Hollywood Gossip Suggests Leo’s Next Film Plot Will be Set in Costa Rica.

Leonardo DiCaprio has set his sights on uncovering the world of illegal online gambling in sunny Costa Rica in his next unnamed Paramount Pictures flick, which is currently stirring up lots of media coverage and questions of “why?”. With screenplay writers Brian Koppelmann and David Levien of Rounders and Oceans Thirteen fame on his team and DiCaprio’s knack at landing blockbuster roles, fans can expect lots of drama and insight into this modern-day multi-billion dollar mafia-style industry.

Already deemed an ‘action-thriller’, it is still not clear what plot line the movie will adopt, but the options within the genre are indeed endless. From online bingo to million dollar bets on the day’s sporting events, money flows like virtual water as gamblers in the states and worldwide are given direct access to a world of addiction, greed, jackpots and crime right from their living rooms.

The U.S. government has been on a crusade in recent years to crack down on the industry that began its offshore shift in the mid 90s to avoid increasing restrictions. Industry pioneers began to set up shop in Costa Rica, favoring limited regulation, modern infrastructure and an educated English-speaking work force.

The United State’s efforts to outlaw the industry may have actually played a hand in some company’s successful efforts to scheme millions of dollars from their dedicated clients. As a pay-in-advance service, the temptation to avoid or permanently delay pay-outs to overly successful clients proved to be too much for many agencies as the users have no legal recourse to file a lawsuit as they would indict themselves in the unlawful activity. In fact some online casinos are simply fraud schemes, dematerializing every couple of years only to show up under a new trademark.

In any industry or game where large sums of money can be made or lost, greed becomes a blind advocate for law breaking acts. Knowing this, the masterminds behind the country’s 200 or more online casinos are known to travel with their own mini-motorcades and personal bodyguards.

Indeed, the real story here may likely be some of these infamous characters that have come and gone from the sports betting and online casino scene. With aliases straight out of The Godfather trilogy, incomprehensible incomes and relative freedom roaming the streets of Central America, the most famous online gambling big shots have enough quirks to fill a 4-part movie series and then some. Many of these men grew up on the streets of New York running bets for local bookie joints, witnessing a justice system like something out of the Wild West.

While some were accused of ‘going soft’ during their exile to the sunny pura vida nation of Costa Rica, their money making tactics would not be something you’ll find in a Business 101 class. Add to that the country’s failed and disinterested attempts to regulate the industry, legally licensing them as “Data Processing” companies, the global capabilities of the world wide web, and their income potential is truly infinite.

While many of the online gambling pioneers have since been placed behind bars the second they stepped into the United States for mafia crippling charges of racketeering and tax evasion, their legacy and the sports book scene lives on in Costa Rica and other offshore destinations. Many of the companies have taken the corporate route and are publicly shared on the UK stock market, but it seems the U.S. will never give up on its anti-gambling crusade, which means the stakes remain as high as ever.

Now, try dropping Leo DiCaprio into this high-adrenaline world of virtual money and averting the U.S. legal system, and ask us again: “Who Cares?”.

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Filed under: Costa Rica News on June 18th, 2009