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Posted: Saturday, October 22nd, 2005 6:45 PM HST

Hawaii gamblers avoid law by wagering online

By Associated Press

HONOLULU (AP) _ Thousands of miles from the nearest casino, in a state where gambling is illegal, people in Hawaii are wagering thousands of dollars in poker tournaments and other games -- without getting arrested. And they are doing it from the comfort of their homes, where many have high-speed access to the world's largest casino: the World Wide Web. Money flowing in and out of thousands of gambling sites on the Internet is expected to reach 15 (b) billion dollars this year. Hawaii is one of six states that outlaw online gambling but do little to enforce the law. The others are Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Oregon and South Dakota. While gambling arrests in the islands are up -- with 205 arrests so far this year primarily for secret casinos and cockfighting -- Honolulu police have yet to charge anyone for betting online at Internet casinos. The crime is is a misdemeanor in Hawaii. California law professor Nelson Rose tracks online gambling laws. He says only one person has ever been charged in the U-S for online gambling. Rose says that because Internet gambling is viewed as ``a victimless crime,'' federal and state police have little incentive to raid people's homes. (Copyright 2005 by the Associated Press. All rights reserved.)