$31.5 million Paid By the Big Three for Gambling Ads

According to U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway the three largest Internet search companies, Microsoft Corp., Yahoo Inc., and Google Inc. have agreed to stop accepting online gambling ads and to pay a combined $31.5 million to settle federal civil allegations.

Settlement negotiations with the three companies have been going on for around a year and a half.  The investigation dated back to 2000 and was conducted by Hanaway's office and incorporated the IRS and the FBI.

All three companies have claimed that it has been years since they accepted ads concerned online gambling.

Hanaway said, "I do think it will have a major impact. Obviously these are three of the largest online organizations in the world."

Microsoft Settlement

Microsoft paid the largest portion at $21 million. The breakdown of the settlement includes a $4.5 million forfeit, $7.5 million to International Center for Missing and Exploited Children and $9 million in public service ads over a three-year period (starting in 08)

Microsoft commented that, "This agreement reflects our ongoing commitment to online safety," the company said in a statement. "We're hopeful that our educational campaign will stop young people from gambling before they start."

Yahoo Settlement

Yahoo had the second biggest fine at $7.5 million. Its portion will be shared as a $3 million forfeiture and $4.5 million in public service ads over three years.

Kelley Benander said in a statement, "Yahoo stopped accepting online gambling advertisements years ago, and after the U.S. Attorney's office contacted Yahoo with its concerns, we worked cooperatively over several years to reach this settlement."

Google Settlement

Google paid the least in fines at $3 million.  The $3 million represents less than one third of their daily profit of $11 million. According to a Google spokesperson, the ads appeared in sponsored links at Google.com and other sites belonging to their worldwide ad network.

The spokesperson for Google said, "While we did not admit any wrongdoing, the Department of Justice has advised that online gambling is illegal in the United States and ads to promote it are improper. Google voluntarily discontinued running such ads, which were a very small part of our AdWords business, in April 2004."