Posted by webmut on March 26, 2004 at 16:07:17:
Thousands of small-time Web site operators hoping to cash in on an online casino-s banner advertising scheme have found themselves deprived of payment and accused of cheating.The casino, Aattached to the program are stringent rules, which the casino says users are violating in droves.As a result, it has withheld payments and revoked the right to participate from thousands of users. Those users--who by and large claim to have followed the rules--have taken to Internet newsgroups and Web sites to complain and vent their accusations that the entity has taken them for a ride. Online casinos are expected to take off, according to a report issued last month by analyst firm Datamonitor. Revenues in 1998 are expected to reach $535 million, rising to $955 million in 1999 and $2.3 billion by 2000, the study said. But Net gambling is not without legal sticking points: A pending bill, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act, seeks to update the federal Wire Act to outlaw accepting and placing cash bets on the Net, with a few exceptions. Some states, such as Minnesota and Missouri, have filed charges against the owners of on line casinos, which do business with residents via the Net.