Prosecutors Threaten Action for "Aiding and Abetting" Online Casinos

Federal prosecutors have begun a wide-ranging effort to curb the growing popularity of online gambling in the United States by quietly threatening legal action against American companies that do business with Internet casinos and sports betting operations based outside the country, lawyers and industry executives say. The investigation into the activities of media, public relations and technology companies relies on a controversial legal concept that holds that the American businesses, by providing advertising and other services that support Internet gambling, are "aiding and abetting" online casinos.