New York State: Group Cries Foul on NY's Fantasy Sports Law

Group Cries Foul on NY's Fantasy Sports Law

By JOSH RUSSELL 

   ALBANY, N.Y. (CN) - A new lawsuit filed in Albany Supreme Court challenged the constitutionality of the New York legislature's legalization of "Interactive Fantasy Sports" gambling.
     The lawsuit coordinated by Stop Predatory Gambling, an anti-gambling group, argued that New York State Constitution §9.1 prohibits gambling and pool-selling, except for specifically granted exemptions, including wagering on horse races, charitable contests, a limited number of commercial casinos and the state-operated lottery.
     The lawsuit seeks a judgment declaring Chapter 237 of 2016 New York State law unconstitutional and injunction prohibiting the implementation of the legalization of "Interactive Fantasy Sports" gambling.
     FanDuel and DraftKings, major daily fantasy sports websites, suspended their operations on March 21, 2016, amidst lawsuits filed by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman in New York Supreme Court calling the online contests gambling and also alleging consumer fraud and deceptive advertising.
     Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is named as a defendant in the latest lawsuit, signed legislation on August 3, 2016, legalizing daily fantasy sports in New York.
     At the time of the signing Cuomo said, "This new legislation strikes the right balance that allows this activity to continue with oversight from state regulators, new consumer protections, and more funding for education." 
     The lawsuit points out that the August legislation legalized online sports gambling just in time for the Sept. 16 kickoff of the National Football League's 2016 season.
     New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman blasted DraftKings and daily fantasy sports gambling in a November 2015 cease-and-desist letter, in which he said "Like most gambling operations, DraftKings' own numbers reveal a far different reality."
     Schneiderman elaborated in his cease-and-desist order, "In practice, DFS [daily fantasy sports] is far closer to poker in this respect: a small number of professional gamblers profit at the expense of casual players. To date, our investigation has shown that the top one percent of DraftKings' winners receive the vast majority of the winnings."
     A spokesperson for New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman commented that daily fantasy sports "are creating the same public health and economic concerns as other forms of gambling, including addiction. Finally, DraftKings' advertisements seriously mislead New York citizens about their prospects of winning"
     The lawsuit noted that fantasy sports are included in Gamblers Anonymous' list of activities it defines as gambling.
     New York supporters of Stop Predatory Gambling helped bring the lawsuit.
     "We believe in improving the lives of the people of New York," said Les Bernal, Stop Predatory Gambling's National Director. "Daily fantasy sports gambling is a huge rip-off for all citizens, regardless whether you gamble or not."
     The New York State Gaming Commission offered no comment, referring inquiries to the New York State Attorney General's Office, which is handling the litigation.
     The plaintiffs are represented by Cornelius Murray at O'Connell & Aronowitz in Albany, New York.
     The complaints were not made available to the public by the court as of press time. Courthouse News obtained the complaints on the Stop Predatory Gambling site as part of this blog post: http://stoppredatorygambling.org/blog/spg-helps-to-file-constitutional-challenge-of-nys-internet-gambling-law/. 

http://www.courthousenews.com/2016/10/06/group-cries-foul-on-nys-fantasy-sports-law.htm

Healey wants tougher casino regulations

Healey wants tougher casino regulations
Posted: Friday, April 3, 2015 12:00 am

Associated Press

 

                                                  

BOSTON — Concerns that casinos could lead to greater criminal activity led Massachusetts' top prosecutor to urge the state's gambling overseers to come up with regulations combating money laundering, human trafficking and other illicit activities.
 Attorney General Maura Healey suggests that the state Gaming Commission requires casinos to file timely reports to the state about suspicious activity and large cash transactions and to incorporate "zero tolerance" language in employee and vendor contracts about trafficking in people and drugs, among other measures.

"Such regulations should deter would-be money launderers, and identify those engaged in other criminal enterprises, such as drug traffickers, human traffickers, loan sharks and organized crime," Healey wrote in the letter dated March 27.
 State Gaming Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby said the panel will discuss the letter.
 "Obviously, everyone is opposed to money laundering and human trafficking," he said Thursday.

"The question is, What's the most effective way to make sure that these things are minimized? ... We don't want to blow it out of proportion, but you do want to think aggressively and creatively about how you make sure these things don't become problematic in our state."
 The American Gaming Association, a casino industry trade group, called Healey's concerns "completely misguided " and indicative of a "deep and disappointing bias against the casino gaming industry."
The organization said it recently provided Healey's office with a "comprehensive document" about the industry's anti-money laundering efforts, which it says were developed in coordination with the federal government.
 Healey, a Democrat and casino opponent elected in November, has promised to make gambling enforcement a priority, saying she'll be looking to ensure casino consumer protection laws are enforced, criminal activity is prosecuted and casinos honor the commitments they've made to cities and towns.
 After years of debate and controversy, Massachusetts' casino industry launches in earnest with the expected June 24 opening of a $225 million Penn National Gaming slot parlor on the Rhode Island border.

Two other major resort casinos are also in development: an $800 million MGM casino in Springfield and a $1.7 billion Wynn casino in the Boston suburb of Everett.

