Citizenry Duty, Health and Wellness are reduced to Games, Susceptibility, Willful Mindlessness
A nation of people distracted by the latest app or gadget, hoodwinked by silo eruptions, manipulated by multimillionaires and wannabes
A nation of people reaching for shiny objects, descended into nothingness—tent-city subsistence absent values, meaning, substance, community standards
Citizenry Duty takes back seat to Get Rich Quick Scam
What's wrong with ETHICS?
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s ban on U.S.-based platforms offering elections in their betting scenarios was said to be “essentially based on ethics” — a prohibition seeking “to prevent early projections from betting trends from influencing real voter decisions at the polls.”
But once US courts lifted US regulations that had long prohibited US forecasting sites from including national elections in their betting schemes, the flood gates were flung open for (shysters and suckers) betting operations within and outside the United States. (Inc Newsletter Bruce Crumley November 6, 2024, https://www.inc.com/bruce-crumley/how-trumps-victory-grants-election-betting-platforms-a-promising-future/91000120)
Betting on Elections Shamelessly Explained, Praised by Investopedia
- Election betting is the act of wagering on the outcome of a particular political contest.
- Ahead of the 2024 U.S. presidential election… (two brokers named) began offering election betting
- Election bets are placed via event ‘contracts’—derivatives that allow speculation on a binary outcome of an event.
The article enthused that court action “changed all that in October 2024” opening the gates to many avenues for “U.S. clients … to securely and legally participate in the election action.” https://www.investopedia.com/how-to-bet-on-the-2024-presidential-election-8737733
Leaving Legitimate Law Enforcement, Honest Offices of Law
Leaving Legitimate Law Enforcement, Honest Offices of Law
Playing catch-up on behalf of the public, for the public good.
2022 January: Release Number 8478-22: CFTC Orders Event-Based Binary Options Markets Operator to Pay $1.4 Million Penalty January 03, 2022— Washington, D.C. —
“The Commodity Futures Trading Commission … entered an order filing and simultaneously settling charges against Delaware-registered Blockratize, Inc. d/b/a Polymarket, based in New York City, for offering off-exchange event-based binary options contracts and failure to obtain designation as a designated contract market (DCM) or registration as a swap execution facility (SEF).”
VPN or “Virtual private network” is defined as “network architecture for virtually extending a private network (i.e. any computer network which is not the public Internet) across one or multiple other networks which are either untrusted [not trusted (?)] (as they are not controlled by the entity aiming to implement the VPN) or need to be isolated (thus making the lower network invisible or not directly usable).” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_private_network
“VPNs
In 2022, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) “issued several customer advisory protection warnings, including (to) Avoid Unregistered Binary Options Trading Platforms and Beware of Off-Exchange Binary Options Trades, which advise customers that there are registered binary options exchanges in the U.S.”
“The Commodity Futures Trading Commission … entered an order filing and simultaneously settling charges against Delaware-registered Blockratize, Inc. d/b/a Polymarket, based in New York City, for offering off-exchange event-based binary options contracts and failure to obtain designation as a designated contract market (DCM) or registration as a swap execution facility (SEF).”
“The order finds that, beginning in approximately June 2020, Polymarket had been operating an illegal unregistered or non-designated facility for event-based binary options online trading contracts, known as ‘event markets.’According to the order, through its website, Polymarket offered the public the opportunity to ‘BET on your beliefs’ by buying and selling binary options contracts related to an event taking place in the future that are susceptible to a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ resolution, such as:
- ‘Will $ETH (Ethereum) be above $2,500 on July 22?’
- ‘WILL THE 7-DAY AVERAGE COVID-19 CASE COUNT IN THE U.S. BE LESS THAN 15,000 FOR THE DAY OF JULY 22’ (Caps emphasis added)
- ‘WILL TRUMP WIN THE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION?’. (Caps emphasis added)
The order further finds that Polymarket has offered more than 900 separate event markets since its inception, while deploying smart contracts hosted on a blockchain to operate the markets. Polymarket creates, defines, hosts, and resolves the trading and execution of contracts for the event-based binary option markets offered on its website.” -CFTC- https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/8478-22
2022 September US Department of Justice “Report of the Attorney General Pursuant to Section 5(b)(iii) of Executive Order 14067: The Role of Law Enforcement in Detecting, Investigating, And Prosecuting Criminal Activity Related to Digital Assets” September 6, 2022, https://www.justice.gov/usdoj-media/ag/media/1263706/dl?inline (Excerpt)
2024 August: Charged with “operating an unlawful gambling business, money laundering, and subscribing to a false tax return”: Mathew R. Bowyer, 49, of San Juan Capistrano, “operated this business out of various locations in Los Angeles and Orange counties as well as in Las Vegas (and) … employed agents and sub-agents, including casino hosts, who worked for his illegal gambling business (and) were paid a portion of the losses that bettors incurred and paid.”
“The emerging technologies and markets associated with the rise of digital assets have created new opportunities for criminal actors to harm individual victims, avoid regulation, evade economic sanctions, raise funds for terrorist activities, and launder ill-gotten gains.… The CFTC [Commodity Futures Trading Commission] has also addressed misconduct in DeFi markets.
