The New York Times recently published an article about online casinos and internet gambling, and how many large U.S. based company's are investing in an industry the U.S. government says is illegal to participate in one way or the other.  Several of the biggest and most powerful company's on Wall Street, such as Merrill Lynch and Fidelity, are acquiring millions in shares of the most successful online casino sites who are beginning to steadily flotate on the London Stock Exchange.

Businesses like Party Gaming have located themselves offshore in countries such as Antigua and Barbuda, Costa Rica and Gibraltar, where online casinos are given legal protection to operate.  Likewise, there are now many UK based company's like Ladbrokes, who are on the LSO and are protected under the recently enacted UK Gambling Bill.  And now that more and more American investors are buying stock in these businesses, the question has arisen whether or not these investors are committing a criminal act by financially supporting an industry that is deemed illegal in the U.S.

As for the U.S. policy on internet betting, it is pretty clear on its stance.  However, whether its simply due to a lack of internet enforcement or an overbearing desire to capitalize on the highly lucrative online casino industry, the bottom line is that many large company's (not to mention the hundreds of thousands of Americans who participate in online gambling) are ignoring the federal policy.  In what some see as a widespread problem that will be cracked down sooner or later, the other half is seeing it as a sign that online gambling will soon be regulated and that those participating in it now will not be held criminally liable.