In a related development, Revere's mayor is calling on Healey to launch an investigation into a land deal between Wynn Resorts and the state transit agency.
Revere Mayor Daniel Rizzo, whose administration is suing to block the casino development, suggests Healey look into how the deal came about, including why much of the discussions happened outside of public view, how Wynn became the "winning bidder" and how the $6 million sale price was reached.
"Allowing a state agency and a private developer to act in this manner erodes the public's confidence in government," he wrote in a Thursday letter. "Wynn has been allowed to proceed with its project seemingly unchecked, with little regard for the law or for impacted communities."
State Gaming Commission members said Thursday that they are closely watching the issue. Healey's office declined to comment, as did Wynn Resorts.
The casino purchased the roughly 1.75 acres, which are part of a bus repair facility, for the resort's main point of entry.
But the governor's office of Energy and Environmental Affairs has said the state Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority violated state regulations when it completed the land deal before it could complete its own review


http://www.eagletribune.com/news/healey-wants-tougher-casino-regulations/article_e75d0251-a306-584b-98a7-726fd4117bc4.html

Congressional hearing on internet gambling

On behalf of our SPG members, I testified on the policy of government-sponsored gambling at a Congressional hearing last week. I explained why any serious effort to address rising unfairness and inequality in America must include, as part of its foundation, phasing out our predatory gambling policy. The primary focus of the hearing was a bill that would ban state government-run internet gambling.

We aimed to hit it as powerfully as we could. You can watch our 5 minute oral presentation below. Also, please read and share SPG's Witness Statement to the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security.









Les Bernal's testimony about unfairness & inequality before Congress

Published on Mar 27, 2015

SPG National Director Les Bernal testified about government-sponsored gambling (with an emphasis on internet gambling,) and how it contributes to rising unfairness and inequality in our nation, before the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations on 3/25/2015. You can read Bernal's written testimony here: http://judiciary.house.gov/_cache/fil...
****************************************­***************************************
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/spgambling
FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Stop-Pr...
WEBSITE: http://www.stoppredatorygambling.org

I was joined on the panel by former Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Fagan, also a national SPG Board Member, as well as University of Illinois School of Law Professor John Kindt. You can read Attorney Fagan's Witness Statement here and and watch him here. You can read Dr. Kindt's Witness Statement here and watch him here.
If you support our mission and work, please help sustain it by making a gift today.

Thanks for the work you do. Keep pushing.

Best,

Les

____________

Les Bernal

National Director, Stop Predatory Gambling

End government-sponsored gambling because it is dishonest, financially damaging to citizens and contributes to the rising unfairness and inequality in our country.

If you support our mission and work, please become a member of Stop Predatory Gambling today.

Quick Links An American Declaration on Government and Gambling Online Store SPG in the Media Take Action A Failed Government Policy Lies vs. Facts Background Reading Share Your Story Donate To The Mission

Stop Predatory Gambling Foundation ι 100 Maryland Avenue NE, Room 310 ι Washington, D.C. 20002 ι (202) 567-6996 ©2013 Stop Predatory Gambling Foundation. All rights reserved.

 

Sands Casino Website Hacking

Sands Casino Website Hacking: Some Customers' Data Was Stolen

        

AP

This screen shot shows the Sands website that was hacked on Feb. 10.

LAS VEGAS — Computer hackers stole some Las Vegas Sands customers' Social Security and driver's license numbers during a data breach earlier this month, the casino company said Friday.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. said in a statement that the information about some patrons at its Bethlehem, Pa., hotel-casino was compromised during the Feb. 10 attack. It was unclear whether credit card information was also taken.

 

Sands said it was still working to determine whether customer information from other properties was breached. The company runs the Italian-themed Venetian and Palazzo on the Las Vegas Strip, and several hotel-casinos in China and Singapore.

 

In its statement, Sands noted that the number of patron accounts that were compromised make up less than 1 percent of all visitors to the Bethlehem casino since its 2009 opening. The company did not provide the number of patron accounts at risk.

 

Sands said it is notifying customers affected by the hacking and providing them with credit monitoring and identity theft protection. It has set up a toll-free number for customers to call with questions.

The company added that a mailing database similar to something a direct marketing firm would use was also stolen.

 

The Las Vegas-based company pulled down its corporate and individual hotel websites Feb. 11 after hackers defaced them with images condemning comments Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson had made about using nuclear weapons on Iran. The hackers also posted Social Security numbers for Sands' Bethlehem employees.

It took the company nearly a week to get the sites back up. The hacking also knocked down internal systems, and left corporate employees without access to their computers and email accounts for days.

Last week, an anonymous video surfaced that appeared to catalog additional information stolen during the hacking, including administrator passwords for slot machine systems and player information at the Bethlehem casino.

 

The FBI and Secret Service have been investigating the cyberattack.

— The Associated Press

First published February 28th 2014, 5:35 pm

http://www.nbcnews.com/#/tech/security/sands-casino-website-hacking-some-customers-data-was-stolen-n41601




Las Vegas Sands: Customer data stolen during recent attack • 3:37 AM

• The data of thousands of customers has been stolen from Las Vegas Sands' (LVS) Bethlehem property in Pennsylvania during a cyber-attack last month.
• The information included Social Security and drivers license numbers, and possibly bank and credit-card data.
• As of Friday, LVS had "no reports of any fraudulent activity related to the data breach."
• On February 11, LVS disclosed that it had been the victim of an attack after its Web sites were taken down and corporate e-mail systems were hit. (PR)

Our forever candidate for higher office wakes up!

Did Martha Coakley protect Massachusetts residents before she was running for Governor?

 

NO!

Martha Coakley, ever the opportunist, has finally awakened from her slumber to grandstand on yet another issue: Casino Loans!

The grossly flawed legislation turned Casinos into BANKS and remained unnoticed until the AG was campaigning for yet another office. Isn't she grand?

