March 17 - The month of March is traditionally an exciting one for sports
fans in the United States, as sixty-four of the top college basketball teams in
the nation vie to compete in the NCAA championship. Across the country, millions
of Americans enter a bracket of selections for this tournament in an informal
manner, whether among friends, in the office or on campus.
With the advent of popular social networking sites, such as Facebook, this
type of activity has been taken online, where sports fans often meet to discuss
their favorite game and take part in cash or free play sports betting and online
gambling.
Facebook today has over 100 million members from around the world and
a search on the site will reveal that there are over 20,000 online pools that
anyone on the network can join. This fact has not escaped the attention of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, which has launched an investigation into the
gambling activities on Facebook. The site may now face prosecution for running
illegal operations, under the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act that
was signed into law in October 2006.
While it is common knowledge that just under 50% of the working
American population play in an office pool, the FBI seems to be determined to go
ahead with its investigation against Facebook. By offering entry fees and prizes
in its betting pools, the site may be violating the UIGEA. An FBI spokesman
said: "It is fair to say that this raises questions. There could be a violation
if there's a payout and the operators take a cut".
However, another spokesman has admitted that a prosecution of such
magnitude may be "too big to handle", given the number of online pools and site
members. It seems that as long as the betting does not go offshore and the money
stays within the US, the FBI may be forced to turn a blind eye on this case.
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