CoinTelegraph.com has come up with its Top 10 Bitcoin Fails, and there are plenty of them.

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Online gambling was not immune to the failings. 

The website lists online poker site Seals With Clubs and its founder Bryan Micon along side dodgy banks, drug dealers online and Kidnappers, among others.

The Seals With Clubs site came in at number 4.  

#4: Unlicensed Online Gambling Dens

Gambling has always been in a legal grey area, and online platforms for the activity are no exception.

Bryan Micon, operator of the closed down bitcoin-fueled poker site Seals With Clubs, has been charged by the Nevada Attorney General with operating an unlicensed gambling enterprise, and faces up to ten years in prison and a US$50,000 fine. Interestingly enough it seems he is willing to try an unconventional and as-of-yet untested defense strategy, arguing that Bitcoin is not the same as Currency in the context of gambling law.

According to information available from Nevada’s Attorney General’s website, the investigation into Micon is unique as it is believed to be the first state-level criminal prosecution of an illegal poker website operating with Bitcoin. In a statement released on the Attorney General’s website, AG Burnett, Chairman of the Nevada State Gaming Control Board said that his organisation was “pleased to work” with the office of the Attorney General to stop an interactive gaming website operating without a gaming license.

- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com

The online casino group Planetwin365 says it has been wrongly implicated as part of a crackdown on organized crime and a network of rigged online casinos being run out of Italy.

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The company issued this statement to Gambling911.com in the wake of these reports:

Following the significant results by operation "Jamm Jamm", conducted by the Guardia di Finanza in the South of Italy, SKS365 Malta Ltd, owner of the planetwin365 brand and active as a nationally licensed gaming operator throughout Italy, emphasizes that it is completely unrelated to any illegal activities perpetrated by the defendants. According to SKS365, planetwin365 is in fact an injured party in the activities which have been brought to light.

As was evidenced by the Italian investigators, the now accused defendants would in fact exploit the reputation and popularity of planetwin365’s services to carry out their fraudulent activities. SKS365 points out that the investigated activities were carried out through people and entities who were not part of planetwin365’s network of 1001 shops in Italy.

SKS365 has already been active for some time in reporting to authorities so-called "under the table" operations in unlicensed gaming establishment in Italy. SKS365 will in every possible way safeguard its good name and its licensed and regulated operations in Italy. The company will continue to support the investigations in order to protect its customers and ensure the correctness of local shop management and the proper implementation of corporate standards.

Italian police have arrested 18 individuals in connection with the scheme dubbed “Operation Jamm Jamm”.  That nick name is derived from a discotheque called Jamm Jamm for which police claim was operated using the proceeds from the illegal online gambling operation. 

The well-established Dollaro Poker Network had previously been cited as having ties to the criminal organization.

- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com

The gaming industry website CalvinAyre.com is reporting a possible link to Amaya Gaming, the parent company of PokerStars, and the so-called “Panama Papers”.

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This past weekend, Wikileaks released 11.5m confidential documents belonging to Panamanian corporate service provider Mossack Fonseca that cite potentially hundreds of individuals and organizations that had hidden substantial monies in that Central American nation. 

CA.com has uncovered the possible ties to Amaya Gaming:

Among the companies listed in the Panama Papers is Zhapa Holdings Inc, a British Virgin Islands business whose master client is listed as IMF Network, a company based in Amaya’s corporate home of Montreal, Quebec. Among Zhapa’s listed shareholders are Goulissa Baazov, whom Canada’s Globe & Mail newspaper identified as the sister of David and his older brother Ofer Baazov aka Josh Baazov.

Zhapa.com appears to be defunct but used to bill itself as “the leading provider for low-cost online internet credit card processing merchant accounts for both Low Risk and High Risk merchants”.

CalvinAyre.com also reports that the online registries list a number of gambling websites hosted on Zapha.com’s DNS server that include the likes of BetonUSA.com and Oddsmaker.ag.

- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com

In the annals of criminal offenses, this will surely rank among the dumbest of the dumb.

Selfie taking bandits were captured stealing money from fruit machines in North Yorkshire, England this past week, perhaps in hopes of achieving the elusive rainbow riches(yes indeed the one guy even looks like a leprechaun).

Instead, they are heading to the Clink!

Their own selfies got them captured and the North Yorkshire Police were more than happy to make them feel like total fools, complete of course by posting one of the said selfies (seen here).

From the North Yorkshire Police Facebook page:

We caught these fruit machine bandits after they posed for selfies while they committed their crimes.

They took balaclavas with them to disguise themselves during theft sprees - but came unstuck after they decided to photograph themselves celebrating, posing and grinning after pocketing the cash.

They carried out a string of crimes with no thought for the businesses they were targeting - but ultimately their greed, arrogance and affinity for 'selfies' proved to be their downfall.

This sends out a clear message that anyone travelling into North Yorkshire to commit crime will be caught and brought to justice.

- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com

You would think that the state of Alabama would have more to worry about than DraftKings and FanDuel in the wake of a scandal involving its Governor caught up in a messy extra-marital affair.

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Attorney General Luther Strange released the following statement Tuesday:

Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange today announced that he has issued cease and desist letters to DraftKings and FanDuel after reviewing Alabama’s gambling statutes and determining that paid daily fantasy sports contests constitute illegal gambling. DraftKings and FanDuel have until May 1, 2016, to cease offering paid daily fantasy sports contests in Alabama.

“As Attorney General, it is my duty to uphold Alabama law, including the laws against illegal gambling,” Attorney General Strange said. “Daily fantasy sports operators claim that they operate legally under Alabama law. However, paid daily fantasy sports contests are in fact illegal gambling under Alabama law.”

Alabama is the latest in a series of states claiming Daily Fantasy Sports contests to be illegal or otherwise calling for some type of regulations a la Massachusetts, home of DraftKings.

Watch below.

- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com

A poker player who is owed nearly $100,000 by the now-defunct online poker site World Poker Exchange (WPEX) says he plans to confront the site's operator, Haden Ware, over the debt, when Ware appears in court next month for another matter, Gambling 911 can reveal in a world exclusive report!

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The poker player, who doesn't want his name revealed at this time, had the money in his betting account at WPEX when the site went out of business in 2012.

Neither he nor any of the site's hundreds of other customers who had money in WPEX betting accounts got their funds back when the site went under.

WPEX, which opened in 2003, was run by Ware from Antigua and was a sister site of online sports betting site World Sports Exchange (WSEX), which was started a few years earlier by Ware, Steve Schillinger and Jay Cohen and went out of business in 2013.

In 1998, Ware was one of 21 Americans charged by the U.S. Justice Dept. with illegal Internet gambling for running various online sports betting sites.

He had been a fugitive since, but earlier this year, in January, he turned himself in to Federal authorities after 18 years
on the lam.

A few days later he appeared in Manhattan Federal Court in New York before Judge James C. Francis IV and admitted he took sports wagers over the Internet for WSEX back in the 1990s.

Ware is scheduled to be back in that same courtroom on May 9 to be sentenced by the judge on what technically is a guilty plea to a charge of one count of conspiracy.

Federal sentencing guidelines stipulate that the charge carries a mandatory sentence of 6 to 12 months in Federal prison, but Ware nevertheless hopes to avoid any prison time.

That's because in 1998 when Ware was busted, so were 20 others for similar crimes (the so-called "Internet 21").
Some "Internet 21" members still remain fugitives, but many turned themselves in and none of them received any prison time, only fines and/or house arrest.

Cohen was an "Internet 21" member and got prison time but that's because he was the only one to fight the charges in court and he lost.

"Internet 21" members who turned themselves in, however, all did so within days of being busted by the Feds.
That Ware turned himself in 18 years after the fact--including several years hiding out in a converted brewery in Germany--puts him in a different category.

