Cyber Bobbies On The Web Beat

London, England -- The BBC reports that a special police unit is being formed in the United Kingdom to target online gambling.

The move by the Police comes as the Emerging Crime Conference in London on March 1 warned that organized criminals are using the Net to set up illegal virtually reality casinos (Geeks with Guns?).

Lewis Endler, a senior lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University, is quoted as saying that there are signs that criminal organizations (Does he mean Microsoft?) are cashing in on the virtual casino success. Endler says there is now evidence that criminals are operating illegal gambling sites that allow them to launder any proceeds.

It seems that there is some degree of acceptance of the legality of some sites in the Caribbean. The BBC report says, "Some are perfectly legal and operate from the Caribbean, but it is not possible as the user to determine which sites are 'safe'."

The conference fostered concerns that there was no guarantee that games were fair and that there may be dangers of credit card fraud.