eBay company fined $10mn over online gambling

By Alun Williams

Posted on 28 Jul 2003 at 16:25

PayPal has agreed to pay a $10mn fine to settle a case involving illegal online gambling.

The allegation is that the payment service aided illegal offshore and online gambling, breaking US federal and state laws.

USA Today reports that PayPal fell foul of the law between mid-2000 and November 2002, transmitting money in violation of federal and state laws

While the government has settled its case against PayPal and e-Bay, the investigation of the other companies or individuals involved is ongoing.

The paper quotes US Attorney Raymond Gruender: 'Offshore sportsbooks and online casino gambling operations which do business in the United States generally do so in violation of federal criminal laws. Therefore, we will continue to investigate and pursue such activity.'

eBay bought PayPal, one of the world's biggest web micropayments platform, a year ago. According to USA Today, it was at this point that PayPal stopped accepting payments for gambling services.