Fight against illegal gambling (not) always successful!

Admittedly, USA is known for its reliable, if not always transparent bureaucracy. At least in gambling, it also shows that there is no agreement with the legislator and also the executive civil servants when it comes to dealing with legal and illegal gambling. However, the latest events showed that organized crime is there on the American gaming market – with a few exceptions. The few cases are still amazed.

Gambling is becoming increasingly popular in USA, but rather with legally acting players, not with criminals.

nobody would really say that USA was a gaming mecca. other countries and cities, above all, of course las vegas, offer the gambler heart much larger games of chance. nevertheless, enthusiasm increases in this country for playing with happiness. last but not least, this is associated with the ever increasing online offer. Sports betting in particular is currently very popular, especially in young men. From 2013 to 2015, the number of those who regularly tax sports betting in USA has more than doubled, despite the betting scandals associated with USA, which in 2009 Fall Robert Hoyzer found their preliminary climax. sports betting are the most attractive of all types of gambling for criminals – not only in USA. however, this applies not only to game manipulations, but also to money laundering, which finally brings on gambling crime in the Area of organized crime preceded. This is also confirmed by a recent investigation of the Bochum lawyer Johannes Güldner, Doctoral student at the RUB chair for public law, which examined the attractiveness of the American gaming mark for criminals in the course of his doctoral thesis.

Hardly any money laundering in casinos- but probably with horse and sports betting

In particular, the academic was concerned with the examination of the possibilities of Money laundering on the American gaming market. Specifically, he analyzed arcades and casinos, horse betting and sports betting, he only left out lottery offers.

“Both in the media and in the legal literature, you often read about money laundering in the gaming area.”– Johannes Güldner, Doctoral student, Ruhr University Bochum

Despite many reservations and prejudices, his findings were relatively clear: In casinos and arcades, according to Güldner’s opinion, it is hardly possible to wash money. the legal requirements, too cumbersome and risky, are too strict to do money laundering in USA. in American casinos, for example, players receive no receipt when swapping jetons in cash, and direct payments to an account are rather rare. thus, casinos and arcades are basically not suitable for money washers. however, where there are security risks, these are horse and sports betting. when betting on fixed odds, players receive a receipt. due to mathematical systems, the game risks could be minimized in such a way that a large part of the money is paid off even if there is loss. güldner leads the so-called arbitrage method as an example.

What is arbitrage?
This is actually a term from finance that describes a process in which price differences of the same good are used to a market. The arbitrage method is implemented on the sports betting market via so-called sura bets. Here quotas differences are sought by various betting providers and amounts calculated using mathematical procedures are placed on the opposite game outputs, so that a profit is made regardless of the output.

However there is So far few known cases of money laundering in USA, which should also have to do with the not entirely uncomplicated procedure for arbitrage technology. With a few exceptions, Güldner comes to the realization that at least when it comes to money laundering, the American gaming market should hardly be a topic for criminal machinations.

Curious: Casino pays the police officer

as is well known, exceptions confirm the rule. and criminals always have the chance to enforce their interests even if there is a strict legal situation when human failure plays into their hands. sometimes this even becomes clear where hardly anyone would expect. a case recently became known in which a berlin police officer who was responsible for monitoring and control of arcades and casinos in the capital For years of lubrication of a casino operator should have accepted. the background: several criminal acts are said to have been carried out and planned in the casino. among other things, it is also about drug trafficking, as has emerged from the indictment of the berlin public prosecutor. similar to the betting scandal around the bundesliga referee robert hoyzer, it can be seen that crime will not be hundred of percent on the gambling market, as long as people are responsible for enforcement, compliance and surveillance. but still: The American law is also mature.

The back and forth of the State Treaty, which actually intended the liberalization of the American gambling market, does not fit into the organized picture. For years, the federal government, the federal states and private gambling providers have been fighting a uniform regulation and the awarding of concessions. This is particularly explosive because the current law violates applicable EU guidelines. From this point of view, in principle – in principle – all gambling in USA moves in a legal gray area.