Optimal Group, Inc Forfeits $19.2 Million Over Online Gambling Payments

Gambling News - November 1st, 2009 - Written by Glen

The United States District Attorney for the Southern District of New York has announced that they have reached a non-prosecution agreement, or an NPA, with Optimal Group, Inc, requiring the forfeiture of $19.2 million dollars. From 2004 to 2006, Optimal had been operating an electronic wallet, Firepay, which had been used to process billions of dollars related to online gambling operations.

Online gambling payment processing is illegal under several United States laws, including the Wire Act, the Illegal Gambling Business Act, and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, the last of which has not yet been fully implemented. Debit payments, credit payments, and electronic check payments had been processed by Optimal group, sending billions of dollars to overseas online gambling operators.

Optimal had continued to process the payments until October of 2006, at which time the UIGEA had been signed into law. Prior to this, 80% of their over $3 billion dollars of payment processing had been from gamblers in the United States.

As part of the NPA, Optimal had acknowledged that many of these online gambling merchants are violating federal law by providing gambling in the United States. Though the processors and merchants themselves are liable for criminal activity, players remain completely free from legal ramifications. Legislation is currently in the works to solve this problem permanently, though the process has been moving slowly, despite the attention of over sixty Representatives. When this law is overturned Casino Deposit Methods will be processed even easier.

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