Saturday, April 07, 2007

A U.S. federal judge ruled Wednesday that BetOnSports gambling website
founder Gary Stephen Kaplan should be extradited to the mainland United
States to face a 22-count criminal indictment. Magistrate Marcos Lopez also
said Kaplan, who was arrested March 28 in the Dominican Republic and brought
to Puerto Rico, poses a flight risk and should not be freed on bond pending
his transfer from the U.S. island territory. Kaplan's attorney, Maria
Sandoval, said the businessman would seek to be released on bail after he is
taken to Missouri, where he faces charges as part of a U.S. crackdown on
online gambling. Kaplan, 48, was named in a 22-count criminal case alleging
fraud and racketeering. Federal prosecutors indicted BetOnSports PLC last
year for allegedly breaking a 1961 law by allowing U.S. customers to gamble
and place bets over the phone and online. The company later closed its U.S.
operations.