According to the Telegraph, the fired Chief Executive of BetonSports has reached a deal with US prosecutors to be released on $1m bail, of which $100,000 will be payed up front. Carruthers will have to remain in the St Louis area and wear an electronic tag enabling him to be located with a GPS satellite tracking system. His wife is expected to join him while he awaits a trial which will be several months away.
In an interview with the Guardian, Missouri\’s US Attorney Catherine Hanaway said BetonSports\’ practice of taking American bets from its base in Costa Rica caused an unacceptable outflow of money from the US.
Ms Hanaway said the US need to check this money is not being used for money laundering, drug financing or terrorism. “Because it\’s flowing out of the country in an unregulated way, we simply don\’t know the ultimate destination.”
Meanwhile, other UK-based online betting companies have reacted with caution. Most of the members of the Remote Gambling Association, including Ladbrokes, Stan James, William Hill, Coral Eurobet and Victor Chandler, avoid taking sport bets from the US, looking instead to Europe and Asia.
“The Gambling Commission will be set up in the UK from September 2007 and will regulate online gaming and gambling. It is hoped that having such a regulator will make it more difficult for the US to see us as some kind of lawless land, run by the mob. Online gaming is far more secure, with audit trails that can be traced. It is a mainstream leisure activity – people play because they enjoy it. The US is a huge market, so its attitude is very frustrating. Our view is that we will have to see how this shakes out,” said Brian Wright, Business Manager of the RGA.
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