NEW YORK, Feb. 14 — 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 publicized indictments in 1998 that charged them with illegally using interstate telephone lines to take online wagers from U.S. 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.”

STAKES ARE HIGH
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 specializing in Internet law, told the Financial Times of London. “It will be closely followed by companies doing business on the Internet, both in the U.S. 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 $1.5 billion this year, growing to more than $3 billion 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.

Jury selection in the case began Monday in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan. The trial is expected to last two to three weeks.