Police set up bogus Internet gambling site for NCAA title game

Monday, April 3, 2000 | 10:50 a.m.

DETROIT -- A bogus Internet site will monitor illegal betting on tonight's college basketball championship game between Michigan State and Florida, Wayne County Sheriff Robert Ficano says.

The Internet Crimes Task Force will watch especially closely for large sums of money wagered by college and other students in Michigan, Ficano said.

Offenders may be warned or charged, and parents of college students caught betting on-line may be notified. "We're not going after the bowling-league guy on Monday night," Ficano told the Detroit Free Press.

Michigan is among the states that have outlawed Internet gambling. Violators can face up to two years in prison and a $2,000 fine. But more than 14 million people wager on the more than 700 on-line gambling sites based in other states and 46 other countries, according to gaming industry analysts.

The task force used a bogus website to monitor illegal gambling on the Super Bowl in January, but no Michigan gamblers were caught. Those who were identified were not prosecuted because they were from outside the state.

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