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Is
PayPal
Involved
in
Online
Gambling?
April
29,
2008
Everyone
knows
that
PayPal
pulled
out
of
the
online
gambling
sector
about
seven
years
ago
–
after
settling
with
the
Department
of
Justice
for
$10
million.
However,
it
seems
that
someone
may
have
gotten
their
wires
crossed
as
the
US
Internal
Revenue
Service
has
served
them
a
“John
Doe”
summons.
The
company
still
has
online
gambling
services
outside
the
US,
which
would
not
come
under
US
jurisdiction.
However,
the
company
has
been
subpoenaed
to
show
financial
records
concerning
the
use
of
offshore
credit
cards.
The
company
says
that
it
has
to
produce
the
documents
due
to
US
law,
even
though
they
feel
it
is a
violation
of
their
clients’
privacy.
The
group
Interactive
Media
and
Entertainment
Association
says
that
this
does
not
seem
to
be
related
to
online
gambling.
They
say
that
this
looks
like
tax
issues
regarding
US
residents
that
have
bank
accounts
in
so
called
“tax
havens.”
They
don’t
think
it
actually
has
anything
to
do
with
online
gambling.
They
think
it
is a
completely
unrelated
case.
The
group
says
that
the
IRS
can
only
demand
this
info
if
they
have
three
tests
met:
•
The
summons
must
relate
to
the
investigation
of a
particular
person
or
ascertainable
group
or
class
of
persons.
•
The
Service
must
have
a
reasonable
basis
for
believing
that
such
person
or
group
or
class
of
persons
may
fail
or
may
have
failed
to
comply
with
the
tax
laws.
•
The
information
and
identities
sought
to
be
obtained
from
summoned
records
must
not
be
readily
available
from
other
sources.
However,
the
group
says
that
even
if
they
meet
all
applicable
parts
of
the
law,
they
could
still
be
on a
“fishing
expedition”
and
therefore
should
not
be
allowed
to
obtain
the
documents.
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