PayPal gambling probed
N.Y. attorney general reportedly subpoenas company data related to online betting activity.
July 12, 2002: 8:05 AM EDT
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - PayPal said it received a subpoena from the office of New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer related to its activities in the online gambling market , according to a report Friday.
The attorney general's office requested information about gambling payments made through the PayPal Web site, company spokesman Vince Sollitto told the Wall Street Journal.
eBay (EBAY: Research, Estimates) said it will close PayPal's links with Internet gambling companies, which make up about 8 percent of its payments, when it completes its $1.5 billion acquisition of the payment company, citing uncertainty about regulations on the market, the report said.
A spokeswoman for the attorney general's office, Christine Prichard, declined to confirm or deny the subpoena, the Journal said. The office has been investigating online gambling, which is expected to bring in $4 billion this year, according to the paper.
In June, Citibank agreed to block the use of its credit cards for gambling payments, and several other credit card companies have done the same. Many online gambling companies are based out of the United States where laws don't apply, so Spitzer is working on other ways to curb the practice, the report said.
PayPal brought in about $117 million in payments from online gambling last quarter, the report said.
Shares of PayPal (PYPL: Research, Estimates) gained 61 cents to $23.05 Thursday.
N.Y. attorney general reportedly subpoenas company data related to online betting activity.
July 12, 2002: 8:05 AM EDT
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - PayPal said it received a subpoena from the office of New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer related to its activities in the online gambling market , according to a report Friday.
The attorney general's office requested information about gambling payments made through the PayPal Web site, company spokesman Vince Sollitto told the Wall Street Journal.
eBay (EBAY: Research, Estimates) said it will close PayPal's links with Internet gambling companies, which make up about 8 percent of its payments, when it completes its $1.5 billion acquisition of the payment company, citing uncertainty about regulations on the market, the report said.
A spokeswoman for the attorney general's office, Christine Prichard, declined to confirm or deny the subpoena, the Journal said. The office has been investigating online gambling, which is expected to bring in $4 billion this year, according to the paper.
In June, Citibank agreed to block the use of its credit cards for gambling payments, and several other credit card companies have done the same. Many online gambling companies are based out of the United States where laws don't apply, so Spitzer is working on other ways to curb the practice, the report said.
PayPal brought in about $117 million in payments from online gambling last quarter, the report said.
Shares of PayPal (PYPL: Research, Estimates) gained 61 cents to $23.05 Thursday.
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