Online Casino Transfer: News - Betcha.com Still Fighting

03/28/2010		Online Casino Style: News Betcha.com Still Fighting
Home History Games News Dictionary		A disappointing update has become available in regards to Betcha.com, an old domain name that was shut down in 2007 following pressure from the US government for their betting exchange business model. Amazingly enough, counter intuitively to the promises of swift justice, the court case continues to drag on in appeal and counter appeal actions in the US judicial system. The root of the issue lies with Betcha.com’s business model. The system stands apart from most online gambling sites in that it’s a betting exchange based entirely on the honor system; while it’s understood that an obligation to pay up follows a losing bet, Betcha.com stands apart from the transaction between the two punters, refusing to force losing parties from paying their winning counterparts. Because of this detail: that the bets and promises to pay are between two punters, and the honor system is the ruling regulation, operator Nick Jenkins claims that his site is not technically internet gambling by definition, and therefore not subject to prohibition by the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. Gambling, by definition, requires that the winner will receive something of value. That is simply not guaranteed by Betcha.com’s betting exchange system. Jenkins continues to defend his business model in court after court, well-versed in the argument as he himself is a Seattle lawyer, who established the site in one of the strictest states in the Union, Washington. He openly consulted with a range of opinions before jumping off, and almost immediately was fallen upon by governmental warnings, telling him to shut down his online casino. The fact that the sports betting exchange was NOT a casino did little to help. Washington state gambling officials soon raided their home base, and Jenkins, along with two of his employees was arrested. All his computer hard and software was seized, and Betcha.com was effectively shut down. The online gambling venture has been on trial ever since. The Washington State Gambling Commission and Betcha.com moved for summary judgement. Washington won. Jenkins appealed. He won. Now, the counter-appeal submitted by the State of Washington is under consideration, with Jenkins at the very least waiting with bated breath for their answer. It’s another side to the same old argument: what exactly constitutes ‘gambling’ in the land of the free?

03/28/2010

Online Casino Style: News
Betcha.com Still Fighting

A disappointing update has become available in regards to Betcha.com, an old domain name that was shut down in 2007 following pressure from the US government for their betting exchange business model. Amazingly enough, counter intuitively to the promises of swift justice, the court case continues to drag on in appeal and counter appeal actions in the US judicial system.

The root of the issue lies with Betcha.com’s business model. The system stands apart from most online gambling sites in that it’s a betting exchange based entirely on the honor system; while it’s understood that an obligation to pay up follows a losing bet, Betcha.com stands apart from the transaction between the two punters, refusing to force losing parties from paying their winning counterparts. Because of this detail: that the bets and promises to pay are between two punters, and the honor system is the ruling regulation, operator Nick Jenkins claims that his site is not technically internet gambling by definition, and therefore not subject to prohibition by the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.

Gambling, by definition, requires that the winner will receive something of value. That is simply not guaranteed by Betcha.com’s betting exchange system. Jenkins continues to defend his business model in court after court, well-versed in the argument as he himself is a Seattle lawyer, who established the site in one of the strictest states in the Union, Washington. He openly consulted with a range of opinions before jumping off, and almost immediately was fallen upon by governmental warnings, telling him to shut down his online casino. The fact that the sports betting exchange was NOT a casino did little to help.

Washington state gambling officials soon raided their home base, and Jenkins, along with two of his employees was arrested. All his computer hard and software was seized, and Betcha.com was effectively shut down.

The online gambling venture has been on trial ever since. The Washington State Gambling Commission and Betcha.com moved for summary judgement. Washington won. Jenkins appealed. He won. Now, the counter-appeal submitted by the State of Washington is under consideration, with Jenkins at the very least waiting with bated breath for their answer. It’s another side to the same old argument: what exactly constitutes ‘gambling’ in the land of the free?