tsai3904
05-23-2011, 11:39 PM
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-internet-gambling-20110523,0,2199567.story
Federal investigators in Baltimore set up a phony business — and handled $33 million in transactions from Internet gamblers — in a lengthy sting operation that led to the indictment of two online betting companies and their international owners.
Details were released Monday after 11 associated bank accounts were seized in five countries and 10 Web domain names were shut down.
"It is illegal for Internet gambling enterprises to do business in Maryland, regardless of where the website operator is located," Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said in a statement Monday. "We cannot allow foreign website operators to flout the law simply because their headquarters are based outside the country."
The Maryland indictments, returned late last month, are the result of an undercover operation by Homeland Security Investigations in Baltimore, a division of U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement.
The agency created a payment-processing business — called Linwood Payment Solutions — and used it to infiltrate the world of online betting.
The company is described online as 10 years old, with 15 employees and annual sales of $760,000. A half-dozen Internet gambling companies ultimately relied on it to handle $33 million in transactions over the past two years, revealing a thriving criminal community in Maryland and beyond.
Domains seized by order of the court include:
Bookmaker.com
2Betsdi.com
Funtimebingo.com
Goldenarchcasino.com
Truepoker.com
Betmaker.com
Betgrandesports.com
Betehorse.com
Beted.com.
Federal investigators in Baltimore set up a phony business — and handled $33 million in transactions from Internet gamblers — in a lengthy sting operation that led to the indictment of two online betting companies and their international owners.
Details were released Monday after 11 associated bank accounts were seized in five countries and 10 Web domain names were shut down.
"It is illegal for Internet gambling enterprises to do business in Maryland, regardless of where the website operator is located," Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said in a statement Monday. "We cannot allow foreign website operators to flout the law simply because their headquarters are based outside the country."
The Maryland indictments, returned late last month, are the result of an undercover operation by Homeland Security Investigations in Baltimore, a division of U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement.
The agency created a payment-processing business — called Linwood Payment Solutions — and used it to infiltrate the world of online betting.
The company is described online as 10 years old, with 15 employees and annual sales of $760,000. A half-dozen Internet gambling companies ultimately relied on it to handle $33 million in transactions over the past two years, revealing a thriving criminal community in Maryland and beyond.
Domains seized by order of the court include:
Bookmaker.com
2Betsdi.com
Funtimebingo.com
Goldenarchcasino.com
Truepoker.com
Betmaker.com
Betgrandesports.com
Betehorse.com
Beted.com.