Posted by http://www.yahoo.com on May 11, 2004 at 17:19:19:
In Reply to: online casinos posted by online casinos on online casinos:
Thousands of small-time Web site operators hoping to cash in on an online casino's banner advertising scheme have found themselves deprived of payment and accused of cheating.The casino, Aattached to the program are stringent rules, which the casino says users are violating in droves.As a result, it has withheld payments and revoked the right to participate from thousands of users. Those users--who by and large claim to have followed the rules--have taken to Internet newsgroups and Web sites to complain and vent their accusations that the entity has taken them for a ride. Online casinos are expected to take off, according to a report issued last month by analyst firm Datamonitor. Revenues in 1998 are expected to reach $535 million, rising to $955 million in 1999 and $2.3 billion by 2000, the study said. But Net gambling is not without legal sticking points: A pending bill, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act, seeks to update the federal Wire Act to outlaw accepting and placing cash bets on the Net, with a few exceptions. Some states, such as Minnesota and Missouri, have filed charges against the owners of on line casinos, which do business with residents via the Net.