New York owner charged in sports-betting ring

Andrew Berg, the owner of the New York-based racing operation Gumpster Stable, surrendered his license to the New York State Racing and Wagering Board on Oct. 21 after being indicted on charges of recruiting people to bet through an illegal gambling operation, according to regulators and law-enforcement officials.

Berg was one of 30 people indicted by the Queens District Attorney on Oct. 21 on charges of "unlawfully operating a sports betting enterprise" that took in more than $20 million a month in bets, according to the indictment. Berg was an "agent/runner' for the operation, according to the indictment, along with 12 other people, and was "responsible for soliciting new bettors to the organization, maintaining existing bettor relationships, and meeting with bettors to collect gambling losses and pay out winnings."

According to the indictment, Berg is facing up to 25 years in prison.

A spokesperson for the Queens County, N.Y., District Attorney said on Wednesday that the bookmaking operation did not take bets on horse racing events "as far as we know."

Gumpster Stables has won 40 races this year from 233 starts, according to Daily Racing Form statistics. Last year, Gumpster won 20 races from 103 starts.

Efforts to reach Berg on Wednesday were unsuccessful.

Joe Mahoney, a spokesman for the New York racing board, said that Berg surrendered his license voluntarily at the request of the board.