A second offshore gambling executive is in U.S. custody.
Peter Dicks, chief executive officer of SportingBet PLC, was arrested last week at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport on an outstanding Louisiana gambling-related arrest warrant issued in May.
SportingBet is traded publicly on the London Stock Exchange. Upon Dicks’ arrest, the gaming site sought an immediate temporary suspension of its shares pending clarification of the situation.
A spokesperson for the Louisiana State Police said Dicks was arrested as part of an ongoing investigation of the website.
According to the spokesperson, the warrant is sealed, and there are no indictments.
Sportingbet confirmed that Dicks had been detained by U.S. authorities, mirroring the detention in July of another online gaming executive on racketeering charges.
BETonSPORTS CEO David Carruthers was arrested in Texas in July and along with seven others has pleaded not guilty to racketeering and other charges. The Costa Rica-based company subsequently fired Carruthers, who remains under house arrest in the St. Louis area awaiting trial. The company also closed its U.S. websites.
Earlier this year, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to strengthen federal laws against Internet gambling.
Shares in SportingBet plummeted 41 percent Monday after trading resumed. Shares in other companies across the $12 billion-a-year industry also fell sharply, with industry leader PartyGaming plunging as much as 19 percent before closing last week.