But that's not Ware's main worry right now--a confrontation at the courthouse with an angry poker player owed big bucks right before he is to be sentenced by the judge, is.

"World Poker Exchange owes me a lot of money and I want it," the stiffed poker player told Gambling 911 in an exclusive interview. "Haden Ware ran World Poker Exchange and I hold him personally responsible for debt.

"I'm not asking for anything I'm not entitled to," the poker player continued. "I won the money fair and square playing poker in their Internet poker room and before I could collect it, they went out of business and stiffed me good. It was four years ago but I'm still angry about it. I need the money. I have expenses."

The poker player added that after WPEX folded, he figured he would never see his money again.

But when Ware surfaced from hiding three months ago to surrender to authorites on WSEX-related charges, and the media reported Ware would be in court again in May for sentencing, the poker player realized an opportunity.

"I will be in the courtroom in New York next month when Ware is sentenced," the poker player told Gambling 911. "I'm not looking to make any trouble, that would be crazy to make a scene in a courtroom. I don't want to end up in contempt of court and in jail myself.

"I'm merely going to tell Ware about the money I'm owed by World Poker Exchange, and then ask him when he will be able to pay me back," the poker player continued. "I have documents to prove I was a World Poker Exchange customer and had the money in my account. I just want what I'm owed."

If the poker player does confront Ware in court next month and Judge Davis learns about the debt, it could affect Ware's sentencing.

The judge may not be planning to give Ware any time behind bars, but if he learns that Ware owes money not only to the poker player but numerous other WPEX customers, he might change his mind or at least order Ware to repay all owed monies in order to stay out of prison.

And if the judge is leaning towards a prison term for Ware, this fiasco could increase the sentence.

But, if Ware wants to make a deal before his sentencing hearing is held and pay the poker player a portion of the money owed, say 50 cents on the dollar, the poker player told Gambling 911 that he would consider the matter resolved and would not need to show up in court next month to confront Ware.

However, if Ware chooses to make such a deal, he would open himself up to demands from everyone else owed money by WPEX, and perhaps WSEX too, which when it folded also stiffed numerous bettors.

Ware thought by turning himself in, it would be the end of his problems.

It just might have created some additional ones.

By Tom Somach
Gambling 911 Staff Writer
tomsomach@yahoo.com

Eight men have been indicted for operating a multi-million dollar illegal sports betting ring, Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown and NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton announced on Tuesday. 

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Jay "Ghost" Sharon, a professional poker player, is accused of acting as the bookmaker and overseeing the operation.

He profited from the criminal pursuits of the other defendants —Jonathan Cianciotto, Joshua Handler, Emilio Testa, Christopher Hansen, Frank Nista, Vincent Zaccario and Gary Schreiber, according to officials.

BOSTON (Associated Press) — A federal criminal trial over the land Wynn Resorts wants to develop into a nearly $2 billion casino in Massachusetts is set to begin.

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Jury selection is expected Monday in the wire fraud trial of three men accused of trying to hide a convicted felon’s ownership stake in 33 acres of waterfront land in Everett. Massachusetts’ casino law explicitly bars felons from profiting from gambling operations.

Prosecutors allege property owners Dustin DeNunzio, Anthony Gattineri and Charles Lightbody forged property and bank records to make it appear as if Lightbody, a reputed mob associate and felon, was no longer a co-owner.

Wynn ultimately renegotiated the land sale from $75 million to $35 million after Lightbody’s role was revealed. Company CEO Steve Wynn is among the potential witnesses for the prosecution.

Natwlai Beck, 48, known as Netty, has been handed an eight-month suspended prison sentence. 

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She is accused of running a brothel from a Thai massage parlour in Scarborough, England as a means of funding her gambling addiction.  Between 18 August and 27 November 2014, around 72 sexual acts were believed to have taken place. 

