The other shoe has finally dropped for American Wagering Inc., the Nevada gaming company that owns Australian-licensed Internet betting company Megasports Pty, Ltd. A complaint filed last year against the company for accepting Internet wagers from Nevada bettors finally resulted last week in the company agreeing to pay a fine and sell off the Net betting subsidiary.
In December 1999, the Nevada State Gaming Control Board filed a complaint against AWI for allegedly taking a bet from investigators located in Nevada, seriously endangering the status of the company's Nevada sports betting license. AWI was originally given a January deadline for responding to the complaint (to be settled by the Gaming Commission), but the deadline was pushed back numerous times before finally being set for July 27. A deal was finally struck this week.
AWI signed a stipulation agreeing to pay a $10,000 fine and sell off its Megasports Australia subsidiary within 180 days. If unable to sell the business within the allotted time, the company must refuse further wagers and freeze all customer accounts. Further The commission could shutdown Megasports' Nevada operations if it appears that the company isn't trying in good faith to sell the operations.
An AWI spokesman could not be reached for comment.
The stipulation isn't cast in stone yet, as the commission has the last say on the matter. That should happen at the next scheduled meeting on July 27.
Click here to view a copy of the stipulation.