Arizona Among 11 States That Ban BringIt.com and Other Video Game Betting Sites

Arizona lawmakers are considering "racinos" -- maybe they should figure out a way to tax a new video-game-betting Web site that's already legal in 39 states. The Associated Press reports that BringIt.com, founded by 30-year-old Woody Levin, is preparing to end its months-long "beta" phase sometime in the next few...

By Ray Stern

July 30, 2009

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Arizona lawmakers are considering "racinos" -- maybe they should figure out a way to tax a new video-game-betting Web site that's already legal in 39 states.

The Associated Press reports that BringIt.com, founded by 30-year-old Woody Levin, is preparing to end its months-long "beta" phase sometime in the next few days. The public has already been allowed to sign up on the beta site since November and wager fellow players of XBox, Wii or other game systems. Gamers can bet up up to $100,000, says another media report.

Who knows? Maybe Levin and BringIt will someday steer as much money toward Arizona politicians as the racing industry does, and then Arizona video nuts can clean out each other's bank accounts -- with the state taking its cut, natch.

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Ray Stern is the former news editor of Phoenix New Times. He worked as a newspaper reporter in Arizona for more than two decades. He's won numerous awards for his reporting, including the Arizona Press Club's Don Bolles Award for Investigative Journalism.