After reading the 68 page “Information to Obtain A Search Warrant”, one can only conclude that we have some mutually exclusive events being described.
Yesterday Starnet stated :
“Starnet has also made every attempt to prevent illegal gambling by individuals from the U.S. and Canada seeking to circumvent system safeguards," said Dohlen. "In concert with our banking partners, we regularly screen and block users from jurisdictions where gaming is illegal. Starnet will continue to develop its cutting edge technology in this area to prevent potential illegal activities."
On Pages 57 to 59 of the above cited document, Eric Wickberg a Vancouver police detective assigned to the CLEU stated that: “… on August 11, 1999 , he made a telephone call to 1-888-685-7619 and again spoke to the female who identified herself as Amber. As the result of that phone call:
a. he advised her that he was going to request a withdrawal of his winnings as the result of the successful wager he had made at Belmont Casino, and that he had observed his user profile in the EFS account reflected an incorrect country of residency. He expressed concern that the cheque would be sent to the wrong address.
b. Amber asked which country he lived in and he responded “Canada”. She then asked for his user name and stated that she would put him on hold while she opened up his account. When she returned to the telephone, she advised Det. Wickberg that she had changed the country on his user profile back to Canada.
c. When Det. Wickberg then checked the user profile he observed that the country of residence for the covert identity he was using, had been changed from the United States to Canada, and he requested a withdrawal by way of cheque from this account.
…
also on the 11th of August 1999…
a. Det Wickberg went to www.acesssports.com and placed a wager on the MLB game between the Twins and the Yankees…placing $50.04 on the Twins which was the team favoured to loose [sic].
b. He then telephoned the help number provide by this Starnet licensed Internet casino, 1-888-685-7619, and spoke to a female person who identified herself as Nela. Det. Wickberg stated that he had intended to place his wager on the Yankees and that he now wished to change his bet. Nela asked if he had confirmed the bet by typing yes in the Betting Ticket area, and when she was advised that he had, she stated that it was their policy not to alter any bets once they were submitted. …
c. Det. Wickberg then advised Nela that he had noticed that his EFS Carribean account profile for Aces Casino indicated that he was a resident of the United Staes and he had submitted the profile as being a resident of Canada. She placed Det. Wickberg on hold. Det. Wickberg listened to music while on hold and heard a station identifier of “Z-95.3” a station known to Det. Wickberg as a FM radio station in the Vancouver area.
d. When Nela came back on line, she advised that she had updated the information in this particular user account and that when he next logged in that it would reflect his residency as Canada. …”
Pages 48 and 49 outline that on April 27, 1999, the Police executed a search warrant at the offices of Sprint Canada in Richmond BC to determine the particulars of the services provided to Starnet.. The documents seized confirmed that 888-685-7619 and 888-684-0391 terminate at telephone numbers 604-685-7619 and 604-684-0391, both of which are located at 425 Carrall St. Vancouver. The seized documents further revealed “that Starnet did not exercise an option to place restrictions [on] the geographical origins of the callers to the toll free numbers”.
Now I'm sure that all you fanatical bulls will dismiss this as a plot to get the company. But there is no way of refuting that IF what the police have SWORN is true, then what the company have stated about blocking U.S. and Canadian accounts, is NOT TRUE.
I think that I choose to believe a sworn affidavit.
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