BetonSports
Encyclopedia
BetonSports plc is a British
online gambling
company founded by Gary Kaplan
in 1995. The company was one of the biggest players in the United States
online gaming market, drawing in several billion US dollars
in wagers in the early 2000s. In June 2006 US authorities indicted
the company and a number of its executives on RICO
, mail fraud, and tax evasion
charges arising from its supplying online betting to customers in the United States (the alleged crimes took place before the adoption of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006
). No date for trial has been set; several of those indicted remain in US custody or on bond.
In July 2004 the company was floated on the Alternative Investment Market
of the London Stock Exchange
with the ticker symbol
BSS.LN. Although listed in London, the majority of its operations were in several Caribbean
locations (principally Aruba
, Antigua
, and later Costa Rica
) and almost all of its customers were within the United States.
In July 2006 the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
issued a sealed indictment of the company and a number of people related to its operations. The indictment was unsealed later that month when CEO David Carruthers
was arrested in Dallas while returning to Costa Rica after attending the company's
annual general meeting
in London. Shortly after Carruthers' arrest trading in the company's stock was suspended. At that time BetonSports employed around 2000 workers in Costa Rica. The company later terminated Carruthers and agreed to discontinue its US business.
In March 2007 founder Gary Kaplan
was arrested in the Dominican Republic
and was extradited to the US. In August 2009 Kaplan plead guilty to three charges, including a racketeering charge.
The criminal trial for BetonSports is scheduled for September 2009.
On January 8th, 2010, it was announced that David Carruthers had been sentenced to 33 months in prison.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
online gambling
Online gambling
Online gambling, also known as Internet gambling and iGambling, is a general term for gambling using the Internet.-Online poker:Online poker tables commonly offer Texas hold 'em, Omaha, Seven-card stud, razz, HORSE and other game types in both tournament and ring game structures...
company founded by Gary Kaplan
Gary Kaplan
Gary Kaplan was the founder of BetonSports.com , an online sports betting company which between 2002 and 2004 took in wagers amounting to nearly $4 billion, 98 percent of which came from the United States...
in 1995. The company was one of the biggest players in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
online gaming market, drawing in several billion US dollars
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
in wagers in the early 2000s. In June 2006 US authorities indicted
Indictment
An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...
the company and a number of its executives on RICO
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly referred to as the RICO Act or simply RICO, is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization...
, mail fraud, and tax evasion
Tax avoidance and tax evasion
Tax noncompliance describes a range of activities that are unfavorable to a state's tax system. These include tax avoidance, which refers to reducing taxes by legal means, and tax evasion which refers to the criminal non-payment of tax liabilities....
charges arising from its supplying online betting to customers in the United States (the alleged crimes took place before the adoption of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006
Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 is United States legislation regulating online gambling. It was added as Title VIII to the SAFE Port Act which otherwise regulated port security...
). No date for trial has been set; several of those indicted remain in US custody or on bond.
In July 2004 the company was floated on the Alternative Investment Market
Alternative Investment Market
AIM is a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange, allowing smaller companies to float shares with a more flexible regulatory system than is applicable to the main market....
of the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
with the ticker symbol
Ticker symbol
A stock symbol or ticker symbol is a short abbreviation used to uniquely identify publicly traded shares of a particular stock on a particular stock market. A stock symbol may consist of letters, numbers or a combination of both. "Ticker symbol" refers to the symbols that were printed on the ticker...
BSS.LN. Although listed in London, the majority of its operations were in several Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
locations (principally Aruba
Aruba
Aruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...
, Antigua
Antigua
Antigua , also known as Waladli, is an island in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region, the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua means "ancient" in Spanish and was named by Christopher Columbus after an icon in Seville Cathedral, Santa Maria de la...
, and later Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
) and almost all of its customers were within the United States.
In July 2006 the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri is a trial level federal district court based in St. Louis, Missouri, with jurisdiction over fifty counties in the eastern half of Missouri. The court is one of ninety-four district-level courts which make up the first tier of...
issued a sealed indictment of the company and a number of people related to its operations. The indictment was unsealed later that month when CEO David Carruthers
David Carruthers
David Carruthers was the CEO and a board member of online gambling company BETonSPORTS plc. He served as CEO from July 2000 until July 24, 2006...
was arrested in Dallas while returning to Costa Rica after attending the company's
annual general meeting
Annual general meeting
An annual general meeting is a meeting that official bodies, and associations involving the public , are often required by law to hold...
in London. Shortly after Carruthers' arrest trading in the company's stock was suspended. At that time BetonSports employed around 2000 workers in Costa Rica. The company later terminated Carruthers and agreed to discontinue its US business.
In March 2007 founder Gary Kaplan
Gary Kaplan
Gary Kaplan was the founder of BetonSports.com , an online sports betting company which between 2002 and 2004 took in wagers amounting to nearly $4 billion, 98 percent of which came from the United States...
was arrested in the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
and was extradited to the US. In August 2009 Kaplan plead guilty to three charges, including a racketeering charge.
The criminal trial for BetonSports is scheduled for September 2009.
On January 8th, 2010, it was announced that David Carruthers had been sentenced to 33 months in prison.
External links
- BETonSPORTS.com, the company's former online gambling portal. The site now displays information for customers whose funds are affected by the ongoing legal action.