Neteller Chief Pleads to Online Gambling Charge - 07-02-07
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July 2 - On Friday last week, Stephen Lawrence, a co-founder of popular online
payment processor Neteller, pleaded guilty in a New York federal court to a
charge of criminal conspiracy in relation to this firm's processing of billions
of dollars of online gambling-related funds by US-based online gamblers.
Neteller is by far the most popular method of payment for online gamblers the
world over, including in the United States until the end of last year when
Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA) and
President Bush signed it into law effectively banning online gambling.
US prosecutors charged Lawrence with violating the United States 'archaic'
electronic wire act that specifies that sending or receiving gambling
information over telephone wires is illegal.
Many online gambling industry insiders speculated that because Neteller is based
on the Isle of Man, a well known online gambling-friendly jurisdiction, that it
would keep the company out of the clutches of US authorities. Clearly they were
wrong.
Lawrence, who admitted in court that 'providing payment services to online
gambling websites catering to US players was wrong', is cooperating fully with
US investigators and said he would take partial responsibility for the $100
million the US government is seeking in compensation.
The Neteller executive was released on $5 million bail after his court
appearance last week and looked relieved to be out of the online gambling
spotlight, at least for now.
Lawyers representing the executive said that Lawrence would return to his home
in the Bahamas until his sentencing in the United States in October this year
where he'll face a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison.
