SWC Founder Bryan Micon Sentenced to Probation, $25K Fine

Bryan Micon received a sentence of up to two years probation and a $25,000 fine for operating an unlicensed poker site in Nevada.

Micon, 37, was the main man behind Seals With Clubs, a revolutionary poker site of sorts for processing financial transactions exclusively in the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Micon was targeted by Nevada authorities in February when they raided his Las Vegas home and confiscated a number of computers that apparently contained evidence relating to the operation of Seals With Clubs.

Micon and his business partners closed the poker site following the raid, and two months later he relocated to the online gambling-friendly mecca of Antigua and opened another Bitcoin poker room, SwCPoker. Charges were filed against Micon in Nevada while he was abroad, and he initially relayed a willingness to fight the allegations.

A plea to the poker community for financial assistance by way of a GoFundMe account in order to pay what was sure to be a mountain of legals costs did not go over very well and Micon seemingly changed his mind and returned to Nevada over the summer to plead guilty. That plea was accepted and District Court Judge Kerry Earley imposed the fine and probationary penalties yesterday.

Micon was facing 10 years in prison and $50,000 in fines and could still spend time behind bars should he violate terms of his probation. The Associated Press reported that Micon is currently employed at a store in Las Vegas that sells drones. Apparently, a job awaits him in a different industry in Antigua, where he once again will relocate after his sentence of probation has been satisfied.

Nevada was the first state to regulate online poker and also became the first to prosecute a site operator under the relatively new statute. Micon's felony charge will be reduced to a misdemeanor upon successful completion of the terms of probation.

Bitcoin remains unregulated, leading to the supposition that Micon may have successfully fought the allegations against him in Nevada considering that U.S. currency was not in use at Seals With Clubs. It could have been a precedent-setting case, but the legal costs in defending such an action may have been staggering.

SwCPoker has not equalled the popularity of the now defunct Seals With Clubs in cash game player traffic, according to PokerScout.com. But it has apparently gathered a small number of loyal players who are attracted to the anonymous nature of Bitcoin transactions and a much lower rake in comparison to industry standards.