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Online Poker Sites in Big Trouble

By Ray Zimmerman

Since I’m a dedicated poker player for more years than I would care to mention, I was totally shocked when I found out that the online poker websites of PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, UB.com, Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker were seized last Friday by the F.B.I.

The Arrest Warrant was obtained by the United States Attorney’s Office which was for the Southern District of New York. The Arrest Warrant was issued by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. I have included a screen-captured image below showing exactly what was posted on each of these websites by the United States.

It was reported and documented that 11 individuals were indicted for bank fraud, illegal gambling and money laundering. Along with these charges, restraining orders were issued against 75 banks in 14 different countries for allegedly processing the payments of U.S. residents so they could gamble at various online sites.

Is has been also documented that the United States Attorney is seeking Three Billion Dollars in damages. The defendants in this case could spend up to 30 years in a United States penitentiary and could also be fined up to One Million Dollars each.

PokerStars is the world’s largest online poker site. If you have PokerStar’s software installed on your computer, you will find that if you reside within the United States you will no longer be able to register for real money poker tournaments or sit down at a table that is being played with real money.

If you should try to register for a poker tournament on PokerStars, you will receive the following pop-up message.

Start of Message - We are sorry but due to government regulations, playing real money tournaments is not allowed in your area. - End of Message

You will not experience any difficulties if you wish to participate in any of the play money games that PokerStars has available (tournaments or table games). PokerStars is currently allowing players from the United States to cash out their accounts based on the their standard cash-out rules.

Full Tilt Poker follows behind PokerStars as being the second largest online poker site. Even though Full Tilt Poker’s main website was seized, their other website (www.FullTiltPoker.net) is still fully operational because this site was specifically designed for play money poker games. Could they have possibly had a premonition about possible involvement with the United States over online gambling? If you have previously download their software, you always had the option to play poker for either real money or for play money (tournaments or table games).

When you log into your account on Full Tilt Poker, you are presented with a pop-up message that states the following.

Start of Message - Unfortunately, due to recent actions by the U.S. government, Full Tilt Poker is unable to accept "real money" from U.S. players at the current time, and this includes any deposits or withdrawals. We are working to resolve these issues as soon as possible and will keep you updated as information is presented to us.

We are deeply sorry for this inconvenience, but these events are beyond our control. Please be assured that your funds are safe and we thank you for your patience while we do everything in our power to have your money returned to you as soon as possible. - End of Message

It definitely sounds like Full Tilt Poker is not allowing any individuals from the United States to cash-out any money that they currently have in their accounts. Tom Dwan, who is also known as "Durrrr" to the online poker community, is a poker pro that’s part of the Full Tilt Poker team. He recently stated that the poker players on Full Tilt Poker shouldn’t worry about getting their money back from Full Tilt Poker. That is still an unknown and remains to be seen. Only time will tell if he was right.

It was documented on the internet that UB.com and Absolute Poker, both part of the CEREUS Network, were temporarily suspending Deposits and Withdraws until they find new payment processors. It definitely sounds like these poker sites plan to continue normal operations regardless of the pending charges.

Here is a list of the new websites that are currently being used to promote the online poker sites of the poker domains that were seized the by the United States Attorney's Office.

PokerStars...
New Website: www.PokerStars.eu

Full Tilt Poker...
New Website: www.FullTiltPoker.co.uk

UB.com...
New Website: www.UBPoker.eu

Absolute Poker...
New Website: www.AbsolutePoker.eu

The action by the United States Attorney’s Office against online poker rooms has had a far-reaching effect upon one of the major online casino operators. For a long time now, quite a few online casinos have allowed individuals residing in the United States to gamble for real money. One of the largest companies that power online casinos is Rival Gaming. This company announced that effective April 16, 2011, casinos that are powered by Rival Gaming software will no longer be accepting players from the United States. It has been recently confirmed that new players are being blocked from creating player’s accounts on these online gambling sites, but it has not yet been confirmed if players with established player’s accounts are being allowed to continue gambling.

After doing some research, I was able to compile a list of online gambling sites that have been accepting players from the United States which are powered by Rival Gaming software. I have provided the following alphabetical list of these online casinos for your personal reference.

* BetUS Casino
* Black Diamond Casino
* Box24 Casino
* Club Vegas USA Casino
* Cocoa Casino
* Da Vincis Gold Casino
* Desert Nights Casino
* Golden Cherry Casino
* Lionslots Casino
* Mayan Fortune Casino
* Pantasia Casino
* Paradise 8 Casino
* Rockbet Casino
* Ruby Royal Casino
* Simonsays Casino
* Sloto’ Cash Casino
* Slots Jackpot Casino
* Spartan Slots
* Superior Casino
* This Is Vegas Casino
* Tradition Casino
* Vegas2Web Casino
* Vegas Days Casino
* Vegas Sky Casino

Did Rival Gaming see the handwriting on the wall? Is the next objective of the United States Attorney’s Office going to be gambling sites that permit players from the United States to gamble in their online casinos? If so, we might just be able to lower the United States' budget and see some daylight at the end of the tunnel.

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Poker and online casinos in general are responsible for half the spam on the web. Good riddance. There are enough spammers on the web without all these gambling sites polluting the net with popunders, popups and other questionable tactics.

Of course, I like to play poker. The action by the United States against these online poker sites will probably save me a lot of money in the long run. Have a good one!

I can't help but wonder how many more people are now out of work because of this. Probably too much competition for gambling done on online stock market trading.

If the United States can stop gambling sites outside of the country from letting U.S. residents play, they can start their own gambling sites... or, at least get the taxes from U.S. based sites.

I'm afraid, from what I have been reading, this is only the beginning. Go after the big ones first and than start going after the small ones.

Also, I want to point out to people like Brad Leon that this isn't about poker, it is about the Government telling us what we can and can't do in our own homes. It is about taking away rights! Sure, some people can be happy that on-line poker is gone, but wait until something they enjoy gets taken away,

I never really thought the United States would go this far. I was really surprised when they took over the poker websites. Now that they have started, it wouldn't surprise me if they didn't stop until they had all of them back into a corner.

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