I was hanging out at the Poker News booth when I heard that David Carruthers, the CEO of BetonSports, had been arrested. According to the Dallas Business Journal, he was "one of 11 individuals and four corporations named in a 22-count indictment charging them with racketeering, conspiracy and fraud."
Since the ban on internet gambling bill passed by the House of Representatives 317 to 93 on July 11th, everyone is wondering what is going to happen. Many are hoping that the Senate will not pass the bill, and it is the Poker Players Alliance that is working the hardest to educate the government about poker being a game of skill and why it should not be tied into restrictions on other internet games if chance.
In the BetOnSports situation that is of topic today, the Dallas Business Journal said, "The Federal Bureau of Investigation has issued letters to four telephone companies, instructing them to stop providing phone services to the Internet sportsbooks and casinos operated by BetonSports PLC, the statement said."
The indictment alleges that the founder, Gary Stephen Kaplan, wasn't paying "federal wagering excise taxes on more than $3.3 billion dollars in wagers taken from the United States."
I went to BetOnSports.com, and this is what I found on their homepage,
"IN LIGHT OF COURT PAPERS FILED IN THE UNITED STATES, THE COMPANY HAS TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED THIS FACILITY PENDING ITS ABILITY TO ASSESS ITS FULL POSITION. DURING THIS PERIOD NO FINANCIAL OR WAGERING TRANSACTIONS CAN BE EXECUTED. FURTHER INFORMATION WILL BE POSTED ONCE THE COMPANY IS IN A POSITION TO DO SO."
Stay tuned, and find out more information at PokerPlayersAlliance.org