Beck was arrested in 2014 and ultimately charged in 2015.  Beck was arrested at the premises on 27 November 2014 and she was charged on 22 May 2015 with managing a brothel.  She pleaded guilty to the offence on 22 June 2015 where the case was committed to Crown Court for sentencing, which finally took place this week.

Detective Inspector Glenn Kelly noted that all male clients have since been notified regarding the potential for spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

He added: “We believe there were a number of other men who possibly engaged in sexual activity at the San Sabai massage parlour on Albermarle Crescent in Scarborough. To minimise the risk, our strong advice is to refer themselves to a sexual health clinic or their GP for a sexual health check-up as soon as possible.”

- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com

(Reuters) - Japanese trailblazer Kento Momota will miss this year's Rio de Janeiro Olympics after being given an indefinite suspension by national badminton bosses for visiting an illegal casino, Kyodo News reported on Monday.

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The 21-year-old world number two, fellow shuttler Kenichi Tago and other team mates from their domestic Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East Corp side admitted to wagering at the Tokyo casino, which had since closed after police raids.

Tago, the world number 63, was also given an indefinite suspension by the Nippon Badminton Association and fired by his club on Monday. Momota received a 30-day suspension from his club, Kyodo said.

The director and manager of the team will lose their jobs and the men's team will not compete in the next six months, it added.

Momota became the first Japanese to win the Badminton World Federation Super Series Masters Final in December and also landed the Asian nation a first men's singles world championship medal when he claimed bronze in Jakarta last August.

A tearful Tago begged officials on Friday to allow Momota compete at Rio, confessing to taking his team mate to the casino.

Police arrested 17 individuals throughout the state of Rhode Island Tuesday as part of an eight-month investigation into an illegal sports betting ring, alleged to have Mob ties.  Raids occurred during the AM hours with the investigation said to be “on going”.

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Sean W. Furney, 24, who signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks, was among those named in the complaint.

Christopher R. Costantino, 24, was also charged with organized criminal gambling and conspiracy. Costantino was drafted 49^th by the Boston Red Sox in 2009 but never signed with the ball club, 

Other local former High School star athletes were among those charged.

The Rhode Island State Police said in a news release that the investigation was aided by members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Marshals Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and police departments in Providenec, Warwick, Cranston, Scituate, North Providence, Narragansett, East Providence, West Warwick, Johnston, Lincoln, Central Falls, East Greenwich, Woonsocket and Newport.

Police also raided the Cozy Grill in Warwick though State Police Lt. Colonel Todd Catlow would not elaborate with the news media as to how the restaurant fit into the investigation.  A sign on the door read “closed for family emergency” Tuesday.

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The following is a list of subjects who were arrested today and the charges pending:

Thomas J. Pilderian, 45, of 55 Pine Ridge Road, Cranston, charged with :1) Bookmaking, 2.) Organized Criminal Gambling, 3.) Conspiracy.

Mark B. Battista, age 39, of 400 Narragansett Parkway, Warwick, charged with: Bookmaking, Organized Criminal Gambling, Conspiracy, and Possession of Controlled Substance – 3 counts.

Mark V. Marinaro, age 43, of 11 Winward Circle, Warwick, charged with: Organized Criminal Gambling, Conspiracy.

Jason M. Pilderian, 39, of 25 Talbut Road, Scituate, charged with: Organized Criminal Gambling, and Conspiracy.

Joseph R. Brunelle, 38, of 12 Palm St., North Providence, charged with: Organized Criminal Gambling, 2.) Conspiracy

Eric D. Glaude, 40, of 35 Marigold Circle, North Providence, charged with: Organized Criminal Gambling, 2.) Conspiracy.

