US Online
Betting Site Uses Loophole to Operate Legally
June 13 - When Congress banned online gambling in the United
States in 2006, they effectively prevented millions of Americans
from playing at online
casinos, betting sites, poker rooms and bingo halls.
However, one smart Texan has
come up with a way to allow Americans to gamble online - legally.
A 26-year-old certified genius, Victor Palmer, from College Station, Texas, came
up with a clever way of allowing US citizens to place bets on his site,
Centsports.com, without risking prosecution from US officials.
His trick is that he
lets visitors to the site gamble with his money and if they win, they can keep
it.
The Internet buff, who graduated from college at 16 and holds a Ph.D. in
computer science from Texas A & M University, deposits 10 cents into the account
of every new sign up can be used to bet on all manner of sporting events.
Once a player's winnings reaches $20 or more, they can choose to cash out.
Palmer then mails them a check for the amount. Because he is letting
people gamble with his money on Centsports.com, he is not breaking any laws and the US government
cannot touch him.
As to how he makes money off the site, it is from advertisers, including the NBA (National Basketball Association), Pizza Hut, and Skype.
Since Centsports.com was launched, it has seen 200,000 sign-ups with its player-base doubling up every month as word of the site spreads.
Said Palmer, 'While
Congress frowns upon people choosing to gamble online with their own money, they
don't seem to have a problem with anyone dumb enough to give away money'.
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