By DAVE BERNS
lasvegas.com Gaming Wire
One day after saying there's no certain way to prevent U.S. Internet users from betting online, representatives of British Web betting firm Ladbrokes eGaming Ltd. backed away from that statement.
Ladbrokes e-Gaming Managing Director John O'Reilly said although it accurately relayed the comments of a company executive, a Friday Review-Journal story "stirred up a hornet's nest" about a sports betting venture linking his company with playboy.com.
The reason: a company spokesman said it will be difficult to prevent U.S. gamblers from placing wagers on the site to be operated by the companies.
"It's very complicated and probably not worth putting up firewalls to stop people," Ladbrokes eGaming spokesman Andy Clifton said Thursday of preventing the practice.
Internet gambling is illegal from within the United States, and an admission that U.S. gamblers can place online wagers from within the country could endanger traditional casino ventures pursued by Ladbrokes and Playboy.
Ladbrokes has an interest in three Colorado casinos and a Pennsylvania racetrack, while Playboy Enterprises has eyed Las Vegas sites for future casino development. All come under state regulatory scrutiny.
Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairman Dennis Neilander said Thursday that an admission of Web betting fallibility is something "that would be considered" if Ladbrokes or Playboy ever sought a Nevada gaming license. But O'Reilly said Friday his company employs the most sophisticated safeguards to ensure that U.S. residents cannot place wagers on any Ladbrokes betting sites, including the newly announced playboysportsbook.com site. "This was a threshold issue in the agreement with Playboy and was absolutely central to their choice of Ladbrokes as an appropriate partner for online wagering," O'Reilly said.
In addition to all major U.S. sporting events, as well as international soccer and rugby matches, the site, which is set to begin operating by spring or early summer, will accept wagers on political elections and the annual competition to become Playboy's playmate of the year.
Ladbrokes operates a year-old sports betting site that carries the ladbrokes.com name.
On Thursday, Clifton said the registration process for the Ladbrokes-Playboy venture would be based on the honor system, with potential bettors having to acknowledge whether they'd be placing wagers from within U.S. borders. "It's difficult to do much else," Clifton said.
On Friday, O'Reilly offered a different explanation, saying the company will contact any customers who access the site through a U.S.-based Internet service provider to ensure they reside outside of the United States. "This is a zero-tolerance system," he said. "We totally refute any suggestion that we adopt anything other than the most stringent checks on a potential customer before accepting their business.
"If there is the smallest element of doubt then that customer will not be able to place wagers with us." Legislation has languished in Congress in recent years to eliminate potential loopholes in federal laws that could be perceived as permitting online gambling from within the United States.
Last year, Nevada gaming regulators forced Las Vegas-based American Wagering to divest itself of its Australia-based Internet gambling site because the Web business illegally accepted bets from an undercover control board agent who conducted a 1999 sting operation from within the state.