Sportingbet sells US unit

[verdict]

Fri Oct 13, 2006 2:08 AM BST162
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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Online gambling company Sportingbet Plc (SBT.L: Quote, Profile, Research) has sold the U.S. operations of its Sportsbook.com online casino to existing managers and a group of private investors, Sportsbook.com said on Thursday.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Due to new U.S. legislation aimed at preventing financial institutions from handling transactions with online gaming companies, Sportsbook.com's parent company Sportingbet has decided to stop accepting wagers from customers in the United States, effective immediately, Sportsbook.com said in a statement.

Sportsbook.com said it would now operate as a private company with offices in Dublin, Antigua, Vancouver and San Jose, Costa Rica.

This month U.S. Republican legislators delivered a heavy blow to the Internet gambling industry when Congress unexpectedly approved a bill to make online gambling illegal.

The industry is now splitting between London-listed companies, which are pulling out of the United States, and privately-owned businesses that are prepared to take illegal bets from offshore.

[InSpades]

What happens to Hollywood Sportsbook? I have funds there?

IS