Founder of BetOnSports Pleads Guilty in U.S. Court

American-born online sports betting pioneer, Gary Kaplan, recently pleaded guilty in a U.S. court to charges of conspiring to violate U.S. federal racketeering laws, and agreed to forfeit over $43 million he earned 'unlawfully' through his popular online sports betting site, BetOnSports.com.

The 50-year-old online gambling entrepreneur was one of the first victims of the U.S. Department of Justice's online gambling witch hunt in 2006. On July 17 of that year, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri office issued a 22 count indictment for Gary Kaplan and 8 other BetOnSports executives.

The U.S. Attorney cited the Federal Wire Act of 1961, which specifically prohibits the use of a wire communication facility to transmit bets across state or foreign borders. But the charges did not end there as Kaplan and his co-accused were also charged with many other violations, including tax evasion.

Despite Kaplan' recent guilty plea and payment of $43,650,000 - which he had wired to the United States from a Swiss bank account last week - he is still not off the hook. Kaplan's plea and money forfeiture were part of a plea agreement that could see him still spend between 41 and 51 months in prison.

That is if the judge in the case accepts the deal. His hearing has been set for October 27. The online gambling executive has been in jail without the possibility of bail since he was arrested in March 2007, and is eager to put the whole episode behind him. But customers of BetOnSports  have also paid a price.