|
St Louis, December 20:: The three largest Internet companies have agreed to pay a combined USD 31.5 million to settle federal civil allegations they took ads for illegal gambling, the US Attorney for eastern Missouri has said.
Microsoft Corp, Yahoo Inc and Google Inc also agreed to stop accepting ads for sports wagering and other online gambling, US Attorney Catherine Hanaway said on Wednesday.
The investigation conducted by Hanaway's office, along with the IRS and the FBI, dates to 2000, she said. Negotiations have been going on for 12 to 18 months, she said.
"This is a very profitable business that had a lot of money to spend on marketing," Hanaway said of the online gambling firms advertising on the Web.
All three companies said they stopped taking the ads years ago.
"I do think it will have a major impact, Hanaway said.
Obviously these are three of the largest online organizations in the world."
Microsoft's USD 21 million portion of the settlement includes a USD 4.5 million forfeit, USD 7.5 million to be paid to the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children and USD 9 million in public service ads over a three-year period starting next year.
The public service campaign will be aimed at informing users, especially those of college age and younger, that online gambling is illegal.
Microsoft said it stopped accepting ads from sites associated with online gambling nearly four years ago.
"This agreement reflects our ongoing commitment to online safety," the company said in a statement. "We're hopeful that our educational campaign will stop young people from gambling before they start."
More from Infotech
Discuss this story on expressindia forums
|
|
 |
 |
 |
About Us | Contact Us | Advertisers | Site Map | Make us your homepage | Work for Us | RSS | Subscribe | Electronic Edition | Privacy Policy© 2009: The Indian Express Limited. All rights reserved throughout the world
