Come on, cURL'ing to a foreign server to get a random number and not just reading /dev/urandom is logically identical. It's a hack, just like calling into GPL'ed code over HTTP is a hack to avoid "linking" the GPL'ed code. It doesn't really suddenly turn a site from gambling site into a non-gambling site.
I mean, I have mad respect for the hustle with the former MP etc. I agree with what you say in that you did not actually break the law - because you found a loophole (made a loophole? hustled it? again, I'm impressed). You ran a gambling site from IoM though :-)
What's so funny is - I was in a peer group of early btc founders who were starting random Bitcoin hustles and didn't care at all about laws. No one at that time had even approached the IoM about whether BTC was currency - nor would they have, because trying to find legal haven was the furthest thing from their minds. And so not surprisingly, the IoM didn't have a ready answer when I asked them whether gambling with Bitcoin was actually gambling. But the letter of the law was that gambling occurs _in the jurisdiction where_ the random chance takes place. So it really was different from hitting a local RNG, legally.
It added a nice little feature too, which was that every spin and deck could be stored on a separate server that would show them all at the end of the day. This was a little before "proven randomness" took off in btc casinos, but I made the RNG reports available daily for analysis (without explaining the whole infrastructure, obviously).
[edit] I just want to say that yes, you're obviously right, and yeah, I ran a casino from the IoM... without anyone knowing if that was okay or not... and it was just a moment in my life. of which I'm proud, I guess. I was living illegally in a small apartment in Alhama de Granada after violating my EU visa. hah. It was a great, great piece of software and I don't know if I'll ever write anything that good again. But it didn't really change my life or anything.
This was my main concern, and it was exactly what I needed a lawyer to sign off on before I set up a rig there. I was told that the gambling laws applied to where the chance took place, not where the money is distributed... after all, the whole thing with the IoM and the reason it's allowed to be a tax haven is that lots of people need to move money around without a lot of questions. But they defined gambling in this specific way and if only the money moved but the dice roll didn't take place on their shores, then it wasn't gambling under their jurisdiction. What you bring up was the conversation I had before locating there.
> @kapep don't know why I can't respond directly..
HN has a silly but effective piece of anti-flamewar UX which is that it hides the reply link in certain cases (some function of thread depth + amount of comments by you i think). However you can still reply by opening the comment on question (click on the timestamp, ie the "1 hour ago" link). Maybe you hit that.
Fwiw I think this is a great response and I'm happy you did not feel attacked by my comment because that was not my intent. Thanks for sharing & all the best!
> But the letter of the law was that gambling occurs _in the jurisdiction where_ the random chance takes place
"where the random chance takes place" could easily be interpreted as where the random number is _used_ and not where it has been created. Creating random numbers is not "chance" per se (in this context). Using random numbers to e.g. determining a winner would be the chance in my opinion.
I used to be. I got a web design job in San Francisco when I was 18 out of high school but I burned out and quit when I was 21. Drove a taxi so I could write and play music. Did it for a couple years. It was a good education. I feel old. Taxis don't even exist anymore.
> Come on, cURL'ing to a foreign server to get a random number and not just reading /dev/urandom is logically identical. It's a hack, just like calling into GPL'ed code over HTTP is a hack to avoid "linking" the GPL'ed code. It doesn't really suddenly turn a site from gambling site into a non-gambling site.
Around here (and probably elsewhere) bars aren't allowed to make wine stronger by adding spirit.
So if you mix a drink from wine (or similar) and spirit in that order you might lose your license.
Put the spirit in the glass first and all is ok.
I guess at this point it is just a shibboleth that inspectors use to see if the bar has read the rules at all, kind of like the no brown m&ms.
Point is though: rules matter, you can lose your license over it.
I mean, I have mad respect for the hustle with the former MP etc. I agree with what you say in that you did not actually break the law - because you found a loophole (made a loophole? hustled it? again, I'm impressed). You ran a gambling site from IoM though :-)