Early shutdown for Betcha.com

[NASHVEGAS]

Latest on the Betcha issue is that owner Nick Jenkins and his two employees have been released on bail. Posting on his blog, Jenkins says the issue is over $35 worth of bets between Louisiana independent and adult bettors which took place on his P2P website and yielded him a mere 70 cents in revenue.

In a radio talk show interview after his release, Jenkins said he would be the subject of an extradition hearing Monday (today) to decide whether his case should be transferred to Louisiana.

Jenkins said that he believes his arrest in Seattle (see previous InfoPowa report) was orchestrated by the Washington State Gambling Commission in collaboration with the Louisiana authorities to ensure a prosecution and perhaps as retaliation for his legal action against the WSGC.

This is absurd and a true undeserving victim of the witchunt. Reminds me of a quote from a book "It is not paranoi if they are after you". The underserving(excluding the deserving like Calvin-research his background completely) should be paranoid. Iirc, Mousey has posted some to this effect also.

[theAPCW]

Dear Friends,

Living in Washington State, I have been in contact with Nick Jenkins for over a month now. I see many of you are interested in what's going on up here, and we have reported a great deal on Perspectives Weekly, but here is an "hot off the press" update, as I just hung-up the phone with him.

Nick and the other Betcha.com employees have an "extradition" hearing scheduled for today at 2:30pm Pacific US time in King County, Washington. Nick and his attorney do not believe this is so much a hearing about sending him to Louisiana as it is to determine whether of not Washington State will tack on additional charges (remember he has not been charged here yet).

The circumstances surrounding Louisiana's involvement are quite suspect. When Nick and his attorney were last at the offices of the Washington State Gambling Commission, they were told that TWO other states were interested in his case. Immediately after they left that meeting, "someone" from Louisiana went on to Betcha.com and made the wager. That sounds a lot like what the DoJ did in Florida to "sting" NETeller.

Nick knows that if he goes to Louisiana he's a dead duck. This case has been "fast tracked" and is sitting on the Desk of the Governor as we speak... and Louisiana is not a state where you want to go on trial for online gambling... probably because of how Hurricane Katrina devastated the gambling economy (RE: Peter Dicks of Sportingbet and his $400,000 "get out of jail free" card).

In fact, when officials from Louisiana showed up at Nick's place with Washington State Troopers to arrest him, neither he nor his attorney was allowed to see the arrest warrant UNTIL they were in court standing before a judge... this is what Nick --- and our industry, for that matter --- is up against.

We have states operating in collusion to deny due process to Americans. Nick is not Taliban or Al Quida, remember. They are making this as murky, confusing, and quick as possible... and I suspect it's so that the American public doesn't learn about too much until it's over. Public officials know that the climate is changing in this country, and so they need to get as many convictions as they can, as quickly as they can.

Nick also wanted me to tell you all that more information can be found on his blogs located here:


CLICK HERE FOR THE BETCHA.COM BLOGS


He told me that he would shoot me an email or give me a call tonight if all went well. He said that if I do not hear from him by tonight, I must assume he's in shackles, sitting in a cell somewhere en route to the Bayou state.

[jetset]

If I was an American I would be alarmed at the manner in which Nick Jenkins is being treated.

Since the weekend we've been widely recommending his well written blog because it reveals what appear to be some pretty scarey things going on in the Washington and Louisiana legal systems.

I would make the same recommendation to read to everyone here.

Here's how Jenkins reviews the current situation:

"Betcha.com was up for approximately a month. During that time, not a single resident of Louisiana took a bet on The Site until approximately one hour after we served the WSGC with notice that we were suing them based on their wrongful application of Washington law. That service happened at a meeting in which they told us that they were in contact with two other states about Betcha. (I wonder if Louisiana was one of them?)

"Our gross revenue off said bettor was $.70 (yep, seventy cents)
Neither of the two other guys sought on felony fugitive charges in Louisiana has ever set foot there. I haven't been there since I went to Jazz Fest while I was in law school -- in 1994.