Dustin R. Sears, 40, of 40 Braeburn Circle, Cranston, charged with: Organized Criminal Gambling, Conspiracy

David J. Disano, 42 of 83 West Hill Drive, Cranston, charged with Organized Criminal Gambling, 2.) Conspiracy

Jonny E. Lubo, 44, of 111 Wunnegin Circle, Warwick, charged with: Organized Criminal Gambling, 2.) Conspiracy.

James J. Petrella, age 31, of 26 Beach Row, Narragansett, Bookmaking, 2.) Organized Criminal Gambling, 3.) Conspiracy.

Timothy J. Moretti, age 46, of 1710 Phenix Avenue, Cranston, charged with: Bookmaking, Organized Criminal Gambling, Conspiracy, Violation of Probation for prior convictions of Possession with Intent to Deliver Cocaine and Possession of 1 ounce to 1 kilogram of Cocaine.

Sean W. Furney, age 24, of 48 Roosevelt Street, Warwick, charged with: Organized Criminal Gambling, 2.) Conspiracy.

Brian K. Cipolla, age 48, of 178 Council Rock Road, Cranston, charged with: Organized Criminal Gambling, 2.) Conspiracy.

Lewis Silveira, age 50, of 154 North Street, Warwick, charged with: Organized Criminal Gambling, 2.) Conspiracy

John Depietro, age 41, 39 Prospect Avenue, South Kingstown, charged with: Possession with intent to deliver 1 to 5 kilos of marijuana, Possession of 1 to 5 kilos of marijuana, Possession of Adderall with intent to deliver.

Christopher R. Costantino, age 24, of 10 Cedar Pond Drive, Warwick, charged with: Organized Criminal Gambling, 2.) Conspiracy.

Joseph A. Capelli, age 38, of 58 Firglade Drive, Cranston, Organized Criminal Gambling, 2.) Conspiracy

The arrests come just one week after the conclusion of the NCAA Basketball Tournaments, also known as March Madness, among the year’s most profitable events for the sports betting sector.

- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com

LAS VEGAS (Associated Press) - An ex-Bellagio craps dealer and two friends were each sentenced Tuesday to at least four years in Nevada state prison for using phantom “hop” bets to cheat the Las Vegas Strip resort out of more than $1 million.

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The dealer, Mark William Branco, and accomplices Jeffrey D. Martin and Anthony Grant Granito each apologized and asked for probation before a Clark County District Court judge who also ordered each man to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in restitution.

“I’ll do whatever it takes to make it right,” Branco sobbed.

“Family should always be the priority. I let money be the priority,” Martin said.

“I’ve disgraced my family. I’ve disgraced myself,” said Granito, who had a heart attack and bypass surgery after being charged in the case.

Judge Valerie Adair responded that over the two years of the scheme, during which a casino official testified the men gathered at the craps table 76 times, they must’ve assumed they’d go to prison if they got caught.

Adair sentenced Branco, 43, to four to 10 years in prison. Martin, 39, and Granito, 49, each got four years to eight years and four months. Together, they’re responsible for $1.05 million in restitution.

Each man pleaded guilty last year to two felonies — theft and cheating at gambling — in a plea deal that avoided trial and had other charges in a 60-count indictment dismissed.

Branco and Bellagio co-worker James Russell Cooper Jr., were arrested in July 2014 and fired by the Bellagio after the scheme came to light.

Cooper, 44, pleaded guilty to a lesser theft charge and testified before a grand jury, providing what prosecutor Jay P. Raman called a crucial insider’s account. Cooper is expected to face one to five years in prison at sentencing later this year.

Raman said the four men hatched the scheme at a local pizza restaurant before they began the fraud in August 2012.

When Cooper or Branco or both were dealing at a craps table, Martin and Granito would step up and mutter confusing bets amid last-second activity before the roll of the dice. They’d win no matter what the outcome.

“When the circumstances were just right, they would make high-stakes ‘hop’ bets,” Raman said. “No money. No chips.”

For a time, the results made Martin and Granito the top craps winners at the posh Bellagio resort, Raman said.

