Vocal I-Gaming Exec Detained in Dallas

U.S. Federal agents detained David Carruthers, CEO of online sports betting company BetonSports, at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport Sunday night.

Carruthers and his wife were en route from the United Kingdom to Costa Rica, where BetonSports is based, when he was asked to go with the federal authorities for reasons not yet made clear. He is understood to still be in U.S. custody, but his wife was allowed to continue on to Costa Rica.

"The board are currently seeking clarification as to the basis of the detention and a further announcement will be made when appropriate," the company said in a prepared statement. "The business continues to trade normally. In particular, the Antigua-licensed gaming activities serviced in Costa Rica and Kuala Lumpur are operating as usual."

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Internet Gambling Prohibition and Enforcement Act last week ago, and Carruthers, a major proponent of regulation and taxation over outright prohibition, is no wallflower when it comes to the issue of banning Internet gambling in the United States. There has been no evidence, however, linking Carruthers' activism to this turn of events, and the U.S. government has not yet released a statement.

With the news this morning came a drop in share prices throughout the I-gaming sector.

BetonSports fell today by 30p (more than 20 percent), Sportingbet fell by 34p (more than 10 percent) and PartyGaming fell by 8p (7.5 percent).

A BetonSports spokesperson said Carruthers is expected to have a hearing this afternoon and that the company will release a statement with more information following the hearing.