Did anyone notice that the AG never investigated or prosecuted Sticky Fingers Piontkowski for misuse of funds? Why the cover-up?

If you're disgusted by the conspicuous corruption, let's REPEAL THE CASINO DEAL!

Mass. AG seeks ban on liens by casinos

Actions targeted gamblers’ homes

By Mark Arsenault

| Globe staff February 11, 2014

State Attorney General Martha Coakley urged Massachusetts regulators on Monday to prohibit casinos from placing liens on the homes of patrons with unpaid gambling debts, calling the practice “deeply concerning” in a letter to the state gambling commission.

“Protecting against predatory lending and overly aggressive debt collection in the gaming industry is critical, because the odds are stacked against the patron being able to earn back the value of the loan,” wrote Coakley, who is also a candidate for governor. “This practice by the gaming industry in which customers’ homes are put at risk should not be allowed.”

Coakley cited an article in Sunday’s Globe that detailed the longstanding practice by the two large Connecticut tribal casinos, Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods, of placing liens on homes of residents who owe the casinos money advanced for gambling.

Casino industry specialists have said it is unusual for a gambling business to employ property liens as a collection tactic.

 

Related

• 2/9: Casinos employ hardball tactic

 

“This story highlights the need for a robust set of consumer protection regulations before these establishments begin operations,” Coakley wrote.

For many, a home ‘is the one place they have any equity or any assets.’

Both of the Connecticut casino companies are applicants for gambling licenses in Massachusetts. Foxwoods is pursuing a casino in Fall River, seeking the sole resort casino license for Southeastern Massachusetts.

Mohegan Sun is competing for a license to build a gambling resort in Revere, on about 42 acres belonging to the Suffolk Downs racetrack. The other applicant is a Wynn Resorts proposal in Everett.
Many casinos offer credit to gamblers, as a convenience for big players who would be uncomfortable traveling with huge wads of cash.

Gambling companies have access to credit bureaus to determine if the player has the financial resources to cover the advance.

When a casino approves a credit line, a player signs what is essentially a check for the amount loaned.

If the loan is not repaid before the customer leaves, the casino will cash the check and the money will be drawn from the player’s bank account. If the account is short, however, the check will bounce.

Since the early 2000s, Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun have placed dozens of liens on Massachusetts properties, seeking payment, interest, and fees.

State law will allow the state’s casinos to extend gambling credit to customers, under rules established by the Massachusestts Gaming Commission. The rules must include “procedures for confirming that a patron has an established credit history and is in good standing,” according to the state’s gambling law.

The commission has not yet written those rules and procedures, but that task is coming up: The panel intends to place the issue on the agenda of an upcoming meeting, the commission’s spokeswoman, Elaine Driscoll, said Monday evening.

In Coakley’s letter, she offered the commission her office’s expertise to help “in crafting regulations that effectively protect consumers, while allowing businesses to operate fairly in the marketplace.”
Mohegan Sun, which last week vigorously defended its credit and collection policies in a letter to the Globe, addressed Coakley remarks in a statement last night: “We have always indicated our willingness to work with the Gaming Commission within whatever regulatory framework they establish.”

Coakley said in an interview Monday that for many people a home “is the one place they have any equity or any assets.”

Liens, which accrue 12 percent interest a year, cloud the title to properties, affecting a homeowner’s ability to sell or refinance.

“We are concerned it would have a very negative impact here if people incur debt and this practice is permitted,” Coakley said.

She believes that if casinos cannot chase debtors with property liens, they may be more conservative in lending.

Leaders of an effort to repeal the state’s 2011 casino law called Monday for the commission and lawmakers to hold hearings on the credit and collection policies of the casinos.

“This is a shining example of the many facets the Legislature overlooked [in legalizing casino gambling], but which can’t be ignored or swept under the rug, even at this late date in the process,” wrote representatives of the Repeal the Casino Deal campaign, including former Massachusetts attorney general Scott Harshbarger.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/02/11/coakley-urges-state-bar-casinos-from-placing-liens-homes/pDzM4Sc3ZLmdDmNXdMwVYJ/story.html?s_campaign=email_BG_TodaysHeadline

Mohegan Sun faults rival Wynn in casino bid

Adopts aggressive stance

By Mark Arsenault

| Globe staff

 

Officials at Mohegan Sun, who want to build a casino hotel in Revere, unveiled a pointed turn in their public relations strategy Monday, offering new and aggressive criticism of a rival casino proposal by Wynn Resorts in Everett.

“Unlike Wynn, our commitment [to building in Massachusetts] is not contingent on anything,” Mitchell Etess, chief executive of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, said in an interview at the Globe.

He said that Wynn Resorts, the Las Vegas company run by billionaire casino developer Steve Wynn, has demanded numerous accommodations from state offices — on environmental regulations, taxes, access to his proposed site, and other considerations — and suggested Wynn may not proceed with his project if he does not get what he wants.

“We’re ready,” said Etess. “We don’t need changes in the law.”

 

Mohegan Sun, which has a deal to lease 42 acres of land at the Suffolk Downs racetrack for a casino resort, has been mostly mild-mannered in its public comments since joining the race for the Greater Boston resort casino license in November, extolling its own project without sharp criticism of Wynn.

The company’s communication strategy was similar to the cautious approach favored by Suffolk Downs officials in an earlier casino proposal on the East Boston side of the racetrack property, which voters rejected last November.

What changed?

