BetOnLine.com reps insist that customers monies are safe and that they have nothing to do with any credit business even after thirty individuals connected with the Panama City-based online gambling shop were indicted this past week for unlawfully operating a sports betting enterprise that the Queens District Attorney's Office claims took in more than $567 million over a 28-month period.
The 38-month investigation was known as "Operation Betting It All". An arrest of the alleged "kingpin", Joseph Fafone of Rochester, New York, culminated with the announced indictments. Many of those arrested have already been released on bail and are not deemed a "flight risk". The Queens DA has attempted to connect Fafone with the Gambino crime family.
Fafone, who is a survivor of pancreatic cancer, was nabbed while trying to catch a flight from Rochester to Panama City, Panama with $23,000 in cash.
"BetOnline.com is absolutely NOT a credit shop," a spokesperson for the company told Gambling911.com. "BetOnline.com is a post up book, no different from BetUs.com or any other. The credit shop was a credit shop... completely separate business, completely separate ballgame, which does not affect the BetOnline.com brand.
"As you can imagine, this is turning out to be a PR nightmare for us and our brand, but what happened in the US yesterday was not at all about BetOnline.com - it was about the credit businesses. It's a shame the news outlets had to spin it the way they did to make it the juiciest possible story for them. For us here at BetOnline.com, it's business as usual - customers are still getting paid, bets are still being made."
One of those named in the indictment is just a clerk at BetOnLine who makes no more than $300 per month.
An executive from another indicted online gambling firm recently joined BetOnLine and was slated to take over their marketing functions.
A low level employee of another gambling group indicted by the Queens DA was given the choice of serving a 12 month sentence or to confiscate all his money. He had no priors. The individual opted for the 12 month sentence.
Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
