A federal judge cleared the former British betting-company executive of Sportingbet PLC to return to London on Friday. The New York governor declined to sign the warrant that would extradite him to the state of Louisiana, where he is charged with illegal online gambling actions.

Sportingbet PLC is a large gambling provider with main focus on sports betting and casino operations, but also online poker and online bingo.

Peter Dicks was arrested at Kennedy International Airport on September 6 after customs officials discovered that he was wanted by Louisiana state police for his online gambling crimes.

Dicks has not been charged with any crime in New York. Eight states of the United States have laws prohibiting online gambling, namely, Nevada, Illinois, Washington, Indiana, Louisiana, South Dakota, Oregon and Michigan.

In explaining why he didn't sign the warrant, New York Governor G. Pataki said the state laws only permitted extradition if the accused person was physically present where he is accused of breaking the law. Dicks hasn't been in Louisiana for decades and since his establishment is located in United Kingdom, and therefore forced the release of Dicks.

- 2006-10-01