BetOnSports shuts down service to U.S. gamblers

Buffalo News ^ | Aug 13. 2006 | Suzette Parmley

[kms61]

PHILADELPHIA - BetOnSports PLC, the embattled London-based Internet gambling company that has been charged with fraud and racketeering by U.S. prosecutors, announced Friday that it has shut down its services for gamblers in the United States.

On Thursday, the company told its employees that it was shutting down its Costa Rican and Antiguan offices, where it accepted wagers from tens of thousands of customers in the United States, its primary market.

The shutdown will result in the elimination of about 800 jobs, the company said in a statement.

The case against BetOnSports is being watched closely by the $12 billion online gambling industry because it represents the first time that the U.S. Department of Justice is proceeding against a gambling entity that operates exclusively outside the United States.

[kms61]

Freedom? Liberty? What's that?

[Calpernia]

nanny state

[Calpernia]

>>>> The company's Web site, www.BetOnSports.com, has not been operational since July 19, following the arrest in Texas of its chief executive officer, David Carruthers, who faces 22 counts of fraud, racketeering and conspiracy.

Is the site shut down for racketeering and fraud? Or for gambling?

[taxesareforever]

Gotta shut down that on-line gambling. Too many politicians have been funded by the Indian lobbyists. Now it's time for them to pay up.

[kms61]

He took people's bets over the internet, which in the government's eyes constitutes racketeering and fraud; essentially he's being prosecuted for running an online wagering service.

[ThermoNuclearWarrior]

The government should stay away from online gambling. What bothers me is how many conservatives support government intrusion on issues like this.

[Mount Athos]

http://www.theonlinewire.com/articleView.aspx?ID=1294

You have to read closely about midway down to see the racketeering. Uncoded charges and the 50% bonus thing that looks like a ponzi scheme. They don't have enough money to cover everyone. The industry might cover customers to avoid damaging reputation of online gambling.

[freepatriot32]

i know there will be people cheering this on here but before they do just think about it george bushes ag also hates guns and george bush and the ag have allowed the out of control batf to shut down gunmakers and gundealers if he shuts down all onlnie casinos that are outside of the usa how long do you think it will be before they go after all gunmakers and dealers in the usa and how many jobs will that cost

Libertarian ping.To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here

[RippyO]

Wouldn't be suprised to see nanny staters and vote-grubbing Congressman use this as "evidence" that online gambling needs to be shut down.

After all, some kid lost money online and robbed a bank, and some professor said it was like crack. LET'S BAN IT!!!

[mugs99]

Is the site shut down for racketeering and fraud? Or for gambling?

They shut down their hub in Costa Rica that services US bettors. They did this on their own while they try to get refunds to American bettors. The US is trying to stop them from paying off those American bettors by seizing their assets.

Their business is legal in Costa Rica, Europe, Canada and Australia. Bet on Sports is a UK corporation on the London stock exchange.

American lawmakers think Americans are too stupid to be trusted with their own money.
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[willyd]

Actually, the online houses make money on the float and the rake. The rake is an amount taken out of each hand that varies on the size of the pot. Bonuses are usually awarded on a sliding scale of raked hands, meaning that you have to play a certain amount of hands before you receive your bonus chips. Most people that play online lose their asses and the rake eats up the profits they make on the few hands they do win.

[mugs99]

They don't have enough money to cover everyone.

They don't have enough money because the US has frozen $4.2 billion of their assets, and has moved to have those assets forfeited.

They are using assets from their Asian hub to pay off US bettors. No bettors have lost money owed to them...yet.

The people they can't cover are their 2000 employees in Costa Rica.
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[TWohlford]

Hey libertarian...

Are you a punctuation and spelling anarchist? Take a breath... place a period once in a while...

And would you care to cite examples and proof of your rant?

[mugs99]

the rake eats up the profits they make on the few hands they do win

I've been playing poker online since 2000. I haven't lost my ass and the rake is less than Vegas, Atlantic City or any Indian casino.
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[willyd]

I said most people...not everyone. Different sites are different too. Why should you pay any rake online? World Sports Exchange gives you back 100% of your rake at the end of the week. Check it out if you haven't already. It is pretty cool...(i do not work them in case any one thinks otherwise.)

[freepatriot32]

Hey libertarian... Are you a punctuation and spelling anarchist? Take a breath... place a period once in a while...

Hey republican... Are you the puntuation and spelling police? if so how did you get that job since you are suppose to be for a smaller less intrusive government? if you want me to write like a pro columnist pay me for it! i accept cash money orders or paypal.com(sorry no checks or credit cards as badly as you repubs have screwed up the national debt i dont trust you for one second with credit) and yes i will post links to back up my rant either later tonight or tomorrow morning and you will be the first one i ping

[freepatriot32]

AG-nominee Backs Semi-auto Ban -- Gonzales tells Senate he supports gun control

PREPARED REMARKS OF ATTORNEY GENERAL ALBERTO R. GONZALES AT THE U.S. ATTORNEYS CONFERENCE THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2005 SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA

[GretchenM]

Wanna bet they find a way around this?

[mugs99]

I said most people...not everyone.
Well sure, most people are losers in Vegas and at the racetrack too!
Why does our government allow online betting on the horse races that have wiped out so many, but go after online poker where those who have good money management skills can profit?

Why should you pay any rake online?
The rake pays for the services. I wouldn't play anywhere that doesn't have a rake. With the rake, I know exactly how much I'm paying to play. Without a rake I'm in danger of being cheated. How are they making a profit without a rake?

World Sports Exchange
I'm not a sports bettor. I only play poker and I stick with the cardrooms whose reputations are above reproach...Places like Poker Stars and Ultimate Bet.

Lets be honest here. It's the brick and mortar casinos and the racetracks who want online poker outlawed. That's why the casinos paid Abramoff and his clients to lobby for anti-online gambling laws.

Goodlatte exempted horse racing from his congressional bill because the NTRA is a heavy contributor to him.
Hastert is pushing his "American Values" bill through the senate to outlaw online poker. Hastert is the single largest recipient of money from Abramhoff and his clients.

Banning online poker is just a Culture of Corruption scam.
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[willyd]

They offer online poker...they take out a rake, but they refund it after a week...basically, they make money on the float...I guess they are thinking they will draw players into sports betting and the other casino games where they make bigger margins.

I agree with you on the casinos wanting to outlaw online gambling. If they had their way, they would not only make gambling legal in every state, they would make it manditory.