Yes, it appears to me the situation is basically this.
Doing this as a business is not "legal" according to the FAA, but at the same time, they really can't do anything to stop it other than writing angry letters. While it is not "legal", it is also not "illegal" meaning there is no possibility of jail time, fines, or even confiscation of equipment. There are lots and lots of guys doing this, but for the most part, they keep their head down. They have web pages, but they don't do a lot of broadcast self-promotion. You'll never see these guys agreeing to be interviewed by CNN. They just keep it local, word of mouth, and just stay on the down low. You also don't see them posting details of jobs within the US, on the internet. The only time you see the FAA get involved is if somebody sticks their head up, gets national media attention, or if somebody else gets involved and just uses the FAA as a tool (ie: Crane Operators Union of L.A.) to shut down this growing field and maintain their monopoly.
I just can't figure out if this situation exists knowingly with the FAA, sort of a nudge-nudge-wink-wing-say-no-more-say-no-more... or if they just don't have the manpower to go after this actively.
At the end of the day, we've seen a few "Cease and Desist" letters, but never any fines or jail time.
For what it's worth, you can actually buy insurance for AP in the US, there is even a company specializing in it.