Sportingbet requested that its shares be suspended pending further information. The announcement caused internet betting shares to tumble in value.
"Whilst visiting the US on non-Sportingbet business, Mr Peter Dicks, aged 64, Non-Executive Chairman of Sportingbet Plc, was detained by US Authorities at approximately 2.00am BST on Thursday," said a statement from Sportingbet. "Mr Dicks was detained at JFK Airport, New York, by officers of the Port Authority of New York, whilst travelling from London to the US on non-Sportingbet related business."
Dicks has already attended a court hearing where prosecutors requested his extradition to Louisiana to face a charge of violating a state law relating to gambling by computer. A further hearing is scheduled for next week.
"The charge is levelled against Mr Dicks by name and a further hearing is expected next week," said the company's statement. "The Group itself has not received correspondence from any US authority regarding this or any related matter. The Company is closely monitoring the situation and will continue to operate as normal."
The move will prove a major shock to the online gambling industry. Many observers had believed that the arrest of Carruthers was specific to the relationship between his company and US investigators. The founder of Betonsports is wanted by authorities in the US and some had supposed that Carruthers' arrest was a way to help prosecute Gary Kaplan.
The holding of Dicks, though, sends a signal that the US authorities are conducting a more wide-ranging campaign against internet sports betting companies.
The law regarding online gambling in the US is complex. The Department of Justice usually prosecutes under the 1961 Wire Act, which prohibits inter-state telephone betting. A law from the 1970s specifically legalises inter-state horse race betting, though prosecutors sometimes still take cases involving horse racing.
A new law which seeks to clear up the situation is passing through the two legislative houses of the US but few observers expect it to become law. The bill has passed through the House of Representatives, but most expect it to fail at the Senate as other similar bills have done.
