BETONSPORTS BOSS TO STAY IN JAIL

The arrest prompted a significant fall in online gaming shares. The UK boss of online gaming site Betonsports has waived his right to a bail hearing and will remain in prison in the US. David Carruthers will now be moved to a jail in Missouri, from Fort Worth, Texas, where he has been held hitherto. Mr Carruthers was arrested earlier this week in the US on racketeering charges. He had been named along with 11 other people and three other companies in an indictment, viewed as part of a US move to crack down on internet gaming.

The arrest left the online gaming industry reeling earlier this week, pushing shares in companies such as Partygaming and 8889 Holdings sharply lower. Online gambling has been somewhat of a grey area in the US. Gambling is illegal in many parts of the US, but internet gaming firms have hundreds of thousands of US customers as they are based offshore in countries that allow gambling and so were viewed as out of reach of US laws. However, the US government believes internet gambling violates a law against placing interstate bets using telephone lines.

The industry estimates that there are 1.2 million online gamblers worldwide, helping generate $12bn ($6.4bn) in annual business. Many observers now expect the US to continue in its crackdown and some are even predicting that there may be growing support for an anti-gaming bill. Mr Carruthers has been an outspoken opponent of US moves aimed at banning banks and credit card companies from processing internet gambling payments. He and his wife, who have lived in Costa Rica since 2000, were returning from the company's annual meeting in London when he was detained in Dallas.

A warrant also has been issued for the arrest of Betonsports founder Gary Stephen Kaplan, 47, who is charged with 20 offences including tax evasion and conspiracy.

BBC NEWS REPORT.