NEWS
Betfair denies claims of terrorist laundering
Posted: Friday, July 13, 2007 5:59 PM
by Frank Angst
Betting exchange Betfair.com has issued a statement denying reports that Islamic terrorists laundered money through the site, which handles wagers on horse racing and sports betting.
The Washington Post reports investigators in the United States and Britain say three British residents who this month pleaded guilty to using the Internet to incite murder used cyber-crime to fund their operation. Authorities said the men, using stolen credit card accounts, laundered money through more than a dozen Internet gambling sites.
Police said at least one of the terrorists, Tariq al-Daour, laundered money through horse racing and sports betting sites Betfair, Canbet.com, and Eurobet.com; along with poker sites AbsolutePoker.com, BetonBet.com, NoblePoker.com, and ParadisePoker.com. Under the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, all of the sites are illegal to United States players, but Eurobet.com still has a link for U.S. players and books U.S. races. Some of the poker sites still market to U.S. players.
The three men face prison terms of 6 ½ to 10 years for running Web sites that offered information on bomb making and computer crimes as well as videos of beheadings and suicide bombings in Iraq.
Betfair, which offers United States racing but is illegal for U.S. players, said the reports are not valid.
“It is simply incorrect to say in respect of Betfair that, ‘winnings were withdrawn and transferred to online bank accounts under [the terrorists] control,” Betfair said in a statement, adding that it worked with investigators.
“A number of attempts were made to use Betfair’s site fraudulently, but they were unsuccessful,” Betfair said. “[The terrorists’] were identified, accounts were closed, and all relevant information was shared with the police.”
On Friday, United Kingdom-based EuroBet booked wagers on Monmouth Park and Thistledown. For that same date, bookmaker Canbet listed only Irish and English tracks but did include other United States sports on its betting menu. Canbet has corporate offices in Australia and a betting center in London.
Frank Angst is a Thoroughbred Times senior writer
