| Online Gambling: Feds detain NETeller Founders in US |
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| Written by Thomas Jensen | |||||||
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Tuesday, 16 January 2007
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 NETeller Founders John Lefebvre and Steve Lawrence were detained in the United States on Monday, January 15th, 2006. The news of their detainment, which was originally reported by Gambling911.com late Monday evening, sent shockwaves through the online gambling industry immediately.NETeller, based out of the Isle of Man, is publicly traded on the London exchange (AIM) and states on their website they are “the world’s largest independent money transfer business”. The most recent annual report states that the company took in revenues of $172.1 Million. Sources from Costa Rica have reported to Point-Spreads.com that John Lefebvre’s wife was from Southern California and that may have been the residence were he was apprehended. Steve Lawrence was the Chairmen of NETeller up until October 13th, 2005 and reports have him being apprehended in New York. Some reports have both Lawrence and Lefebvre still working with the company up until November 2005. When we originally contacted NETeller by phone at 12:05 AM EST Tuesday we were told: “We are not permitted to release any information over the phone, however please feel free to contact our corporate compliance department with any questions. They can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ” After waiting on hold due to “extremely high call volumes” for 1 hour, we finally got a CS representative on the phone again at 2:05 AM EST Tuesday and were told: “They were detained but no charges have been filed at this time.” The besieged online gambling industry has been hit hard over the last six months. In July, the DoJ arrested BetonSports PLC CEO David Carruthers. Carruthers was on a layover between Costa Rica and the United Kingdom in the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport and is currently out on house arrest awaiting trial in Missouri on money laundering and tax evasion. BetonSports Founders Gary Kaplan and Tom “Norm” Miller are still at large. Approximately one month after the arrest of Carruthers, the US Congress passed the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006), which made it illegal for financial companies to knowingly process internet gambling transactions. UIGEA was signed into law by President George W. Bush in November 2006. Just last Thursday, online gambling giant Pinnacle Sports decided to pull out of the US Market to focus on European expansion. The move was blamed on the current US Legal environment as it relates to online gambling transactions. Point-Spreads.com will provide additional coverage on this story as news develops.                        |
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| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 16 January 2007 ) | |||||||