US Attorney Catherine Hanaway reached a settlement with online gambling company BetOnSports PLC that permanently bars the London-based company from accepting any bets from the US.
The lawsuit has been closely watched by the online gambling industry, which generates about US$6 billion annually in the US.
The settlement announced on Thursday ends a massive civil case Hanaway filed this summer. It does not affect a criminal case still pending against several BetOnSports employees, including Chief Executive David Carruthers, who remains under house arrest in a St Louis suburb.
Carruthers faces 22 counts of fraud and racketeering charges. His case is scheduled to go to trial early next year. BetOnSports fired him soon after he was arrested in July.
Hanaway spokeswoman Jan Diltz said the US Attorney's Office would not comment on the civil settlement because the criminal case is ongoing.
BetOnSports said in a statement that it had not admit wrongdoing by entering the settlement.
Spokesman Kevin Smith said about 20 percent of the company's revenue came from other countries, most of them in Asia.
"That will be the total focus of the company now," he said.
The settlement requires BetOnSports to open a toll-free telephone service to inform bettors how they can reclaim wagers pending before the suit was filed.
Smith said the hotline should be running within a week. He said he did not know how BetOnSports planned to refund customers.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source