FRENCH VALLEY ---- Calling it a "sophisticated operation," a Riverside County Superior Court judge determined Wednesday that there is enough evidence for a Murrieta man to stand trial for reportedly running an illegal online gambling service.

William Louis Matteo, 49, was arrested April 18 after voluntarily turning himself in at the Murrieta Police Station after learning state agents had a warrant for his arrest, authorities said.

Special Agent Steven Epperson with the state's Bureau of Gambling Control testified at Southwest Justice Center on Wednesday morning. He detailed the investigation into Matteo's operation, which was reportedly run on a Web site at www.hammerthebook.com and included computer servers in Costa Rica.

"This was not a simple thing with someone taking simple bets from some friends," Judge John Monterosso said after hearing the agent's testimony.

The investigation started when an informant notified authorities about the alleged illegal operation.

The informant met with Matteo, according to court documents, during which Matteo signed on to the Web site and showed the informant his online sports betting clientele list of 50 to 60 customers.

The informant told the agent that Matteo "bragged that he had approximately 200 online sports betting customers that wager via his online Web page," the document states.

Matteo also told the man that the Web site was "extremely profitable," bringing in about $100,000 a week from customers' wagers, according to documents.

According to the informant, Matteo told him he has "a couple of 'guys' who collect delinquent bets from customers who fail to pay in a timely manner," the document states.

Under the direction and observation of state agents, the informant placed wagers on two "March Madness" basketball games on the Web site, according to the document.

When Matteo was arrested last month, agents served a search warrant at his home where they found an "open wagers report" that showed an account summary of three customers who wagered more than $5,000 on his Web site, Epperson said Wednesday.

Matteo's defense attorney asked the judge to consider reducing the bookmaking count ---- now charged as a felony against her client ---- to a misdemeanor.

Prosecutor Art Chang argued against that request, noting for the judge that Matteo has several previous convictions including two for grand theft.

Monterosso denied the defense request and did not reduce the charge. However, he did grant a request to reduce Matteo's bail ---- just not by as much as the defense wanted.

Matteo's bail originally was $500,000 and the defense was seeking a reduction to $5,000.

Monterosso instead cut it in half to $250,000 and upheld a previous court order that Matteo must prove that any money used toward that bail was obtained legally and not through his allegedly illegal operation.

Matteo remained in custody at Southwest Detention Center in lieu of the new bail amount Wednesday night.

This article is a reprint from nctimes.com. To view the original story, click here.