Monday, August 14, 2006

As reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "BetOnSports, the online
gambling company targeted by federal prosecutors in Missouri and Washington,
is shuttering the majority of its billion-dollar operations and will no
longer accept bets from the United States, a company spokesman said Thursday
evening. "The move was seen as a significant victory for prosecutors
targeting online gambling and as somewhat of a surprise. Industry experts
and even a company insider had predicted that BetOn Sports would simply
ignore the federal criminal prosecution and civil efforts to shut the
company's U.S. operations down. "BetOnSports is one of the largest online
gambling companies in the world, analysts say, in an industry worth an
estimated $9 billion to $12 billion. After civil and criminal charges were
announced last month, U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway said it was the
largest prosecution of an online gambling company. ".Kevin Smith, a company
spokesman, said 80 percent of the company's business came from U.S.
customers, with the rest from Asian markets. "Smith said employees were told
at 1:30 p.m. St. Louis time that the company's offices in Costa Rica and
Antigua were being closed. The formal announcement was set for 7 a.m. London
time today. "The decision will affect about 800 employees, at least 90
percent of whom worked in Costa Rica, he said."