David Carruthers Arrest - Wall Street Journal Op/Ed

WSJ Editoral Page Going Soft

Nearly three weeks after the arrest of David Carruthers today’s Wall Street Editorial page tepidly expressed their dismay that this was a case of, “extraordinary prosecutorial zeal”.

This case is one that only a statist could love.

Illegal?

The Wire Act is frequently used as a stop-gap measure when existing legislation hasn’t caught up with reality but what Mr. Carruthers did was not illegal in the UK.

But BetOnSports and Mr. Carruthers are not charged with dishonest behavior toward their customers. They are being told that a business they believed was legal was a criminal enterprise even if it was being run in the open. That suggests that prosecutors believe they have the right to enforce compliance with even ambiguous U.S. laws on any business, wherever based, solely because some of the people accessing their site happen to be Americans.

Protectionism

….they'd rather not have the online competition, which is why most of those "good" gambling operations support suppression of online gambling sites like BetOnSports.

The lobbying to restrict gambling is pure protectionism masquerading as protection for the children. The argument that online gambling puts the young at risk is absurd given that nearly any other age restricted product can be purchased online. Is it really necessary to throw foreign CEO’s in jail to protect our casino industry?

Political Games

This Nifong style prosecution has nothing to do with morality and is a pure political move. Carruthers was a target because of his outspoken views on gambling and his arrest was a message to the other gaming CEO’s to keep their mouth shut. Since the Blair the lapdog cares not a whit about what happens to his businessmen it’s a message that won’t take long to sink in.

Follow the latest news on the case here: http://www.freedavidcarruthers.com/