“At some point, we felt we needed to point these things out,” said Etess.

That point may have come late last month, when the competing casino companies each made public presentations before the state gambling commission.

Mohegan Sun barely acknowledged there was another applicant for the license, instead focusing on the merits of its own proposal.

Wynn, on the other hand, personally blasted Mohegan Sun’s building design and suggested that the rival company had a tax incentive to steer big gamblers away from Massachusetts and to the Mohegan Sun casino in Connecticut, where table game revenues are not taxed.

Etess struck back Monday, saying Mohegan Sun’s agreement with its financial partner, Brigade Capital Management, contains language to ensure the casino company cannot favor the Connecticut property over a Revere casino.

Etess said Mohegan Sun could be up and running more quickly, in part because the property where Wynn wants to build, a former chemical site, is contaminated and must be cleaned. Etess also suggested Wynn may be unable to move forward without changes to state environmental regulations, which a Wynn project development adviser denies.

Etess also criticized a series of recommendations Wynn submitted to the gambling commission, outlining proposed changes to the state’s casino law.

All casino applicants were instructed on their application form: “Describe any postlicensing actions by the Commission or the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that you believe will be essential for the success of the project you are proposing.”

Wynn’s list recommended changes to the way cash prizes must be reported for tax purposes, and proposed that commercial casinos pay state tax equal to whatever revenue-sharing provisions are paid by a tribal casino, among a number of other suggestions.

Mohegan Sun, Etess said, is willing to work within the rules Massachusetts established. The company’s application answered the question about proposed changes this way: “Because we participated in the gaming act’s creation and noted the careful deliberation with which the Legislature used to craft it, [Mohegan Sun] does not think that the gaming act needs any major legislative changes to be successful.”

Clyde Barrow, a casino expert at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, said the main audience for Mohegan Sun’s new, more aggressive posture “would be the Gaming Commission, since they are the ones that will make the decision about issuing the license.”

He said it is common for casino companies to bad-mouth each other in competitive battles for limited licenses.

“The initial process is to call attention to your project and point out the positives on its own merits,” said Barrow. “The next stage of that argument is to point out the contrast between your project and the competitors.”

Though casino companies have been competing in Massachusetts for more than a year, they have mostly refrained from attacking each other publicly until recently.

One early exception occurred in late 2012, when representatives from three gambling companies pitching casinos in Springfield ripped each other’s projects in an article in The Republican newspaper.

Springfield city officials privately warned the companies to play nice.

 

High-speed gambling machines

Britain's opposition seeks crackdown on high-speed gambling machines

LONDON Fri Dec 20, 2013

Dec 20 (Reuters) - Britain's opposition Labour Party wants to tighten controls on gambling machines that they say have turned betting shops into mini casinos targeting poorer people.
 
Betting shops are spreading "like an epidemic" along Britain's high streets, Labour leader Ed Miliband said on Friday, proposing that councils be given new powers to control the numbers of sites bookmakers open.

"The time has come to give local communities the right to pull the plug on these machines - the right to decide if they want their high streets to be the place for high-stakes, high-speed, high-cost gambling," Miliband said in a statement.

The popularity of fixed-odds betting terminals, which began to proliferate when Labour was in power a decade ago, has given the retail outlets of bookmakers such as Paddy Power and William Hill a new lease of life at a time when a growing number of gamblers are going online.

Miliband said that bookmakers are circumventing laws limiting them to four machines per shop by opening clusters of shops close to each other.

Critics have said the terminals, which allow gamblers to bet up to 300 pounds ($490) a minute, are highly addictive, dubbing them the crack cocaine of gambling. There have also been claims that they facilitate money laundering.

Labour, hoping to return to power in an election to be held in 2015, wants to allow councils to reduce the number of terminals in each shop.

It said it would also introduce legislation to double the time between plays on machines to 40 seconds, introduce pop-up messages to warn players how much they have lost and limit how long they can play without a break.

The government has said it is awaiting the results of research into the impact of machines on problem gambling.

"We have been crystal clear with the betting industry that if it doesn't improve player protection measures on fixed-odds betting terminals by March 2014, or provide data to inform research, we will not hesitate to act," said a spokesman at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Ladbrokes spokesman Ciaran O'Brien accused Miliband of jumping on a bandwagon, noting that a health survey for England published this week showed a decline in problem gambling.


http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/12/20/britain-betting-labour-idINL6N0JZ1UJ20131220

In the Murky World of Bitcoin, Fraud Is Quicker Than the Law

 

Sarah Meiklejohn, a graduate student at the University of California, San Diego, who researches the Bitcoin economy.

Sandy Huffaker for The New York Times

By NATHANIEL POPPER

December 5, 2013

 

The call went out on Twitter: “For insane profits come and join the pump.”

It was an invitation to a penny stock-style pump-and-dump scheme — only this one involved Bitcoin, the soaring, slightly scary virtual currency that has beckoned and bewildered people around the world.

While such bid ’em up, sell ’em off scams are shut down in the financial markets all the time, this one and other frauds involving digital money have gone unchecked. The reason, in no small part: Government authorities do not agree on which laws apply to Bitcoin — or even on what Bitcoin is.

The person behind the recent scheme, a trader known on Twitter as Fontas, said in a secure Internet chat that he operated with little fear of a crackdown.


“For now, the lack of regulations allows everything to happen,” Fontas said in the chat, where he verified his control of the Twitter account, which has thousands of followers, but did not give his identity. He added that Bitcoin and its users would benefit when someone steps in to police this financial wild west, and would stop his schemes when they do.

