The time for awareness has passed. What follows are the concrete steps that the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom must take immediately to dismantle international illegal online gambling syndicates and the criminal networks they sustain.
Before any large-scale enforcement campaign, The Poker Police recommends the U.S. government establish a small, five-person federal unit — the Illegal Online Gambling Regulation Board (IOGRB) — with one repeating function: search Google and other major search engines daily for terms like "online casinos that accept players from the USA."
The logic is simple: these illegal offshore operators must advertise to get American players. Without publicly marketing that they accept U.S. deposits, no American player finds them. That advertisement is simultaneously their revenue strategy and their legal confession. Every site openly offering gambling to U.S. players without a state license is in violation of federal law on its face.
Once identified, U.S. courts issue orders to domestic ISPs — Comcast, AT&T, Verizon — to block those sites' IP addresses. Given the self-evident nature of the violations (operators' own ads constitute the evidence), these are expected to be rapid, near-automatic court approvals.
60–70
Sites blocked in month one
Over 50% of all offshore illegal casinos targeting the USA
95%+
Blocked within months
Then routine daily maintenance keeps new entrants blocked
$53.9B
Saved annually
Redirected to the American economy — $21B+ in federal tax revenue
Once the criminal industry understands the U.S. market is closed to them, the illegal offshore casino ecosystem collapses. $53.9 billion stops leaving America. If redirected to licensed domestic casinos, the federal government receives an estimated $21 billion in annual tax revenue — plus additional economic benefits from hospitality, employment, and domestic spending. At a time of fiscal imbalance, this is one of the most high-return, low-cost enforcement actions available to the U.S. government.
The front line of global crime is in Costa Rica, not at the U.S. border. The largest cartel money laundering infrastructure, the biggest illegal gambling empires, and key terrorist financing networks all operate with impunity from Costa Rica. This is not a distant problem — it is a direct economic and security threat to the United States, the EU, and the UK.
The single fastest and most cost-effective action available is compelling U.S. internet service providers — Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon — to block the IP addresses and domains of every illegal offshore gambling site identified by law enforcement. U.S. courts can issue these orders, and the evidence is already in hand: these operators' own public advertisements that they accept U.S. players. These are expected to be near-automatic judicial approvals. Within the first month alone, 60 to 70 sites can be blocked — over 50% of all offshore illegal online casinos targeting America. Within months, 95%+ can be shuttered from the American market entirely.
Following domain blocking, the second priority is criminal prosecution. The largest criminal in this industry is Phil Nagy, the head of the international criminal organization known as The Winning Poker Network, which is the corporation behind America's Card Room and its other illegal gambling websites. His arrest and extradition to the United States would be the most consequential single action law enforcement could take against this industry. Federal grand jury proceedings should be initiated against all named operators in this report. When one of the biggest names falls, the rest will take notice.
The forefront of cartel activity, terrorist financing, and international organized crime is not at the U.S.-Mexico border — it is in Costa Rica. The United States must make it unambiguously clear to the Costa Rican government: continued tolerance of illegal gambling syndicates, money laundering operations, and organizations that finance terrorism will result in the complete suspension of U.S. foreign aid. This is not a negotiating position — it is the minimum standard of accountability the United States should demand from any nation receiving American taxpayer dollars.
The USA, the EU, and the UK have spent the last two decades laser-focused on terrorism — yet the USA conducts large sting operations on pizza parlors in New York for running illegal gambling operations. Small-time illegal gambling gets prosecuted. If these illegal online gambling syndicates had their head office at a location in New York or London it would be raided and there would be severe prosecutions. Billion-dollar international illegal gambling syndicates operating out of Costa Rica go untouched for decades. This double standard is indefensible. If law enforcement has the resources and the will to raid a restaurant for running a poker game, it has the resources and the will to extradite the CEO of a multi-billion dollar illegal gambling empire.
Beyond individual arrests, the United States, EU, and UK must adopt a firm, long-term diplomatic stance against Costa Rica as long as it continues to serve as a sanctuary for organizations that break the laws of democratic nations and support terrorism worldwide. This means sanctions, aid suspension, trade pressure, and public condemnation — not quiet diplomacy. Costa Rica has benefited from looking the other way for long enough, with millions a year in cash bribery from these illegal online gambling syndicates and other criminal organizations to top level Costa Rican government officials. The level and length of this corruption is literally obscene. This era must end.
If these organizations had their offices in New York, London, or Paris — they would have been raided and shut down decades ago. They operate from Costa Rica for one reason: to stay out of handcuffs. The USA must lead this fight, the EU and UK must join it, and Costa Rica must be made to understand that harboring international criminal enterprises is no longer a consequence-free decision.