The Washington Post Investigates Two Biggest Online Gambling Scandals

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A joint investigation by The Washington Post’s two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Gilbert M. Gaul and CBS News’ 60 MINUTES takes an in-depth look at the two largest cases of online gambling fraud in the history of Internet poker. They find that Internet gambling sites operate in a shadowy world of little regulation and even less enforcement, and weigh the reasoning behind the U.S. government’s ban on the industry.

In part one, “Hunting the Internet Poker Cheats,” Gaul chronicles the work of poker players who took it upon themselves to investigate cheating on the gambling site Absolute Poker after one player suspiciously lost $15,000 in a short series of games. After months of pressure, the site was forced to admit that the cheater was a consultant with managerial responsibilities. The cheater was never publicly named and never charged with a crime, though the site refunded $1.6 million dollars to players.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/29/AR2008112901679.html

Rumors then surfaced of a new scandal on the sister site UltimateBet.com: more than $20 million stolen from players over four years. The alleged culprits included a former world champion poker player and UltimateBet.com employees. Part one ran yesterday in conjunction with CBS News’ 60 MINUTES’ program.

Today, in “Should Internet Gambling be Legal?” Gaul explains how scandals like these are raising fresh questions about the honesty and security of a “freewheeling” industry that operates outside of U.S. law. Revenue from virtual poker tournaments, casino games and sports books around the globe are estimated at $18 billion dollars a year, more than tripling over the past five years. Billions of those bets originate in the U.S.

Gaul navigates the debate between those pushing the federal government to license and regulate Internet gambling and those who want to keep what they call a murky and industry wrought with scams and schemes illegal. Dozens of Internet gambling sites are located in countries with no reporting requirements. Gaul considers whether laws made in the 20^th century are able to adequately protect people using 21^st century online technology.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/30/AR2008113002006.html

washingtonpost.com lets readers dig even deeper into the debate with a variety of interactive features including:

• Video excerpts from the 60 MINUTES investigation
• Live Discussion with Gilbert M. Gaul and online poker player Serge Ravitch (December 1^st at 1:00 pm ET)
• Video profile of hedge fund analyst and online poker player David Paredes
• Video illustration on how to play Texas hold 'em
• Timeline illustrating key players and documents in the scandals

The full series is available at the following link:
www.washingtonpost.com/insidebet

About washingtonpost.com

washingtonpost.com is an award-winning news and information destination that delivers world-class reporting and innovative multimedia content, creating a truly interactive news experience. Using the latest technology and tools, washingtonpost.com encourages participation and content customization across all platforms, allowing readers to engage with washingtonpost.com anytime, anywhere. Winner of four consecutive Edward R. Murrow Awards for Overall Excellence for Non-Broadcast Affiliated Web site, washingtonpost.com is owned by Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive, the online publishing subsidiary of The Washington Post Company. (NYSE: WPO)

About 60 MINUTES

60 MINUTES, the most successful broadcast in television history, celebrated its 40th anniversary in September. Offering hard-hitting investigative reports, interviews, feature segments and profiles of people in the news, the CBS News magazine has been the number-one television program for two straight weeks this season and regularly appears on the Nielsen Top 10 weekly list. The program has won more Emmy Awards than any other primetime broadcast and virtually every other broadcast journalism award, plus 15 Peabody awards for excellence in television broadcasting. Seen by an average 15 million television viewers on Sunday nights on CBS, it can also be experienced at 60MINUTES.com.