ALL BETS OFF FOR BETONSPORTS

Gary S. Kaplan, the founder of the now-defunct Internet gambling firm BetonSports Plc. who was indicted in 2006 for violating federal laws barring wagering, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and racketeering charges.

In a hearing yesterday in St. Louis federal court, Kaplan admitted to multiple charges of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. He agreed to serve 41 to 51 months in prison and forfeit $43.65 million, according to a Justice Department statement.

“Kaplan made millions of dollars by making it too easy for people to gamble away their hard-earned money without having to leave their homes,” John Gillies, special agent in charge of the FBI in St. Louis, said in the statement.

“[Yesterday’s] guilty plea should have a lasting effect because Kaplan was not only the founder of BetonSports, he was also one of the pioneers of illegal online gambling.”

Kaplan and his company were accused of violating US laws banning the interstate transmission of wagers by wire. He was arrested in the Dominican Republic in March 2007, nine months after his indictment, and has been in custody since then.

Now bankrupt, London-based BetonSports took in $1.25 billion in 2004, with 98 percent of that revenue coming from bets made through its Web site by US-based clients.