BetOnSports founder Gary Kaplan pleads guilty

ST. LOUIS — The founder of the online gambling site BetOnSports.com pleaded guilty on Friday to federal racketeering conspiracy and other charges, concluding years of investigating and prosecuting a case in the complex world of offshore sports gambling.

Gary Kaplan, 50, who started out as a New York bookie who didn't complete high school, and who in recent years held his business out to the world as the largest and best in the industry, agreed in a plea deal to forfeit $43.6 million in illegally obtained revenue from his criminal enterprise.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Holtshouser said Kaplan won't be left penniless.
By CHERYL WITTENAUER
The Associated Press
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