In a closely watched case that may influence how nations deal with criminal conduct that crosses their borders via the Internet, a former stock trader went on trial Monday for allowing Americans to bet on sporting events through his Web site in Antigua. Jay Cohen, president and co-owner of the World Sports Exchange sports book, was one of 21 owners and managers of nine offshore companies named in a series of highly publicised indictments in 1998 that charged them with illegally using interstate telephone lines to take online wagers from US customers. But while the other 20 have entered guilty pleas prior to trial, been dropped from the case or are fugitives, Cohen decided to fight the charges, which carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. "Jay is a brave individual who believes if he gets a fair trial he will be exonerated of all charges," his attorney, Benjamin Brafman, a partner in the New York City law firm of Brafman & Ross, told MSNBC. "He believes what he is doing is legal, and does not want to be a fugitive from the United States for the rest of his life." More is at stake in Cohen's trial than determining whether federal law, which in part prohibits using "a wire communication facility for the transmission in interstate or foreign commerce of bets or wagers," applies to Internet wagering. "This is an interesting case of asserting jurisdiction over overseas Web sites in a criminal context," Jim Halpert, a Washington, D.C., lawyer specialising in Internet law, told the Financial Times of London. "It will be closely followed by companies doing business on the Internet, both in the US and abroad." The case also is likely to have consequences for the young but rapidly growing Internet gambling industry, which at last count consisted of approximately 650 Web sites that take bets on sports contests and casino-style games of chance. All told, the sites are expected to generate revenue of nearly $1.5bn this year, growing to more than $3bn in 2002. Many operators of online gambling sites and their supporters say that if the prosecution prevails in Cohen's case, additional indictments of operators of sports-betting sites in the Caribbean and elsewhere are likely. Many also expect that prosecutors will next target purveyors of casino-style games, where the federal law is less clear. But even if Cohen wins, operators of online sites fear the victory will merely provide momentum for lawmakers like Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., who is attempting to push a ban on Internet gambling through Congress. "If Cohen loses, it's an additional piece of case law (following decisions in state courts that Internet gambling is illegal)," said Sue Schneider, co-chair of the Interactive Gaming Council, an industry trade group, and publisher of Interactive Gaming News. "If he wins, the Internet gaming industry will be exonerated, which will provide additional ammunition for the proponents of the Kyl bill." Jury selection in the case began Monday in the US District Court in Manhattan. The trial is expected to last two to three weeks. In arguing on Cohen's behalf, Brafman indicated he will contend that neither the placing of a sports bet in the state of New York, nor the receiving of such a bet in the sovereign nation of Antigua constitutes an illegal act. Cohen's attorney also will argue that since the law under which Cohen is being prosecuted is almost 40 years old and was written to prohibit bookies from accepting or transmitting bets by phone, it could not possibly apply to the Internet, which did not exist at the time, and Cohen could not knowingly have violated it. He further cites the existence of the bills in Congress as evidence that the online wagering is currently not illegal under federal law. "If the Kyl bill is necessary to prohibit Internet gambling, as the bill's proponents argue, it follows that World Sports Exchange is not currently doing anything wrong," says Brafman. US District Judge Thomas P. Griesa, who will be presiding over the trial, has already rejected a motion to dismiss the case that largely relied on these arguments. A spokesman for the US attorney's office said that Joseph Demarco, who will be prosecuting the case, would not comment. But in court papers, the prosecution argues that "where a bet is 'placed' -- physically, conceptually or otherwise -- simply does not matter for purposes of prosecution." Mary Jo White, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, noted in a news release announcing the indictments that "federal law clearly prohibits anyone engaged in the business of betting or wagering from using interstate and international wire communications, including the Internet and telephones, in connection with betting on sports events." Cohen and his business partner, Steve Schillinger, were pioneers in the initial growth of Internet gambling, helping to lead the charge that established the Caribbean as the first regional hub of online gambling. The two Danville, Calif., natives met when they were both working as traders on the floor of the Pacific Stock Exchange in San Francisco. Sensing an opportunity in the convenience of Internet delivery of sports wagering, they moved to Antigua in 1996 to start World Sports Exchange, which has become a leading player in the electronic bookmaking business. In recent years, the Caribbean's claim as the centre of the virtual gaming world has been undercut by the spread of online gambling to countries that have promised to tightly regulate it, including Australia. That spread has persuaded many observers that, whatever the outcome of Cohen's case, attempts to prevent US citizens from betting over the Internet are doomed to fail. "When they shut Western Union down, people still gambled and found a way to send the money in," Schillinger, Cohen's business partner, recently told the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel from Antigua, where he is a fugitive. "They can still send cashier's checks or money orders. When they started shutting down our 800 numbers, we put up hundreds more so people could get through to us. There's really no slowing us down. There's no stopping us." What do you think? Tell the Mailroom. And read what others have said.