US – NJ based affiliate Sentenced for Promoting iGaming

Just read this. It didn’t help the guy had cocaine. Also, the police first misconstrued that he actually RAN the gaming sites themselves, which was not true. Looks to me that if he didn’t have the drug charges added on, it probably would have been a slap on the wrist.

Marc Lesnick
Conference Organizer
Casino Affiliate Convention
http://www.cac2006.com

http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060304/NEWS01/603040337/1005

Judge opts for lenient penalty for Web betting
Hasbrouck Heights resident sent to labor program, put on three years’ probation

BY PEGGY WRIGHT
DAILY RECORD

A Hasbrouck Heights resident was sentenced in Morristown on Friday to 90 days on a manual labor program and three years’ probation for promoting gambling through a Web site he hosted to attract wagers on college and professional sports.

Nicholas Drakos, 49, had tried unsuccessfully in October to get a Superior Court judge to dismiss a charge of promoting gambling on the theory that he couldn’t have committed a crime because New Jersey has no laws that expressly ban betting over the Internet.

Judge Salem Vincent Ahto upheld the charge in October, finding that Internet gambling is illegal even though the Legislature has not banned it. 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 organizations. Internet gambling is not a sanctioned activity under current state law, he found.

So, Drakos pleaded guilty in January to promoting gambling between January and April 2004, and to possessing cocaine when he was arrested on April 1, 2004. Ahto on Friday 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 wished a higher court in New Jersey had an opportunity to review the legitimacy of Internet gambling, but so far it has not, and 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.

Drakos got one significant break from a law that passed on Jan. 12, which helped to save him from losing his driver’s license for between six months and two years. It allows judges to refrain from suspending the driver’s licenses of people convicted of drug offenses if there are compelling circumstances. In Drakos’case, he lives in Bergen County but must serve his SLAP sentence in Morris County. Since there are few alternative transportation options, Ahto allowed him to keep his license to ensure that he fulfills SLAP.

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 learned 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.”