David Howe, the head of a company that allegedly sold Internet gambling sites to clients who were to operate them from their homes in the United States, appeared in a Colorado court on Tuesday to face charges of professional gambling, fraud, computer crimes and providing gambling information, all of which are misdemeanors.
IGN learned in April that the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and the Arizona Department of Gaming were investigating Howe and his company, Venture Concepts, after Denver-based television network CBS4 ran an investigative report featuring a woman from Phoenix who had come into contact with the company when she replied to an advertisement for work-at-home opportunities. The woman said the opportunity was to buy an Internet gambling site--complete with casino, poker room and sports book--for $999 and operate it from her home. She was told she could make up to $25,000 in three months.
The woman accepted the offer and soon found that no one ever visited the site. She then learned that Venture Concepts wanted an additional $7,500 from her to advertise the site and another $1,500 to provide a better listing on the Internet.
Howe's attorney told CBS4 that he is not convinced online gaming is illegal in Colorado, despite the opinion of the state's attorney general.