Attorney General Ford Joins Bipartisan Effort Urging U.S. Department of Justice to Help Address Illegal Offshore Gaming

Carson City, NV — Today, Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford announced he is urging the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to assist in addressing the rampant spread of illegal offshore gaming across the country. AG Ford has joined a bipartisan multistate coalition of 50 attorneys general to stress the need for action to combat harm to the rule of law, consumers and the economy from an unprecedented growth in illicit online gambling. The request to the DOJ was made in a letter sent by AG Ford and the coalition to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.

“Illegal online gaming is a danger to every jurisdiction and requires bipartisan collaboration to stop,” said AG Ford. "Regulations on gaming exist to ensure the industry’s economic activity is safe and non-predatory. Nevada’s gaming industry is the envy of the world because our state has benefitted from an important and ongoing dialogue between the public and private sector. Illegal online gaming acts outside of this industry and opens up our youth and vulnerable populations to harm. I urge the DOJ to act to rein in this problem."

Illegal online sports betting and gaming operations are largely operated by foreign-based companies that routinely operate without proper licensure; offer limited or non-existent consumer protections; fail to effectively verify the age of users; ignore state boundaries; and evade tax obligations.

In the letter, AG Ford and the coalition highlight the significant harm caused to states and residents by such unlawful platforms, particularly to young people, vulnerable adults, and state economies. Specifically, the coalition asserts that illegal gaming operations expose users to fraudulent schemes and encourage problem gambling without any oversight or accountability; undercut state-regulated markets; and have been linked to money laundering, human trafficking and other illegal conduct.

In fact, the coalition contends that illegal online gaming is estimated to exceed more than $400 billion in volume annually, leading to more than $4 billion in lost tax revenue for states.

In this year’s legislative session, state lawmakers approved Senate Bill 256, which increased penalties for illegal online gambling operators.

AG Ford and the coalition are urging the DOJ to assist and coordinate with states in deploying robust legal tools and enforcement actions against illegal offshore gaming operations, especially as such actions by the DOJ have been extremely limited since 2013.

Particularly, AG Ford and the coalition are urging the DOJ to help curb illegal offshore gaming operations by:

• Pursuing injunctive relief under the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act to block access to illegal websites and payment processing mechanisms related to illicit gaming operations; 
• Seizing assets — including servers, websites, domains and proceeds — used by gaming operators that violate state and federal law; and 
• Coordinating with states, financial institutions and payment processors to block unlawful transactions and dismantle financial infrastructure related to illegal gaming operations

Joining AG Ford in submitting today’s letter are the co-lead attorneys general of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Nebraska and Utah, along with the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, U.S. Virgin Islands, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Read a copy of the letter.

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