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| Another Blow for Online Gambling in the US |
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The U.S. government has certainly been serving notice about its position regarding online casino gambling. Anyone who thought that UIGEA would be ignored or would fade away better guess again. The latest arrests that have to do with online gambling are the arrest of the two NeTeller founders and directors, John Lefebvre and Stephen Lawrence. Both are Canadian citizens and major shareholders in NeTeller.
Lawrence was arrested in the United States Virgin Islands and Lefebvre was arrested near Malibu, California. NeTeller is one of the most famous e-wallets that was used by online players to pay their UK bingo gaming company. Both men are charged with conspiring to transfer funds used for the purpose of illegal gambling. The U.S. prosecutors seem to view NeTeller’s activities as a form of money laundering and the two NeTeller directors could face up to twenty years in prison if they are convicted of the charges.
NeTeller is licensed in the Isle of Man and is a publicly traded company in the United Kingdom.The United States government is sending a strong message to the online gambling industry and that is that all aspects of online casino gambling will not be tolerated. Company execs that venture onto U.S. shores or territories are subject to arrest.
The arrest of the NeTeller directors should make other e-wallets and other entities involved in the processing of the financial transactions re-evaluate their activities in the U.S. U.S. players ought to be re-evaluating their activities also. |
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