Attorney General's News Release

Oct. 16, 1997

Pennsylvania judge orders extradition of Internet casino president to stand trial in Missouri on gambling charge

Norristown, Pa. — A Pennsylvania judge today ordered the president of an Internet gambling operation to surrender his passport and turn himself over to authorities in Springfield, Mo., to stand trial there on a felony charge of promoting gambling.

Montgomery County Court Judge Richard Hodgson ordered Michael F. Simone, president of Interactive Gaming & Communications Corp. (IGC), to surrender to the Greene County sheriff on Nov. 21. He also was ordered to give up his passport to authorities in Montgomery County, Pa., and to not travel outside Pennsylvania except to surrender in Missouri.

Simone, 49, faces a charge of promoting gambling in the first degree in Missouri. The charge was returned by a Greene County grand jury in June at the request of Attorney General Jay Nixon. The grand jury also charged IGC.

"Missouri law makes only narrow exceptions for the kind of gambling that is legal in our state," Nixon said. "Internet gambling falls outside those bounds. There also is no protection for the participating consumer or to keep minors from gambling over the Internet. It's a bad bet all around."

The indictment charges that on June 24 the defendants, both based in Blue Bell, Pa., set up a gambling device through which bets totaling more than $100 were placed by an undercover investigator from the Attorney General's Office over the Internet.

IGC is under a May 23 Jackson County circuit court order to not take bets from Missourians. That injunction, issued after Nixon filed a civil lawsuit against IGC, also ordered it to pay more than $66,000 in penalties and costs to the state.

Promoting gambling in the first degree is a class D felony under Missouri law, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine for Simone. The corporation can face a fine of up to $10,000. As in all criminal cases, the charge is merely an accusation and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Inquiries from consumers should be directed to consumer@ago.mo.gov or 1-800-392-8222 (from within Missouri) or 573-751-3321 (outside Missouri).

All media inquiries should be directed to the Communications Office.

E-mail      Phone: 573-751-8844         Fax: 573-751-5818