Online Casino

The mastermind behind the hugely successful online gambling company BetOnSports, Gary Kaplan has been jailed for four years by a US court as well as being ordered to pay in excess of $43 million as forfeiture for illicit earnings.

The 50 year old entrepreneur, who spearheaded the successful London based company which flouted US laws on online gambling by encouraging American citizens to gamble online, admitted a variety of charges related to BetOnSports including fraud and racketeering.

Prosecutors in the case are convinced that Kaplan is still in possession of millions of dollars that are sequestered away in Swiss accounts, although they are not currently able to provide details. Lawyers acting for Kaplan tried asking for leniency, using the argument that their client had wanted to instigate the setting up of charitable projects designed to be o9f help in the community.

However Judge Carol Jackson, the district judge presiding over the case in St Louis, Missouri, said that Kaplan had "continued to disrespect" US laws and broke those he did not agree with. She added that Mr Kaplan had made what amounted to an educated decision, which was a gamble of sorts for which he was now receiving the payoff. She also said that Kaplan would be prohibited from launching or running a business without first obtaining permission from the probation office.

Since 1997, authorities in the US had been busy investigating offshore based sports gambling and had turned their radar on BetOnSports in 2001.

In August of this year, Gary Kaplan had admitted he had set up offshore gambling businesses in Costa Rica and in the Caribbean islands of Antigua and Aruba. These were meant for providing gambling facilities for US citizens via the Internet as well as toll free phones.

Kaplan founded the offshore gambling company in 1995. A report in the St Louis Business Journal stated that in 2004 the company had almost a million registered customers and the main headquarters in Costa Rica was employing 1,700 people. Also in 2004, BetOnSports shares went on sale on London's Stock Exchange netting Kaplan over $100 million.

However, money isn't everything and four years behind bars will be sure to give him time to reflect on his business practices. Ironically, by the time he comes out there is every chance that those very laws that put him away will have been changed beyond all recognition.