Costa Rica Crime Rate Out of Control: Gambling911 Associate Left for Dead

An associate of Gambling911.com was brutally beaten and left for dead late Monday evening in what has become an all too common theme in the online sports betting Mecca of Costa Rica, where long time operators now admit the crime rate there is completely out of control.  Gambling911.com has been in Costa Rica covering BodogFight Series 3

The individual, whose name is being withheld, stepped into what he believed to be a standard Costa Rica red taxi.  The driver then pulled over in a dark San Jose park, got out of the vehicle where he then called out to five other assailants. 

The assailants then beat and kicked the victim to a pulp, stole all his property including shoes, shirt, a watch and 20,000 colons.  The victim was left bloodied in the streets of downtown San Jose until a helpful citizen came and cleaned him up.

Gambling911.com recommends not wearing gold watches and Armani outfits while in Costa Rica, especially in downtown San Jose. 

This week, hundreds of political figures descended upon Costa Rica to take part in CAFTA, a Central American initiative to improve trade with the United States.  Costa Rica appears to be the only holdback, with a solid industry already in place, but one of its most prosperous industry - online sports betting and casino gambling - is being driven out of the country and landing in such places as Antigua and Panama.

Many operators fear for their lives.

A guard for one sportsbook owner is among those recovering from a gunshot wound.  He was shot in the shoulder while trying to stop a botched robbery at the sportsbook owner's home.  Because the guard is trained in martial arts, he was able to make a defensive move that prevented the gun from firing into his chest.

"They show on the news at 10 murdered bloody corpses every night," said a former sportsbook employee who showed us his own stab wound just hours before the attack on a Gambling911 associate. "The country is getting richer but that is the rich getting richer.  In many ways, poverty is on the increase."

In Escazu, a posh region outside of Costa Rica's capital San Jose, known for its rather large population of American ex-patriots, home invasions by armed gangs are on the increase, even in broad daylight.

"These gangs make sure to commit the crimes when they know the banks are open," said the former employee.

While Gambling911.com principals are often thought of as targets of some hatred within the online gambling community, these days most of those involved with the industry are too afraid of their own shadows.  Therefore, suspects within the online gambling community have been ruled out.

Last month, the US sent down dozens of FBI agents to help local Costa Rican police with anti-narcotics training.  But that might be too little too late. 

The Gambling911.com associate is recovering this evening.

----

Alejandro Botticelli, Gambling911.com

Originally published February 20, 2007 11:45 pm ET