FYI: The Internet Moves Packets Faster Than Trains Move You

from the so-you-know dept

While internet betting remains under attack in the US, it’s perfect legal in much of the rest of the world. Apparently, an anonymous Frenchman didn’t realize that. Desperate to place a 10,000 euro bet on Brazil winning the World Cup, he took a roundtrip from Paris to London just to place the bet with a British bookmaker. Apparently, he eagerly awaited the betting office to open before placing his bet and running to catch his train back. He was in such a rush to get back that he forgot to take his betting slip, leaving a manager to chase after him. Of course, these days we have these great communications networks called “the telephone” and “the internet” that would have made the virtual trip a lot faster than the physical one. As a spokesperson from the bookmaker said: “We didn’t have the heart to tell him that he could have placed the bet on either the telephone or on the Internet.” Of course, internet gambling in France is more highly regulated, so perhaps the guy felt he needed to leave French soil to make the bet with this particular bookmaker. Still, seems like an awful lot of effort.


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Comments on “FYI: The Internet Moves Packets Faster Than Trains Move You”

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8 Comments
Tyshaun says:

the qeustion is....

Does France have any laws like US lawmakers are trying to enact that places the burden on the gamblers? In other words, while he may have been able to call in a bet logistically, would French law have considered that illegal is he called on French soil?

I know a friend who loves online gambling and has gotten to the point where he takes his boat out into international waters and uses a satellite modem to go to gambling sites (Sounds like a lot of work but he lives on a houseboat in Miami so not as difficult as you think). While he loves the gambling he hates the idea he may one day get pinched by a fed for doing it on US soil.

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