Missouri – Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is one of 49 other state and territorial attorneys general who are asking the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to quickly shut down unlawful offshore online gambling businesses. They argue this is a multibillion-dollar industry that is hurting American communities.
The coalition sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi arguing that these foreign-run platforms are stealing billions from the U.S. economy, taking advantage of vulnerable consumers, and encouraging crime across borders. Attorney General Bailey said that the time to act is now and urged the DOJ to employ all of its lawful powers to shut down these businesses.
“Illegal offshore gambling platforms are siphoning billions of dollars away from American communities, exploiting vulnerable consumers, and fueling transnational crime,” said Attorney General Bailey.
“These foreign-based operations function entirely outside the bounds of the law, no licensing, no consumer protections, no age verification, and no tax compliance. That ends now. I’m calling on the DOJ to use every tool at its disposal to shut them down.”
The attorneys general pointed out that these websites that don’t have any rules are a direct threat to both people and state economies. They don’t have to follow U.S. regulations or get licenses because they do business outside of the U.S. Children can get to these sites without having their ages checked, which could lead to them being exposed to potentially exploitative gaming practices.
The effect on the economy is huge. States lose more than $4 billion in tax income every year because the illegal online gambling sector is worth more than $400 billion a year. This loss hurts public services and makes it harder for legitimate, state-regulated gaming enterprises to compete. Also, officials have connected these platforms to severe crimes like money laundering, human trafficking, and organized crime groups.
The coalition is pushing the DOJ to take strong government action to solve the problem. They advise the agency to go after injunctive relief and take domain names under the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. They further suggest using federal power under 18 U.S.C. § 1955(d) to take assets, servers, and money made from these criminal activities. The letter also asks for cooperation with banks and payment processors to stop illegal transactions and mess up the financial structures that keep these businesses going.
The attorneys general say that the DOJ has done comparable things well in the past. The “Black Friday” crackdown on illegal gambling sites in 2011 and the seizure of domains linked to a big Russian cybercrime ring in 2024 are two examples. They think that using the same aggressive strategy for gambling overseas could lead to the same results.
“Missourians deserve better than a system that allows bad actors to profit off of addiction, lawlessness, and fraud,” concluded Attorney General Bailey. “My Office stands ready to partner with federal authorities to shut down these offshore gambling rings, protect consumers, and restore the rule of law.”
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