US Company Investigated for Duping Would-Be I-Gaming Affiliates

Authorities in Colorado and Arizona are investigating a company called Venture Concepts for allegedly selling Internet gambling sites to clients who were to operate them from their homes.

Denver-based television network CBS4 ran an investigative report Monday night about Venture Concepts, featuring an interview with a woman from Phoenix who came in contact with the company when she replied to an advertisement for work-at-home opportunities. The woman, Mary Moreno, says the opportunity offered by the Denver-based company was to buy an Internet gambling site-complete with casino, poker room and sports book--which she could purchase for $999 and then operate from her home. She said she was told she could make up to $25,000 in three months.

Venture Concepts' Web site states: "It's really very simple! Venture Concepts will set you up with your very own online casino within 48 hours of receiving your contract. Then you will receive 20% of the profits, on a monthly basis, that are generated through your website. It's that easy!"

Moreno accepted the offer, but soon found that nobody ever visited her site. She says she then learned that Venture Concepts wanted an additional $7,500 from her to advertise her site and another $1,500 to provide a better listing of the site on the Internet.

CBS4 learned that Venture Concepts also kept an office in Phoenix and sent reports to investigate, but the building was empty. The dumpster was full, however, and in it the reporters found documents relating to dozens of other Web sites like Moreno's. The dumpster also contained written complaints and requests for refunds. CBS4 says the company's clients were from all over the United States.

Aside from the business model's potential violations of fraud laws, the operation of unlicensed gambling sites would be a breach of state and federal laws as well. Moreno's site accepted no wagers during its operation; whether any of the dozens of other sites supplied by Venture Concepts ever received a wager is not known. The company, which is said to be headed by a man named David Howe, doesn't appear to have legitimate businesses in the online gambling industry.

CBS4's broadcast briefly displayed a screenshot of Moreno's Web site, which was a rather generic text-based site with a few lackluster graphics.

Venture Concepts is under investigation by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and the Arizona Department of Gaming. No charges have been filed. Neither agency was willing to comment on the case to IGN.