Offshore Costa Rica Sports Betting Firm Indicted in the US

A Costa Rica sports betting operation has been indicted in the US for its connection to a multimillion dollar illegal sports gambling operation in Boston.

The 122 count major criminal indictment by the Suffolk County Grand Jury is the result of a longstanding joint investigation by the Massachusetts police, FBI, the US Attorney’s Office, the Internal Revenue Service, the Nevada Gaming Control Board, and local authorities of betting operations in East and South Boston. The area is a hotbed for illegal sports gambling due to its major regional sports market and popular professional teams such as the New England Patriots and Boston Red Sox.

In a statement, Attorney General Maura Healey explained that the 33 defendants had created a multimillion dollar enterprise with a network of bettors. It utilized an offshore betting website for bookkeeping as a way to get around US gambling laws. The website in question is PerHead, which operates out of Santa Ana, San Jose. PerHead’s owner and operator, Travis Prescott, was indicted along with his entire business. He and his company have been accused of multiple charges including money laundering and organized illegal gaming.

Costa Rica sports betting operation had ties to the Italian American mafia

Back when it was first established, Prescott’s Costa Rica sports betting operation was known as a flourishing operation and a good employer. In a 2012 interview with sports journalist Sam Borden that was featured in the New York Times, Prescott had explained how his Costa Rica sports betting business functioned.

“In the so-called old days, the general business setup for a bookie was a split partnership, in which the operator would work in the office taking bets and the money guy was on the streets, handling the finances. The profits were generally split 50-50. Honestly? That’s so ‘Goodfellas’. With our setup, everything is streamlined and anyone can run their operation on their own,” said Prescott.

However, it wouldn’t be long before Prescott’s business became associated with organized crime like that portrayed in the movie he cited. That same year US gambling news of a New Jersey indictment appeared that linked PerHead to BetEagle, another Costa Rica sport betting business that was allegedly operated by the infamous Italian American mafia crime family, the Genovese. Two members of the Genovese family have since been arrested and sentenced in 2015 for their involvement with illegal sports gambling on BetEagle.