Costa Rica Online
Gambling Laws Cause Arrests in United States
Written by Michael F., Gamblingzion.com
Online gambling in Costa Rica is completely
legal. It is so legal, in fact, that the
country is home to more than 200 internet
gambling organizations. These groups run
websites that are licensed and hosted out of
Costa Rica, but the sites target players all
around the globe.
Unlike some other of the world’s internet gambling hotspots however, Costa
Rica’s online gambling scene is quite
lacking in government oversight. Licenses
are quite easy to obtain, and regulation is
basically non-existent.
This has led many players around the world
to be wary of sites licensed and hosted out
of the country. Like in all situations,
there is no reason to generalize on this
level; instead, sites need to be evaluated
on an individual basis.
More importantly, Costa Rican gambling laws
are beginning to tighten, and talks of
stricter regulation have been in the works
for a while. It will still take the country
a while to overcome their reputation for
hosting problematic gambling sites.
A case in point is a recent debacle in the
US state of Kansas. Over the last few
months, several arrests have been made in
connection with an underground sports
betting operation. So far, six men have
pleaded guilty to the US District court.
The accused, many of whom have known mob
connections, ran an intermediary service
taking bets from US players and processing
them through an online sportsbook in Costa
Rica. While most of the guilt falls onto the
men who tried to profit from unlicensed
bookmaking in the US, the lack of oversight
in Costa Rica is also to blame.
The internet gambling websites licensed and
hosted out of Costa Rica are not allowed to
take bets from local players. Instead, Costa
Ricans must gamble at foreign-hosted sites.
The local government does little to prevent
players from gambling at offshore internet
casinos, poker rooms, and other sites.
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