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Grandmother Engaged In Illegal Gambling

To those of us immersed everyday in the world of online casino gambling, the provisions of the UIGEA are old news. To a grandmother of five who was arrested in Virginia last week for illegal slot game gambling, however, it was a mystery. Judy Venable was nabbed by the authorities playing the online slots at an internet café, and booked for taking part in illegal gambling on a Class III misdemeanor charge. Venable, a retiree who claims to have only recently learnt how to use a computer, swears that she had no idea that online gambling was illegal.

Venable and several other Virginians were rounded up at Internet cafes in the city of Danville and taken to jail, where a family member posted her bail. Venable was “deeply embarrassed” by her arrest, and says that she only gambled on the online slots to relieve some stress and have a good time. She says that she does believe gambling is philosophically wrong, but thought it was legal – like playing the lottery and drinking alcohol. If Venable is convicted, she will have to pay a fine. The owners of the internet cafes were not nearly as lucky – they have been shut down.

The grandmother admits that it was not her first time playing the online slots at the location where she was apprehended. She told police that she asked the owner of the internet café if internet gambling was legal, and he said that it was. Danville’s claim to fame is being known as America’s “city of churches,” with more houses of God per capita than any other city in the United States.

Back to February 2009 Archive.