John Bovery’s Payouts Ballooned from $2800 to Over $800,000 in a 20-Year Period
John Bovery, a New Jersey resident who operated a fantasy football pool for 20 years (1990-2010), has been in a 5-year legal battle with the state of New Jersey over whether he is a bookie or not. The case was discussed in Business Insider recently, because it highlights the complications of U.S. sports betting laws and how authorities at the state and federal level often have conflicting attitudes towards law enforcement.
To begin, it should be noted that John Bovery is not a traditional illegal bookmaker, who takes bets from local gamblers and collecting juice on the wagers. Instead, he runs a fantasy football pool. That pool began in 1990, when John Bovery was a stock broker on Wall Street. Fifty-seven different players paid in $50 to join the pool. The original payout was $2,850.
Six-Figure Prize Pool
Over the years, that fantasy sports pool has grown into a massive undertaking. By the time New Jersey authorities arrested John Bovery in 2010, his pool had over 8,000 members and the prize pool was $837,000. Bovery claims his pool includes law-abiding citizens like New Jersey state troopers, countless lawyers, respected sports broadcasters, and “even agents for Tiger Woods and other PGA tour golfers”.
It seems that the sheer size of the office pool drew unwanted attention. Also, the fact Mr. Bovery publicized the contest on the Internet made it easier to track him. Whatever the reason, New Jersey authorities decided to crack down on his office pool, while ignoring tens of thousands of others operating in the same fashion.
$150K in Legal Bills
Five years later, John Bovery has gone through years of litigation which has left him with $150,000 in legal bills. Along the way, he has spent time in jail and had his bank accounts seized.
The Al Capone of Fantasy Football
John Bovery says he’s been treated as an organized crime figure–“Al Capone”, as he calls it. He’s been questioned by police as if he’s an illegal bookmaker. When they raided his home, they even asked for the pay slips, as if he was running an illegal sportsbook.
No pay slips exist, because he was not taking traditional wagers. Instead, he collected money, held it until the end of the season, and paid out to the winners. Bovery told FoxNews, “I’m just a guy who manages the spreadsheets and names and holds the money until someone is the victor.”
Is Fantasy Football Legal?
Fantasy sports is wagering, no one doubts that. But it is not illegal under federal law, though New Jersey law still considers it a gray area. Billions of dollars are wagered each year by fantasy sports betters.
Some gaming analysts estimate that $70 billion each year is wagered on fantasy football contests, including office pools. Perhaps 40 million to 50 million Americans partake in the gambling. It is an accepted part of the corporate office culture.
Singled Out for Punishment
Undoubtedly, New Jersey has thousands-upon-thousands of office pools. That’s the point John Bovery wants to make. Five years later, he remains the only person ever prosecuted in the state of New Jersey for operating an office pool.
That fact dumbfounds John Bovery, who said to NJ.com, “I’m a rules guy. You want to enforce the letter of the law? Fine. But I’m the only pool manager you’ll able to find in the state? The first one you ever found?…Why am I the only one?”
When law enforcement raided Bovery, they seized $846,000. $722,000 of that sum belonged to NFL pool contestants. The other $124,000 is Bovery’s life savings, according to the accused. Years later, that money is still being held as confiscated property. What makes the matter worse, says Bovery, is the fact the police raided him on the first day of the season. He says they knew what they were doing, yet somehow failed to realize his actions were similar to those of thousands of others.
When he explained his operation to them, he expected a warning to cease and desist. Instead, he’s been placed in legal jeopardy for years at a time. Now, he faces prosecution.
Christopher Grammicioni: Prosecutor
If John Bovery is the Jean Valjean of this story, then Monmouth County prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni would appear to be the Inspector Javert. The prosecutor pleads his own case.
In his mind, Gramiccioni is prosecuting a man with ties to the Genovese crime family. That’s because Joseph LaScala, alleged to be a Genovese family member and “The Godfather of New Jersey”, placed well in one of the betting pools. Bovery sent LaScala $90,000, a payout not unlike the ones he has sent to dozens of other Jersey residents over the years.
“More Than One Side to Story”
Perhaps that is why the prosecutor told Fox News, “There’s more than one side to the story. Our evidence will show that, and we look forward to our day in court in June to present our case.”
So Bovery eventually gets his day in court. The point the alleged is making, though, is the state should be prosecuting thousands of other people, or they should not be prosecuting him. Ralph Ferrara, Bovery’s civil attorney, summed up the case when he said, “They targeted John because of the money that was involved.“
