There is a real enemy staring straight ino the face of offshore gambling, and it has nothing to do with John Kyl.
I tried to contain my wild gales of laughter and mirth when I read the latest story to come across the wires.
"A California man who lost $25,000 gambling online has sued American Express Discover Financial Services, arguing the credit card companies encouraged his gambling".
Of course, this is ridiculous, but evidently the legal precedent has not been set in these cases and many credit card companies are settling out of court. This is a surprising move by the credit card companies, as by settling out of court, other ne'er-do-wells seem to think this provides some sort of carte blanche to rape pillage and plunder the legal system with a flurry of frivolous, harassing lawsuit.
For anyone that remains unconvinced that this is a ludicrous line of thinking the plaintiffs are using, consider this hypothetical:
I hire a hit man to kill my wife. I pay him $10,000 in cash (I know that sounds cheap - but that's about all she is worth to me anyway).
The hit man kills her. The police investigate, I am indicted.
My attorneys meet with the District Attorney. I will turn over my accomplices for a reduced sentence.
They agree.
I then turn over the Federal Reserve of the United States of America.
Sound crazy?
Hey - they printed the money - and a lot of it. They printed so much money, in fact that I felt compelled to use it for illegal means. Much like Discover and American Express, they "encouraged" my murderous thoughts to the point of providing a vehicle for getting the job done - printing and providing me with lots and lots of money.
Alas - our real life story gets worse. According to Ira P. Rothken, the attorney for the plaintiff in this suit, claims that First Union Bank has just informed him by letter, today, that they will ban their credit card affiliates from extending credit for gambling purposes.
The stigma attached to gambling, it appears, is ugly indeed, and it does not appear to have the slightest chance of getting all dolled up unless something radically is done, and quickly.
Here's why:
There is no lobbying organization for offshore gambling. It is in the best interest of Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Mississippi, and elected politicians of any other state that allows any form of gambling to make sure those operating Internet Casinos offshore have a very tough go of it. These states have elected officials and professional lobbyists whose top priorities are to keep their monopoly on gambling. With no one to stick up for the offshore industry, and no signs of them hiring a lobbying group anytime soon, it appears as though the credit card debacle will become increasingly common place. Until one of these financial institutions takes a stand against the finger pointing, "I'm a victim" mentality that pervades the American state of mind and promotes this sort of legal maneuvering, it can only get worse for offshore casino owners chasing the pot of gold on those Caribbean Islands.
The offshore industry is plush with big money - and its seems it might be in their best interest to hire some political muscle in Washington before they lose their right to process credits cards. This would be much more devastating to the offshore industry than anything John Kyl and friends can do.
Slashdot Mirror
There is a real enemy staring straight ino the face of offshore gambling, and it has nothing to do with John Kyl.
I tried to contain my wild gales of laughter and mirth when I read the latest story to come across the wires.
"A California man who lost $25,000 gambling online has sued American Express Discover Financial Services, arguing the credit card companies encouraged his gambling".
Of course, this is ridiculous, but evidently the legal precedent has not been set in these cases and many credit card companies are settling out of court. This is a surprising move by the credit card companies, as by settling out of court, other ne'er-do-wells seem to think this provides some sort of carte blanche to rape pillage and plunder the legal system with a flurry of frivolous, harassing lawsuit.
For anyone that remains unconvinced that this is a ludicrous line of thinking the plaintiffs are using, consider this hypothetical:
I hire a hit man to kill my wife. I pay him $10,000 in cash (I know that sounds cheap - but that's about all she is worth to me anyway).
The hit man kills her. The police investigate, I am indicted.
My attorneys meet with the District Attorney. I will turn over my accomplices for a reduced sentence.
They agree.
I then turn over the Federal Reserve of the United States of America.
Sound crazy?
Hey - they printed the money - and a lot of it. They printed so much money, in fact that I felt compelled to use it for illegal means. Much like Discover and American Express, they "encouraged" my murderous thoughts to the point of providing a vehicle for getting the job done - printing and providing me with lots and lots of money.
Alas - our real life story gets worse. According to Ira P. Rothken, the attorney for the plaintiff in this suit, claims that First Union Bank has just informed him by letter, today, that they will ban their credit card affiliates from extending credit for gambling purposes.
The stigma attached to gambling, it appears, is ugly indeed, and it does not appear to have the slightest chance of getting all dolled up unless something radically is done, and quickly.
Here's why:
There is no lobbying organization for offshore gambling. It is in the best interest of Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Mississippi, and elected politicians of any other state that allows any form of gambling to make sure those operating Internet Casinos offshore have a very tough go of it. These states have elected officials and professional lobbyists whose top priorities are to keep their monopoly on gambling. With no one to stick up for the offshore industry, and no signs of them hiring a lobbying group anytime soon, it appears as though the credit card debacle will become increasingly common place. Until one of these financial institutions takes a stand against the finger pointing, "I'm a victim" mentality that pervades the American state of mind and promotes this sort of legal maneuvering, it can only get worse for offshore casino owners chasing the pot of gold on those Caribbean Islands.
The offshore industry is plush with big money - and its seems it might be in their best interest to hire some political muscle in Washington before they lose their right to process credits cards. This would be much more devastating to the offshore industry than anything John Kyl and friends can do.