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New Jersey sportsbetting vote today
In America, the Senate for the eastern state of New Jersey is set to meet this afternoon to consider legislation that would challenge the Federal ban on sportsbetting.
Senate Resolution 19 has been introduced by Democrat State Senators Raymond Lesniak and Stephen Sweeney and would authorize the body to take legal action concerning Federal legislation that currently prohibits sportsbetting in all but Nevada, Montana, Delaware and Oregon.
According to a statement from the Interactive Media Entertainment And Gaming Association (iMEGA), the Resolution would authorize the President of the Senate, Sweeney, to take ‘such legal action on behalf of the Senate as the Senate President shall deem appropriate and necessary to challenge enforcement of the Federal Professional And Amateur Sports Protection Act, which establishes a selective prohibition on sportsbetting in the United States’.
Last month, Lesniak introduced legislation that, if successful, would permit residents to play games already permitted in Atlantic City casinos including poker, blackjack and baccarat at 4NJBets.com.
In addition, a separate bill from the representative for the state’s 20th District would allow New Jersey residents to vote on a constitutional amendment to permit state-regulated sports wagering in Atlantic City casinos and to inhabitants via an intra-state online gambling system. The proposed legislation also calls on the New Jersey Casino Control Commission to establish a Division Of Internet Wagering to oversee operations and licensing.
“We’re happy that New Jersey has taken this issue into their own hands,” Joe Brennan, Chairman for iMEGA, said of the proposed January measures.
“New Jersey is recognized as having the toughest gaming regulators in the US and, as a leading gaming state with a long track record of doing things the right way, Internet gambling will have a great home here and the opportunity to begin normalizing the industry.”
Don’t Risk an Audit by the IRS: Know the Rules on Gambling
NEW YORK (AP) — Clinching the office pool for March Madness entitles you to a pot of money and gloating rights. And nobody can take that away from you, except maybe the IRS.
Even if your winnings seem like chump change, any money you pocket from gambling is considered taxable income. It’s not likely that the Internal Revenue Service will come after you for your NCAA pot, but there are times when reporting even casual winnings becomes more formal.
Depending on how often you frequent casinos or buy lottery tickets, you might also want to think about keeping a log of your gambling habit.
Regardless of whether you come out a winner, some points to remember when it comes time to file.
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WHEN WINNINGS GET REPORTED
Casinos, race tracks and other gambling operators are required to document winnings once they reach a certain threshold.
With slot machines and bingo, for example, casinos report any single payout of $1,200 or more to the IRS. For keno, it’s $1,500 and $5,000 for poker tournaments.
For horse racing and lottery tickets, winnings of $600 and above are reported when they’re more than 300 times the amount of the bet.
If you’re lucky enough to find yourself in any of the above scenarios, you’ll be asked for your Social Security number by the venue so your winnings can be reported. You’ll also get a copy of the W-2G form documenting the payment before you walk away.
You may not leave with all your winnings either. Depending on the size and type of bet, the standard 25 percent federal income tax may be deducted from your winnings on the spot. You can also request a deduction for your state income tax, which will vary depending on where you live.
If you decline to give your Social Security number, the house keeps 28 percent of your winnings for federal taxes.
The same rules generally apply for any non-cash prizes worth more than $5,000, such as a car in a raffle. Either you or the gambling operator will be responsible for paying taxes based on the prize’s fair market value. If the operator picks up the taxes, that gets reported as income for you too.
Of course, not all gambling winnings trigger a W-2G form. It’s up to you to report smaller winnings, although you won’t be audited for failing to report the $100 you won at a blackjack table.
As with any gambling income, such winnings can be noted on your 1040 form under ”other income.”
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MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR LOSSES
You can deduct gambling losses, but only up to the amount of your winnings. So if you win $1,000 on a lottery ticket, that’s as much as you can deduct in losses for the year.
Gambling losses have to be itemized too, and it’s not always worth deducting them.
