A US federal prosecutor reached a settlement with online gambling company BetOnSports that permanently bars the London-based company from accepting any bets from the US, according to an Associated Press report.
The lawsuit has been closely watched by the online gambling industry, which generates about $6 billion annually in the US, the report said.
The settlement ends a massive civil case US Attorney Catherine Hanaway filed this summer. It does not effect a criminal case still pending against several BetOnSports employees, including company CEO David Carruthers, who remains under house arrest in a St. Louis suburb, the Associated Press report added.
Carruthers faces 22 counts of fraud and racketeering charges. His case is scheduled to go to trial early next year. BetOnSports fired him soon after he was arrested in July.
Hanaway spokeswoman Jan Diltz said the US Attorney's Office would not comment on the civil settlement because the criminal case is ongoing.
BetOnSports said in a statement that it did not admit wrongdoing by entering the settlement.
Spokesman Kevin Smith said about 20% of the company's revenue came from other countries, most of them in Asia, the report further said.