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Who is Jay Cohen?

Jay Cohen at one time was a stock trader on the west coast of the USA. He was young, smart, ambitious, saw an opportunity, and had the guts to try it. Many people had the same idea, few tried and succeeded as Jay Cohen did. He really didn't want to become famous. The idea was a good one and it did work. Of all the things Jay should be known for, what made him famous was the farthest thing from his mind.

What did he do?

In the early years of the internet, offshore sports betting was only an idea that could work. Jay Cohen took this idea and made it work for himself and the company he built. He started the World Sports Exchange.

The first step of his journey was to find a country to set up his betting operation. The primary requirement was that sports betting had to be legal in the country to start operations. Second, the local laws must require the operators to run a "clean betting operation". There was no point in starting to build on a rotten core. Antigua was chosen, the bettors were protected by the local laws and Jay was free to operate.

Can you imagine the impact this had in Las Vegas, where book making is legal. A stock trader in his 20's, now has access to the world via the internet, to take bets on any event he chooses, from anywhere in the world. Well it has been said before "go big or stay home". Jay went big time, morals, ethics, and smarts is what set World Sports Exchange apart from the start ups that followed. Jay Cohen had just reach out and grabbed a piece of a 100 million dollar a year industry, when no one was looking.

How long do you think it took the sports book operators in Las Vegas and the state run betting services, to start banging on the doors of the legislators? At first, probably all they wanted was the same access to the world, over the internet that Jay had. After they were informed that the use of the internet for sports betting was not in the cards for them now, or in the future. Do you really think they just walked away? No, this was the beginning of the end for Jay Cohen.

Who or what industry, started the ball rolling that took Jay Cohen down, we don't know. Was it the: Las Vegas book makers, state run sport betting, professional sports associations, or a combination of all? We do know that while World Sports Exchange was operating in Antigua, all of the above had, and always will have, access to the powers that be.

Jay Cohen became the first person to go on trial for accepting bets on sports events over the internet and the telephone. Even though all bets were placed in a sovereign country, he was tried and convicted.

As of March 26/2001 Mister Cohen is out on bail, pending the outcome of his appeal.

It is legal to place bets on sports events using the internet in the UK. Of all the offshore bookmakers charged at the same time as Jay Cohen, not one of them was from a UK legal sports book. World Sports Exchange is 100% legal in Antigua.