If your standard deduction is $5,000, for example, and your itemized deductions including your gambling losses total $3,000, you’re obviously better off taking the standard deduction.
The IRS might also ask you to document your losses, so be ready to back up your claims. The agency suggests you do this by keeping a diary that includes:
–The date and type of gambling
–The name and address of the venue
–The names of anyone present with you at the time
–The amount you won or lost
You also want to keep any proof of winnings and losses, such as W-2G forms, losing tickets, bank withdrawals or credit card statements.
If your return is audited, you could also be asked about any other smaller winnings or comped rooms or meals you didn’t report. So keeping a log is a good idea if you’re a frequent gambler, said Jackie Perlman, a senior analyst with The Tax Institute at H&R Block.
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DETERMINING WHETHER YOU’RE A PRO
It’s tempting to deduct travel and other gambling costs as business expenses. But just because you gamble regularly or even earn a nice chunk of money from poker tournaments, it doesn’t mean you’re a professional gambler in the eyes of the IRS.
You’re generally considered a professional if you gamble regularly, continuously and to earn a living. You should also be able to show that you treat your gambling like a business, and keep appropriate records, Perlman said.
If you write off your costs as business expenses and the IRS determines that you’re not a professional gambler, you could be penalized with a fee for paying too late or too little in taxes.
If you do qualify as a professional gambler, the main perk is that you can deduct gambling-related expenses. You still won’t be able to deduct gambling losses in excess of your winnings.
Kansas City Man Pleads Guilty to Running Online Sportsbetting Site
Federal authorities got what they wished for today when Michael V. Badalucco age 26 plead guilty to running a online sportsbetting business. Badalucco admitted that others including himself provided clients with a toll-free phone number and website (www.best24b.com) both located in Costa Rica.
In exchange for Badalucco’s guilty plea he will not have to take the stand and testify about others involved in the illegal sportsbook scheme.
Badalucco is looking at a maximum of 2 years in federal prison but will most likely receive 6 months to a year.
Although it is not illegal in most states to play and bet at online casinos and sportsbooks it is illegal to own and operate them from the U.S.
Rochester Region at Center of Online Gambling Arrests
Gary Craig – Staff writer, RocNow.com
BetOnline.com, a Panama-based online wagering site, is one of an untold number that will be accepting bets today on a premier gambling event – the Super Bowl.
Meanwhile, Joseph J. Fafone, an Ontario County man who helped build BetOnline.com, is awaiting trial on charges that he was a ringleader in a massive gambling enterprise that made millions of dollars on Internet wagering.
Fafone, 48, of Farmington, was among 30 people arrested in October on bookmaking charges stemming from involvement with offshore, Internet-based gambling sites. Authorities also charged Fafone’s Ontario County-based corporation, JJF Consulting Services, which they said was a shell company that funneled and concealed illegal gambling proceeds.
Also arrested were David Valerio, 61, of Rochester and Louis Lippa Jr., 61, of Perinton. Another of those arrested, Edward P. Kenny of Florida, also previously lived in Rochester.
Police also arrested Fafone’s 70-year-old father, Joseph P. Fafone, at his home in Boca Raton, Fla. He also previously lived in Rochester.
All have pleaded not guilty.
The gambling ring pulled in $587 million over 28 months, authorities allege.
Christopher Grillo, a Florida lawyer representing the younger Fafone, said Fafone operated legally. Fafone continues to maintain his innocence, Grillo said.
Attorneys for the other defendants did not return telephone calls.
In the past decade, Internet gambling has exploded in size – prompting Congress to grapple with new laws and bookmakers to search out ways to skirt any prohibitions. Offshore headquarters – such as the Panamanian home for BetOnline.com – provide an online outlet for wagers.
Despite the technological advances in gambling, the cat-and-mouse game between bookies and police officers continues as in years and eras past – as demonstrated by the sweeping law enforcement operation that led to the arrest of Fafone and others.
