The US Department of Justice has demanded information from some of the world's biggest investment banks as part of a probe into online gambling in the United States, banking sources said this morning.
Internet gaming was effectively banned last year after US President George W Bush signed legislationoutlawing gaming-related financial transactions at the end of September.
The sources said the Department of Justice had issued requests for information through the Southern District Court of New York and has ordered the banks to hand over all emails, telephone records and documents connected with internet gaming firms such as 888 holdings and Partygaming.
888 and Partygaming were not immediately available for comment.
European gambling companies, including 888 and Partygaming, have been taking business from the United States for many years arguing that until last November US federal law was ambiguous and made no reference to the internet.
The Sunday Times and Sunday Telegraph newspapers earlier reported that the DoJ has ordered 16 banks including HSBC, Dresdner Kleinwort, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank, as well as accountants and law firms, to pass on the information.
The reports said the subpoenas were issued three weeks ago as part the DoJ's on-going investigation which has seen a flurry of gaming executives arrested as a host of online gambling firms have pulled out of the US.
Dresdner Kleinwort could not be immediately reached for comment, HSBC, Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse declined to comment.
