Fake Online Stores Reveal Gamblers' Shadow Banking System (reuters.com)

randomErr shares an exclusive report from Reuters: A network of dummy online stores offering household goods has been used as a front for internet gambling payments. The seven sites in Europe to sell items including fabric, DVD cases, and maps are fake outlets. The faux store fronts are a multinational system to disguise payments for the $40 billion global online gambling industry. Online gambling is illegal in many countries and some U.S. states. The dummy sites underline a strategy which regulators, card issuers and banks have yet to tackle head-on. The scheme found by Reuters involved websites which accepted payments for household items from a reporter but did not deliver any products. Instead, staff who answered helpdesk numbers on the sites said the outlets did not sell the product advertised, but that they were used to help process gambling payments, mostly for Americans.

Comments

They do this in Japan

[Anonymous Coward]

I remember in the 90's seeing people ( in Japan) run out of pachinko halls with dozens of hello kitty pencils and trinkets, to a mysterious "door" front. You could not see who was behind the door. All you know, was these "hello kitty" items yielded some mucho yen.

Sweden is a paradise for this...

[MindPrison]

...In sweden we have roughly 7.5 minutes of ads running on TV each 15th minute, 5 minutes of those are dedicated ads, and 2.5 minutes are self-ads (promos for TV shows + sponsors).

The point I am making here - is to point out just HOW lucrative Online gambling is - it's the internets next "porn" industry.

Let's say that there are 10 x 30 second ads during those 5 minutes of pure ads on Swedish tv - guess how many of them are ads for Online Casinos, betting and gambling sites? Half of them, and sometimes over. yes - thats at least 5 ads for Online Gambling each 15 minutes of TV space. And thats not counting the numerous "sponsored by this-and-that-betting".

A sure shot how lucrative this is - is how many TV stars and former Sports Champions gets paid to "endorse" the Online gambling.

Of course they have to have their entirely own Banking system!