Big Sites Fold on Net Gambling

Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo have agreed to cough up $31.5 million to settle Justice Department charges they promoted Internet gambling by accepting advertising from gambling sites for the past 10 years, Reuters reports. The high-tech giants will pay some of that amount in fines, and will create PSAs telling young adults and teenagers that Internet gambling is illegal.

The United States has been cracking down on Internet wagering in recent years. An October 2006 law made it illegal for credit card companies to accept charges for online gambling, effectively closing the market to foreign companies. Two founders of payments processor NETeller Plc were arrested in January. In May, BETonSPORTS pleaded guilty to U.S. racketeering charges. (More Google stories.)