Identity Theft: Online Gambling Sites Becoming Vigilant

Online gambling sites are becoming more aware of, and vigilant towards, cases of identity theft within their operations since the recent 3-year sentencing of Fouda Mourtada. The government of Morocco found Mourtada guilty of identity theft after opening an account with Facebook using a false profile in the name of Moulay Rachid, Prince of Morocco.

Another case in point, BackgammonMasters Mexico discovered false profiles within their system that included Prince William, Tom Cruise and Madonna. The online backgammon operation researched the accounts posing as these famous individuals and found them to be utterly false.

"We've seen a trend in the industry for people to register popular names, as we call them "Gold usernames" such as backgammonking, pokerking, blackjack-king and celebrity names which are just as popular," relayed a spokesperson for the popular backgammon and blackjack site, http://backgammonmasters.com. "We see people in game forums even buying and selling these usernames. For these people it's status, kind of like having a custom license plate. As long as the games are for fun, we are not concerned."

While the cases at BackgammonMasters only involved fun-money players, enjoying free games of Backgammon, Poker and 21 Blackjack, the outright identity theft and ensuing conviction that occurred at a major company like Facebook has perked the ears and sharpened the eyes of many Internet operations.

In the case of Fouda Mourtada, it would seem some governments are more offended than others when it comes to insulting their leaders. A group of petitioners and Human Rights activists felt the 3-year sentence was more harsh than necessary, and after enough signatures were delivered, Mourtada was released, having served only 43 days of his term. Even so, the case has brought online identity theft to the forefront.

Ali Ammar, Mourtada's lawyer, shared his view on the subject, "This is a cultural problem; this is the first time that a Moroccan poses as a very important personality on the Internet. This is already a common practice in European countries."

ePassporte Bows To UIGEA; No More Online Gambling Transfers

In late 2006, the US government passes the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), prohibiting the transfer of monies between US residents and online gambling operations. Since then, US players have had an increasingly difficult time finding a viable method to deposit and withdrawal funds from such facilities.

Originally, ePassporte became the top preferred method for such transactions, stating its continued commitment to accept US player transfers. It would seem those days have come to an abrupt halt, according to email correspondence between the ePassporte Company and online gaming site, Pitbull Poker.

Evidently, ePassporte has bowed to the pressure of the US government, now declining to accept any monetary transactions to/from US residents that involve online gambling sites. There is a letter currently circulating the Internet said to be from ePassporte, to Pitbull Poker. In the letter, Gregory Elias of ePassporte states that it is suspending its accounts with Pitbull Poker, and that their agreement is hereby terminated.

Elias claims that while ePassporte firmly believes that these transactions are completely legal, the company is not willing to chance that the US government may disagree. Elias goes on to comment as to the ongoing investigation led by the U.S. District Attorney's office, based out of New York, set forth to deal with such matters.

Both the US Federal Reserve and US Treasury Department have offered testimony stating that the UIGEA lacks proper definition and is not sufficiently enforceable. Furthermore, several members of US Congress are actively working to halt enforcement of the UIGEA and effectively toss out the bill altogether. Even so, ePassporte has apparently chosen to remove itself from the situation, presumably due to strong-arm tactics by the US government.

US residents who once took advantage of ePassporte as a means of funding their online gambling accounts must once again find a secure, viable method of depositing. The departure of ePassporte from the US related online gambling market is being deemed shameful and premature, as many experts believe the UIGEA to be inappropriate, unenforceable and ultimately disregard-able as it may soon be entirely removed from US legislation.