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.
