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Currently there is a debate in the United States over the legal status of Internet Gambling; specifically, playing Poker for "real money" over the Internet.

Many of those who are opposed to Internet Gambling in the United States claim that Internet Gambling sites are used to fund terrorist organizations & activities.

Is there are actual evidence to back up this claim? Do terrorists use internet gambling sites as a source of funding or money laundering?

The following appears in the Congressional Record, vols 109-122, pg 14297 (not sure if I'm citing this properly)

Source link

Worse, the FBI, the Department of Justice, and the Department of State have all stated that Internet gambling can be exploited to launder money for such groups as drug dealers, organized crime, and terrorist organizations.

Sklivvz
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John Dibling
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  • Could you add a link to a website that makes this claim? – Christian Apr 20 '11 at 20:13
  • I've heard this claim too, from several places. No source atm, though. – BlueRaja - Danny Pflughoeft Apr 21 '11 at 06:25
  • @Christian, @BlueRaja: I am looking for a definitive source. However, I do know that Senator (ret) Kyl and others have made this statement publicly. This claim was later refuted by the FBI, when they said there was no evidence of a link between Internet Gambling sites and terrorism. I am looking for citations for both of these. No luck yet. – John Dibling Apr 21 '11 at 13:32
  • @Christian, @BlueRaja: I have found a partial citation. Will edit. – John Dibling Apr 21 '11 at 19:13
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    "can be exploited" in the context of your quote is a clear admission by the authors that they have no evidence. – horatio Apr 21 '11 at 19:46
  • it wouldn't surprise me if some of those sites are run by organised crime, and if some of that organised crime is related to international terrorist networks. But I don't think you're going to find evidence for it unless it be in locked court records from trials under the patriot and intelligence acts. – jwenting Apr 22 '11 at 07:44
  • @jwenting: Are you suggesting that you expect that some of these sites are run by organized crime? – John Dibling Apr 25 '11 at 13:30
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    yes, it wouldn't surprise me at all if they're used as money laundering operations just as the Las Vegas casinos were in the 1920s and '30s. Not all, maybe not even most, but some. – jwenting Apr 26 '11 at 06:31
  • @John - Please recall who/what/why built Las Vegas (and Havana casino business) – user5341 Apr 27 '11 at 18:04
  • I think it is worth keeping separate different claims: that the sites are used to launder money versus make money, and the organised criminals are owners versus punters. – Oddthinking Jun 07 '11 at 13:20
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    (1) Make a consensual transaction illegal driving it underground and making people who still do t are criminals (2) Make a campaign issue of it (3) ??? (4) Profit! – dmckee --- ex-moderator kitten Jul 01 '12 at 23:51

1 Answers1

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Yes, according to this Washington Post report of a 2007 case.

According to documents gathered by law enforcement officials, the three men used stolen credit card numbers at hundreds of online stores to buy items that fellow jihadists might need in the field. Authorities also say the men laundered money from stolen credit card accounts through more than a dozen online gambling sites.
Al-Daour also allegedly laundered money through online gambling sites, using accounts set up with stolen credit card numbers and victims' identities, and ran up thousand-dollar tabs at such sites as AbsolutePoker.com, BetFair.com, BetonBet.com, Canbet.com, Eurobet.com, NoblePoker.com and ParadisePoker.com. Al-Daour and other members of the group conducted 350 transactions at 43 different online wagering sites, using more than 130 compromised credit card accounts. Winnings were withdrawn and transferred to online bank accounts the men controlled.

Of course, charges made by authorities are sometimes wrong, but I note:

they changed their pleas to guilty. They were sentenced yesterday to prison terms ranging from 6 1/2 to 10 years.

This gives more veracity to the investigator's claims.

Oddthinking
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  • Here's a list of things a jihadist *might need in the field*: baby wipes, pants, insect repellant, a tent, mp3 player, batteries... – horatio Jun 07 '11 at 15:22
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    @horatio: Oh no! I've bought those! And I use online gambling sites. How do I turn myself in? – Oddthinking Jun 08 '11 at 01:46
  • This looks like an attempt to vilify internet gambling by to Washington Post rather than real evidence that terrorists are using internet gambling sites to fund operations, in a way they couldn't just as easily do by buying lottery tickets. – Ryathal Jul 02 '12 at 13:11
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    @Ryathal: Would you like to substantiate that comment? I see no evidence of vilification of Internet gambling here. I know of money laundering through buying already-won lottery tickets at a premium, but that's presumably hard to do through a stolen credit card, whereas laundering money through deliberately losing a bet with a stolen account to a clean account owned in a poker game/exchange bet is more straightforward. – Oddthinking Jul 02 '12 at 14:49
  • @Oddthinking I'm only saying that their appears to be an effort to show the poker sites as complicit in the laundering activity, when there seems to be no such evidence. – Ryathal Jul 02 '12 at 15:37
  • @Ryathal: Interesting. I don't see that, but I have a basic-to-moderate understanding of the mechanisms involved, and that the licensed gambling sites have mechanisms to try to detect laundering and other suspicious activity. I am trying to read it from the perspective of the average reader; maybe it does sound like they are involved (as opposed to being victims). – Oddthinking Jul 02 '12 at 15:48
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    @Oddthinking My reasoning is simply the gambling sites are all called out by name, where the shopping sites and airline sites all remain anonymous, despite all of them accepting fraudulent credit cards. Also 130 credit cards out of the 37,000 they had access to seems like a small percentage if a site was actively aiding in the money laundering process I would think there would be a much higher volume than that. – Ryathal Jul 02 '12 at 15:57
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    @Ryathal: Interesting point. Why name the gambling sites when they didn't name the airlines? – Oddthinking Jul 02 '12 at 16:02