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