BetOnSports Shuts Down US Facing Online Gambling Sites - 07-20-06

July 20 - Following the arrest of its CEO on Sunday, BetonSports have shut down its US facing online gambling websites. The company was issued with a restraining order on Wednesday, but said it would contest the issue in court...

The US accounts for as much as 85% of the company's online gambling business. Online gambling shares have been taking a beating since Monday. BetonSports and its CEO, David Carruthers face charges of racketeering conspiracy. A warrant for the arrest of of Gary Kaplan, the founder of BetonSports, has been issued. He allegedly owes $3.5bn in unpaid betting taxes.

Mr. Carruthers was arrested en route from London to Costa Rica, and will attend a bail hearing on Friday. The company has said that it is too early to comment on whether they will be able to resume trading as it is at this stage unclear as to how long the order will last. A rumor that BetonSports had made a deal with the US Department of Justice saw a temporary recovery in shares, but this was short-lived as the company denied any such deal.

A statement from BetonSports said: "Neither the company nor lawyers acting on its behalf have reached any such agreement nor are they in negotiations with any other party to these proceedings."

Other shares made some recovery on Wednesday, but the market is very nervous that this latest action is related to the bill passed by the US House of Representatives last week.

The bill will apparently face stiff opposition in Senate, and most industry observers believe that it is highly unlikely that it will be passed.

Send To A Friend

Add This Gambling Article To:
Del.icio.us	Digg	Google	Spurl
Furl	Simpy	Y! MyWeb	OnlyWire
Redit	StumbleUpon	Technocrati