Florida Site of Online Gambling Bust

June 15, 2009

Online gambling is prevalent wherever you go, this is just the fact of the matter. However, sometimes it can surprise you as to where illegal online gambling might turn up. For the residents of Pinellas County in Florida, this was definitely the situation.

It would seem that there was an illegal online gambling ring being ran right under their noses. Pinellas County Sheriff�s Department has been running an investigation into online gambling and served a search warrant at the Endless Fun Entertainment and Cyber Center around three in the afternoon this past Thursday.

No one has been arrested yet, but they did take 39 computers from the premises, as well as a Ford Van and approximately $1,500 in cash. They say that many times in these kinds of cases it is about shutting down the online gambling location more than it is about then actually putting people behind bars. However, this is upsetting to many because they say that if no one is being arrested then it is a waste of taxpayer money. Others say that they feel like online gambling is a victimless crime and therefore they shouldn�t be investigating it at all � especially since there are real criminals out there that they could be focusing on.

The idea behind this online gambling ring was that players would come in and purchase internet time and then go to the online casino to play the slot machines games for real money. This is one way for them to get around the UIGEA, but prosecutors say that it doesn�t matter it is still illegal to participate in online gambling.







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