"For operating The Site for approximately one month, we now face felony fugitve charges for a crime punishable by up to five years in prison and up to a $20,000 fine. For $.70."


We're following this case closely and will be watching for the results of the extradition hearing.

Edited to add that US civil liberty organisations should be scrutinising the activities of Washington State and Louisiana authorities carefully.

[jetset]

Latest items on the Betcha.com blog show to my mind that official activities have now crossed the line from prosecution to persecution.

QUOTE:

Washington Justice: Write a Blog, Go To Jail

By Nicholas Jenkins

Posted on August 20, 2007 @ 23:53:00 ET

In case you thought our trials and tribulations couldn't get any harder to believe, they just did.

As I wrote in this space last week, two colleagues and I spent last Wednesday night in King County Jail. We were released on our own recognizance on Thursday night, at which point I returned home and wrote a blog entry on the experience.

Freedom of speech yes, smart no.

When we appeared at a hearing on Monday in King County District Court, the prosecution argued that I should be returned to jail and bail be increased from $5,000 to $50,000. (Lost in the shuffle was that bail wasn't set at $5,000 -- we were released on our own recognizance.) My offense this time: in the aforementioned blog entry, I evidenced an intent to flee. The offending passage:

Next step is an extradition hearing on Monday. If we win, I guess we don't go to Louisiana on Tuesday. The warrant will remain in tact, however, so travelling for the three of us will be difficult to impossible. If I ever get picked up for speeding in Oregon, for example, I'll go through the same thing all over again. If we lose, it's back to the red canvas clothes and tighty whities, hello Bayou State.

(Emphasis added.) That part in italics, said the prosecutor, demonstrated an intent to flee from Washington. This, despite the fact that I: live here with my wife and three-month old daughter; grew up here; went to school here; and own a home here. The judge, a different one than the one who set us free on our own recognizance, bought it. So I was cuffed and booked in King County Jail. Again.

How one reads the passage in question as demonstrating an intent to flee is beyond me. For starters, the part where I talk about driving in Oregon clearly presupposes that we would have already won our extradition hearing. That's why I wrote "If we win." It also speaks to an indefinite period of time. That's why I wrote "ever." Finally: how stupid would I have to be? It's one thing to be so stupid as to flee a criminal proceeding. But being so stupid as to blog about it beforehand -- well, that would take stupidity to a whole new level. (If you're thinking I'm pretty stupid right about now, I'm about ready to join your bandwagon. I was naive enough to think that, in America, everyone gets his fair day in court. Not anymore.)

As for our history -- we were all released on our own recognizance last week. We appeared at our hearing today in suits and ties -- one hour early.

As for next steps, we have an extradition hearing scheduled for September 5 in King County. (I believe this one is the real deal.) Our hearing date on the merits of the Betcha platform isn't scheduled until September 21 in Thurston County. Not good timing.

PLEASE NOTE: Nothing in the above blog entry should be read as a demonstration of my or my colleagues' intent to flee the state of Washington.

and

It's Official: Washington Is Serving It's Own Citizens Up on a Plate By

Nicholas Jenkins

Posted on August 21, 2007 @ 01:33:00 ET

I've long suspected that this whole fiasco with Louisiana was being orchestrated by the Washington State Gambling Commission. Turns out I was right. The State of Louisiana issued a press release on Friday confirming my suspicion:

Louisiana State Police News Release
Date Posted: 08/17/2007

Statewide
Owner of Internet Gambling Website Arrested

For Immediate Release

State Police Arrest Owner of Illegal Gambling Website

August 17, 2007

On August 15, 2007, Troopers with the Louisiana State Police Gaming Enforcement Division, with the assistance of authorities in the state of Washington, arrested three individuals in connection with the operation of an illegal gambling internet website.

The website Special Notice - Betcha.com, owned and operated by Nicholas G. Jenkins (W/M, 38 years old) of Seattle, WA, allowed gambling participants log onto the website and place bets electronically; an activity which is illegal in Louisiana. Jenkin's web company facilitated the betting process and controlled the intake and distribution of bet money between participants. In addition, the website charged fees for the placing of bets based on how much money was being wagered. Wagers were being accepted from participants in Louisiana as well as other parts of the country.

