News Release

ATTORNEY GENERAL MIKE MCGRATH
STATE OF MONTANA

FOR RELEASE: December 5, 2003

CONTACT: Gene Huntington, Gambling Control Division Administrator, 444-1971

Department of Justice Warns that Internet Gambling Illegal in Montana

HELENA — An ad that appeared in the classified section of a daily Montana newspaper Friday encouraging people to invest in an on-line gambling casino could create some problems, Gambling Control Division administrator Gene Huntington said.

Huntington warned anyone considering such a business that Internet gambling is illegal in Montana and that anyone conducting such a business here could face criminal prosecution.

The ad offered: "OWN YOUR OWN CASINO." For $499, a company in Phoenix, Arizona, would set up a website for people responding to the ad. The customer would then solicit others to visit the site to make online sports wagers, or to gamble on on-line activities such as roulette, craps or slot machines, all of which are illegal in Montana, Huntington explained.

Huntington said that the Gambling Control Division is interested in hearing from anyone who has already invested money to set up such a website, believing it to be legal. Anyone who has invested in such an Internet "casino" or any other Internet gambling scheme is urged to contact the Montana Department of Justice, Gambling Investigation Bureau, in Helena at 406-444-1971.

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