Guilty Plea in Web-Poker Crackdown

One of the founders of poker website Absolute Poker pleaded guilty to criminal charges after he was accused earlier this year in a crackdown by the U.S. on Internet gambling.

Brent Beckley was charged in April, along with the founders of PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, of breaking a variety of U.S. laws, including money laundering and illegal-gambling offenses. Those three websites were the largest poker sites operating in the U.S. at the time. The criminal charges against 11 people, including Mr. Beckley, marked a long-anticipated showdown between federal authorities and the offshore websites over billions of dollars in revenue from American players. The government claims their operations, by serving U.S. residents, violated U.S. law.