(Washington, DC) -- The founder of BetOnSports, a major illegal offshore gambling business, has been sentenced to 51 months in prison on federal racketeering charges.
Gary Kaplan pled guilty in August and agreed to forfeit nearly 44-million dollars.
The Justice Department says the money is proceeds from online sports wagering entities for U.S. residents that Kaplan set up in the 1990s in the Caribbean and Costa Rica.
A U.S. attorney said Kaplan had built his now-defunct operations on a wager the U.S. would not enforce its anti-sports book laws.
BetOnSports customers lost up to 20-million dollars when the firm shut down in 2006.
Gary Kaplan pled guilty in August and agreed to forfeit nearly 44-million dollars.
The Justice Department says the money is proceeds from online sports wagering entities for U.S. residents that Kaplan set up in the 1990s in the Caribbean and Costa Rica.
A U.S. attorney said Kaplan had built his now-defunct operations on a wager the U.S. would not enforce its anti-sports book laws.
BetOnSports customers lost up to 20-million dollars when the firm shut down in 2006.