Is this the end of Online Poker as We Know it for US Players?

On Friday, an indictment against the founders of online poker's "big three" was unsealed by federal authorities. According to MarketWatch.com, the founders of PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker were indicted on charges of bank fraud, money laundering, and illegal gambling. There were also restraining orders issued against over 75 bank accounts used by the online poker companies and their payment processors, as well as five Internet domain names.
The U.S. Department of Justice released a press release on the indictment, and in it, 11 defendants are named: Isai Scheinberg, Raymond Bitar, Scott Tom, Brent Beckley, Nelson Burtnick, Paul Tate, Ryan Lang, Bradley Franzen, Ira Rubin, Chad Elie, and John Campos. Scheinberg and Tate are identified in the indictment as representing PokerStars, Bitar and Burtnick of representing Full Tilt Poker and Tom and Beckley of representing Absolute Poker. Lang, Rubin, Franzen and Elie are identified as people who allegedly ran payment processors.

The charges are based on the Illegal Gambling Business Act of 1955 and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. These are the same charges previously brought against payment processors used by the sites that have been shut down.

The allegations center around poker companies allegedly using fraudulent methods to circumvent federal law and trick U.S. banks into processing payments after the passage of UIGEA.

In the press release, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said, "As charged, these defendants concocted an elaborate criminal fraud scheme, alternately tricking some U.S. banks and effectively bribing others to assure the continued flow of billions in illegal gambling profits. Moreover, as we allege, in their zeal to circumvent the gambling laws, the defendants also engaged in massive money laundering and bank fraud. Foreign firms that choose to operate in the United States are not free to flout the laws they don’t like simply because they can’t bear to be parted from their profits."
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Janice K. Fedarcyk said, "These defendants, knowing full well that their business with U.S. customers and U.S. banks was illegal, tried to stack the deck. They lied to banks about the true nature of their business. Then, some of the defendants found banks willing to flout the law for a fee. The defendants bet the house that they could continue their scheme, and they lost."

At least $3 billion in civil money-laundering penalties from both the poker companies and defendants is being sought. According to the indictment, Campos and Elie were arrested Friday morning in Utah and Las Vegas, Nevada, respectively. Franzen is expected to appear in court for his arraignment on April 19, 2011. Those who are not in the U.S. -- Scheinberg, Bitar, Burtnick, Tate, Tom, Beckley, Rubin, and Lang -- have not been arrested, but the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York is working with foreign law enforcement agencies and Interpol to arrest the defendants.

11:55 a.m. PDT: PokerNews has attempted to contact all three online poker sites, and thus far, only UB/AP has replied and has no comment at this time.

12:26 p.m. PDT: PokerStars has blocked U.S. players from real money games.

1:00 p.m. PDT: If there is any bright side to this black Friday, it could be that this DOJ affront makes it clear to Congressional leaders like Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that federal legislation to officially legalize online poker must move quickly.
“At Safe and Secure Initiative, we've always fought to give every American the right to gamble online,” said Michael Waxman, executive director of the industry trade association Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative. “Since the government is seeking to crack down on the freedom of the internet, we need Congress to act more than ever now to legalize and regulate the activity. This is a major development that will bring more attention to this issue. I hope it encourages Congress to move more quickly, especially as concerned Americans look for answers and a solution.”

It could also spark online poker players, with their livelihood attacked, to band together more than ever before and make their voices heard.

heard.

“Clearly there are millions of Americans who enjoy gambling online,” Waxman said. “If the opportunity to engage in the activity is taken away, they should focus their attention on encouraging their elected representatives to act on this issue and regulate online gambling.”

1:25 p.m. PDT: “On behalf of the millions of poker players across the country, we are shocked at the action taken by the U.S. Department of Justice today against online poker companies and will continue to fight for Americans’ right to participate in the game they enjoy," said former Senator Alfonse D'Amato, chairman of the Poker Players Alliance. "Online poker is not a crime and should not be treated as such. We are currently gathering all of the information around today’s announcement and will offer detailed analysis when the full facts become available.”

As more information becomes clear, PokerNews will be there to bring it to you, so keep it locked on PokerNews.com and follow us on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news.



Read more: http://www.pokernews.com/news/2011/04/online-poker-big-three-indicted-10218.htm

When you go to these sites you will see that the Feds have seized all the domains of the top 3 poker rooms.

www.pokerstars.com

www.fulltiltpoker.com

www.ultimatebet.com

www.absolutepoker.com

Well.. as they say "The plot thickens." It seems as the hours go by more and more comes to light. These two statements have been released.

LAS VEGAS, April 15, 2011—Wynn Resorts, Limited announced today that it terminated its alliance with PokerStars, the online poker company. The decision was reached as a result of the indictment unsealed by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Remember just days ago it seems that we thought Wynn Resorts and PokerStars had a great announcement made. ....And also another statement released.

Full Tilt Poker has shut down real money gaming in the U.S. stating, "Unfortunately, as a result of this action, Full Tilt Poker has decided that it must suspend “real money” play in the United States until this case is resolved. However, Full Tilt Poker will continue to provide peer-to-peer online poker services outside of the United States."

The release from Full Tilt also said "Mr. Bitar and Full Tilt Poker believe online poker is legal – a position also taken by some of the best legal minds in the United States. Full Tilt Poker is, and has always been committed to preserving the integrity of the game and abiding by the law."

Ray Bitar, who was listed on the indictment added “I am surprised and disappointed by the government’s decision to bring these charges. I look forward to Mr. Burtnick’s and my exoneration."

check out this article..

http://www.businessinsider.com/boy-genius-online-poker-scandal-2011-4

For all the US players here at Donkhard. If you are having trouble getting the update for Full Tilt Poker.. you can go to www.fulltiltpoker.co.uk and get their web page now and download FTP again and get the updated version. You won't be able to play for real money, but .... you can check your cashier and see your balances of money, tickets, tourney dollars etc. Still can't get promotions pages though. However, as of right now.. US players can still get into Tournament Dollar freerolls. So for now.. that's all we will be able to gain any thing on playing at Tilt. If you want to contact their support, you can email them at support@fulltiltpoker.co.uk

...from there you can get answers to question etc. Might take a little longer getting a response because they are being flooded with emails.

Whether or not these charges will hold up, we don't know. But given the severity of the issue, PokerStars stopped accepting USA players.



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