BETONSPORTS STRIKES DEAL WITH US DOJ, CARRUTHERS NOT MENTIONED

ANTIGUA SUN
Wednesday October 18 2006
by Patricia Campbell

The civil case against Internet gambling company BetonSports is approaching a resolution, but criminal charges against former Chief Executive Officer David Carruthers and a number of other principals in the company still stand.

BetonSports has reportedly reached a deal with US federal prosecutors which would bring to an end civil proceedings which were instituted to permanently prohibit the Internet gaming operators from operating in the US market.

The proposed deal came just as US President George Bush signed into law the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which makes it illegal for financial institutions, including credit card companies, to process payments from online gambling company.

That legislation has already caused a number of gaming operators to pull out of the US market, shutting down or selling their US facing operations.

BetonSports took the decision in August, after the arrest of its CEO and facing federal criminal charges in the US, that it would not accept wagers from US clients and would refund money owed to those clients when that became financially feasible.

According to reports, a St. Louis judge has given prosecutors and BetonSports a week to finalise the settlement of the civil suit.

Speaking in court yesterday, both sides of the legal conflict indicated that a basic agreement is in place but BetonSports’ attorney Jeffrey Demerath explained that necessary paperwork was received from prosecutors on Thursday night, allowing insufficient time for the company’s Board of Directors to meet and review the document. Demerath expressed confidence that that review and possible consent to the deal could be achieved within the time frame requested.

Neither side has released details of the agreement now being proposed.

While the civil case against the company now seems all but wrapped up, the case against Carruthers is still pending.

The former BetonSports CEO was arrested in July on charges including racketeering, fraud, all in connection with the operations of the company’s Internet gambling business.

Carruthers was released from jail late in September, but remains under house arrest in St. Louis.

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Author: GamesAndCasino