Thursday, September 28, 2006

Louisiana police have warned all online gambling companies to stop
accepting bets in the state or risk having their executives and directors
arrested if they visit the US, the Financial Times reported, citing an
interview with Captain Joe Lentini, head of the casino section of
Louisiana's Police Gaming Enforcement division. The FT quotes Lentini, the
police official responsible for the arrest of Peter Dicks, ex-chairman of
Sportingbet PLC, on a Louisiana warrant in New York three weeks ago, as
saying the state is pressing ahead with its clampdown, in spite of what
appears to be a rethink about the case in other jurisdictions. Lentini said
the state has issued four arrest warrants for individuals associated with
Sportingbet, including Dicks. He would not name the other three but told the
FT it 'was reasonable to assume they were executives or directors'. The FT
says Lentini indicated that other online gambling companies were also under
investigation and their executives and directors at risk of arrest. The
report says it's understood that Louisiana has sealed warrants against more
than 50 people working or connected to at least a dozen online gambling or
related companies.