The FBI and American Gaming Association have partnered to combat illegal gambling and created a new Internet Crime Complaint Center so that people can report illegal operations.
The FBI and American Gaming Association are cooperating to combat illegal gambling in the United States by touting the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. The online tool is a vehicle for the public to report tips and complaints pertaining to online crimes.
“Our effort with the FBI will help us make significant headway in the fight against illegal gambling,” American Gaming Association CEO Geoff Freeman said. “In particular, the Internet Crime Complaint Center will be an invaluable tool for people in every state to report tips about the multi-billion dollar illegal gambling sector that preys on consumers, steals jobs and deprives state and local governments of revenues generated by the legal, regulated casino gaming industry.”
The Internet Crime Complaint Center accepts online complaints about illegal gambling at www.ic3.gov.
“This joint initiative leverages the Internet Crime Complaint Center network to address transnational organized crime groups that use illegal gambling, most notably internet sports gambling, as a means to finance other forms of violent and illicit activities,” FBI Assistant Director Chris Warrener said.
Earlier this year, AGA also formed its Illegal Gambling Advisory Board as part of its “Stop Illegal Gambling – Play it Safe” initiative, and members are comprised of law enforcement and gaming experts from across the country.
A report released by AGA in September details the strong ties between illegal gambling operations and organized crime organizations in the U.S.
The study shows that in 2014, 80 operators in 23 states were convicted of running illegal gambling businesses by the federal government.
The illegal gambling initiative focuses on illegal sports betting, black market machines, Internet sweepstakes cafes, and illegal online betting, which often fund violent crime, drug dealing, and human trafficking.
While the American Gaming Association is targeting illegal gambling, it also wants to make sports betting a legal and regulated activity in more states.
The association’s board of directors this month announced it will step up its lobbying efforts to make sports betting legal in more states. Those efforts will include creating a broad coalition of interested parties to try to come up with a viable system for legal sports betting that could apply in states other than Nevada.
Thus far, only Nevada allows single-game betting, and a handful of other states offer parlay betting through state operations, but parlay bets are far more difficult for bettors to hit than single-game wagers.
In a related move, the AGA will partner with Clubs Australia to raise awareness of the risks associated with illegal gambling websites in Australia. The organizations also committed to provide details of illegal operations to their respective governments and to call on governments to increase efforts to stop illicit online gambling. Estimates indicate U.S. gamblers spend $4 billion and Australian gamblers spend $4 billion annually on illegal overseas gambling websites, which deprives governments of tax revenue and employment and raises the risks of money laundering and terrorism financing.
Clubs Australia also wants Australian financial institutions to stop facilitating transactions with illegal operators. Senator Bridget McKenzie of Victoria has suggested that banks work to prevent Australians from wagering on international online gambling sites that do not hold an Australian betting license. Furthermore, McKenzie wants the Australian government to include a 0.05 percent tax on all wagers placed on Australian sporting events. She said, “The current legal framework doesn’t provide the outcomes we need” from the betting industry.
McKenzie also noted sports betting, the fastest growing industry in Australia, pays minimal taxes. She said under her plan a uniform tax would apply to the gaming industry, with revenue to be distributed across the states that currently regulate the industry.
