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After years of slow pays and no pays, one of the first online gambling websites has unceremoniously shut its doors.
World Sports Exchange is officially dead following 17 years in business.
The company posted a brief "apology", which read that they "sinisterly apologize", in all ikelihood meant to read "sincerely apologize".
WSEX.com as it was commonly known was once prominently featured on the front cover of Sports Illustrated. This resulted in an influx of new customers during the late 1990’s.
In March 1998, World Sports Exchange founder Jay Cohen was indicted for violating a 1960’s Wire Act. He would go on to fight the charges in court, ultimately losing and serving nearly 2 years in prison. Cohen would eventually return to Antigua where he is said to now be on suicide watch. Cohen also gained a reputation for publicly attacking his competition on various posting forums for failing to resolve payment disputes in a timely fashion.
WSEX’s ultimately downfall may have come with the closure of the Stanford International Bank in Antigua. The company is widely rumoured to have maintained substantial funds in this bank.
In recent weeks, World Sports Exchange has failed to post game lines and grade bets in a timely fashion.
Just two days ago, another one of the first offshore sportsbooks, Legends (formerly MVP Sports) was forced to close after losing its license to operate by the Panama Gaming Commission. Legends was named in a US indictment last week. Last month, long established Intrade.com also shut down following legal issues and accounting improprieties.
- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
