The US wire act makes it a high risk area for US citizens.
Names should be avoided.
JAY COHEN CONVICTED OF OPERATING AN OFF-SHORE SPORTS BETTING BUSINESS
THAT ACCEPTED BETS FROM AMERICANS OVER THE INTERNET
MARY JO WHITE, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that JAY COHEN was convicted today in Manhattan federal court after a two-week trial of operating a sports betting business that illegally accepted bets and wagers on sporting events from Americans over the Internet and telephones. COHEN was convicted of conspiracy to violate the Wire Wager Act and seven substantive violations of the Wire Wager Act in connection with his operation of World Sports Exchange ("WSE").
COHEN was the first defendant to stand trial in a series of Internet offshore sports gambling cases that were the first prosecutions brought under the federal Wire Wager Act. Ten defendants have previously pled guilty.
At trial, the evidence demonstrated that Cohen, president of WSE, a sports betting company located in Antigua, caused WSE to take bets on various sporting events and contests from Americans. As the evidence at trial demonstrated, among other things, COHEN solicited Americans to call WSE through the use of toll-free 800 telephone numbers, and to contact WSE via WSE’s Internet website. The Wire Wager Act makes it a crime to, among other things, use telephone lines in interstate or foreign commerce for the placement of sportsbets, or for the transmission of information assisting in the placing of bets on sporting events and contests. As demonstrated at trial, through advertisements placed in various United States newspapers and magazines, WSE invited customers from throughout the United States to contact WSE by telephone or by Internet and open a sports betting account; to wire transfer money to WSE to fund that account; and then to bet on American sporting events and contests using that account.
