Peter Dicks

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Peter Dicks is the former chairman of Sportingbet PLC, one of the world's largest sportsbooks and online gambling operations.

Mr. Dicks achieved notability when he was arrested on September 7, 2006 while in transit at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport. He was detained by U.S. Customs officials under an outstanding warrant issued by the state of Louisiana. The warrant charges Mr. Dicks with running a gambling enterprise by computer, a crime under Louisiana law.^[1]

His arrest came two months after the arrest of competitor David Carruthers, CEO of rival firm BetOnSports.com. In contrast to Carruthers, who is being held on Federal charges, Dicks is charged only with violating Louisiana law.

Dicks was released on $50,000 bail on September 9; shortly thereafter he tendered his resignation as Sportingbet chairman and announced plans to fight extradition to Louisiana. A hearing scheduled for September 28, 2006 was postponed until the following day to allow New York court officials time to reach a decision.^[2] On September 29, Judge Gene Lopez announced that the warrant would not be enforced, and that Mr. Dicks was free to return to the UK. New York governor George Pataki stated that because internet gambling is not a crime in New York, the state does not have the authority to extradite Mr. Dicks to Louisiana.^[3]

Mr. Dicks didn't live in the United States as he is a citizen of the UK and only came to the U.S. for business matters unrelated to internet gambling. This led to controversy as to whether it was legally permisible to punish Mr. Dicks as he was not physically in the United States at the time of the alleged crime.