Chinese authorities drew attention to the issue on Thursday when they announced that they were barring Chinese banks from making Bitcoin transactions. The same day, the Bank of France issued its own warning about the potential risks. The news sent the price of Bitcoin tumbling, but it quickly bounced back to near its all-time high of around $1,200.

Bitcoins are little more than computer code — created according to a set algorithm and traded between online wallets using virtual keys. Some people insist that virtual currencies could become a revolutionary new form of payment in the real world. Bank of America became the first major Wall Street bank to release research about Bitcoin on Thursday, noting that it could become “a major player in both e-commerce and money transfer.”

So far, though, Bitcoin has been driven up primarily by people who are betting it will rise and rise because there is a finite supply. The initial computer program established that only 21 million Bitcoins would ever be created.


Because there are no limits on who can buy Bitcoins, they have attracted investors of all stripes. The value of all the Bitcoins in existence is now more than $12 billion after a volatile surge increased the value by more than 1,000 percent over the last month.

But the excitement over this rapid ascent has obscured the fraud, hacking and outright theft that have become an increasingly regular part of the virtual currency world — even for the most sophisticated, legitimate players — and the lack of any visible response from law enforcement agencies.

This has allowed more than 30 episodes in which at least 1,000 Bitcoins — or $1 million at the current rate of exchange — were stolen or transferred illegally, according to a frequently updated list on the most popular online forum for Bitcoin. Of those cases, 10 involved losses of more than 10,000 Bitcoins, or $10 million at the current value. The authorities have only been publicly involved in one of these cases.

This week, the virtual currency world has been abuzz over a heist in which 96,000 Bitcoins — currently worth about $100 million — were said to be taken from an online marketplace known for selling illegal drugs.

Because of the murky nature of the virtual currency, thefts can be hard to verify. But the increasing stream of episodes underscores how quickly con artists can take advantage of new forms of investing and how slow the authorities can be in responding to emerging financial risks.

The association of state securities regulators put digital money on its list of the top 10 threats to investors for the first time this year. At a hearing last month, three federal agencies said they were carefully tracking virtual currencies for illicit activity.

But Judith M. Shaw, the top securities regulator in Maine, said that it was often hard to determine which authority should be cracking down on virtual currency fraud, or even what constitutes fraud in a market that some view as a giant bubble and others as the future of money.

“The jurisdiction has not been clearly established because it’s new uncharted territory,” Ms. Shaw said. “Everyone is just trying to figure out how this is all going to play out.”

The five Chinese agencies that released a notice on Thursday, including the People’s Bank of China, said that citizens of the country would still be allowed to buy and sell digital money, but it warned that participants “assume the risks themselves.”

Authorities in the United States have cracked down on the criminal use of virtual currencies in a few cases, but those have been isolated situations in which the coins have been used for illegal purposes in the real world, like money laundering and trade in illicit goods. The owner of the Silk Road, a website where drugs and weapons could be bought with Bitcoins, was arrested earlier this year.

But for crimes contained within the Bitcoin network — like thefts from apparently reputable online wallets where Bitcoins are stored — there has been almost no accountability.

The largest Bitcoin payment processor in Europe, BIPS, said last month that it was hacked and that it lost about $1 million worth of Bitcoins, including coins that were in the personal online wallets of customers. The company, which is still in business, said this week that it would be “unable to reimburse Bitcoins lost unless the stolen coins are retrieved.”

The company said that the Danish police were examining the case but added that the authorities could “not classify this as a theft due to the current nonregulation of Bitcoin.”

“There is absolutely no consumer protection in any sector of the Bitcoin economy,” said Sarah Meiklejohn, a graduate student at the University of California, San Diego, who researches the industry.

After writing a paper on Bitcoin transactions this year, Ms. Meiklejohn said she began receiving emails almost daily from victims of theft who asked her to help track down the perpetrators. Ms. Meiklejohn said that despite the long odds of success, she had generally offered to help, knowing that the victims had nowhere else to turn.

“I figure I can at least respond to them and provide some sense they are being heard,” Ms. Meiklejohn said.

Part of the problem is that regulators have not agreed on how to classify Bitcoin. The Securities and Exchange Commission has authority to regulate securities, like stocks, in the United States. This allowed the agency to punish a Bitcoin Ponzi scheme this year because the agreement between the swindler and the victims was considered a security. But so far, the agency has not determined whether Bitcoin itself can be categorized as a security, making it hard for it to crack down on trading fraud.

Chinese authorities said on Thursday that Bitcoin was a “virtual commodity that does not share the same legal status of a currency.” In the United States, that classification could put Bitcoin under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. But that agency has not assumed responsibility. In the immediate future, the most likely source of enforcement may be the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s cybersecurity team.

“It’s becoming something of enough value that these agencies are going to wake up and want to find one of these thieves,” said Patrick Murck, the general counsel at the Bitcoin Foundation, a nonprofit group that promotes virtual currencies. “There is no way that anyone can think this is not a real thing that is not worth going after.”

http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/dealbook/2013/12/05/in-the-murky-world-of-bitcoin-fraud-is-quicker-than-the-law/

A Christmas Casino Poem

Bill Kearney

A Christmas Casino Poem
By
Bill Kearney

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house is barely enough food to feed a mouse. Our stockings had holes, chimney no heat, I waited in hope they’d return from the casino with something to eat. I’m a child of parents who got into bed with an industry that puts dancing fruits, bars and bells in your head....

