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Following the arrest of Sportingbet Plc chairman Peter Dicks last week in the United States, Sportingbet shares plummeted when they resumed trading yesterday on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

Dicks was arrested Wednesday last week at New York’s JFK airport on a warrant issued by Louisiana officials charging Dicks with illegal online gambling in the state. The following day Sportingbet requested that trade be suspended.

When trade reopened yesterday, it is estimated that the popular online sports book took a hit to the tune of £400 million.

The company’s shares dropped by 41 per cent on the LSE to 141.88 pence, a far cry from the 239 pence the shares were trading at before they were suspended last week.

Dicks was released on Friday on $50 000 bail while he awaits a hearing on Thursday September 14 that will decided whether or not he will be extradited to Louisiana.

Apart from a successful online sports book, Sportingbet owns and operates Paradise Poker.

online-gambling-insider.com