Three of the biggest internet companies have come to a settlement with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) over their alleged involvement in illegal online gaming.Microsoft, Google and Yahoo! are to pay out a total of $31.5 million to resolve claims that they promoted the practice, a US attorney has announced.
The companies neither deny nor affirm that they promoted illegal online gaming by running advertisements for websites from 1997 until earlier this year.
Microsoft is set to pay $21 million, Google $3 million and Yahoo! $7.5 million, according to a DOJ statement.
The agreement to pay comes after an investigation conducted by attorney Catherine Hanaway, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service.
Commenting on the fines, Ms Hanaway stated: "These sums add to the over $40 million in forfeitures and back taxes this office has already recovered in recent years from operators of these remote-control illegal gambling enterprises."
As part of its punishment, Microsoft has agreed to create a $9 million online advertising campaign, focusing on young people, which emphasises the illegality of internet gambling in the US.
In a statement to ABC News, Microsoft spokesman David Bowermaster referred to the agreement between the firm and the DOJ as a "mutually beneficial outcome".
He added: "We're hopeful that our educational campaign will stop young people from gambling before they start."
Meanwhile, concerning its involvement in the proceedings, Google stated: "While we did not admit any wrongdoing, the DOJ has advised that online gambling is illegal in the US and ads to promote it are improper."
Based on the 1870 Act, the DOJ is the central agency for the enforcement of federal laws in the US.