My siblings were nestled all snug in their beds, this year it’s not sugar plums but despair in their heads. As I watch them drift off for a long winter’s nap, my prayers were for my parents to never go back. Then out in the driveway I heard such a crash, I ran to the window and threw up the sash.

Those lights of disaster made my vision clear but I couldn't comprehend what to my wondering eyes should appear, was it police cars and officers in full gear?

Mom’s hysterical using words I dare not repeat. Dad’s thrown down so
quick, now there’s no doubt our future is bleak.

More rapid than alcohol and drugs it came, and those in our government swear its okay. Once legal they whistled, and shouted, and called them by name! “Now Harrah’s! Now, Sugarhouse! Now, Mohegan Sun, and Hollywood! On, Parx! On Sands and Mount Airy! Throughout the state we’ll fill tax coffers for all! Now Bet away! Bet away! Bet away all!

Their money blows away in those slots like clouds in the sky, and so will their homes and families go by! So up to the house-top in debt they will be, with bankruptcy, foreclosure, and divorce bringing them to their knees.

One day in Philly I heard a man say we must stop the breeding of casino gambling degenerates today! He was dressed all in black, from his head to toe; he looked more like a gambler than a casino foe. His eyes-how they widen, his demeanor changed, as he addressed the non-ill effects of casino gambling our government proclaims.

His hands moved like pistons, his anger was seen as he exploited this industry like a well oiled machine. A bundle of safeguards he flashed out loud, things like no comps, no free booze, and no credit aloud.

Then he said something that made me think twice; “make casinos send monthly statements showing their sad plight.”

I thought of my family and where we might be, if they got monthly statements and casinos never opened near me.

Before he left I heard him say, “Merry Christmas to all” then he exclaim, “if we sit back and do nothing we’re all going to pay and those long sleepless nights may come your way.”

To learn more about Casino Monthly Statements go on line and Google-up Bill Kearney on casino gambling.See More

Huge gamble: No consumer protection

Bill Kearney

Massachusetts ‘Gaming’ Future

Bucks County Courier Times - December 1, 2013 - Huge gamble: No consumer protection

Before our gaming law passed in 2004, I was asked to give testimony at the Joint Public Hearings on gambling that was held in Philadelphia. They couldn't have picked a better day to discuss casino gambling; it was April 1st, "April Fool's Day."...

That day I presented my safeguards that address the predatory gaming provisions our lawmakers were about to sanction. Things like free booze, smoking, check cashing, interest free credit, free play, 24/7 gambling, and comps. I explained to them how these are the tools casino operators use to seduce their prey, but they didn't listen, and that's because they know better than to gamble in casinos.

I also brought up my casino monthly statements idea that day. Even though I know there was nothing going to stop them from passing our gaming law, I was hoping they would see the importance of these safeguards, especially the monthly statements, but that never happened. Our gaming law passed that year and for the last eight years I've been trying to get the casino monthly statements legislation that has been put forth in the House of Representatives for the last four sessions made the law.

Today, there are 12 casinos operating throughout our state with all the above provisions. In layman's terms they’re operating like amusement parks with no safety belts or cages on their rides. In other words, there is absolutely no consumer protection.

You can help stop our casinos from turning law-abiding Pennsylvanians into compulsive casino gambling degenerates who will become criminals by calling your state legislators and telling them you support the only legislation since our gaming law passed that addresses the compulsive casino gambling problem before, not after, one has the problem, HB-1335. (Casino Monthly Statements)

Bill Kearney

Philadelphia

http://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/opinion/letters/huge-gamble-no-consumer-protection/article_04b0f050-3538-5894-aed1-9db24a7a9406.html#user-comment-areaSee More

More Gambling A Bad Bet......For Any State

Robert Steele is a great speaker! Great book! It should be on everyone's 'Must Read' list.

More Gambling A Bad Bet For Connecticut

OP-ED

 

October 14, 2013|By ROBERT STEELE AND TONY HWANG | OP-ED, The Hartford Courant

Sixteen years ago, Congress was so concerned about the spread of casino gambling that it set up a commission to study the issue.

In 1999, the commission recommended a moratorium on new casinos until the government could get a better handle on their social and economic costs. In addition, the commission recommended banning credit card and ATM use at casinos, prohibiting aggressive casino advertising and restricting political contributions by the gambling industry to guard against political corruption.

None of the recommendations were implemented, and casinos continue to multiply. We have nearly 1,000 of them, almost evenly divided between Indian and non-Indian operators.

Now a study of government-sponsored casino gambling was just published by The Council on Casinos, an independent, nonpartisan group of scholars assembled by the Institute for American Values, a New York based nonprofit whose mission is "to study and strengthen civil society."

"From time to time," the council states "a new institution takes root across the country, and in doing so changes the nation — changes the physical landscape of communities, impacts the patterns and habits of daily life, affects citizens' and communities' economic outcomes, and even alters relationships" among its citizens.

That is what casinos are doing, according to the study. States' hunger for casino revenue creates a host of problems, from fostering gambling addiction to draining wealth from lower-income people and contributing to economic inequality in America.

Among the council's key findings:

•Once a largely upper-class activity, casino gambling moved to the mainstream of American life.

•The American casino is primarily filled with highly addictive slot machines. It caters overwhelmingly to middle and low rollers who live within an hour's drive away, return frequently and play the slots.

•Modern slot machines transformed American gambling. They are sophisticated computers, engineered to create fast, continuous betting designed to get players to gamble longer and lose more.

