Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti signed onto a bipartisan letter this week with other attorneys general asking the Department of Justice (DOJ) to crack down on illegal offshore gambling.
The attorneys general cited hearing reports of these offshore gambling sites increasing their presence in America.
They said they are doing all they can to protect their citizens from being harmed by illegal offshore gambling companies, but they asked the federal government to increase its cooperation in this matter to ensure these companies are “brought to justice to the fullest extent” of the law.
The letter said these offshore gambling companies operate without proper licenses, evade taxation, and have limited consumer protections.
“These unlawful platforms expose residents—particularly young people and vulnerable adults—to fraudulent schemes and highly addictive gambling without any oversight or accountability,” the letter said.
In addition to this, the attorneys general wrote these off-shore gambling operations have been linked to money laundering and human trafficking.
They also cited the loss of tax revenue states are facing as a result of these companies operating illegally in their states. According to the letter, illegal offshore gambling earns more than $400 billion annually, which contributes to over $4 billion in lost tax revenue for state governments.
For the last 12 years, the attorneys general said the DOJ’s effort in addressing this issue has been “extremely limited.” Suggested ways the DOJ can help with this matter is by blocking access to these websites and by seizing assets, the letter said..
Furthermore, the attorneys general stated they could work with the DOJ and major payment processors to remove these companies from the U.S. financial system. The letter cited Visa and Mastercard’s willingness to participate in this activity.
To end the letter, the attorneys general said they stood ready to “collaborate” with the DOJ to protect their residents and uphold state and federal law.
Forty-six state attorney generals signed onto this letter. The only states that did not sign on to this were Kentucky, Montana, Texas, and Wisconsin. Washington D.C.’s district attorney attached his name to the letter as well as three U.S. territories, America Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, U.S Virgin Islands.
As a state, Tennessee has recently cracked down on these illegal offshore gambling sites operating in its state.
In July, its Sports Wagering Council fined five Costa Rica-based illegal offshore sportsbooks $50,000 each, totaling $250,000..
“The SWC is exploring all avenues with its network of law enforcement to eliminate these bad actors from Tennessee,” Executive Director Mary Beth Thomas said. “Consumers in Tennessee need to be aware that illegal operators will gladly take their money and personal information, and if a consumer does business with an illegal book, they give away their information to criminals.”
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network. Email tips to Zachery at [email protected].
The solution to this problem is actually very simple. People need to stop gambling – period. I figure the only reason the state is getting involved is that it is missing out on the taxes.