I am curious as to what the thoughts are on what the fallout will be like once the governments of respective countries begin to take real notice/interest in these sites. It's only until very recently the any form of spotlight has been shed on the fact the Bitcoin is becoming a prime currency for online gambling; and also is a huge way to hide earnings and skim from the house. How easy would it be to simply tweak server settings on any site and "allow" a player to win "huge" amounts and simply claim it as a loss. While "untraceable" as it can be made out; I wouldnt underestimate a tax agency of a government's ability to make the target of such accusations life very difficult.
I know people mentioned that many sites were beginning to restrict usage of their services within jurisdictions where laws are violated (one such example is PD no longer accepting deposits from US IP addresses). However it's no secret a $20 per year VPN connection completely circumvents any such restriction.
The fact that most of these sites require no age verification whatsoever other than checking a box; which was, up until only recently implemented; likely leads me to believe that dice sites in general are havens for teenagers and literally kids gambling off faucet payouts. (They've got nothing better to do).
As the owner of Seals with Clubs is now facing charges; I suspect more investigations will follow suit. These will be driven by the agencies of government to collect illegal earnings/revenue/taxes on undeclared income (no accusations at all here for PD; just generally speaking what their motives will be).
The IRS for instance is simply a business and will look at it as matter of fact: Was the business operating on US soil (did it have relays/servers/cloud flare connections); if yes; there will be a case made that the business is thus subject to the laws of gaming as well as the tax laws of the USA.
As the IRS acts as a business (which most people don't realize); they look at all cases as risk/reward. If they can seize large amounts of money; and make a strong case; they will simply assemble the team to do what is necessary.
The major corporations and banking institutions which finance and back the casinos and gambling venues within the USA will soon I imagine be deploying serious offerings into this arena; either here or offshore. Any existing Dice Site IMO won't stand a chance in terms of competing against these enterprises who guarantee provably fair with real people/real faces/board of directors/stock holders/and a business address. It's only a matter of time. They also have the financing to literally pour funding into these launches that would simply not be possible by even the all the dice sites combined.
It's just a matter of time until they pull the trigger. They are watching the numbers. Waiting for the right entry point. As soon as the metrics add up; not only will they launch a big time endeavor; they will at the very same time lobby every government with an endless budget to make it a legitimate only industry.
At one point I thought owning a Dice Site would be a great money maker. I'm sure there are a few out there, including PD's investors who have made profits which would shock us all. But I also imagine they sleep with one eye open at all times. Because eventually, someone is going to come knocking for their cut. I mean just look at Kim DotCom... the guy is in lockdown, perpetually, just waiting for more bad news every day. I'm sure it takes it's toll.
Just my two cents on the subject. It will be interesting to see how the SWC case in Nevada plays out.
Interesting take on the whole matter. I feel as if Stunna has obviously thought all this stuff through since he's obviously taking professional legal advice. It'd be interesting what sort of approach the US would take in order to take a website like Primedice down.. But then again why would they start at Primedice when they are actually take some what proactive measures to mitigate US customers? There's other websites that are blatantly accepting them so they should definitely be the ones that will be looked into first.
When those sort of websites begin getting torn apart that's probably when Primedice and other more legal websites will start having to either close shop before the game changes too much, or change the way they are compliant. Obviously IP blocking at this stage isn't good enough but I'm sure they can bring in some KYC stuff in the future. Whether or not that is feasible however is a different question.
It's been a fun ride watching the BTC gambling scene change over the last 3 years and I'm sure it's only going to get more & more interesting as it becomes more relevant.
I wasnt for any specific reason bringing these topics up in the PD forum other than for the reason that PD is an emeninant player within this niche industry; if not the leader. And as such, in any business or industry, the bigger you get, the more you are scrutinized, audited, watched, and in many senses, you become a target. '
In regards to PD turning off it's services to the US; which relates to your comment on how they are taking active measures to mitigate any violations of local, state or federal laws of any country where the player resides; while I am not a lawyer I do know that changing your ways does not erase past infringements; nor would it release an entity from being held responsible for any taxes, etc which may be due.
I have no clue on how PD is set up infrastructure wise. I'm speaking in regards to all the big dice sites as a whole. Do they hire moderators for their chat rooms. Are they compensated. Even with BTC. In the US, that makes the person an agent of the company; thus the business then has to comply with the laws within that jurisdiction.
The only loophole I believe would be to hope that the statue of limitations passes; which varies by country. But it's years usually.
It will be interesting. Seals with Clubs will set the stage.
The only big problem I forsee, is that up until recently online gambling has really only exisited in small form; difficult to deposit into; credit cards wont approve, etc. Now with BTC; its big money; tax free (in the players eyes).
I dont think there is a country on earth that doesnt have VERY strict gaming laws and regulations. You must operate with a license. Even in countries like Mexico. Very very strict.
Why? The governments want their cut. If they don't get it. And they view you as deep pockets. They will do whatever they can to collect.