•Problem gamblers (those with moderate and severe gambling addiction) account for 40 percent to 60 percent of slot machine revenue.

•Problem gambling leads to debt, bankruptcies, broken families and crime.

•Casinos extract wealth from communities, weaken nearby businesses and reduce voluntarism, civic participation, family stability and other forms of social capital.

•Casinos are the creation of government and its public policies, have a negative long-term economic impact and constitute a regressive tax.

As the result of the weak economy and growing competition, slot revenue at Connecticut's two casinos is down more than 30 percent from its peak (with the state's share dropping from $430 million annually to under $300 million). With Connecticut's casino monopoly gone and mounting evidence of gambling's negative impact, the state should focus on finding non-gambling revenue to replace its shrinking slot receipts.

Instead, our government appears determined to double down and promote more gambling. It recently increased the casinos' free play allowance so they can beef up promotions and has begun to put the state in the electronic casino gambling business.

For starters, the Connecticut recently legalized keno (essentially electronic bingo) for restaurants, bars, taverns and convenience stores. The next day a group of legislators proposed installing video slot machines in Connecticut's OTB parlors.

Still more troubling, Nevada and New Jersey recently legalized in-state online gambling for their casinos, and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has indicated he favors doing the same for Connecticut's casinos.

The casinos want it to attract a broader and younger audience, and experts view it as particularly addictive because of the fast pace, 24-hour availability and the instant gratification.

The legislature approved keno in the wee morning hours without notice or hearings and after apparently making a secret deal to share the profits with Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. Given the administration's proclivity for backroom deals, the danger is that Connecticut residents will wake up one morning with video slot parlors and Internet gambling without ever having a chance to voice their opposition.

It is not too late to kill keno and begin a vigorous public debate on the future of state-sponsored gambling in Connecticut.

Robert Steele of Essex was a Republican U.S. congressman from eastern Connecticut from 1970 to 1974 and is the author of "The Curse: Big-Time Gambling's Seduction of a Small New England Town." State Rep. Tony Hwang, R-Fairfield, is a member of the Public Safety and Security Committee, which oversees gambling.

http://articles.courant.com/2013-10-14/news/hc-op-steele-hwang-connecticut-needs-to-reassess-g-20131014_1_casino-gambling-casino-revenue-slot-machine-revenue

 

Iowa: Lifting Lifetime Ban

Iowa House Okays Gambling Addiction Bill

The Iowa House has approved legislation that would give people the option of having their lifetime gambling bans lifted to they could return to state-licensed casinos and play the lottery.

Lawmakers approved the measure 78 to 19 on Monday. The Senate already approved the bill, and it now goes to Gov. Terry Branstad.

Iowa is now one of two states that issues only lifetime bans. People who voluntarily seek the lifetime ban from the Iowa Gaming Association, an industry group, must forfeit any winnings to the state.

Under the bill, people could rescind their decision or seek a more limited ban.

The state's Iowa Gambling Treatment Program reports 3 percent of Iowans develop a gambling addiction.

Once Branstad receives the bill, he has three days to act on it.

http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/Iowa-House-Okays-Gambling-Addiction-Bill-202013911.html?ref=911

 

ATM ban slows gambling losses

Pokies ATM ban has saved gamblers more than $62 million
Grant McArthur, Angus Thompson
From: Sunday Herald Sun
December 02, 2012

THE amount of cash pumped through Victoria's poker machines has plunged as a result of the latest move to crack down on problem gambling.

Since ATMs were banned in Victoria's 511 pokies venues on July 1, the amount spent on the machines has dropped 6.7 per cent, saving gamblers more than $62 million.

During September and October, Victoria's pokies spend was more than 8 per cent lower than at the same stage last year.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/pokies-atm-ban-has-saved-gamblers-more-than-62-million/story-e6frg6n6-1226528121599

New York State: Any Excuse!

Already pushing to expand gambling instead of addressing fiscal problems, New York State will reduce consumer protections, extend hours to suck more discretionary dollars from the local economy in its quest to promote Gambling Addiction - an easy way out!

It's in the Gambling Playbook! Keep watching because Massachusetts will follow suit when the overstated projections fail to materialize.




The cleanup bill from Superstorm Sandy has revived the debate over whether gambling is a cure-all or a curse for New York State. News file photo


Updated: 11/17/2012

Sandy revives gambling debate

Gaming foes, fans spar in aftermath of storm

BY: Tom Precious

ALBANY – Six weeks after the 9/11 terrorist attack in 2001, New York lawmakers rushed back to Albany for a special session and passed a series of money-raising solutions for a state devastated by the attacks.

Leading the way was the greatest expansion of gambling in state history, including three Seneca casinos in Western New York, casino gambling at existing racetracks and the state’s entrance into a national lottery.

Eleven years later, a similar scenario is playing out to expand gambling in New York even further because of the devastation from Superstorm Sandy and its huge cost to the state.

Gambling interests met last week with senior-level Cuomo administration officials over ways to quickly increase revenues from gambling operations.

“The state needs money, we’ve been good partners, we’re here and we’re prepared to go forward quickly,” said James Featherstonhaugh, a Albany lobbyist and president of the New York Gaming Association, which represents the nine tracks in the state with casinos.

Meanwhile, gambling critics from 2001 are now renewing their efforts, with accusations that lawmakers and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo will try to take advantage of Sandy’s economic devastation to put more casinos in operation.

