Missouri Man Facing Prosecution for Illegal Gambling Operation

Submitted by Evan on Fri, 2010-02-26 at 19:39

A man in Missouri has pled guilty to running an illegal online gambling operation directed at players in the US. The man is the last in a group of five to plead guilty. Online gambling is illegal in the US under the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) and therefore bans any online casino operators from obtaining a license in the US.

Pleading guilty meant giving up his the $60,000 he earned through the operation, to the government. FBI agents seized the money when they searched the man’s residence after receiving a tip about the activity.

The man admitted to running an illegal sports betting operation online for three years. Kansas City residents were able to place bets over the phone or through a website. One of the five operators would access the accounts, provide the required password and proceed to place the bet. They would split a percentage of the winnings and by the third year, they were running a million dollar operation.

All five men face up to five years in prison and fines of $250,000. By pleading guilty they waved the right to face a jury and will go straight to a sentencing hearing. This is not the first time an illegal online gambling operation has been discovered and the court system is taking the offences very seriously.