Internet gambling arrests

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TESS VIGELAND: US authorities have arrested the British CEO of an online gambling company. They’ve also charged 10 other executives from the company and six other organizations with racketeering. The move comes just a week after the US House passed a bill cracking down on Internet betting. From London, Stephen Beard reports.

STEPHEN BEARD: David Carruthers, head of BETonSPORTS.com was arrested as he changed planes in Dallas. He was on his way to Costa Rica where his online gambling firm is based.

The company operates offshore because Internet betting is illegal in the US, but BETonSPORTS has directly marketed its services at American customers.

Analyst Tim Steer says Carruthers’ arrest has triggered a big sell-off in the shares of Internet betting companies listed in London.

TIM STEER: The vast majority of these stocks do most of their business in the US and these charges will raise a very, very big question mark over the sustainability of that business.

Following last week’s extradition of three British bankers to the US, the arrest in Dallas has also fanned a more general anxiety in Britain about the perils of doing business with America.

In London, this is Stephen Beard for Marketplace.