AP: Online gambling company Sportingbet PLC has agreed to forfeit $33 million

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9-20-2010
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h_pNgd7cBnG5KVabV3NtlcL-GaqwD9IC115G2

Online gambling company agrees to forfeit $33M
(AP) – 2 hours ago
NEW YORK — Online gambling company Sportingbet PLC has agreed to forfeit $33 million to avoid being prosecuted in the United States for illegally accepting Internet bets made by Americans for nearly a decade.
The London-based company also agreed to permanently restrict its gambling services for U.S. customers, unless there is a change in law. Online gambling currently is illegal in the U.S.
The U.S. attorney's office in the Southern District of New York announced the deal Monday.
An attorney for Sportingbet, Stuart Slotnick, called it a positive :think2: resolution to the case.
Prosecutors say Sportingbet had offered players in the U.S. the opportunity to bet on sports and casino games from 1998 to 2006. In 2001, they say, the company began obscuring bets made by customers on credit cards issued in the U.S
 

Pro Handi-Craper My Picks are the shit
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So if these online bills were to pass they won't have a conviction on their record and could get a permit to take bets. Maybe a smart move on their part. If I remember right you can not have any conviction to obtain a permit in the current bills.
 

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Let me get this straight. Sportingbet is going to fork over 33 million dollars to a country that has no authority whatsoever to prosecute them, fine them or attempt to collect the fine. This is comical. If I was Sportingbet, I'd call a press conference in the morning and tell the US attorney's office to suck the 33 million dollars out of my ass. Typical British company that cowers down when the US tries to muscle them.
 

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Post 2 is a more likely reflection of the situation than Post 3. Potential future US business has a value far in excess of US$33m.
 

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Perhaps the owners have assets in the US that would have got seized anyway if they didn't agree on settlement.
 

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They are afraid from past actions, of getting any of the owners/major operators of the company prosecuted if they are on usa soil. According to similiar dealings with party poker, i'm thinking this paves the way for there acceptance when/if usa alows internet sports gambling. According to a bill being propsoed in the legislature, any poker sites that are currently operating will not be allowed to get licensed in the USA.
 

schmuck
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the problem as i understand it, wasn't the gambling aspect; but
their use of trying to intentionally disguise their financial transactions
such as credit card deposits as NON-gambling expenses. this is illegal!
combine this along with other types of questionable financial transactions
and that this is a publically traded company put them in a very awkward
and tough to defend position. they made the choice to pay now
and have a clean slate for the future.
 

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