“This is going to be the narrative we’ll be given: that we have to have these casinos to offset Sandy’s impact,” said the Rev. Jason McGuire, executive director of New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms, a religious organization that went to court a decade ago and unsuccessfully challenged the gambling expansion.

Topping the list of gambling proposals is one proposing more casinos in New York. Lawmakers earlier this year approved the first step to amend the state constitution to permit up to seven Las Vegas-style casinos at undetermined locations on non-Indian lands. The State Legislature must act again in the new year if the plan, promoted chiefly by Cuomo, is to go before voters in a statewide referendum next November.

Even before the casino expansion question is resolved, the gambling industry is pushing new gambling proposals that would generate more state revenue.

Efforts are afoot to permit some racetrack-based casinos to keep their doors open 24 hours a day, instead of the 18 hours now allowed.

Another idea calls for increasing the betting action by allowing bettors to reinvest winnings at the machines instead of walking away from the gambling rooms and going to a nearby kiosk to cash in.

Others are pushing for a greater mix of electronic games at the racetrack casinos, such as blackjack and poker, which now are not allowed.

“That alone would produce for the state ... something on the order of $150 million,” Featherstonhaugh said of the expansion of electronic games.

And Featherstonhaugh’s organization believes that the Cuomo administration has the power to expand the electronic games on it own.

Still others are making a more ambitious push: Permit the track-based casinos to offer poker with trained dealers, not machines.

Though critics say such an idea is illegal under the state’s constitution, backers see some wiggle room following a federal court judge’s ruling in August. The judge tossed out the conviction of an operator of a Staten Island poker parlor, in part, because the poker games were considered games of skill and not games of chance, which are banned by New York.

And then there is the broader debate about allowing up to seven new casinos. Several tracks, including one in Queens run by a Malaysian gambling company, are most interested in bidding on rights for full-blown casinos.

Other tracks, such as one owned by Buffalo’s Delaware North, are likely more interested in expansion into electronic table games like poker.

In the mix also are some of the major gambling names, all of which already have lobbyists on retainers in Albany: Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts and Wynn Resorts.

Some industry insiders say Superstorm Sandy will make it easier to put casinos in downstate areas, such as hard-hit Coney Island in Brooklyn or even in Manhattan, all under the claim of needed economic development.

Eleven years ago, some lawmakers argued that state officials should not use a tragedy to promote more gambling.

Then-State Sen. Thomas Duane, a Manhattan Democrat, called the tie-in between the terror attacks and gambling expansion “a complete disgrace.”

“I don’t see any way that our passing a resolution to allow people to vote on gambling to be fulfilling our patriotic duty,” he told his colleagues that October night. “We’re using the guise of the terrible tragedy ... to make New York one of the biggest gaming states in the nation.”

But Assemblyman Gary Pretlow, chairman of the racing and wagering committee, last week dismissed any comparison with 2001.

“We’re not going to put a casino on Staten Island just because Staten Island is devastated,” the Westchester County Democrat said.

Even before Sandy, there was deep support among lawmakers to pass an amendment allowing casino expansion and putting it to a state referendum, he said.

“It [the storm] may bolster the argument, but I don’t think we had a problem doing second passage anyway,” he said. “I see the impact of the storm on the state; I don’t see the impact of the storm on the possibility for or not having full-fledged casinos in the state.”

Numerous scenarios are kicking about in Albany.

One theory is that Cuomo begins the bidding process for casinos before a statewide referendum so that, if it passes, he can quickly award contracts and Albany can collect franchise fees. Some estimate the fees could top $1 billion.

That would allow the governor to “book” revenues in a coming year already projected to be in the red by at least $2 billion.

But lawmakers will want to know specifics before passing another casino bill next year, according to State Sen. John Bonacic, a Republican who represents the southern Catskills region.

Still uncertain is whether the state would try to locate another casino in Western New York – which would be a clear violation of the decade-old exclusivity deal between the state and the Seneca Nation.

Superstorm Sandy, Bonacic said, has put “an exclamation point” on the fact that New York is going to need to raise money next year.

“Sandy certainly makes the argument stronger, not only for fiscal relief but for help with new infrastructure,” he said.

But McGuire, the head of the religious group that opposes the gambling measures, said “We’ve been down this road before, and it didn’t lead us out of the wilderness [in 2001], and this won’t either.”

http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121117/CITYANDREGION/121119245/1010

PA Right-to-Know Law

From: Bill Kearney commented on mcall.com.

Meanwhile sitting in our Senate in the Community, Economic & Recreational Development Committee since Dec. 5, 2011 is House-Bill 2009. This legislation makes the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board post on it’s website a description of all requests for access to records under the act of February 14, 2008 known as the Right-to-Know Law. Now the reason this legislation has not come out of committee is because of two amendments that are attached to it. One amendment would make all table game taxes go to the Pa. property tax relief fund and the other one would make our casinos mail monthly statements to their patrons who are enrolled in casino Reward Card programs.

These statements would enable gamblers and their family members to spot a loved one's gambling problem before it gets out of hand. Who knows how many Pennsylvanians and their families would be in a better domestic and financial situation when being made aware, month after month, of their wins and mostly LOSSES in black and white.

You can help get this legislation passed by contacting your Pa. Senator and telling them you support HB-2009 and the amendments on it.

Man who robbed 80-year-old with Alzheimer's gets state prison
or
http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-east-allen-home-invasion-robbery-20121108,0,3266478.story?fb_comment_id=fbc_278558675598628_1217540_278979605556535#f5d0c489e6a21