Baseball
players warned about addiction at online casinos
According to a
report on online casinos and gambling out of New York, Major
league baseball apparently was concerned enough about reports of
Paul Lo Duca's possible involvement with online casinos and
bookmakers, according to sources, that it sent its security
force through spring training this year with a beefed-up
message: Be careful whom you gamble with.
According to sources, MLB security told players to be wary of
online casinos in particular, and to avoid getting into
situations where bookies or online casinos might become
involved.
MLB security chief Kevin Hallinan generally tours spring
training camps with warnings about the dangers of online casinos
and gambling and other potential vices, but this year's briefing
included significantly more focus on the dangers of online
casinos than in the past. Online casinos are now very popular in
the US, and there are thousands of online casinos operating
worldwide.
"The point of the whole thing was to make it clear that this
isn't something that's good to be doing," one player told the
New York Daily News on condition of anonymity.
The Daily News reported last week that at least twice in the
past 14 months, illegal bookmakers took steps to get Lo Duca to
pay gambling debts, including making a call to the Florida
Marlins, the team Lo Duca then was playing for, and to
associates. According to sources, the Marlins immediately
reported the call to MLB security.
MLB spokesman Rich Levin said Saturday he does not believe the
spring training message "had anything to do with any cases" and
declined comment on Lo Duca's situation.
After The News reported allegations of gambling debts at online
casinos following reports last week of adultery charges in Lo
Duca's divorce papers, Lo Duca said that he bets only on horse
racing and has a legal casinos betting account,
The Mets issued a statement Saturday saying they have "talked to
Major League Baseball and they have expressed no concern of any
violation of any Major League Baseball rule regarding Paul Lo
Duca. . . . We support him through this difficult period in his
life."
MLB rules prohibit players only from betting on baseball (not
online casinos) and include a one-year suspension for betting on
games in general and a lifetime ban if a player bets on his own
team.
The New York Times reported Saturday that Mets GM Omar Minaya
had asked Lo Duca whether he gambled on horses.
According to the player who heard the briefing, MLB's spring
training presentation stressed that using any online casinos -
and there are many - is illegal, and that there are two
problematic issues: There is no recourse if the online casinos
site folds or simply decides not to pay out. And more
significantly, because online casinos do not operate under the
same regulations as legitimate American casinos, gamblers might
end up being subjected to the tactics of strong-arm, shady types
at the online casinos coming to collect.
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