Internet gambling may be in play once
again (pardon the pun), and the traditional Kentucky gambling industry is
taking note. According to the Courier Journal
(Louisville, KY), the Justice
Department issued an opinion in late December reversing a long-standing
position that the 1961 federal Wire Act prohibited most betting over the
Internet. It goes on to add that
Churchill Downs this month purchased Atlanta-based Bluff Media, a poker fan
website, for an undisclosed sum. Large
operations like Churchill Downs dont make whimsical business purchases without
a lot of confidence on that investment.
Whatever your thoughts on the ethics of
gambling, the fact that states need revenue and may have been presented loophole
to allow (and tax) virtual casinos means operations may start popping up
overnight. The catch: gaming operations will be limited to users only located
within their state reside. Obviously, players will need to be of age to play. These
criteria are difficult to control on the Internet, unless you deploy the right
tool from day one. ID verification for the
gaming industry is simple, cost-effective, reliable, and quickly
deployable. EVS has experience verifying age and addresses
for several gaming operations in Europe and Australia through our IdentiFraud International
product. If states dont mandate
measures to ensure only residents above legal age gamble, lets hope that the
gaming companies do so to protect their operations and our youth.
[Contributed by Jeff Davis, President & CEO]
