Seattle Residents facing Online gambling charges

[Casper]

DONALDSONVILLE, La. (AP) - Three Seattle residents flew to the Baton Rouge area to face charges that their gambling Web site is illegal in Louisiana.

Nicholas G. Jenkins, 38; Josie M. Imlay, 24; and Peter M. Abrahamsen, 25, were booked in Ascension Parish, near Baton Rouge, with illegal gambling by computer. The state police investigator who placed bets at Betcha.com did so from a computer in that parish.

The crime carries up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $20,000


http://www.komotv.com/news/local/10484702.html


LAME

[Cript]

Unless I'm reading it wrong...here's what happened:

These dudes were hosting a betting website in this country. A police investigator placed a bet on it to show that it was dooable.

[Cript]

Registrant:
Jenkins Properties
2225 N 56th St
Seattle, Washington 98103
United States

Registered through: GoDaddy.com, Inc. (http://www.godaddy.com)
Domain Name: BETCHA.COM
Created on: 21-Dec-99
Expires on: 21-Dec-15
Last Updated on:

Administrative Contact:
Imlay, Josie jimlay@betcha.com
2225 N 56th St
Seattle, Washington 98103
United States
2065470530 Fax -- 2065470536

Technical Contact:
Abrahamsen, Peter peter@betcha.com
2225 N 56th St
Seattle, Washington 98103
United States
2065470530 Fax -- 2065470536


Yep...definitely illegal to host a betting site on these shores.

[Bugsbunny]

This is actually an interesting story. This is not your normal betting site.

The owner is currently in the process of suing the state of Washington claiming that it's anti-internet gambling bill is an illegal restraint of trade based on the Constitutions commerce clause.

The site itself is, according to them, an ebay type site that enables people to bet among themselves, at whatever odds and stakes the participants agree to. So the site itself is not engaged in the business of betting, wagering, booking bets or wagers, establishing odds or payoffs, or anything along those lines.

About Us
http://www.betcha.com/misc/About_Us

Blog entry about tussle with Washington commision
http://www.betcha.com/Blogs/article/Reports_of_Our_Demise_Have_Been_Greatly_Exaggerated

Newspaper articles
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/323064_gambling10.html
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/334004_betcha03.html

Owners Blog with various comments and links
http://www.betcha.com/Blogs/Nick_knacks

[JPFisher55]

Actually, Nick Jenkins' defense is that he does not operate a gambling site as defined under the laws of either Washington or Louisiana. His attorney Lee Rousso has filed a lawsuit to declare the law in Washington banning online gambling to violate the US constitution.