Tampabay: Mobile bets called off in Tampa

Two Tampa police detectives who passed by the display disagreed, at least with the legal part. They walked into the motor home and placed a bet on the Bucs.

"Then we stood up and pulled out our badges," said Detective Bill Todd.

The four men operating the motor home were arrested on gambling charges. Police said they were soliciting wagers ranging from $25 to $100,000.

But the owner of www.betonsports.com says the mobile home, the promotional T-shirts and even the betting is completely legal because the bets are placed in Costa Rica and other offshore sites, where gambling is allowed.

Promoting his company in the United States isn't a crime, either, said David Carruthers, the chief executive of www.betonsports.com.

"You have a great law in the U.S.," Carruthers said. "It's called free speech."

By using the Internet, he said, gamblers can place bets via Costa Rica, avoiding U.S. laws against gambling.

The detectives think otherwise. Todd said the state Attorney General's Office issued an opinion in 1995 that said that if a bet is placed on Florida soil, it is a violation of state and federal law regardless of where the betting operation is located.

"If part of that transaction is taking place in Florida, then it's illegal," Todd said.

While many of the laws surrounding online gambling are still evolving, most of the offshore operations work in similar fashion:

A gambler creates an online account with a credit card. That allows the gambler to contact the company 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and place a bet either on the Internet or with one of hundreds of call-takers working in other countries.

Wagers are paid for with a credit card, a bank transfer or a money wiring service. The gambler requests a check or bank transfer to collect any winnings.

Some experts estimate Internet-based sports books will take in up to $4.5-billion in revenue this year. But the legality of doing it in the United States is murky.

Law enforcement authorities have tried several strategies against offshore sites, and are now using a federal statute that outlaws the use of phone lines or wires to transmit bets between the United States and another country.

Carruthers said he spends "tens of millions" of dollars on advertising, and that's what he was trying to do Sunday in Tampa.

The four men who were arrested inside the motor home don't actually work for betonsports.com. Carruthers said they work for the Miami-based Mobile Promotions, which was hired to advertise and market the betting site.

Still, detectives arrested the four because they were representing the company. Jeremy Smith, 30, of Miami and Chad Williams, 25, of California were charged with bookmaking and keeping a gambling house. Manny Lenis, 23, of Miami and Jose Espinoza, 21, of Weston were charged with being an agent for keeping a gambling house. All were booked into the Hillsborough jail and were released on bail.

The mobile home, and a similarly decorated Chrysler PT Cruiser, are sitting in a Tampa police impound lot.

None of this is stopping Carruthers from continuing to promote his company in the United States. He said that he advertises on the Howard Stern radio show, on several Florida radio stations, including one in Tampa, and in several national magazines.

Carruthers also has asked the Miami promotions company to drive another motor home emblazoned with his company's name to St. Louis for the Oct. 20 Rams-Seahawks game.

-- Times researcher John Martin contributed to this report.

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