Online Casino Sportingbet Nears US Settlement
Sportingbet CEO Andy McIver said his company is near an agreement with the US government regarding investigations into actions prior to the UIGEA passage in 2006. The Sportingbet executive believes the dispute as to whether his online casino violated US laws will be resolved by the end of this year.
"The talks have been very amicable and very positive but incredibly slow," McIver told Reuters yesterday. "We will hopefully reach agreement in the current calendar year."
The US Department of Justice has conducted ongoing investigations into online gambling operators that accepted US business before the UIGEA Internet casino payment transaction ban. Although there was no US law against online casino gambling, there was a law in place against sports wagering, and the Wire Act has also been determined to outlaw online sports betting.
Despite the recession, the sports gambling industry in Europe is growing at a rapid rate. A Sportingbet spokesman said the company's pretax profit in its second quarter more than doubled over the previous year.
Sportingbet stock, which has been weighted down by concerns over possible US prosecutions, rose almost five percent on the news of the progress in negotiations.
Because it handled plays on sporting events, Sportingbet is in a far different situation than PartyGaming and other Internet gambling sites under the US magnifying glass. Even though PartyGaming co-founder Anurag Dikshit came to an agreement with the US, no crime was charged, and it is unlikely gaming sites that didn't take sports bets could be indicted.