The next court dates for the accused – all of whom are free awaiting trial – will be later this month.
The nearly 200-page indictment alleges that traditional policing techniques – gambling-related telephone calls caught by wiretaps, the use of informants, and surveillance in which police witnessed individuals exchanging hundreds of thousands of dollars in gambling proceeds – provided the foundation of the criminal case.
Police say they dismantled a significant criminal enterprise.
“Gambling proceeds is the fuel that drives organized crime,” New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said about the arrests. “The staggering amount of money in this case demonstrates just that. In this instance, however, the bookies ran out of luck.”
However, months after the arrests, the online gambling sites associated with Fafone and others are still in operation.
“I can’t comment on any of the activities that happened in the States,” said a spokesman for BetOnline.com who asked not to be identified. “We are (legally) licensed as a sports betting site in Panama.”
Airport arrest
On Oct. 20, Joseph J. Fafone planned to fly out of Rochester with his ultimate destination the BetOnline.com headquarters in Panama. Unaware that he was under the watchful eye of State Police investigators, Fafone cleared the security check at the Greater Rochester International Airport. Police waited to approach Fafone; the metal detector had assured them that he was unarmed.
Near the airline gate, police closed in, arresting Fafone on bookmaking charges and seizing nearly $24,000 in cash he was carrying.
Almost simultaneously at homes and apartments across the country, authorities arrested more than two dozen people.
Fafone and Erik Davis Harp, 36, of Las Vegas are accused of being the ringleaders of the online ventures.
A target of previous regional gambling investigations, Fafone had hoped he would no longer be under steady police scrutiny if he moved offshore, Christopher Costigan, president of the online gambling industry publication Gambling911.com, said in an e-mail response to questions from the Democrat and Chronicle.
Fafone set up his first offshore shop in Costa Rica around 2000 so he could operate legally, said Costigan, who interviewed Fafone and visited Fafone’s betting headquarters in Costa Rica and Panama.
According to Costigan, Fafone said: “I got tired of having my door busted in by the police all the time.”
Online wagers aren’t the crux of the criminal allegations against the Fafones, however. Instead, authorities allege that the Fafones and others engaged in numerous exchanges of gambling proceeds, including one instance in which the younger Fafone allegedly delivered more than $550,000 to a bettor at a Long Island hotel.
Allegations of connections to organized crime have followed both Fafones, though their attorneys have contended there are no ties.
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said that the alleged betting ring busted in October “had links to both the Gambino and Genovese crime families.”
In 2002, the elder Fafone, nicknamed “Boca Joe,” was arrested with his son and a reputed Gambino family associate – Frank “The Bear” Basto – by a Florida police investigation dubbed “Operation Goodfellas.”
Basto and the elder Fafone were accused of conspiracy to distribute cocaine while Fafone and his son were charged with illegal bookmaking.
In allegations similar to the current case, authorities said the two ran a Costa Rica-based online betting operation and made cash payoffs in Florida.
Basto’s criminal record dated back to 1956, and included convictions of conspiracy to commit murder and arson. He and the Fafones pleaded guilty to criminal charges in Florida.
The elder Fafone served almost two years in prison, while the younger received probation. Basto served about five years.
Were it not for an appellate ruling, the elder Fafone would have been in prison for the past two decades.
In 1989, a Massachusetts jury convicted him after hearing evidence that he was an accessory to the shipment of major amounts of cocaine from Florida into western Massachusetts.
Prosecutors portrayed him as an upper-tier dealer who lived lavishly without evidence of legal employment.
In 1990, a judge sentenced Fafone to 30 to 45 years in prison. Three years later, however, an appellate court reversed the conviction.
While living in Florida, Fafone may have sold cocaine to a major drug dealer, the judges ruled, but he did not know the drugs were destined for Massachusetts. Under state law, the appellate court determined, he could not be an accessory to the drug transactions in the state.
