Bryan Micon Charged Over Unlicensed Bitcoin Poker Operation

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Tuesday, May 5th, 2015 | Written by Adam Brown

Poker professional and affiliate manager Bryan Micon is the pioneer behind the Bitcoin online poker room Seals with Clubs (SWC), which he operated out of his Nevada home. However, the site shut down in February after being raided by authorities, and soon after Micon fled the country saying he did not want to raise his family in a “police state where creativity was met with guns and what not.”

Since relocating to Antigua and opening a similar site called SWCpoker.eu, however, Nevada’s legal authorities have been reviewing his case, and have now charged him with “operating an unlicensed interactive gaming system” from March 2014 to February 2015, a Class B felony which could land him a $50,000 fine, and up to 10 years in prison. Bryan Micon also becomes the first person charged with being an unlicensed online poker provider since online poker was legalized in Nevada back in April 2013.

A Year Of Unlicensed Operation

Nevada’s Attorney General and its Gaming Control Board has brought a complaint against Micon accusing him of running SWC for a year up until February 9, 2015 without first obtaining the required licenses. Not that Micon would have found any success had he tried to apply through the proper channels, however, as he would have had to partner up with one of the state’s brick and mortar casino first, an unlikely prospect at best. As a result, Micon has now had a $20,000 arrest warrant issued against him, with Chairman of the Nevada State Gaming Control, A.G. Burnett, subsequently commenting:

“The Nevada Gaming Control Board is pleased to work with the Office of the Attorney General to stop unlicensed gaming activities. Operating an interactive gaming website without a gaming license runs afoul of Nevada gaming law. The Board will continue to investigate those who do so, and will continue to turn over such cases to the attorney general for criminal prosecution.”

Absconds To Antigua

Following his arrest in February, Bryan Micon subsequently absconded to the West Indies island of Antigua, together with his wife and two-year-old daughter, and promptly relaunched his online poker bitcoin room, renamed SWCpoker.eu. While Nevada’s attorney general, Adam Laxalt, says he believes he now has enough evidence to show the SWC spokeperson was privy to the site’s finances and integral to its development, Micon is insisting he had done nothing ethically wrong. Responding to accusations, Micon’s attorney David Chesnoff explained to the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

“Mr. Micon maintains his innocence, and we’re looking forward to litigating on what appears to be a case of first impression. We are going to advise our client that he’s been charged in Las Vegas and what his legal obligations are.”

A Warning To Unlicensed Operators

Nevada was the first US state to regulate online poker, and its prosecution of Micon reflects its position against unlicensed iGaming, as opposed to the practice of online gambling itself. It is for this reason it is believed Nevada’s attorney general is keen to make an example of Micon in order to prove its seriousness in clamping down on unregulated iGambling. As Adam Laxalt, explains:

“Defending Nevada’s worldwide reputation as the gold standard of gaming integrity is a paramount concern to tens of thousands of Nevadans employed by the industry and the 41 million tourists who visit the state each year.”

Micon Appeals For Support

In the meantime, Bryan Micon faces the prospect of his escalating legal costs soon depleting his own funds, and thus being unable to fully represent himself case in court. Therefore, he has now turned to crowdfunding website gofundme.com to help raise money for his case, and has appealed to anyone who feels like helping him to make a donation. So far, 34 people have made a contribution of $2,675 towards his cause.

Future Of Bitcoin

Bitcoins can be used to bypass banks and payment processors, and provides a means for people to gamble anonymously online without leaving a trail. Needless to say, the digital currency has since become the target of governments and financial institutions keen to maintain control over unregulated gambling, as well as clamping down on the wider black market. Over the past few years, the crypto-currency has also suffered a great deal of volatility, with its price rising to more than $1,000 or falling to its present level of around $234. It now seems Bryan Micon’s future is now also similarly uncertain.