Man Convicted Of Promoting Online Casinos
Published: Sunday, March 05, 2006 Online-Casinos.com
GAMBLING SITE OWNER CONVICTED OF PROMOTING ONLINE CASINOS
New Jersey judge hands down "guilty" ruling
Online-Casinos.com readers may recall back in October last year a case being heard in Morristown, New Jersey before Judge Salem Vincent Ahto in which local businessman Nicholas Drakos (49) was accused of promoting gambling through his website International Net Casino and other peripheral offences.
This week the Judge handed down his final decision, convicting Drakos and sentencing him to 90 days on a manual labour program and three years' probation for promoting gambling through a Web site he hosted to attract wagers on college and professional sports.
Drakos had tried unsuccessfully in October to have the charges dismissed on grounds that he couldn't have committed a crime because New Jersey has no laws that expressly ban betting over the Internet.
Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Melanie Smith countered by suggesting that under state law, a person is guilty of promoting gambling when he or she knowingly engages in conduct that "...materially aids any form of gambling activity." And amendments to New Jersey's constitution have legalised certain types of gambling in New Jersey and prohibited the Legislature from authorising other forms of gambling "...unless the specific kind, restrictions and control ... are approved by public referendum," she contended.
The state constitution, Ahto noted, cites approved forms of gambling that include casinos, state-run lotteries and certain types of raffles and bingo games that benefit civic and specified organisations. Internet gambling is not a sanctioned activity under current state law, he found.
The judge accepted the prosecution argument that Internet gambling is illegal even though the state Legislature has not specifically banned it, and that led to Drakos changing his plea to guilty earlier this year. This week's proceedings were therefore for sentencing.
Judge Ahto said he would not be unduly harsh on Drakos, since many people innocently believe that gambling is lawful and Drakos was not stealthy about the Web site he hosted.
"I don't think Mr. Drakos was trying to hide what he was doing. It's not like this was a clandestine operation," Ahto said. He added that he had wished a higher court in New Jersey had an opportunity to review the legitimacy of Internet gambling per se, but so far it has not. This was now unlikely to occur, because Drakos' lawyers did not appeal Ahto's trial court finding in October.
The judge sentenced Drakos to the eight days he already served in the Morris County jail after his arrest and imposed 90 days on the Sheriff's Labor Assistance Program, a work-in-lieu-of-jail program. Drakos also must serve three years' probation and pay about $1,330 in fines.
During the trial, the Morris County Prosecutor's Office had contended that Drakos was the host of a gambling Web site that featured his picture and phone numbers for customer assistance. When police became aware of the Web site, they claimed that the site was "...the functional equivalent of a wire room, or a location where bettors could call or log on to and place bets." The site also had connections outside the United States.
An undercover officer contacted Drakos to set up an online betting account and they met in person in January 2004. During their meeting, the officer discussed establishing an online account as well as Drakos'"affiliate program," which was a commission incentive for bettors to recruit other bettors.
"He was so open with what he did," defense lawyer Gerard Hanlon said. "It is not a crime that offends the sense of morality."