Before that case, the only conviction for the elder Fafone occurred in 1971 in Rochester. Fafone and two other men sold almost $200,000 worth of counterfeit $20 bills, authorities alleged at the time.
Old habits?
Costigan said the younger Fafone may have suffered from a common problem among bookmakers trying to transition into an online world: He couldn’t break with his old habits of dealing with bettors in the United States.
“Joe has been well regarded in the industry, but online sports betting was started by bookies who ran stateside businesses and, for many, it is very tough to get away from that part of the business,” Costigan said in the e-mail.
Online betting sites such as BetOnline.com navigate within a legally murky area. They can legally accept bets if allowed in their countries of operation. The BetOnline.com spokesman said bettors are the ones responsible for knowing whether there are legal prohibitions on making wagers.
Department of Justice officials contend that longstanding federal Wire Act laws, prohibiting the transfer of gambling proceeds by wire communications, extend to Internet gambling. However, in 2006 Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA), trying to specifically outlaw online wagering by forcing banks and payment conduits to monitor and report Internet-based gambling transactions.
“What the UIGEA does is it goes after the payment providers who do have exposure in the U.S.,” said David Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. “It definitely makes (online gambling) less legitimate. Basically what it does is it forces anyone with any kind of illegal exposure in the United States out of the picture.”
The offshore gambling site operators “don’t have any kind of legal exposure in the U.S.,” he said.
The UIGEA has been placed on hold, however, after gambling industry and banking lobbyists argued that the statute is too difficult to enforce. Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., has been pushing a bill to legalize and regulate online wagering.
Longtime gambling critic John Kindt, a business and legal policies professor at the University of Illinois, says that legalized online wagering would provide an easy front for money laundering and spur more gambling addiction.
Online gambling will be “the crack cocaine of creating new addicted gamblers,” he said. “It would place gambling at every school desk, at every work desk, and in every living room.”
Department of Justice officials concur, opposing the legalization of online wagering. The battle over online gambling is likely to be rejoined in the current congressional session.
As for today, however, the Internet will be alive with what some experts predict will be millions of online wagers.
“It’s not just Super Bowl Sunday,” Kindt said. “It’s Super Gambling Sunday.”
Said Schwartz, from UNLV: “It’s kind of like Christmas for little kids, that’s what this Sunday is for the sports books.”
Online Casinos Ban Just Part of NFL Bullying, “Who Dat ” Seized
New Orleans Saints fans are learning what online casino patrons and operators have known about the NFL and its arrogant bulldozing of the law.
Online casino operators have long seen the manipulative, bullying approach utilized by the National Football League to feed its greed for cash, as the NFL led lobbyists fighting to deny Internet gambling rights. That hidden face was dragged a little further into the light this week as the league attempted to seize and profit from the populist “Who Dat” chant used by New Orleans Saints fans.
“Who Dat” as in “Who dat gonna best dem Saints? Nobody!” became one of the rallying cries by New Orleans fans in the 80s, along with the register sound of “Cha-ching!” The history of the cry goes back to St. Augustine High School, a private Catholic school known for both its powerful football teams and colorful marching band.
Saints fans adopted the cheer, and used it as theirs for 25 years, while the team toiled in mediocrity. But, now that the team is in the national spotlight and playing in its first Super Bowl, the NFL wants local merchandisers to cease and desist from using the slogan on t-shirts and such.
“The Saints actually win something and go to the Super Bowl, and the NFL sees a way they can make a penny,” general manager Dan Frazier, of sports-talk radio 690 WIST told the Wall Street Journal.
The NFL says it is concerned people buying “Who Dat” merchandise will think they are purchasing NFL-sanctioned material. But even the Saints see the issue here. Locals are waiting to find the NFL claiming rights to “The Saints Come Marching In.”
“No one should own ‘Who Dat,’ ” says team spokesman Greg Bensel.
