Well if the headline doesn’t catch your attention, perhaps the substance of what has gone on will.

In the US, online gaming is a $12bn a year business that is expanding despite the government’s opinion that it violates a law against placing interstate bets using telephone lines. I wrote a comprehensive paper on this subject (for law school) referenced in an earlier post and which I have decided to put up again here. If you take the time to read my legal paper you will note that I feel that the US government has really shot themselves in the foot by not taxing and regulating online gambling but rather prosecuting it. You only have to look at the fact that these are public companies (and huge public companies) in the UK to realize that the government over there is getting rich off taxes and regulatory fees. Anyway, off my soap box…The information from the BBC.

“The chairman of British gambling firm Sportingbet has been arrested in the US after arriving on a flight from the UK. Officials said Peter Dicks, 64, had been detained under a warrant issued by authorities in Louisiana in July accusing him of gambling by computer. His arrest follows the detention of Betonsports’ chief David Carruthers, who was arrested on racketeering charges at Dallas airport in July.

Sportingbet’s shares were suspended on the London stock exchange after news of Mr Dicks arrest.

The company, which also owns the Paradise Poker brand, has more than 2.5 million customers signed and an annual turnover of more than $1.2bn (£630m).”