Old BetonSports Players Paid 4.6 Percent of Balances

Wednesday July 6, 2011 : 4.6 percent paid out from the demise of a one-time internet gambling giant
 
Six years ago it would have seemed unlikely that the at that time giant online gambling group BetonSports could fail. Steered by its high profile and aggressive chief exec David Carruthers, the company had tens of thousands of players on its books and was a constant presence in the US media due to innovative and in-your-face marketing.
 
Then Carruthers was arrested whilst transiting through the US, starting a long period of incarceration, and founder Gary Kaplan and others were prosecuted, beginning the methodical dismantling of the company by the US Department of Justice in one of the industry's first major enforcement actions.
 
In a relatively short period of time the company's plush offices in Costa Rica were deserted, hundreds of employees found themselves without jobs, and players were unpaid.
 
This week memories of the debacle surfaced again on internet sports betting message boards, where players reported that payments from the liquidators have commenced.
 
But the bad news is that players will receive only 4.6 percent of the returns due to them. Resources realised from the final wind up of the company are apparently sparse.
 
It's taken several years since impacted players were advised to submit their claims to the US authorities back in mid-2006, but it appears that this tainted brand simply will not disappear; in Pennsylvania, a grand jury investigation has claimed payment processing links between magazine publisher Don Hellinger and BetonSports back in its heyday, and further prosecutions may be in prospect.