Back in 2013, a Canadian resident was charged with running an illegal sports betting website, a trial which was set to take place early this year. Now, the accused man has pleaded guilty to the charges, admitting that he operated the site that generated over $100 million in illicit funds over a period of just five years.
The accused, David Hair, operated the sports betting site Platinum Sports Book for years, according to media reports. The group had numerous online gambling websites live in Canada and beyond, all of which were based in and operated from Costa Rica. It was also revealed that the gambling ring is connected to an organised crime syndicate, and operated in plain site for the majority of its duration.
Hair may have had a good run, but his crime streak came to an abrupt end in 2013 when Platinum Sports Book hosted a Super Bowl party for its customers. The party was quickly raided by police officials, who apprehended Hair and his fellow associates and took them into custody for further questioning.
From there, Hair’s home and workspaces were raided by the police, who made numerous incriminating discoveries. Among them was a cold hard $680,000 in cash, along with other pieces of evidence that have been kept confidential for the sake of the defendant’s pending trial at the time. At the time of the raid, Hair was residing in London in the Canadian province of Ontario. Now that he has admitted guilt to his charges of the illegal gambling operation, he will be forced to fulfil a two year prison sentence at a local prison facility. Furthermore, Hair will also have to pay a princely $3 million in fines for his actions.
Canadian residents have closely followed Hair’s illegal gambling charges, as it is not often that a syndicate of such magnitude is uncovered on home soil. Strict Canadian provincial gambling regulations serve to combat such practices for the most part – and Hair’s severe punishment will no doubt serve as a further deterrent for anyone considering potentially illegal activities as well as make for some interesting casino news. As of the time of press, no comment was available from the illicit ringleader or his case officials. However, more on this story and Hair’s plea will soon be made publicly available according to local sources.
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