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ST. LOUIS (Bloomberg News) - The former chief executive of an Internet gambling company, BetOnSports, was sentenced to 33 months in prison on Friday.
The executive, David Carruthers, pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy, the result of a federal investigation that shut down the Web site, which was based in London.
Mr. Carruthers and 10 others, including the company's founder, Gary S. Kaplan, were indicted in 2006 and accused of violating federal laws banning the placement of wagers by wire. Two other defendants remain at large.
"I understand now that the business was operating outside the laws of the United States," Mr. Carruthers said in a statement to Judge Carol E. Jackson of United States District Court.
BetOnSports took in $1.25 billion in 2004, with 98 percent of that revenue coming from bets made through its Web site by clients in the United States, according to court papers.