“They stole a ton of money,” the prosecutor said, “the kind of money that the word ‘jackpot’ usually follows.”

They bought new vehicles and padded their bank accounts, Raman said, but Martin also lost a lot in slot machines.

Sharon Tibbits, a fraud-control executive at Bellagio owner MGM Resorts International, told the judge today that it took thousands of hours for investigators to piece together the defendants’ bets, losses and winnings.

In one day in July 2014, Granato won $13,200 on the first roll of the dice and stayed for 229 more rolls. Tibbits said he lost $64,000 on valid bets, but won almost $150,000 on fraudulent bets. His net win was more than $85,000.

“It was not need. It was 100 percent greed,” the casino official said, urging the judge to impose stiff sentences.

“Please don’t let crime pay,” Tibbits said.

A former professional baseball player who went on to become a Federal prosecutor of the Mafia and is now a private attorney is hoping to hit a home run and keep his client, disgraced Internet bookie Haden Ware, out of prison when Ware is sentenced next month on a Federal gambling charge.

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The attorney, James D. Henderson Sr., of Malibu, California, will be by Ware's side in Manhattan Federal Court in New York on May 9 when Judge James C. Francis IV decides how Ware, 40, will be punished for pleading guilty in January to illegally taking sports bets over the Internet in the late 1990s.

The judge has many options for punishment, including time in a Federal pen for Ware, house arrest, a fine, probation or community service, or some combination of these options.

Ware, a co-operator of the world's first online sports betting site, World Sports Exchange, was charged by the U.S. Justice Dept. along with 20 others in 1998 with operating illegal offshore Internet casinos and sportsbooks, in the first Federal prosecution of online gambling.

The charged became known as the "Internet 21" and most immediately turned themselves in, pled guilty and received fines and/or house arrest--none who pled got prison time.

Now Ware, who also turned himself in and pled guilty--but 18 years after everyone else--sweats it out as he waits to learn his fate.

Nobody else from the "Internet 21" who turned himself in got time behind bars, so that's a point in Ware's favor.

But the others all gave up immediately, they weren't fugitives for almost two decades hiding out first in Antigua and then in Germany, as Ware had, so that's a definite point against Ware and something likely to irk the judge.

That's where Ware's ball-playing, Mob-busting lawyer comes in.

Henderson isn't expecting any prison time for his client.

At least that's what the attorney told Gambling 911 in an exclusive, albeit brief, email interview.

In response to a question about reports in the media that Henderson was expecting Ware to be sentenced to between 6 and 12 months in prison, Henderson declared to Gambing 911: "I have never said to anyone that I expect Haden Ware to receive any jail time! Jim Henderson."

Among the questions Henderson refused to answer was whether a deal was made between Ware and the Feds for Ware to give up and plead in exchange for leniency.

Biographical information on Henderson's law firm's website reveals that he once played minor league baseball in the Kansas City Royals organization before becoming a Federal prosecutor who targeted Mafia figures as well as various embezzlers, fraudsters, hijackers, drug dealers, counterfeiters and, yes, illegal gambling operators.

Practicing law since 1987, Henderson, according to the website, specializes in several areas of legal defense, including criminal charges involving business fraud, liability and offshore gambling.

Now the former ball-playing Mob-buster hopes to get the judge to play ball and cut Ware a break.

It's the bottom of the ninth and Henderson is down to his last out.

Can he score and keep Ware from getting any time?

Or will he strike out and see Ware off to the slammer?

As usual in baseball, it will be up to umpire, in this case Judge Davis.

By Tom Somach

Gambling 911 Staff Writer

tomsomach@yahoo.com

Following the arrest of 17 individuals tied to what Rhode Island law enforcement calls a massive Mafia-tied illegal sports betting ring, state police have not ruled out additional arrests.

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Details related to the investigation remained somewhat limited.

