BetOnSports founder Gary Kaplan sentenced.

The court has finally passed sentence on the founder of BetOnSports.com Gary Kaplan sending him to prison for 4 years and 3 months. Kaplan was arrested in Puerto Rico in March 2007 and has been locked up since then; he pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, violating the Wire Wager Act and conspiring to violate it in August. He will also forfeit $43.6 million of illegally obtained money as well as not block another $7 million which is to be forfeited by associates but according to the prosecution he will still have tens of millions stashed away in Swiss bank accounts. Kaplan founded the online betting company in 1995 and set up in Aruba, Antigua and Costa Rica and even listed on London’s AIM in 2004 but the company approached US citizens to place bets by phone or internet and placed advertisements suggesting that the operations were legal and that money was available to be withdrawn at any time but when the company ceased trading in 2006, customers lost more than $16 million.

US District Judge Carol Jackson was not impressed with a plea for leniency and on a rather humorous note said “Mr Kaplan made an educated decision, a gamble if you will”, “Now here is the payoff”

Neil Scott Kaplan and Lori Beth Kaplan-Multz were also sentenced to 10 months house arrest for their part whilst former assistant Penelope Ann Tucker got probation but has to forfeit nearly $15000. Online gaming is still illegal in the US and this shows that the Government is serious about pursuing offenders even if they are offshore.