Past Online Casino Scandals: BetonSports

by Mira Patel, News Staff Writer

October 24 2007

We have yet another online casino sports betting scandal to remember today, over seven years later. Two years before Charlie Therwhanger’s Sports Market and Aces Gold online casinos went bankrupt as the result of a Super Bowl mix-up nightmare, BetonSports.com was one of the most prominent sports betting internet casinos around. Online gambling fans love to play their luck by placing wagers on the outcome of professional sports and races, and, at the turn of the millennium, BetonSports was the place to go if you wanted to lay a serious wager.

There has never been any proof that Billy Walters himself placed the half-million dollar bet that cost BetonSports online casino its reputation, but it seems awfully likely. Walters, the head of the world’s best-known online gambling betting syndicate, was prohibited by the betting firm of BetonSports from placing his own bets, due to his connections. When the anonymous player who placed the large bet at the internet casino was found to have connections to Walters, BetonSports chief Gary Kaplan out-and-out refused to honor the bet. Most online casinos with sports betting do not allow known syndicates to place bets with them, after all, Kaplan argued.

The matter was never settled, but it permanently left a stain on BetonSports’ name. The online casino developed something of a name for not honoring its bets, and was eventually forced to shut down by the US Government, with many online gambling fans still being owed money. BetonSports grew huge before its demise, but never shook the fall-out of the incident. Among sports betting online casinos, the story of BetonSports is still told, like a warning, of what can happen if you dishonor the cardinal rule of, “you take a bet, you pay a bet.”

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