BETCHA.COM AWAITS GOVERNOR'S DECISION ON EXTRADITION

3 October 2007

Nick Jenkins would rather not be moved to Louisiana....


Nick Jenkins, the Washington State lawyer and entrepeneur who introduced a new and he believes legal online business with his Betcha.com site (see previous InfoPowa reports) is anxiously awaiting a decision by State governor Chris Gregoire that has serious implications for him - whether she will allow a Lousiana application for his extradition to that state to go through.
 
The Seattle Intelligencer newspaper re-visited the issue this week when the PI reporter recapped the sad story of the shortlived and now defunct Betcha.com site that Jenkins started earlier this year.
 
In pursuing Jenkins, Louisiana prosecutors claim he violated federal and state laws against Internet-based gambling...and they want him to answer tose charges in the southern state.
Jenkins, whose Seattle-based startup was raided by Washington State Gambling Commission investigators in early July, said his attorneys are trying to negotiate with the Governor's Office to delay any move until his Washington state case is heard.
 
"Obviously, we think this is unfair, and we're hopeful we can get this resolved," said Jenkins (38) who faces extradition along with two other Betcha.com owners. "We think our case is a good one."
 
And its all over a 'sting' bet by a Lousiana trooper on which Betcha.com made 70 cents!
 
Louisiana authorities became involved in the prosecution after a state trooper placed a small bet as part of a joint investigation into online gambling. Jenkins said the site made 70 cents on that transaction.
 
The trouble for Betcha.com started when the Washington Gambling Commission contacted Jenkins, a Georgetown law graduate, about his Web site and asked him to shut it down as an illegal gambling site under a draconian new state law.
 
Jenkins declined, saying that Betcha.com isn't governed under the Internet ban approved by the Legislature in summer 2006. Modeled after popular auction sites that collect transaction fees, Betcha.com provided a forum for bettors to wager against one another on almost any topic, such as who will hit the first All-Star Game home run or who will win an Oscar. Individual gamblers received customer ratings based on payouts.
 
Because bets were not guaranteed nor backed by the site - Betcha.com did not accept the bet, the gamblers did - Jenkins said it was not illegal under state or federal law.
 
The commission disagreed and raided his office in July, seizing laptops and computer monitors. Jenkins has since sued the state and is awaiting a November hearing in Thurston County.
 
Jenkins' attorney, Lee Rousso, said there are several possible outcomes:
 
* Jenkins, along with former Betcha.com employees Josie Imlay and Peter Abrahamsen, both of Seattle, could be extradited and held in Louisiana, pending appeal.
 
* Gregoire may decline to sign the request and the three would wait for the hearing on the legal status of the site.
 
* The trio might be extradited, booked and released until the legality of Betcha.com is determined.
 
Rousso said he didn't know what would happen. "We think we've got a very good case against extradition," he said. "We think we can get this stopped."

Online Casino News courtesy of InfoPowa