BetonSports has been hailed once as the biggest online gaming company in the US. However, after a series of arrests involving the company’s top ranking officials, BetonSports has plunged into the darkness since then.
During his arrest, David Caruthers was the CEO of the online gambling company that raked in millions primarily brought by American customers. Officials said they were operating on sports betting and assumed it was legal in the US.
Citing the Federal Wire Act and a number of other online gambling related laws, several arrest were made in 2006. BetonSports founder Gary Kaplan was among the people arrested, as well as Caruthers. The company has been into bankruptcy since then.
Kaplan was sentenced in August 2009 after a pleading guilty to racketeering, mail fraud, tax evasion, and other charges. He was ordered to pay $43 million to the US government and to serve 51 months in prison.
Caruthers, on the other hand, has just been sentenced last week. He has been charged with only racketeering charges. He originally made a guilty plea in April 2009, but revised it in October after hearing what happened to his former boss.
Some lawmakers are already on the move to overturn the Internet Gambling Act of 2006. One of them is Massachusetts Representative Barney Frank, who along with Texas Representative Ron Paul, are the loudest voices for online gambling in the Congress. It is still an uphill battle though as most lawmakers are also staunch supporters of the Act.