Still, as with gambling, the NFL cares more about wielding its money as a weapon than any consideration of right and wrong. Shop owners are pulling the materials in question, saying they can’t put their mom-and-pop operations up against the NFL attorneys and hundreds of millions in legal warchests.
There are signs US lawmakers are growing tired of NFL arrogance. Delaware is taking the case of legal sports betting to the Supreme Court. New Jersey legislators have filed suit against the NFL-sponsored sports betting ban. Barney Frank is advancing his bill to regulate online casinos.
And Senator David Vitter advised the NFL in a letter to “Please either drop your present ridiculous position or sue me,” signing as “Junior Senator of Who Dat Nation.”
Internet Gambling: iMEGA Chief Testifies Before New Jersey
IMEGA will participate in today’s hearing of the New Jersey Senate’s Gaming & Tourism committee, with Chairman Joe Brennan Jr. testifying on the behalf of the Internet gambling and sports wagering bills.
The hearing is scheduled for 1:00 pm ET, and can be heard live online at:
www.njleg.state.nj.us.
Gambling911.com first reported that the state of New Jersey had put forth a bill drafted by Senator Raymond Lesniak that would legalize online sports betting and other forms of Internet Gambling.
The Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association is working with Lesniak in his efforts to legalize online sports betting, poker and casino games.
An Act permitting wagering at casinos in-person and through an account wagering system using telephone, Internet and other means on the results of professional and collegiate sport or athletic events, subject to voter approval, and amending and supplementing P.L.1977, c.110 (C.5:12-1 et seq.).
Iowa Wants Legalized Sports Betting
DES MOINES – Iowa gamblers would be able to legally wager on sporting events if Congress and the Iowa Legislature play ball.
Two Democratic senators introduced separate measures Thursday seeking to give the state Racing and Gaming Commission authority to allow state-licensed racetracks and riverboat casinos to offer sports betting to patrons if a federal prohibition is lifted.
“I think we ought to have sports betting in Iowa,” said Senate President Jack Kibbie, D-Emmetsburg. “They’re probably betting on them anyway, but we’re not getting any tax. I think it would raise a lot of money.”
The federal professional and amateur sports protection act of 1992 made sports betting illegal in all but a handful of U.S. states. However, Kibbie and Sen. Steve Sodders, D-State Center, say current restrictions are being challenged in court and there are efforts to convince Congress to change the law.
They have offered slightly different versions – Sodders’ bill mentions professional sports only, while Kibbie authored a measure that would give Iowa gambling regulators the go-ahead if federal law does not prohibit professional and amateur sports betting in Iowa.
“This bill hinges on federal legislation to open it up,” Kibbie said.
“There are people that would like to bet on sports who don’t bet on other things,” added Kibbie, who speculated an expansion into legalized sports wagering eventually could generate as much as $100 million in new state gaming revenue it if were taxed at the same rate as other betting activities.
Sodders said he hoped the proposals would begin a conversation about legalizing sports gambling. He planned to contact members of Iowa’s congressional delegation to enlist help in getting the federal prohibition lifted.
“We think that we ought to be able to regulate that here and have sports betting if Iowa desires to do that in our casinos,” he said. “Why not let them do that betting here than in other states that are getting the revenue for that?”
Sodders said the fact that huge sums of money will be wagered on the upcoming Super Bowl is evidence there is consumer interest in betting on sporting events. He said channeling the activity through state-regulated outlets would help prevent problems associated with clandestine betting options.
Haiti Lost Big Bucks by Snubbing Online Gambling
If you’ve been watching TV coverage of the earthquake in Haiti, no doubt you’ve heard numerous times how Haiti is “the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.”
That fact–that nobody has any money there–has exacerbated the effect of the earthquake.
Helpless people are now even more helpless.
It didn’t have to be that way, however.
Haiti didn’t have to be so poor–at least not for the last decade. Had Haiti only embraced online gambling–as other Caribbean nations have done–it would have been one of the richest countries in the Caribbean.
About 10 years ago, at least one online betting site, looking to relocate, looked into the possibility of relocating to Haiti.
