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LONDON (AFX) - William Hill PLC has decided to stop accepting casino and poker business from clients with a US address or US issued credit card, pending clarification of laws regarding online gambling by US citizens.
The UK-based bookmaker said such steps are already in place to prevent internet sports betting by US domiciled individuals.
A spokeswoman for William Hill confirmed that the US has only previously contributed 1 mln stg to William Hill's gross annual win, which represents 1 pct of revenues from online gaming and 0.5 pct of overall revenues.
The move follows a report in the Financial Times which said 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 FT cited an interview with Captain Joe Lentini, head of the casino section of Louisiana's Police Gaming Enforcement division.
Lentini was 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.
Dicks, 64, is the second executive of a UK Internet sports-betting company to be held in the US.
David Carruthers, former chief executive officer of BetOnSports PLC, was arrested in July. The company fired Carruthers, and subsequently, closed its US websites.
Carruthers has been charged with racketeering, conspiracy and fraud, including breaches of the 1961 Wire Act, which explicitly forbids using a wire communication facility to place bets on 'any sporting event or contest'.
The legal position on online casino and poker is less clear cut, but many analysts see the arrests as auguring a much tougher stance from an unpopular Republican administration, looking to shore up the conservative vote ahead of mid-term elections in November.
Lentini told the FT the State is pressing ahead with its clampdown, in spite of what appears to be a rethink about the case in other jurisdictions.
He 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. newsdesk@afxnews.com msc/msc/tc COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2005. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News. AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited
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