So my next question.. How are they still operating on the open web?
Lol, how does everything else operate on the open web? Torrent sites, warez sites etc etc. Not all things are illegal everywhere. Some countries ban gambling and porn, but people can freely view them online. Usually the sites are hosted in countries with lax preferences on this or outside the jurisdiction of the certain law enforcement agencies that would take them down. If they were hosted in the US they likely would get taken down pretty fast.