The site, a sports betting site in Jamaica, was looking to relocate, preferably to another Caribbean country.
Conventional choices that already licensed online sportsbooks, such as Curacao and Dominica, were considered.
But also considered were some unconventional choices that did not license online gambling and seemed unlikely to do so, including Haiti and, yes, even Cuba.
Government officials in both those countries were contacted by representatives of the sportsbook to see if there was any interest in letting the sportsbook relocate and be licensed.
To no one’s surprise, both countries turned down the offer.
No way Cuba was going to accept–it’s a communist country and gambling is oh so capitalisitic.
In fact, one of the first things Fidel Castro did when he took over Cuba in 1959 was destroy the island’s lucrative-but-American-owned casinos in Havana.
But Haiti has no such history–it could’ve embraced online gambling and been a rich (or at least much richer) nation today.
Had Haitian government officials embraced the sportsbook, other online gambling entities would have been sure to follow.
And the dollars would have rolled in, and Haiti would have been off the world’s welfare roll.
But no–the government of Haiti did not want online gambling in any way, shape or form.
It’s a decision it may come to regret–or maybe even reverse. Especially now (the sportsbook eventually moved to Ireland).
The twin island Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda, for example, licenses online sportsbooks and charges them each an annual $100,000 licensing fee.
Other nations inside and outside the Caribbean that license online betting also charge licensing fees and make a lot of money.
If Haiti only had seen the light 10 years ago and embraced online gambling and issued licenses, it would be millions of dollars richer today–and in a much better position to deal with an earthquake.
By Tom Somach
New Jersey Considers Regulating Online Casinos
New Jersey state Senator Raymond Lezniak has introduces a bill to regulate online casinos. Lezniak’s measure would specifically grant permission to New Jersey residents to gamble on the Internet.
The casinos allowed would be the licensed casinos in Atlantic City, part of Lezniak’s ongoing effort to revive the New Jersey gambling scene. Lezniak is also involved in efforts to legalize sports betting and regulate online poker.
The suggested law would require servers to be located within Atlantic County, either on casino property or in a secure location operated by an Atlantic City casino. All casino games legal at Atlantic City resorts would be available, including poker.
The bill would allow residents to establish an account and then play at online gambling either from personal computers, or at terminals to be located at state racetracks, giving both racetracks and casinos a chance to successfully pool customers. The terminals may be virtually the same as slot machines.
Lezniak would create a regulatory Division of Internet Wagering under the Casino Control Commission, which would watch over the new industry. Taxes would be set at 20 percent of gross revenue from the online casino gambling.
Despite the US Department of Justice defying courts and asserting that all online gambling is illegal, New Jersey joins a slew of states debating plans to run Internet gaming inside state borders, including Maine, California, and Florida. Illinois already operates legal and regulated online gambling.
Published on January 17, 2010 by Tom Weston
Former BetOnSports CEO David Carruthers Jailed
The former Chief Executive of BetOnSports, David Carruthers, has been jailed for a term of 33 months after his recent guilty plea to the U.S. Justice Department for charges of racketeering and conspiracy, violations of U.S. federal law.
According to The Telegraph, the charges stem from the $3.5 billion in revenue that BetOnSports raked in between 2002 and 2004. The U.S. Justice Department claimed that 98 percent of that sum came from bets made by U.S.-based clients, making it a violation of U.S. law.
BetOnSports was based in Costa Rica at the time. Carruthers, a native of Scotland, had, in the four years of his leadership, led the company from humble beginnings to a listing on the London Stock Exchange’s Aim.
This sentencing comes shortly after last year’s sentencing of BetOnSports founder, Gary Kaplan, to more than four years in prison as part of the same case. And the bottom line seems to be that the U.S. Justice Department is not relenting in its prosecutions of online gambling cases, despite the recent delay of the UIGEA implementation and other positive signs.
CSR Approved Casinos
