Late Thursday at a hearing in New York State Supreme Court in Queens, Peter Nieman, the lawyer for Sportingbet non-executive Chairman Peter Dicks, said his client will contest extradition to Louisiana and will ask a New York Supreme Court justice on Friday to release his client on bail.
 

Nieman said his client is not a flight risk because he has strong ties to the U.S. and that he believes Dicks can't be extradited under New York state law for the crimes he is accuse of committing.

"This is not the ordinary extradition case," Nieman said.

Nieman's statement further illustrates his client's situation is not nearly as serious as that of dismissed BetonSports CEO David Carruthers. 

Carruthers remains under house arrest in St. Louis awaiting trial.  His company closed last month after several charges were lodged against Carruthers and nearly a dozen of its former executives.  These charges range from money laundering to tax evasion.

In the case of Dicks, Louisiana State Police will only say that an arrest warrant was issued stemming from "internet gambling" violations in that state.  An indictment has not be issued in this case.

Likewise, a spokesperson for the Louisiana State Police alluded to additional arrests warrants against other Sportingbet principals although founder Mark Blandford had traveled to and from the United States without incident some time after the warrants were first issued.  Nigel Payne, who is slated to leave Sportingbet in the coming months, owns property in Miami-Dade County and is likely to return back to the United States and fight the charges.

Nieman said at Thursday's hearing that Dicks was on his way to a board meeting for a publicly traded company where he serves as a director. Dicks serves on the board of Standard Microsystems.

He is charged with violating state gaming laws in connection with his role at Sportingbet, said Senior Trooper Dwight Robinette, a spokesman for the Louisiana State Police. The state police regulate gaming operations in Louisiana.

According to Gambling911.com sources, Sportingbet.com did acquire a company with Louisiana ties last year.  Sportingbet encompasses a few dozen licensees under its massive umbrella, most of which it does not own outright.

The company was also named in a New Jersey complaint in 2000 that resulted in the case being thrown out of court.  That state claimed Sportingbet had violated its gaming laws. 

Sportingbet, unlike BetonSports.com, is considered to be far better managed and financially solid.  CEO Nigel Payne is considered among the online gambling industry's most articulate and competent executives.  Sportingbet Founder Mark Blandford is looked upon with equal respect. 

In comparison, BetonSports Operations Manager Clive Archer is seen as a "bumbling fool" who is too busy selling off that companies rooftop casino sofas to appeal to customer needs while fired CEO David Carruthers is the one constant who made the near fatal mistake of hiring Archer and most of his colleagues. 

"You could not have had a bigger group of idiots running that company in its final years," commented a former high ranking employee.

Easybets, the only BetonSports brand that remains open, has begun closing customer accounts and withholding funds without reason this week. 

Sportingbet officials and Gambling911.com contacts within the company remained silent as per attorney orders though they continued to operate without skipping a beat on Thursday.  The company's flagship brand Sportsbook.com - in a bit of an ironic twist - offered a new betting proposition on Whether Paris Hilton's sister Nikki would be next to get arrested following Paris' DWI Wednesday. 

The company also made headlines when it announced the robbery of its "real cash" Las Vegas billboard hours prior to Dicks detention.  $30,000 of the $70,000 encased in the Vegas strip billboard had been stolen early Wednesday morning. 

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Christopher Costigan, www.gambling911.com

Originally published September 8, 2006 1:13 pm ET