Swedish online gambling operator to face U.S. charges

The Swedish entrepreneur and operator of the Lucky Lady online casino, Petter Magnus Karlson has reportedly travelled from his base in Asia to the United States to face organised crime charges on which he is negotiating a plea agreement.

Prosecutors allege that Karlson helped finance one Sydney Bruce Segal, an illegal US bookmaker and San Diego card room operator who prosecutors claim accepted illegal sports bets from punters in Arizona and southern California.

Karlson is also accused of providing Segal’s enterprise with access to offshore gambling sites hosted in the UK, Hong Kong, Costa Rica and Curacao that enabled US punters to place bets.

According to prosecutors, the enterprise’s primary offshore sports gambling website, betmex.net, was owned and operated by co-defendant David Gregg Leppo, and Karlsson supervised another accomplice, Pablo Ballestero Frech, in managing accounts for Segal on Leppo’s website and others.

The prosecution is being led by the US Attorney’s Office, and a court hearing is scheduled for July 17.