Jenkins was arrested after Troopers conducted a month-long investigation into the operations of the website with the assistance of the Washington State Gambling Commission. The Washington State Gambling Commission has also been investigating Jenkins for violating gambling laws in that state. The state commission had previously ordered Jenkins to cease his activities but Jenkins refused to comply with the order.

Also arrested were Peter M. Abrahamsen (W/M, 25 years old), the system administrator for Betcha.com and Josie M. Imlay (W/M, 24 years old), head technician for the website. Both men are also from Seattle, WA. All three suspects are currently being held in Seattle, WA and are awaiting an extradition hearing before they can be brought back to Louisiana to stand trial for violating Louisiana Revised Statute 14:90.3 Gambling by Computer. If convicted, the men could face up to five years in prison and fines of up to $20,000. Under Louisiana State Law, it is illegal for anyone to operate, maintain, or administer an internet website for the purpose of conducting or facilitating gambling activities.

State Police Gaming detectives expect more arrests in this case as they continue their investigation.

At least now we know.

The release, of course, didn't get all the facts right:


Louisiana troopers didn't arrest us. Two of us turned ourselves in in Seattle. A third was arrested by the Seattle Police Department.

Betcha doesn't faciliate "gambling." It facilitates betting. All gambling involves bettting, but not all betting involves gambling.
Placing bets electronically is not illegal in Louisiana per se. Gambling electronically is illegal in Louisiana.
One wonders what that "month-long investigation" must have been like. We shut the site down on or about July 11, well over a month before we were arrested.

We did not "refuse to comply" with the Washington State Gambling Commission's cease and desist order. On the contrary, we shut The Site down. Look around. See any betting going on? There's a reason: betting is closed.

It's not quite accurate to say we will be brought "back" to Louisiana. Messrs. Imlay and Abrahamsen have never been to Louisiana. I was last there in 1994, when I was still in law school and before I'd ever even heard of the Internet. The closest I've been to Louisiana since then was in 2006, when I was in Mississippi with a church group on a Katrina relief mission.

Wagers were not being accepted from participants in Louisiana. First, Betcha doesn't accept bets. Second, it wasn't participants. It was one single participant. $35 in total bets. Total revenue: seventy cents


So far, however, facts and law haven't mattered much.

UNQUOTE

http://www.betcha.com/Blogs

[Mousey]

If I was an American I would be alarmed at the manner in which Nick Jenkins is being treated.

......

Edited to add that US civil liberty organisations should be scrutinising the activities of Washington State and Louisiana authorities carefully.

I have been in Robbie the Robot mode (Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!) since the NETeller Two were arrested.

It's a shame Louisiana isn't concentrating its courts and man power on controlling their skyrocketing crime rate (and I mean 'REAL' crime like murder and rape and assault) rather than worry about a $35 bet online. It is truly frightening...

[NASHVEGAS]

I have been in Robbie the Robot mode (Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!) since the NETeller Two were arrested.

It's a shame Louisiana isn't concentrating its courts and man power on controlling their skyrocketing crime rate (and I mean 'REAL' crime like murder and rape and assault) rather than worry about a $35 bet online. It is truly frightening...

In actuality, this situation of persecution occurs unfortunately everyday and everywhere. This particular situation just hits home for most of us. Regardless of whether Mr. Jenkins may have miscalculated or not ((J. Todd you live in Washington and I have often wondered,I'll stop or let me say just this, more power to you if the risk for you personally is worth the rewards)), the punishment just does not fit so you must aquit. Assuming this being the case, even if you win you still lose having to defend your innocence. The legal and other costs see to that. As the cliche goes, it just does not pay to fight city hall...yes it sux,it does.

[jetset]

Latest blog post by Jenkins - official behaviour in this case is becoming more bizarre by the hour....

"Turns out he had good reason," writes Jenkins in describing the decision of the presiding judge to have him sent back to jail.

