Is this the larry walter? aka lawrence walter -article from st. pete times on OCT 4th
An estimated 8-million Americans who wager over the Internet are sorting out the odds they can still play in the wake of new federal legislation making it difficult to fund online gambling accounts.
To online gambling legal expert Lawrence Walters, it appears “the game is over, so to speak, for American players.”
“The closest thing we’ve ever seen to this kind of widespread federal prohibition is Prohibition on alcohol,” Walters, an Orlando-area partner with the law firm of Weston, Garrou, DeWitt and Walters, said of the congressional legislation passed last weekend. “But here, we have a worldwide industry that has developed. It’s become a part of our culture and part of the global economy, and overnight the United States has criminalized this ongoing economic force.”
Walters talked Wednesday with the hosts of St. Petersburg Times’ Ante Up! poker podcast about what effect the legislation will have on the $12-billion-a-year industry. Here are some excerpts:
Point blank, what does this mean for online gamblers?
For the individual gambler sitting behind a computer, it may not mean much, and no one will be going to prison under this new law. … But it means a lot for the actual operators of the gambling sites and the banking institutions and financial institutions that service the industry. … The industry has received this law, and interpreted it as an all-out ban on any further offering of Internet gambling to U.S. citizens, and all the major companies are now taking steps to stop any further service to online bettors in the United States.
Should gamblers start taking their money out of online sites?
If I were gambling man, which I’m not, I’d take my money and run. There’s no telling what’s going to happen to the deposits.
Will some of these sites close up shop?
Most of the major players are likely to pull out of the U.S. market, and the face of Internet gambling will change dramatically for American player.
Are there just too many loopholes in this law to make it effective?
Internet gambling is here to stay. And the U.S. government can pass laws until it is blue in the face and it’s not going to stop the individual bettor from finding a way to place a bet online. For a little while, it’s going to be tougher for the U.S. player to find a way to gamble online, but it’s not going to be impossible.
Where do you think this is all going to head?
The industry has been clamoring for regulation for years. They don’t want to operate as outlaws; they don’t want to operate on the sidelines; they don’t want to be marginalized. They want to operate as an embraced industry. They want to pay taxes. … I would think that the industry would fight hard for some sort of regulation. But I can’t imagine that this presidential administration will do a 180 and seek to embrace the online gambling industry.
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Lawrence Walters of the law firm Weston, Garrou, DeWitt & Walters and a leading expert on online gambling law joined us to talk about Congress’ recent action to block Americans from funding online gambling sites through their banks and credit cards. Here are the highlights:
WHAT IT MEANS: Very little punitively to individual gamblers, but a lot for online gambling companies and banks. Many online gambling companies have taken the law to be a ban on online gambling and are cutting off access to U.S. players. “The game is over, so to speak, for the American players,” Walters said.
WHY PUBLIC COMPANIES ARE BLOCKING U.S. PLAYERS, BUT PRIVATE ONES AREN’T: Public companies have to answer to shareholders, and engaging in an operation the U.S. government deems to be illegal opens up a host of headaches for them, Walters said. Conversely, private companies, if they are O.K. with assuming the risk, have more flexibility to continue to cater to U.S. customers.
SHOULD AMERICANS TAKE THEIR MONEY OUT OF ONLINE SITES?: Walters says yes.
WILL SOME SITES CLOSE UP?: Very likely, Walters said, though a consequence of the climate may mean other new companies will emerge, and how dependable they prove to be might be hard to ascertain.
HOW NETELLER AND OTHER THIRD-PARTY SITES WILL BE AFFECTED: They won’t be named specifically in the ensuing regulations, Walters said, and are in a unique situation since they don’t know what a customer plans to do with their money when they deposit it in a Neteller account.
WHAT ABOUT LOOPHOLES LIKE CUTTING CHECKS AND SETTING UP FOREIGN BANK ACCOUNTS?: Internet gambling is not going away, Walters said, and U.S. bettors will always find a way to get their money to gambling sites. It may be harder in the short-term, but not impossible.
WHEN WILL SEE LAWSUITS?: The law is poorly worded and susceptible to suits from a number of sources, Walters says. But the challenge will be finding someone to be a party to one. An online gambling entity will have to be brave enough to enter the complaint in the U.S. justice system. If they do, the law likely will be struck down.
WILL THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION INTERVENE?: Possibly, Walter says. Challenges to previous claims of a ban have been processed and may provide a roadmap to a more successful challenge in the future. The U.S. government will be in a difficult spot if a challenge is mounted since gambling is legal in just about every state.
WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?: The online industry will continue to push for regulation, but Walters says that’s unlikely unless there is a change in leadership in the White House and Congress.