The verdict is still out on what prompted tiny little St. Landry Parish, Louisiana to issue an arrest warrant against Sportingbet non-executive Chairman, Peter Dicks, back in July. It' is clear though that Louisiana for some time has been one of six states to strictly prohibit any form of gambling via the computer...and yes, it's a felony.

The chairman of British online gambling company Sportingbet PLC has been detained in New York on a fugitive warrant, two months after the chief executive of BetOnSports PLC was arrested in the United States on racketeering charges.Peter Dicks was arrested at Kennedy International Airport following his arrival on a flight from England just prior to midnight, Queens district attorney spokesman Kevin Ryan said Thursday.Customs, performing a routine name check around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, discovered he had an outstanding warrant issued by the Louisiania State Police Gaming Enforcement Division.Police officers with the Port Authority, which runs the airport, took Dicks into custody, where he remained Thursday awaiting arraignment in a state court.Ryan said the July 12 warrant charged Dicks, who lives in London, with gambling by computer, which is punishable by up to a year in prison but more likely will result in a fine.

"This one has been ongoing for a while," said a source close to Gambling911.com, who checked into the investigation today. "It's just a matter of time before they start wire tapping computer servers."

Dwight Robinette, a spokesman for the Louisiana State Police, said that there are additional warrants still outstanding in this case. It is unclear exactly what prompted the Louisiana Parish to go after Peter Dicks and what business if any Sportingbet may have been conducting there. The parish is a new home to Evangeline Downs Racetrack & Casino.Louisiana is one of six states that make it a felony to gamble outside the state via telecommunications though only Washington State explicitly prohibits online gambling in a recently enacted law.

Other states that prohibit gambling across state lines include - and with some irony - Nevada, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. The later state still makes it a felony to manufacture margarine incidentally.
South Dakota prohibitions make it illegal for those in the gambling sector to engage in this type of activity. The irony being that its sister state of North Dakota, through the noble efforts of representative Jim Kasper, are looking to become the first state in the nation that legalizes online gambling.

Gambling911.com, which does not market directly via market-target print ads, has long maintained a policy of ensuring it does not market directly in the state of Illinois, which until recently was the only state that prohibited online gambling advertisements. Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin all featured state leaders who were aggressively against online gambling during the late 1990's.

Ironically, the state most against online gambling throughout the years - Missouri - does not make gambling via the computer illegal for its citizens. The Jay Dixon Years
In 1997, then Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon obtained the very first criminal convictions in the country for Internet gambling.Michael F. Simone of Doyles town, Pa., and his business, Interactive Gaming & Communications, pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charges in a Greene County Circuit Court of promoting gambling in the second degree."These criminal convictions should serve as a clear notice to Internet operators that we will aggressively pursue violations of Missouri law," Nixon said. "Cyberspace is no safe haven for lawbreakers."A Greene County grand jury in June 1997 indicted Simone and IGC on charges of promoting gambling in the first degree at the request of Nixon, alleging that the defendants committed a criminal violation of Missouri law by accepting gambling wagers through the Internet from a Missouri resident. Simone's business partner, Louis Mayo, was also charged. He has since passed away."Internet gambling presents a situation where any 15-year-old who gets hold of a credit card can turn the family den into a casino," Nixon said at the time. "This is an activity that clearly is illegal in the state of Missouri, and I am proud that we have obtained these convictions."As part of the guilty plea, Simone paid a $2,500 fine to the state of Missouri and IGC was to pay a $5,000 fine. IGC also has agreed to pay $20,000 to the state for the cost of the prosecution.Simone fought extradition to Missouri since being indicted by the grand jury but lost his arguments at the lower court level in Pennsylvania. An appeals court in that state ordered him to face the judicial process in Missouri.

It's Getting Crazy "It's getting crazy because these investigations are now coming from the state level," a source told Gambling911.com. Many of the cases up until July have been related to organized crime and money laundering, in particular centered on so-called "runners" and "credit shops" which collect money in the States while paying other companies in places like Costa Rica to handle phone volume and records. Unlike BetonSports, Sportingbet has made it a point to steer clear of any type of credit betting. "We won't consider acquiring companies that deal in credit," Founder and Executive Director of Sportingbet PLC told Gambling911.com several months ago. While nerves have been rattled throughout the online gambling sector, the Louisiana case does not appear to be related to the Federal actions lodged against BetonSports and 11 of its principals, including CEO David Carruthers. The charges here only appear to be related to "gambling by computer". Carruthers on the other hand was charged with various felonies including money laundering, tax evasion, transporting gambling equipment across state lines, taking bets from undercover officers, violation of a federal wire act, among other things.
"They are getting him on 'facilitating online gambling' it appears," our source said.
Shares in the company were suspended by the London Stock Exchange at Sportingbet's request.Dicks, 64, is the second executive of a British Internet sports-betting company to be held in the U.S. after David Carruthers, former chief executive officer of BetOnSports PLC, was arrested in July at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. The company fired Carruthers, who remains under house arrest in the St. Louis area awaiting trial, and closed its U.S. Web sites.The founder of Abingdon PLC, a private equity firm, Dicks is also a director at Nasdaq-listed Polar Technology Trust PLC and Standard Microsystems Corp., and has been non-executive director at Sportingbet since 2000.Shares of rival online gambling company PartyGaming PLC closed down 9.8 percent in London trading following Dicks' detainment, while Empire Online lost 4.5 percent.Separately, Sportingbet said it is in the early stage of talks about a possible takeover of World Gaming PLC in an all-share deal worth about 56 million pounds ($105.8 million).Sportingbet's potential offer for World Gaming, based on its own closing price of 244 pence ($4.61) on Wednesday, would value its competitor at 104 pence ($1.97) a share.

