Olympic gets injunction from Jamaica Court.

HIGH COURT judge Marjorie Cole-Smith has issued an injunction halting, at least until September 9, the move by the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission (BGLC) to shut down a Montego Bay Free Zone company which it accused of illegally taking bets via the Internet and international toll-free telephone calls.

The BGLC had also ruled that Spiros George Athanas, one of the owners of Olympic Sports Data Services Limited, was not a "fit and proper person" to run a gaming operation.

But last Thursday, on the eve of the expiry of the BGLC's three-month winding-up window, Justice Cole-Smith granted the 28-day ex-parte injunction to Olympic Sports, which the gaming authorities have vowed to contest.

"The Commission was issued with a copy to the order late Thursday (and) it was brought to my attention last Friday," BGLC's chairman, Walter Scott, said yesterday. "I will say this much. The Solicitor-General will be contacted to vigorously defend the motion on behalf of the commission." Scott declined to comment further.

Jamaica last year began to focus on the company when the British gaming board accused the company of illegal bookmaking.

In May, the BGLC, which regulates the Jamaican gaming industry, ordered, after months of investigation and wrangling between both sides, that Olympic Sports wind up its operations, insisting that its bet-taking business breached Jamaican laws.

The company was initially granted a licence to operate a telemarketing business from the free zone, but branched out into gambling, taking bets from around the world, including Jamaica. Winnings had to be sent abroad.

English Sports' servers are located abroad and this, plus the fact that it operated on the free zone, at first took issues about the jurisdiction of the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission.

The company subsequently argued that it possessed a licence to conduct its gaming operation, eventually producing a letter from former junior finance minister, Errol Ennis, suggesting that it may not have needed a BGLC licence.

It, however, applied for the licence, which the gaming authority refused.

English Sports' situation was further complicated by accusations from at least one foreign government, that it was involved in money laundering, leading Jamaican financial investigators to raid the company in April and seize records and other documents.

When the company's business was disrupted in May, about 200 persons lost their jobs.


Jamaica Observer

So what are we saying here Wil...get out of Olympic? Are they on thin ice down there now?

I've heard this before with them but they always manage to land on their feet. I wonder how close Spiros is to moving out.

sb

SB - I am in now way saying get out of Olympic. To be honest I think they will be fine, but felt obligated to post the article. Hopefully maybe Olympic themselves will address the matter in this thread, or start one of their own.

wil.

This is just another smear campaign carried out at the right time ( sign up season for Football ) in the attempt to further damage Olympic Sports.

The content of the article is a patchwork of ( few ) real info together with a lot of BS.

This quote is the evidence of what I'm saying :

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> When the company's business was disrupted in May, about 200 persons lost their jobs.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

The operation was never disrupted in May, nor anyone has lost his or her job then. Olympic has been running is business to date without glitches and without problems, even when hit by a serious run on the bank during the first smear campaign.

Olympic Sports has been fully licensed in Antigua a couple of weeks ago, discarding any and all allegations about the book's owner "being fit", since the Antiguan license has been issued in his name.

Olympic Sports has also been extremely supportive in bailing out a number of players whose accounts had been deleted ( DELETED ) by the crooks of Betpanam.

Anyone who has ever come close to Jamaica knows that corruption is the rule in that unfortunate Island.

Olympic Sports may move its operations to Antigua overnight. From a business standpoint Panama could also be an interesting alternative location, however Olympic should seriously consider the fact that Panamanian corruption level highly resembles Jamaica.

TOW,I think that the article was refering to 200 people from the other firm losing thier jobs not from Oly. End result for the Jamaican people will be a loss of decent paying jobs.They are only hurting themselves. I always wondered why they were located there to begin with.

Isn't Jamaica the country where every 4th word is "man" Doesn't sound like the simple word man-but their way of saying it!

Funny how Oly might move to Antigua. Carib all of a sudden has all their funds sent to Antigua also! Antigua might be the happening place in months to come!!

Wil wasn't going after you personally...just they are my #1 book and I always get a little jittery with the bad stuff that goes on down there.

sb

I beleive it is Mon,Mon.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by oldmantime:
Isn't Jamaica the country where every 4th word is "man" Doesn't sound like the simple word man-but their way of saying it! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>