All parties were consenting but the Fed doesn't like it. First the virtual betting parlors. Then the virtual banks and cryptocash. http://dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/technology/wired/story.html?s=n/reuters /980304/wired/stories/gambling_1.html Wednesday March 4 4:56 PM EST U.S. authorities launch Internet gambling crackdown NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. federal authorities charged 14 people on Wednesday with running gambling sites on the Internet in violation of federal laws. In complaints unsealed in Manhattan Federal Court, the U.S. Attorney's office charged the 14 with using Internet Web sites and telephone lines to bet on U.S. football, basketball, hockey and baseball games, charging a 10 percent commission per bet. At least some of the defendants were scheduled to appear before a U.S. magistrate judge later on Wednesday. The defendants were charged with using Internet sites to open bettor accounts, usually with a minimum deposit of $500, and then accepting bets on games and game score spreads and maintaining accounts for clients. Client funds were directed to banks or addresses in such offshore locations as Antigua, Curacao, Costa Rica and Panama, where betting is legal. But the complaints alleged that the six operations conducted much of their business within U.S. borders. One defendant, Steven Budin, 27, of SDB Global (www.sdbg.com), said his business used the Internet only for marketing, not to take bets. "We don't take wagers over the Internet," he said. ------------------------------------------------------------ David Honig Orbit Technology honig@otc.net Intaanetto Jigyoubu "But if we have to use force, it is because we are America; we are the indispensable nation." ---Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright http://www.jya.com/see-far.htm