“For example, a 2022 CFTC order found that BLOCKRATIZE, INC. (D/B/A POLYMARKET) (Caps emphasis added) unlawfully offered off-exchange event-based binary options contracts and failed to obtain designation as a designated contract market or register as a swap execution facility in the derivatives (event contract) markets it operated.”
Bowyer’s “unlawful business used several Costa Rica-based websites and a call center so agents and customers could place and track bets”; and at times, he “operated his illegal business while gambling at a casino (identified in court documents as ‘Casino A’), and sometimes paid his agents commission in Casino A chips.” Department of Justice Press Release August 1, 2024, “San Juan Capistrano Man Agrees to Plead Guilty to Federal Charges for Running Illegal Sports-Betting Business and Cheating on Taxes,” https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/san-juan-capistrano-man-agrees-plead-guilty-federal-charges-running-illegal-sports
Reuters November 14, 2024, Polymarket
Al Jazeera News November 14, 2024, FBI
November 2024
College dropout from Hell’s Kitchen high school Shayne Coplan starter upper of a “prediction market” (Blockratize, Inc. d/b/a Polymarket) “using smart ‘contracts’”— anything is contractible these days from making babies to making war to making bets— “on the Polygon for settling wagers.”
Reuters November 14, 2024, Polymarket
“A source with knowledge of the matter said … Criminal and civil authorities are probing Polymarket … in an investigation that predates the U.S. presidential election, which put the betting platform under scrutiny.”The most recent “notoriety” rises from the betting scheme’s interference with or wagering for or against voting patterns or totals in the 2024 US Presidential Election. Chris Prentice reporting https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-criminal-civil-authorities-probing-polymarket-source-says-2024-11-14/
Al Jazeera News November 14, 2024, FBI
“Authorities in the United States have raided the home of the chief executive of Polymarket…. The Federal Bureau of Investigation executed a search warrant on CEO Shayne Coplan at his Manhattan home ….”Explainer (VPN)
The 2020 startup in 2022 “blocked US users … after reaching a $1.4 million settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for failing to register with the agency, though it is possible to get around the ban by accessing the site using a VPN.”
Al Jazeera News November 14, 2024, US Election 2024 “FBI raids home of Polymarket CEO: CEO Shayne Coplan accuses Biden administration of targeting company over its perceived political associations” https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2024/11/14/fbi-raids-home-of-polymarket-ceo
VPN or “Virtual private network” is defined as “network architecture for virtually extending a private network (i.e. any computer network which is not the public Internet) across one or multiple other networks which are either untrusted [not trusted (?)] (as they are not controlled by the entity aiming to implement the VPN) or need to be isolated (thus making the lower network invisible or not directly usable).” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_private_network
“VPNs
- create an encrypted tunnel for data
- protect online identity by hiding IP addresses, and
- allow users public Wi-Fi hotspots safely
In 2022, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) “issued several customer advisory protection warnings, including (to) Avoid Unregistered Binary Options Trading Platforms and Beware of Off-Exchange Binary Options Trades, which advise customers that there are registered binary options exchanges in the U.S.”
“The CFTC strongly urges the public to verify a company’s registration with the CFTC before committing funds.Explainer
“Registration means the exchange meets specific regulatory requirements for liquidity, safety and customer protection that are enforced by the CFTC or the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission.
“If unregistered, a customer should be wary of providing funds to that entity. A company’s registration status can be found using NFA BASIC.” -CFTC- https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/8478-22
The National Futures Association (NFA) defines itself as an “industry-wide, self-regulatory organization for the U.S. derivatives industry, providing innovative and effective regulatory programs”; and “designated by the CFTC as a registered futures association.” “BASIC is a free tool that NFA Members and investors can use to research the background of derivatives industry professionals”
https://www.nfa.futures.org/
https://www.nfa.futures.org/basicnet/
https://www.nfa.futures.org/about/index.html
https://www.nfa.futures.org/
https://www.nfa.futures.org/basicnet/
https://www.nfa.futures.org/about/index.html
Critical questions posed to the Citizen
Would you take deliberate action against your citizenry interest?
Would you act for or against the public good?Would you choose a flight of wastefulness over the public good?
Is not the noble quest — the proper work of the citizen, the better reach — toward bettering life and society, making policies and politics better for all?
PROLIFIC SOUTHERN-BORN AMERICAN WRITER DR. CAROLYN LADELLE BENNETT focuses on People, Press, Politics USA; Domestic and Foreign Affairs (no copyright claimed in direct quotes and individual image)
Latest book: Are There No Champions? Yes and No
Links: https://www.facebook.com/carolynladelle.bennett
https://insightbeyondtodaysnews.blogspot.com/
(live limited) https://www.bennettsareherenochampions.com/
https://www.xlibris.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/859250-are-there-no-champions-yes-and-no
https://www.xlibris.com
Email: Nolandanisland@hotmail.com or Authorswork@gmail.com
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