer-client relationship.

They will, in certain circumstances, violate that relationship to cooperate with authorities with investigations. The activity being investigated has to be a crime under Swiss law.

Now money laundering and terrorism is a crime in Switzerland. But isn't their definition of money laundering narrower than DOJ's? Aren't they smart enough to figure out that all this money flying around is not financing terrorist activities? More likely to tell DOJ to stick their subpoenas where the sun don't shine---in a polite Swiss way, of course?

Also, something occurred to me last night: once again, the companies targeted are publicly traded, not privately owned. FWIW.

[Richas]

My impression is that this story is a reflection of the anger in the City of London about this rather than a big threat to UK justice.

The investment banks doing the listings have broken no laws here, the DOJ is leaning on them for info to go at the betting firms not going directly for the banks or their officers. It is another indication that the DOJ are serious but I think we knew that anyway.

As for the WTO and UK/EU - no it's not the seventh cavalry coming to the rescue any time soon but the EU will fight the US on this one especially if and when (Sept 2007) some of the main players come onshore to the UK. This may take years but it could be a significant factor in helping you out of this mess (eventually).

As an aside the UK gov is still getting grief over the 2005 Gambling Act not least the Observer and another documentary on Monday, the BMJ report on gambling addiction help in the health service but the experts in the field are still saying as part of these that the government is right to regulate to protect children and the vulnerable.