"Seems the prosecutor either lied to him or, at the very least, recklessly disregarded the truth about my story. To wit: in the State of Washington's complaint against me, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Stacy A. Connole swore under oath that I "fled from the state of Louisiana" after being charged with "Gambling by Computer" on or about July 23, 2007.

"One big problem: I haven't so much as set foot in Louisiana since April 1994, well before I knew the Internet even existed and at least ten years prior to the enactment of the statute I'm being charged with violating. As such, I couldn't very well have "fled" the state.

"Not knowing this, however, the judge boosted bail from zero to $50,000 and threw me in the can. It's easy to see why: he thought I was a seasoned vet in fleeing prosecutions.

"This isn't the first time law enforcement and its agents have played a fast one on a Washington state court in this case.

"As I wrote last week, the Washington State Gambling Commission admitted in its answer to our complaint that, when it obtained the search warrant to raid our offices, it did not disclose to Judge Paula Casey that, just hours earlier, Betcha had sued it for declaratory relief based on its wrongful application of the gambling laws.

"As I said last week, I don't know for sure whether the WSGC was legally obligated to disclose that fact. I do know, however, that if I were sued on Friday, and raised money from investors on Saturday without mentioning that I was sued the day before, those investors would sue me six ways to Sunday."

[Mousey]

"Seems the prosecutor either lied to him or, at the very least, recklessly disregarded the truth about my story. To wit: in the State of Washington's complaint against me, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Stacy A. Connole swore under oath that I "fled from the state of Louisiana" after being charged with "Gambling by Computer" on or about July 23, 2007.

If true, I hope Jenkins sues and his lawyer screams to high heaven about out and out perjury by Connole.

This is so insane...

[theAPCW]

(J. Todd you live in Washington and I have often wondered,I'll stop or let me say just this, more power to you if the risk for you personally is worth the rewards)

Thank you for your concern... and yes, there is some risk involved in what I am doing. There are many things, however, that go on in this industry that the vast majority of players and webmasters know nothing about. Some things I can talk about, some things will have to wait.

One thing I will discuss is my relationship with the Washington State Gambling Commission. I speak with the Chief Enforcement officer... who is third in charge overall... on a semi-regular basis. He is the person in charge of prosecuting Nick, unfortunately.

This gentleman knows who I am, he knows where I live, and he knows what I do with APCW and the videos. He has told me that, if the WSGC ever has a problem with what I am doing, they will let me know! LOL! But honestly, he seems like a nice enough guy... despite the fact that he's trying to send Nick to prison. He even says he enjoys poker, but that it's his job is to enforce the laws.

Very few people know about this, and I have never spoken of this publicly until now at Casinomeister. But I feel this is an important 'relationship' because I've accomplished two critical things:


1) I have shown them that I respect the laws they enforce by shutting down my portals... so they, in turn, respect me and will talk with me.

2) I have created a friendly, open dialogue by letting them know that we both want the same outcome: Responsibility, legality, and regulation.


That being said, there can be no communication between them and I about Nick's case, of course. But I do sleep much better at night knowing that I have a good "business relationship" with the people who could make my life a living hell... and that they respect me enough to take the time to talk to me about how to operate and the laws in the state.


================================================== ========

As for poor Nick, we all know he's out of jail now on $50,000 bond. He has the official hearing on September 5th, and the poor man is terrified... as any of us would be.

We will do what we can to bring as much publicity to this case as possible, because I want the everyone to know how the government has handled this man... which I believe is very poorly. Is Nick guilty? Did he facilitate gambling online? To me, that's less important that the way he's being railroaded without Due Process.

If he's guilty, fine... let's make it public and make it fair.

[NASHVEGAS]

JT,
Thanks for the very enlightening,informative,interesting,etc. post. You did not have to share some of the information but glad you chose to. It certainly aids in having a better understanding of the situation in its entirety. Obviously, you appear to have your ducks in a row and of course you know your own back yard better than posters like myself. Best of luck as you continue the fight, NASH