Crime is crime, and when criminals are caught, they are charged with everything the authorities have on them to date. It’s no surprise to find multiple charges attached to someone when they are arraigned, but it might be of interest to note that the majority of organized crime members are indicted for a gambling charge to accompany the other accusations. It seems now that the correlation may run deeper than simple coincidence.

The advantage of running illegal gambling for organized crime communities is the lack of taxes paid on underground operations. Until the United States legalizes and regulates online casinos and internet gambling, any sites continually operating under the radar do so with full profit; the income is never registered legally and no taxes are paid on those funds.

In recent events, a District Attorney from Queens, New York revealed that there is evidence of a direct link between illegal online gambling companies and funding for crime enterprises under the Gambino family. Several websites have allegedly been identified in conjunction with toll free phone numbers, resulting in illegal online gambling activity. According to the District Attorney, the operation brought in over $10 million to the Gambino family in tax free profits.

This stands as more ammunition for those parties pushing for internet casinos’ legalization and regulation. According to the argument, banning online gambling only prevents proper restriction and supervision of sites and the management of their profits. Regulations, they say, that would prevent the profits from being distributed to known organized crime establishments.

Richard Brown, a District Attorney for Queens, New York, was quoted in support of the legalization: “Illegal gambling has always been the bread and butter moneymaker for organized crime because of the huge profits that it generates, which can be used to fund other more insidious forms of criminal activity, such as … racketeering, drug trafficking, prostitution, and loan sharking.”