Following the arrest of Bet on Sports former CEO David Carruthers, offshore online casino operators are becoming a bit concerned about the future of international online gambling. There is growing concern in the online casino industry that the US government could target more offshore companies after years of looking the other way. An example of such concern was seen last month, when online sports casino Bodog, based in Costa Rica, cancelled a marketing conference in Las Vegas.

Caution is taken especially by online casinos that specialize in betting on sports. Poker sites and other gaming sites are worrying much less for the time being, as they are not considered a major target, not just yet in any case. The Justice department is vigorously going after sports operators, and it might just be a matter of time till they target the whole online gaming industry. Just this month we have seen a display of 'business as usual' when online casino Poker Stars, along with additional sponsors, hosted the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, even though it was shortly after the arrest of Carruthers.

Americans continue to gamble in record numbers online but we are hearing of more and more sites who are excluding these players and denying their business. The operators are waiting to see what will be pinned on Carruthers, and as for now they are distancing themselves from the American market. It seems they have trouble forgetting the arrest of offshore gaming executive Jay Cohen, who was sentenced in 2001 to 21 months in federal prison, and served more than a year.