Betcha.com was a unique online gambling site and it won its case in the Louisiana Court of Appeals Division II based on a unique interpretation of the definition of gambling.

The court ruled that for gambling to take place the gambler necessarily has to “risk” something. There has to be a chance that he will lose something. Nick Jenkins had founded his gambling site Betcha.com on the honor system. The bettors could renege on their wagers and walk away without paying up if they wanted to, without facing any legal consequences. Hence settlement of losses was entirely voluntary and in law the bettors were not “risking” any thing. Hence the operations did not qualify as gambling. That the bettors were advised to settle their losses on moral grounds and that most did so did not change the fact that legally it was not gambling.

Despite being vindicated, Jenkins is not keen to restart Betcha.com. He said that the laws on gambling differ from State to State. Though he has been cleared of criminal charges in Louisiana there is nothing to prevent another trigger happy state from taking him on. He has had to go through a lot these last two years and does not want to go through it again.

Jenkins is from the legal profession and started Betcha.com after making a detailed study of the Federal and State laws on gambling. But he failed to factor in over zealous officers. Betcha.com ran into trouble in its home state, Washington. Washington is the worst place to have online gambling operations. The Washington State Gambling Commission (WSGC) issued a closure order on Betcha.com. Jenkins responded by filing a declaratory judgment action. Within an hour of filing the suit a Louisiana state trooper, acting in collusion with Washington authorities, accepted a wager of $35 at the web site. That was the only wager ever made at Betcha.com from Louisiana. Immediately a request for extradition to Louisiana was made. The request was granted by the then Washington Governor Christine Gregoire. Thus Jenkins and two colleagues became the first persons to be extradited to Louisiana for alleged violating its gambling by computer law. The absurdity of this action is apparent because the then New York Governor George Pataki refused to extradite a U.K. based executive to Louisiana on the same charges. In Louisiana Jenkins and his colleagues were jailed and charged with felony that carried a 5 year imprisonment if found guilty. Later they were released on a bail of $50,000. Jenkins lost in the lower court and went in to appeal, where he received the landmark judgment.

Though Jenkins has indicated his unwillingness to start again, it is likely that some other enterprising entrepreneur will take up this concept of allowing players to renege on their bets. While it lasted most Betch.com players were voluntarily honoring bets made and the site was doing well.

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