|
 Peter
Dicks Returns to
Sportingbet
Peter Dicks on
Tuesday returned to
the helm of
Sportingbet, the
online gambling
operator, insisting
he felt no
bitterness about his
arrest and detention
by New York police
18 months ago.
Speaking publicly
about his experience
for the first time,
Mr Dicks described
his arrest at JFK
airport on a warrant
from the state of
Louisiana as “an
unfortunate fluke”;
he was treated well
and had no problem
with the US legal
system.
Mr Dicks was one of
a number of
executives from
Sportingbet and
other companies on a
long-standing
warrant issued by
Louisiana, where
online gambling is
banned.
He was held in
custody for two
nights in September
2006 and released on
bail. His case
gained international
attention at a time
when a US clampdown
on internet gambling
was coinciding with
a series of arrests
of online gambling
executives on US
soil.
Having decided it
was in the best
interests of himself
and Sportingbet to
resign as chairman,
he flew back to New
York the following
month when a New
York court blocked
Louisiana’s request
for his extradition
and allowed him to
return to the UK.
Warrants against Mr
Dicks and other
Sportingbet
executives were
dropped last March
when the company and
Louisiana settled.
“I had a rather
sharp exposure to US
law, but I was
treated fine, no one
did anything to me,”
Mr Dicks said.
“The police officers
treated me very
well. Once they
ascertained I had a
funny accent and was
not a smart-arse,
they inquired after
me and were
pleasant.”
Sportingbet went
through its own
turmoil: abandoning
the US market and
regenerating itself
round Europe, but Mr
Dicks said he had no
qualms returning.
“I’ve never been a
gambler, but I grew
up in a country with
a betting shop on
every corner and it
didn’t seem a
stretch to believe
the industry would
go online,” he said.
“There has to be
control and
regulation, but it
seems a perfectly
legitimate
industry.”
Sportingbet, like
others in the
sector, is awaiting
signals from the US
on a possible final
settlement. Until
then, Mr Dicks is
shunning flights to
the US in spite of
his non-executive
roles at other
companies, such as
Daniel Stewart,
Mears, Waterline and
Foresight.
“The US will sort
itself out [on
gambling regulation]
in the fullness of
time, but you have
to put that to one
side and move on.
Investors have got
their heads around
that.”
----
Roger Blitz,
Financial Times of
London
Originally published
to Gambling911.com
January 22, 2008
10:41 am EST
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