May 25, 2007 — BetonSports has pleaded guilty to racketeering and conspiracy and will face no further criminal prosecution as long as it cooperates with probes of former company officers, including founder Gary Kaplan, a government official said.

Kaplan last week pleaded not guilty to racketeering and conspiracy charges stemming from the British online gambling company’s acceptance of wagers from U.S. bettors.

The company’s plea “should put an end to the BetonSports illegal gambling empire,” U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway said yesterday in St. Louis.

The deal may end the London-based company’s legal troubles in the U.S. Last July, prosecutors unsealed a 22-count indictment against the company and 11 individuals, including Kaplan and then-Chief Executive Officer David Carruthers.

In November, the company consented to a ban on its U.S. operations, ending a parallel civil lawsuit by the government.

BetonSports’ attorney Jeffrey Demerath didn’t return a call.

The plea was entered before U.S. District Judge Carol Jackson in St. Louis, Hanaway’s spokeswoman Terri Dougherty said. The company was accused of violating U.S. laws barring the electronic transmission of wagers across state and international borders. It also charged the individuals with racketeering conspiracy.

Kaplan, 48, entered his plea earlier this month in St. Louis federal court, 10 months after U.S. prosecutors unsealed their indictment. He was apprehended at a hotel in the Dominican Republic in March.