“You’ll understand probably better in a day when we can piece it together, and explain to you,” said Col. Steve O’Donnell of the RI State Police. “We’re not trying to be difficult and I can tell you – It all will piece together.”

Among those charged with Organized Criminal Gambling and Conspiracy is Sean W. Furney, 24, who signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks.  The Diamondbacks declined to comment on the matter.  

Christopher R. Costantino, 24, is facing similar charges. Costantino was drafted 49th by the Boston Red Sox in 2009 but never signed with the ball club,

Other local former High School star athletes were among those arrested during Tuesday morning’s statewide raids.

A former prison guard, 46-year-old Timothy Moretti, is alleged to have been the ring leader. 

“Typically, legal gambling is done on a credit card and its upfront and there’s taxes that are paid on winnings and things like that,” O’Donnell told Eyewitness News. “Illicit gambling is done behind the scenes where someone orchestrates it – there’s no taxes being paid and there’s no credit.”

Following the arrest of 17 individuals tied to what Rhode Island law enforcement calls a massive Mafia-tied illegal sports betting ring, state police have not ruled out additional arrests.

- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com

It’s been an especially bad week for those involved in the illegal gambling trade throughout the tiny state of Rhode Island this week as a series of high profile arrests have bookies shaking in their shoes.

Following the arrests of 17 individuals tied to a Mafia-run sports betting ring, authorities in Providence pulled the plug on another large-scale gambling venture that several storefronts and residential properties on the city’s South Side and in the West End.

Those charged with organized criminal gambling business, bookmaking, forms of gambling prohibited and keeping a gambling place were:

    Stephany Cabrera, age 24

    Pamela Espinal, age 20

    Noel Acevedo, age 42

    Ivelisse Bencosme, age 22

    Frannys Gomez Urbaez, age 37

    Kelvin Leonel Vasquez Bisono, age 35

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The following were charged with gambling and lotteries, keeping of gambling places, gambling and lottery forms of gambling prohibited and bookmaking:

    Felix Vasquez aka Dionis Arias, age 45

    Francisco Espinal alias John Doe, age 27

    Mery Garcia, age 22

The investigation is not connected to State Police investigation into illegal gambling in Warwick and Narragansett earlier this week that netted some of the state’s top former High School star athletes as well as a current Arizona Diamondback player.

Many residing in the state of Rhode Island are unaware of the archaic laws pertaining to sports wagers and bookmaking.  Rhode Island law makes no exception for gaming law due to the location of the game. That is the official position of the Attorney General’s office. As such, even one’s Super Bowl squares bet in an office or party gathering Rhode Island is explicitly illegal.

- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com

CINCINNATI (Associated Press) — Boxer Adrien Broner was indicted Thursday on assault and robbery charges, the next step in prosecutors' case against the former WBA super lightweight champion.

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The charges arise from a lawsuit filed by a man who accuses Broner of pointing a handgun at him during a dispute over gambling in January and knocking him unconscious.

Broner was indicted on an aggravated robbery charge, a first-degree felony that carries a maximum sentence of three to 10 years. He also was indicted on second-degree charges of felonious assault and robbery, which carry sentences of two to eight years. Bond was set at $100,000. No date has been set for a pretrial hearing.

The 26-year-old boxer also was jailed in Cincinnati this month for violating probation in an unrelated reckless driving case.

Costa Rica-based VIPBettors.com and BetCapri.com are at the center of an extensive crackdown on illegal sports betting in the state of Rhode Island this week.

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17 individuals including a Major League Baseball player with the Arizona Diamondbacks, have been charged with Organized Criminal Gambling and Conspiracy for their role in running what police say was a Mafia-connected illegal sports betting ring that took in and undisclosed amount of money.  Other arrests are possible, according to Rhode Island state police.

It was not immediately clear if any of those arrested had controlling interests in either of the two websites.

