Tradewinds Sportsbook Operative Avoids Prison in $25M Forfeiture Case
2026-08-10
Michael Lawrence “Scott” Brannon, a Costa Rica-based operator of the offshore sportsbook Tradewinds, was sentenced to 12 months’ probation and ordered to forfeit $25 million after pleading guilty to running an illegal gambling business. He is the second person convicted in the case, following co-defendant Clarence “Gary” Austin’s 2023 guilty plea and asset forfeiture.
A Costa Rica-based businessman associated with the offshore sportsbook Tradewinds has avoided prison time, receiving a probation sentence and a $25 million forfeiture order after pleading guilty to involvement in an illegal gambling business.
Michael Lawrence “Scott” Brannon entered his plea in February in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Judge Amos L. Mazzant III subsequently sentenced him to 12 months of probation, including six months of home confinement. Brannon will spend the first six months of that term in the US and may serve the remaining six months in Costa Rica, his country of residence. His probation began on April 6 and prohibits him from owning, managing, operating, consulting for, or otherwise taking part in any gambling business, including online and telephone betting.
Sentence and Forfeiture
Brannon admitted that he directed, financed, and managed Tradewinds from August 2013 to April 23, 2021, with at least five other people involved. He accepted that he received at least $25 million from the operation and agreed to hand over that amount. The forfeiture also covers the Tradewinds website domain trdwd.cc. The payment schedule requires $7 million soon after sentencing, with the remaining $18 million split into three $6 million installments due once Brannon completes his home confinement.
Tradewinds had been based in Costa Rica since at least the late 1990s and was part of an early wave of offshore sportsbooks serving customers outside the country. Brannon is the second person to face federal prosecution over the business.
Co-Defendant’s Background
Clarence “Gary” Austin pleaded guilty in 2023 and admitted to the same type of conduct involving Tradewinds during the same timeframe. Austin had a long history in sports betting, starting as a high-stakes professional bettor in the 1970s and later hosting a betting advice show on ESPN in the early 1980s. He went on to run Gary Austin’s Race & Sports Book on the Las Vegas Strip, which closed in 1985 under unusual circumstances after bettors found a note saying the business had shut down following an armed robbery and would not honor winning tickets. He later moved to Costa Rica and became active in the early offshore online betting market.
Austin was living in Florida when federal authorities raided his residence in 2021. In 2023, he received five years of probation, including six months of home detention. His forfeiture included $1.295 million in cash, 61 one-kilogram gold bars, Bitcoin and Ethereum, money held in bank accounts, annuities, and investment products, four luxury vehicles including a Lamborghini Urus and Porsche Cayenne, and three Florida properties.