Online gambling conviction: affiliate sentenced to hard labor, Empire Online approves settlement

Online-Casinos.com readers may recall back in October last year a case being heard in Morristown, New Jersey before Judge Salem Vincent Ahto in which local businessman Nicholas Drakos (49) was accused of promoting gambling through his website International Net Casino and other peripheral offences.

This week the Judge handed down his final decision, convicting Drakos and sentencing him to 90 days on a manual labour program and three years' probation for promoting gambling through a Web site he hosted to attract wagers on college and professional sports.

Drakos had tried unsuccessfully in October to have the charges dismissed on grounds that he couldn't have committed a crime because New Jersey has no laws that expressly ban betting over the Internet.

Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Melanie Smith countered by suggesting that under state law, a person is guilty of promoting gambling when he or she knowingly engages in conduct that "...materially aids any form of gambling activity." And amendments to New Jersey's constitution have legalised certain types of gambling in New Jersey and prohibited the Legislature from authorising other forms of gambling "...unless the specific kind, restrictions and control ... are approved by public referendum," she contended.

The state constitution, Ahto noted, cites approved forms of gambling that include casinos, state-run lotteries and certain types of raffles and bingo games that benefit civic and specified organisations. Internet gambling is not a sanctioned activity under current state law, he found.

The judge accepted the prosecution argument that Internet gambling is illegal even though the state Legislature has not specifically banned it, and that led to Drakos changing his plea to guilty earlier this year. This week's proceedings were therefore for sentencing.

Judge Ahto said he would not be unduly harsh on Drakos, since many people innocently believe that gambling is lawful and Drakos was not stealthy about the Web site he hosted.

"I don't think Mr. Drakos was trying to hide what he was doing. It's not like this was a clandestine operation," Ahto said. He added that he had wished a higher court in New Jersey had an opportunity to review the legitimacy of Internet gambling per se, but so far it has not. This was now unlikely to occur, because Drakos' lawyers did not appeal Ahto's trial court finding in October.

The judge sentenced Drakos to the eight days he already served in the Morris County jail after his arrest and imposed 90 days on the Sheriff's Labor Assistance Program, a work-in-lieu-of-jail program. Drakos also must serve three years' probation and pay about $1,330 in fines.

During the trial, the Morris County Prosecutor's Office had contended that Drakos was the host of a gambling Web site that featured his picture and phone numbers for customer assistance. When police became aware of the Web site, they claimed that the site was "...the functional equivalent of a wire room, or a location where bettors could call or log on to and place bets." The site also had connections outside the United States.

An undercover officer contacted Drakos to set up an online betting account and they met in person in January 2004. During their meeting, the officer discussed establishing an online account as well as Drakos'"affiliate program," which was a commission incentive for bettors to recruit other bettors.

"He was so open with what he did," defense lawyer Gerard Hanlon said. "It is not a crime that offends the sense of morality."

Gambling911.com's strict policy rejects any forms of affiliate deals and or partnership arrangements, which can be misconstrued as operating an online gambling establishment within the United States.  Likewise, Gambling911.com stopped accepting upfront advertisements from "bookie call center" operations last year as a result of ongoing investigations of parties involved with such businesses. 

....Empire Online Ltd said its shareholders have approved the settlement of its legal dispute with PartyGaming PLC.

The shareholders approved the termination of certain agreements, with assignments of certain assets to, and settlement of litigation with PartyGaming.

Under the settlement, PartyGaming agreed to buy the 'skin' activities of Empire Online for 250 mln stg.

....Betfair, the online betting exchange, has hired integrated agency BLAC to handle its £2.5m marketing business.

The agency's task will be to raise Betfair's profile beyond its core horseracing focus and into football, golf and other sports via sponsorship, viral marketing and below-the-line activity.

Betfair, the official sponsor of Channel 4's Ashes coverage, sees sponsorship of big sports events as a key way to attract customers. All marketing will use the strapline "Live's unfair, but you can betfair", devised by BLAC.

Betfair uses several direct marketing agencies on a project and retained basis, but BLAC will handle most of its future marketing, including press and direct.

The firm, rumoured to be preparing to float, is using the C4 deal as a trial of TV sponsorship.

....GoldenPalace.com, the Internet casino that has become synonymous with outrageous and unusual advertising campaigns, has leased Morris Stoloff's 1960 Academy Award for scoring of the musical picture "Song Without End" for 999 years. The privilege of harboring the Oscar cost the gaming site $30,000.

"We've been trying to buy an Oscar, but the academy's legal agreement clearly states that most of them can't be sold, so we had to think creatively," said casino spokesman Drew Black. "The agreement says nothing about leasing."

....Gambling911.com, with the help of its Sports911.com branding, has witnessed record traffic numbers for the entire month of February.  Since January 1, 2006, Gambling911.com has seen a 22% increase in its overall traffic.  Yet another record was shattered this past Thursday, making it the busiest single traffic day since the site went live in September 2000.  This trend appears to be continuing. 

Gambling911.com continues to be the leader in entertainment and celebrity betting coverage.

....Reports have surfaced across the net that BetonUSA.com has bounced some checks.  Players are advised to join ONLY those sportsbooks endorsed by Gambling911.com  BetonUSA.com has been spamming the staff of Gambling911.com with emails pertaining to its affiliate program, therefore gaming affiliates should also exercise caution in this matter.

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Gambling911.com News Wire

Originally published March 6, 2006 9:23 am ET