BetOnSports Boss arrested by FBI
The online sports betting industry is in a state of shock today after the arrest of BetOnSports Boss, Mr David Carruthers, He was arrested on charges of racketeering.
Mr Carruthers, aged 48, was on his way to Costa Rica from Britain when he was arrested by the FBI at Dallas Fort Worth airport.
It was during a hearing in a Fort Worth Federal District Court where Mr Carruthers was charged with racketeering and conspiracy, principally for accepting bets on US sports.
BetOnSports is an internet based online gaming company that operates an poker room and casino alongside its online sports betting operations. BOS is publicly listed on the London Stock Exchange but with a customer base that is 80 percent US based, BoS was seen as a good example of the investment opportunities offered by the online gaming industry.
Since the arrest of Mr Carruthers on the 17th shares in the company have fallen by 16.6 percent.
The US goverment have filed charges against Mr Carruthersand also against a further ten people involved with BoS and with a number of Florida based marketing companies.
The arrest has been seen as an attack against the online gaming industry, with the sole purpose of sending out a message to others in that line of business.
Mr Carruthers was one of the most outspoken of all proponents of online gambling, regularly making trips to the US to campaign for its legalisation, and often taking out full page adverts in American newspapers to that end. Mr Carruthers appears to have been targeted by the US because of that boldness.
There is however a debate over whether or not the US will be successful in their prosecution of Mr Carruthers, as he is not a US citizen, needless to say the industry will be watching the proceedings with a keen eye, and other offshore online gambling firms will be giving the USA a wide berth until they can be sure they won’t be arrested.
Click here for UK casinos
Mr Carruthers, aged 48, was on his way to Costa Rica from Britain when he was arrested by the FBI at Dallas Fort Worth airport.
It was during a hearing in a Fort Worth Federal District Court where Mr Carruthers was charged with racketeering and conspiracy, principally for accepting bets on US sports.
BetOnSports is an internet based online gaming company that operates an poker room and casino alongside its online sports betting operations. BOS is publicly listed on the London Stock Exchange but with a customer base that is 80 percent US based, BoS was seen as a good example of the investment opportunities offered by the online gaming industry.
Since the arrest of Mr Carruthers on the 17th shares in the company have fallen by 16.6 percent.
The US goverment have filed charges against Mr Carruthersand also against a further ten people involved with BoS and with a number of Florida based marketing companies.
The arrest has been seen as an attack against the online gaming industry, with the sole purpose of sending out a message to others in that line of business.
Mr Carruthers was one of the most outspoken of all proponents of online gambling, regularly making trips to the US to campaign for its legalisation, and often taking out full page adverts in American newspapers to that end. Mr Carruthers appears to have been targeted by the US because of that boldness.
There is however a debate over whether or not the US will be successful in their prosecution of Mr Carruthers, as he is not a US citizen, needless to say the industry will be watching the proceedings with a keen eye, and other offshore online gambling firms will be giving the USA a wide berth until they can be sure they won’t be arrested.
Click here for UK casinos
posted by Glenn at Wednesday, July 19, 2006
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