Italian police on Thursday shut down five sports Web sites allegedly
linked to illegal betting. The sites reportedly hosted betting services
for a prominent British bookmaking firm and handled several millions of
dollars in illegal bets in doing so.
Among the sites under investigation is www.assocalciatori.it, the
homepage for Associazione Italiana Calciatori (AIC), Italy's national
soccer association. This has prompted officials to investigate the
possible involvement of professional players.
The other sites shut down were www.fantacalcio.it,
www.mantova.scommesse.it, www.mantovaschop.net and www.betsport.it.
Local police learned in May that British bookmaker Eurobet had been
advertising its betting services on several sports-related sites. The
investigation led to police raiding the offices of the companies
operating the sites.
Following the searches, Sergio Campana, president of AIC, called the
betting ads a "regrettable accident" and had them pulled from the AIC
site.
Eurobet PR Director Simon Clare denied that the company had any
connection to the shutting down of the sites. "Customers from all over
the world can access and place bets on our Web site, but we have no
operations in any countries apart from the locations of our two head
offices," he said. Eurobet maintains offices in England and Gibraltar.
The five sites under investigation are currently either shut down or
feature a statement reading: "Sequestro, Proc. Pen. Nr. 25930/01 -
Decreto emesso in data 02.09.2001, Procura della Repubblica di Roma,"
which roughly translated means, "Seized under Proc. Pen. Nr. 25930/01 -
Decree issued on
September 2, 2001 - By the power of attorney of the Republic of Rome."
Sports betting services in Italy can only be conducted by
government-approved companies.