State Police searched the following Rhode Island locations April 12 using search warrants obtained in their investigation:

    55 Pine Ridge Drive, Cranston

    The Cozy Grill restaurant located at 440 Warwick Avenue, Warwick

    400 Narragansett Parkway (West B3), Warwick

    25 Talbut Road, Scituate • 1710 Phenix Avenue, Cranston

    26 Beach Row, Narragansett

    GiGi’s Pizzeria located at 647 Main Avenue, Warwick

    The Portside restaurant located at 321 Great Island Rd., Narraganset

    125 Pleasant Street, Cranston

    Storage Unit 3045, 604 Park Avenue, Cranston

- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com

Gamblers patronizing the Emu Casino online (EmuCasino.com) may soon be out of luck as Australian authorities threaten to shut down the site.

Since 2012, the site, which is named after the world’s second largest flightless bird, is alleged to have operated illegally from Australia where online casino-style gaming is illegal, though the parent company, EMU Inc, is based out of Panama City, Panama and licensed by the island nation of Curacao. 

The registered owner of the Australian domain website is a Gold Coast hairdresser Jeff Muller, who denies any association with the venture.

“That is all news to me,” Mr. Muller told The Daily News.  “I have nothing to do with this website.”

Australian domain name regulator, auDA, can shut a website down if found to be registered fraudulently as Mr. Muller is claiming.

The Panama connection is especially of interest, as The Daily News points out:

According to the Panamanian companies registry, the shares of EmuCasino are held in the names of two trust companies, which effectively obscure the identities of the Australian owners.

According to filings made to Panamanian regulators, the holding company was incorporated by a law firm known as Quijano & Associates – one of Panama’s leading providers of shelf company registrations.

Quijano & Associates competes against Mossack Fonseca – the law firm now at the centre of an international tax evasion scandal after sensitive documents about its clients were leaked earlier this month to world media.

A former Sydney web developer Adrian Loughnan, is referred to as EmuCasino’s “Head of Affiliates” on its website, and as such the only known identity connected to the venture.  But if what Muller claims is true, Loughnan’s name appearing on their website is not necessarily proof he has ties to them.  The Daily News, in filing its report, was unsure if he currently worked there.

- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com

The Bitcoin online casino site Coinroll has warned its customers that their stored information, such as passwords and credit card numbers, may have been compromised following a theft.

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This was a result of lax security measures, according to the online security firm MacKeeper after they discovered an online database containing information from 4,610 Coinroll.com accounts.  Some Coinroll customer balances had already been stolen.

The site posted an ominous message warning its customers and they have since disabled all withdrawals and deposit functions while measures are being taken to incorporate proper security patches.

Representatives from Coinroll.com admitted that they had failed to set an administrative password for the database, thus leading to the vulnerabilities and eventual hacking of customer information.

- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com

Welcome to the Gambling911.com Crime Beat.  We are the leading gaming news site when it comes to covering crime and punishment in the sector.

Our crime reporting is among the most popular aspect of the G911 site and now we will be offering expansive coverage via this section.  Bookmark us and check back throughout the day.

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Another Japanese Olympian Suspended Over Gambling Improprieties - The Nippon Badminton Association said it removed 21-year-old Kenta Nishimoto from the squad's player list after learning he had visited a casino at least twice last year. Gambling is mostly illegal in Japan.

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More of Today's Gambling Crime Headlines

Coinroll Bitcoin Online Casino Customer Info Compromised by Hackers

EmuCasino.com Faces Shutdown Amidst Probe by Authorities, Local Media

VIPBettors.com, Betcapri.com at Center of Rhode Island Sports Betting Sting

Rhode Island Gambling Arrests Have Local Bookies Worried: 7 More Taken Down

Woman Who Embezzled $5.2 Million to Fuel Gambling Addiction to be Sentenced April 21

G911 World Exclusive: Attorney Not Expecting Prison Time for WSEX Owner Ware

Sex Toy Causes Bomb Scare at German Casino

- Compiled by Jagajeet Chiba and Nagesh Rath