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(1) Basic gambling, which is punishable by up to $500 fine and/or six months in jail (2) Operating an illegal gaming business, which requires (a) illegal gambling, (b) an operation with five or more persons involved; and (c) a business in operation for at least 30 days or having $2000 in gross revenues in any single day. This crime is punishable by a up to a $20,000 fine and/or five years in prison, with the possibility of hard labor. (3) Internet gambling, which is punishable by up to $500 fine and/or six months in jail. basic gambling prohibition statute provides that whoever commits the crime of gambling shall be fined not more than $500 or imprisoned for not more than six months, or both. The more advanced gambling prohibition statute relates to persons involved in a gambling business. The gambling business criminal states: Whoever conducts, finances, manages, supervises, directs, or owns all or part of an illegal gambling business shall be fined not more than twenty thousand dollars, or imprisoned with or without hard labor, for not more than five years, or both when: (a) R.S. 14:90 is violated; (b) Five or more persons are involved who conduct, finance, manage, supervise, direct, or own all or part of an illegal gambling business; (c) Such business has been in or remains in substantially continuous operation for a period of thirty days or more or, if the continuous operation is for less than thirty days, has a gross revenue of two thousand dollars in any single day. On top of these, Louisiana is one of the few states that has enacted an internet gambling criminal law. Louisana Revised Statute Title 14,

§90.3 is a very broad law that attempts to criminalize every aspect of remote gambling via computer. The statute reads, in pertient part: §90.3. Gambling by computer A. The Legislature of Louisiana, desiring to protect individual rights, while at the same time affording opportunity for the fullest development of the individual and promoting the health, safety, education, and welfare of the people, including the children of this state who are our most precious and valuable resource, finds that the state has a compelling interest in protecting its citizens and children from certain activities and influences which can result in irreparable harm. The legislature has expressed its intent to develop a controlled well-regulated gaming industry. The legislature is also charged with the responsibility of protecting and assisting its citizens who suffer from compulsive or problem gaming behavior which can result from the increased availability of legalized gaming activities. The legislature recognizes the development of the Internet and the information super highway allowing communication and exchange of information from all parts of the world and freely encourages this exchange of information and ideas. The legislature recognizes and encourages the beneficial effects computers, computer programming, and use of the Internet resources have had on the children of the state of Louisiana by expanding their educational horizons. The legislature further recognizes that it has an obligation and responsibility to protect its citizens, and in particular its youngest citizens, from the pervasive nature of gambling which can occur via the Internet and the use of computers connected to the Internet. Gambling has long been recognized as a crime in the state of Louisiana and despite the enactment of many legalized gaming activities remains a crime. Gambling which occurs via the Internet embodies the very activity that the legislature seeks to prevent. The legislature further recognizes that the state's constitution and that of the United States are declarations of rights which the drafters intended to withstand time and address the wrongs and injustices which arise in future years. The legislature hereby finds and declares that it has balanced its interest in protecting the citizens of this state with the protection afforded by the First Amendment, and the mandates of Article XII, Section 6 of the Constitution of Louisiana and that this Section is a product thereof. B. Gambling by computer is the intentional conducting, or directly assisting in the conducting as a business of any game, contest, lottery, or contrivance whereby a person risks the loss of anything of value in order to realize a profit when accessing the Internet, World Wide Web, or any part thereof by way of any computer, computer system, computer network, computer software, or any server. D. Whoever commits the crime of gambling by computer shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars, or imprisoned for not more than six months, or both. E. Whoever designs, develops, manages, supervises, maintains, provides, or produces any computer services, computer system, computer network, computer software, or any server providing a Home Page, Web Site, or any other product accessing the Internet, World Wide Web, or any part thereof offering to any client for the primary purpose of the conducting as a business of any game, contest, lottery, or contrivance whereby a person risks the loss of anything of value in order to realize a profit shall be fined not more than twenty thousand dollars, or imprisoned with or without hard labor, for not more than five years, or both. I. The providing of Internet or other on-line access, transmission, routing, storage, or other communication related services, or Web Site design, development, storage, maintenance, billing, advertising, hypertext linking, transaction processing, or other site related services, by telephone companies, Internet Service Providers, software developers, licensors, or other such parties providing such services to customers in the normal course of their business, shall not be considered gambling by computer even though the activities of such customers using such services to conduct a prohibited game, contest, lottery, or contrivance may constitute gambling by computer for the purposes of this Section. The provisions of this Subsection shall not exempt from criminal prosecution any telephone company, Internet Service Provider, software developer, licensor, or other such party if its primary purpose in providing such service is to conduct gambling as a business.

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