TORONTO -- As reported by the New York Times: ``Toronto's tourism Web site promises warm spring weather and hundreds of great restaurants. But for a group of Internet gambling executives gathering today in Toronto, the absence of American law enforcement authorities may also be a big draw.
``Operators of overseas online casinos -- an industry with millions of American customers -- are under threat of prosecution because much of what they do is illegal in the United States. According to legal experts and the organizers of the conference, called the Global Interactive Gaming Summit and Expo, the operators could face arrest if they entered the United States.
```They're exiles,' I. Nelson Rose, a professor at Whittier Law School in California, said of Americans who have moved overseas to run Internet gambling sites. Although there may not be warrants for their arrest, Rose said, "they can't be sure." The Justice Department did not respond to questions about the legal status of operators of overseas online casinos.
``That the conference is being held outside the United States -- even though nearly half of all online bets are placed by people in the United States -- shows the legal tangle the industry faces.
``The federal government contends that under the Wire Wager Act it is illegal to offer sports wagering over the Internet. And the Interactive Gaming Council, a trade association for online casinos, has in the past several months asked five online sports betting sites to resign their memberships.
``...The conference organizers said they would discuss the growing number of roadblocks to their business..."