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Last week, Gambling911.com reported on the reemergence of one Jay Cohen, the co-founder of now defunct World Sports Exchange. On Thursday, Cohen appeared for the first time in 25 years on CNBC to discuss what's transpired since his conviction for taking sports bets offshore in 2000.
He joined 'Squawk Box' to discuss the shifting views on sports betting over the years, how he pioneered online sports gambling in the late 1990s in Antigua, what he thinks of the industry today, and more.
Cohen was convicted for violating a 1960's Wire Act after he was unable to convince the Court bets placed by those in the US actually took place on WSEX servers in Antigua.
Fast forward nearly 25 years and the Florida Seminoles set forth the same argument as Cohen in an effort to set up their mobile sportsbook site Hard Rock Bet. The Seminoles had entered into a compact with the state allowing them to exclusively offer sports gambling at their retail casinos and via mobile devices. With the latter they claimed bets were taking place on their server on tribal land. The Court agreed with that assertion and Hard Rock Bet is now live in Florida.
WSEX was once among the most reputable companies in offshore sports betting. That all changed post 2010. The company began slow paying customers, then no-paying customers.
The last man standing was co-founder Steve Schillinger. In 2013, he took his own life. WSEX abruptly closed thereafter, owing at least a million dollars to players.
For nearly ten years, Cohen's whereabouts were unknown. They remain unknown though this week he finally surfaced as part of an SI.com piece on "Where Are They Now".
During the CNBC interview, Cohen was not asked or offered whatever happened to the reported $1 million owed to customers.
