Sunday, November 19, 2006

US prosecutors charged 27 people on Wednesday after breaking up what they
described as a criminal international Internet gambling operation that had
taken billions of dollars in wagers. The network, which operated several
gambling Web sites including Playwithal.com, was alleged to be based in New
York with satellites in the Caribbean and Central America and to have taken
more than US$3.3 billion in wagers since July 2004 on a variety of sporting
events. Police and agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested
suspects in an operation stretching from Las Vegas to New York and seized
hundreds of millions of dollars in property and assets. "Internet gambling
is a multibillion dollar worldwide industry that for too long has operated
with impunity," New York District Attorney Richard Brown said in a
statement. He said it was the first time Internet gambling charges had been
brought in the US since President George W. Bush signed the Unlawful
Internet Gambling Enforcement Act into law last month. He described the
alleged ring as "a tightly-knit and an incredibly lucrative -- and
illegal -- global gambling operation." Charges were filed against a Costa
Rica-based Internet company and suspects arrested in Las Vegas, Florida, New
Jersey and New York.

The proceeds from the operation were allegedly laundered through casinos,
shell corporations and bank accounts in locations around the globe,
including Central America, the Caribbean, Switzerland and Hong Kong.

"So massive was the enterprise that only with the assistance of federal law
enforcement, police authorities in sister states and other nations have we
been able to bring these defendants to justice," New York City Police
Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.

Police involved in the case described the network as the largest illegal
gambling operation they had ever encountered.

Hundreds of millions of dollars in assets, including four Manhattan
apartments, millions of dollars in cash, tens of thousands of dollars worth
of casino chips and a rare art collection were seized in the operation.