Telegraph.co.uk - Facebook Bingo/Gambling Comment

Article URL: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/9463889/Facebook-is-gambling-with-its-members-trust.html
- short URL: http://v.gd/wv3aMF
Comment URL (2nd attempt at posting): http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/9463889/Facebook-is-gambling-with-its-members-trust.html#comment-614698887
Screenshot, with comment URL showing at the bottom: http://twitpic.com/aheclv
- so it seems the Telegraph's Disqus commenting system is accepting the comment

Comment is located between the two horizontal lines:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Though bingo on this side of the pond could be considered a form of national past-time[1], in the USA things aren't so clear-cut.  Both Hawaii and Utah outlaw all forms of gambling, and Tennessee outlaws most, including "Charitable" gambling[2].  It's worth considering just the USA, as at 156m users they are the largest user-group by country[3].

Trying to establish whether American users playing bingo through Facebook run the risk of prosecution doesn't seem too straightforward either.  In an online discussion on the legality of bingo offers in the US [4] comes this comment[5]:

        The US laws seem to target financial institutions and possibly ISPs - it does not directly challenge online gambling sites operated outside their jurisdiction, nor are their any criminal implications for American playerss, according to press releases from various bingo operators

and advice from a UK-based bingo website[6] notes that bingo is " the most popular of the charitable gambling category" (I have no idea about this definition of 'charitable') and that:

        ...online bingo is legal for US citizens to play in most states. They may make bets, make deposits into their online account and withdraw. However, they must use a funding source other than a bank or financial institution. There are some exceptions when it comes to online bingo being legal in the United States. Some states including New Jersey, New York, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, South Dakota, Louisiana, Nevada, Wisconsin, Oregon and Washington have specific laws that address online gambling. Citizens who reside in those states may not participate in online gambling and online bingo is illegal in the United States in those instances.

It seems that Facebook would have to use information from their social graph about the location of their users (and presume that information is correct) to determine whether their users could play bingo through the Facebook site.  But it runs risks of, say, a user from one state where gambling is legal trying to play bingo when visiting another state where gambling isn't legal.  This will probably end-up in the US court system: eyes-down and get ready for the big bingo payout... lawyers fees.

[1] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2121964.stm - from 2002, "Around 3m people play bingo in the UK"
vs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_football_stadiums_by_capacity and 2.27m capacity of English football stadiums
calculations here: http://cjjm.eu/English%20Football%20Stadiums.xlsx
and on Google Docs: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AnK6gbA54RE_dC1tbmF1bmthTEJxY1RDaUVvY0Z4Nnc
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambling_in_the_United_States#Legal_issues
[3] http://www.socialbakers.com/facebook-statistics/
[4] http://www.abestweb.com/forums/business-legal-issues-277/bingo-offers-legal-us-117784.html
[5] http://www.abestweb.com/forums/954293-post3.html
[6] http://www.lovetoplaybingo.co.uk/bingo-for-newbies/articles/182-is-online-bingo-legal-in-the-united-states

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PasteBin title: Telegraph.co.uk - Facebook Bingo/Gambling Comment