Online Gambling Site Surprised By Supreme Court Ruling

To the surprise of Betcha.com founder Nicholas Jenkins, the Washington Supreme Court ruled last week that the option to pay gambling debts does not exclude the site from laws prohibiting online gambling in the United States.

“Never in a million years did I expect an opinion like this one,” founder Nicholas Jenkins said. “The court’s error is so obvious that I wonder if a single justice even cracked our brief, let alone the Revised Code of Washington.”

The unanimous decision on Thursday overturned an earlier appeal that found Betcha.com acted as a middle man and did not engage in gambling, by classifying the Seattle based company as an illegal bookie.

“Under the statutory definition of bookmaking, it is immaterial whether or not Betcha users were engaged in gambling activity,” Justice Tom Chambers wrote.

Betcha.com’s defense was that they should not be held to state or federal gambling restrictions since they allowed users to place wagers on the outcome of any activity or event, however the bet had to be accepted by another user and the loser was given the option not to pay.