Sportsbook.com is a privately held
online gaming firm, featuring
sports betting
Sports betting is the activity of predicting sports results and placing a wager on the outcome. The frequency of sports bet upon varies by culture, with the vast majority of bets being placed on association football, American football, basket ...
,
online poker
Online poker is the game of poker played over the Internet. It has been partly responsible for a huge increase in the number of poker players worldwide. Christiansen Capital Advisors stated online poker revenues grew from $82.7 million in 2001 t ...
,
casino games and horse race betting that caters to the U.S. market.
Prior to the passage of the
Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) is United States legislation regulating online gambling. It was added as Title VIII to the SAFE Port Act (found at ) which otherwise regulated port security. The UIGEA prohibits gam ...
, Sportsbook.com was owned by
Sportingbet
Sportingbet is a British online gambling operator, owned by GVC Holdings plc. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap Index prior to its acquisition by GVC.
History
The company was found ...
, whose sports betting network, also including AllStar.com and Hollywood Sportsbook, was collectively named the "Best U.S. Sportsbook" in 2005 and 2006 by industry magazine
eGaming Review. After passage of the
Safe Port Act
The Security and Accountability For Every Port Act of 2006 (or SAFE Port Act, ) was an Act of Congress in the United States covering port security and to which an online gambling measure was added at the last moment. The House and Senate passed ...
, Sportingbet sold all its U.S.-facing
sportsbook
In the United States, a sportsbook or a race and sports book (sometimes abbreviated as book) is a place where a gambler can wager on various sports competitions, including golf, football, basketball, baseball, ice hockey, soccer, horse racing, ...
s to a privately owned company, Jazette Enterprises Limited, for the sum of $1.
Sportsbook.com's advertising included an "Everybody Bets" campaign featuring
Brooke Burke
Brooke Lisa Burke (born September 8, 1971) is an American television personality, fitness personality, author, actress, and businesswoman. She is known for hosting the E! Network travel show ''Wild On!'' (1999–2002), CBS' ''Rock Star'' (20 ...
and
Nikki Cox in 2005 and 2006, respectively.
Legal difficulties
On October 16, 2001, the
New Jersey Attorney General
The attorney general of New Jersey is a member of the executive cabinet of the state and oversees the Department of Law and Public Safety. The office is appointed by the governor of New Jersey, confirmed by the New Jersey Senate, and term limite ...
initiated
civil actions
-
A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...
against several online gambling web sites, including Sportsbook.com.
The Director of Gaming Enforcement was quoted as saying "The citizens of New Jersey need to be aware that these sports betting operations are not regulated and they are illegal. Regardless of their occasional claims of 'licensing' and 'legality,' they answer to no one and are therefore not held to the same scrutiny as our Atlantic City casinos."
[ The case never went to court.
]
Notes
{{reflist
External links
Official site
Online gambling companies of Antigua