BETonSPORTS founder arrested in Dominican Republic

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The founder of the London online gambling operation BETonSPORTS Plc, Gary Stephen Kaplan, was arrested late Wednesday in the Dominican Republic, a U.S. attorney in Missouri said on Friday.

Kaplan was indicted in June by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Missouri, the U.S. attorney's office said in a press release. The indictment accuses Kaplan and 10 others of engaging in racketeering, conspiracy and fraud, arising from the operation of Costa Rica-based Internet gambling businesses, including BetonSports.com.

Following Kaplan's arrest in the Dominican Republic, the U.S. attorney said he was sent by Dominican authorities to Puerto Rico to make an initial appearance before a U.S. Magistrate Judge.

The U.S. attorney's office in St. Louis, Missouri plans to ask the Magistrate Judge to order that Kaplan be sent to St. Louis immediately or be held in custody pending a hearing to remove him to St. Louis, and that he be held without bond.

BETonSPORTS, which once traded on the London Stock Exchange, was forced in August 2006 to close down its U.S. business which accounted for 95 percent of its profits.

The U.S. crackdown on online gaming began last July with the arrest of BETonSPORTS Chief Executive David Carruthers during a layover at a Texas airport.