Ten plead guilty in massive online credit betting operation in Montreal

Credit-Betting-MontrealAs the saying goes, the Mounties always get their man, so this shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. Ten men who were facing trial in November on charges of running an illegal online credit betting operation have decided to plead guilty and thus spare the taxpayers the expense of convicting their sorry asses.

The men had been accused of running a sport-betting operation that processed over 800,000 wagers in a 17-month period, netting some $26M profit. While the transactions may have been handled online, the set-up was a classic old-school credit operation, in which 90% of the bets were made without the bettor having to provide anything other than his solemn word (ahem) that he had the wherewithal to make good on his losses. The bookies relied on organized crime figures in Montreal to lean on gamblers who were slow coming across.

Eight of the 10 accused pleaded guilty to one count of illegal bookmaking, for which the maximum sentence is a two-year prison term. The other two, the reputed ringleaders, also pleaded guilty to committing a crime for the benefit of a criminal organization, which carries a maximum 14-year stint in prison.