Gambling, What did they do wrong? 10 pts best answer!?

Question

Can you explain what these people were busted for? I don't get it!

http://www.cbs6albany.com/onset?id=1254279&template=article.html

Answer 1

They were betting on basketball games.

You need a license for any sort of organised gambling - so that the government can charge you tax. They didn't have a license, so what they were doing was illegal.

Answer 2

There are laws for gambling. The federal government has it regulated so that the proceeds are taxed. You can't just make a huge bet like that. It's a commonly broken law... kinda like following the speed limit.... if the law is 55mph max.. then going 56 is breaking the law. Different states have different laws. Some places you can't even have church bingo or raffles. It all depends on where you live.

Answer 3

Organized sports gambling is illegal in every state except Nevada.  

While you may be familiar with march madness pools or football pools in your office they are still illegal. Although hardly ever prosecuted because of the magnitude of the bets.  It sounds like this incident was run on a much larger scale than your typical office pool and that runs the risk of racketerring charges as well.

Answer 4

NCAA polls and other forms of gambling are illegal in most states and most places. Even most office pools are illegal. They sound like they were advertising this venture which is really asking for trouble. They could allow people to have their entry's DRAWN from a hat, but once you ad an eliminate of skill you are even in more trouble. That is the law like it or not.