Security officers in three states have arrested at least 17 persons suspected of engaging in an illegal online gambling scheme. On Wednesday, authorities said that the suspects' operations catered to at least 2,000 American gamblers and bets reached up to several million dollars.

The New York Times reported that websites used by the suspects are all located outside the U.S. in order to thwart the authorities from shutting them down.

Like Us on Facebook

The suspects were arrested in various parts of New York and California as well as Nevada. Police identified the mastermind as one Cyrus Irani, a resident of Santa Clarita, California. The other suspects were pinpointed as either bookmakers or accountants of the illegal gambling operation.

New York District Attorney Richard Browns told the press that the online gambling outfit was able to collect more than $32 million a year from gamblers placing their bets on sports such as basketball or football. Brown said that gambling addiction is no different from drug addition.

Investigators found a paper trail involving the use of credit cards and bank accounts to move the money around.

While gambling sites are often located outside the U.S. and out of reach of law enforcers, they also  operate a secret website within the country in order to provide faster service to their clients.

Authorities were able to determine that the suspects registered their web site - 365action.com - in Panama. They reportedly used a U.S. online service provider to route the bets. Registering and maintaining the site out of U.S. jurisdiction prevents American law enforcers from shutting it down or using it as evidence.

The company eventually stopped providing its services to 365action.com. The gambling ring allegedly changed service providers a number of times in order to avoid detection.

San Francisco based online service provider Nexusguard was the company routing the data when the gambling operators were apprehended.

The 365action site claims to have be protected by Costa Rican law, according to reporters who visited the site.

Three of the suspects arrested in New York were either doctors or medical lab technicians. During their arraignment, they issued a plea of not guilty to the charges filed against them.

Tagsonline gambling, sports bets online, 365action.com, cyrus irani, gambling ring suspects arrest