Three Largest Poker sites shut down by FBI

[Jared Ragsdale]

This is for Skip

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2011/04/three-largest-online-poker-sites-indicted-and-shut-down-by-fbi.html

The founders of the three largest online poker sites were indicted by the FBI on Friday in what could serve as a death blow to the thriving industry.

Eleven executives at PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker were charged with bank fraud and money laundering in an indictment unsealed in a Manhattan court. Two of the executives were arrested on Friday morning in Utah and Nevada. Federal agents are searching for the others.

Prosecutors are seeking to immediately shut down the sites and to eventually send the executives to jail and to recover $3 billion from the companies. By Friday afternoon Full Tilt Poker’s site displayed a message explaining that “this domain name has been seized by the F.B.I. pursuant to an Arrest Warrant.”

The online gambling industry has taken off over the last decade, drawing an estimated 15 million Americans to bet online.

In 2006 Congress passed a law prohibiting online gambling. Most of the leading sites found ways to work around the law using foreign banks, but prosecutors allege that in doing so they broke the law.

“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,” Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, said in a statement.

[Adam2433]

What sucks even more is that if you have funds on the site they have been seized and your chances of recovering them are slim. I know personally know one guy who has low six figures tied up. Now that SUCKS.

[MachMood]

Anyone else play poker on IM, I have played for a living for over 2 years now.

[Ken Skip Hill]

I heard this last night and I am not terribly happy about it. I have funds tied up, as well.

Skip

[MachMood]

If you have funds tied up I wouldnt count on seeing it for a while. The one thing I will say is the online poker community is very good at organizing and getting things done. I remember when the UB scandal went down it was the players as a community that brought justice to the people who were cheated. Also when netteller stopped doing transactions ALOT of people had money tied up and they organized as a community and pretty much everyone got their money back EVENTUALLY. SKip I would reccomend you go to Twoplustwo and check out the forums. They will keep you updated on whats going on and the best action to take

[Fleshpuke]

It is so ironical. Poker site owners would LOVE to pay taxes, if there was a legal basis of running poker sites..

[MachMood]

The better part is that it's legal to play in the US, it's the banking and transactions that is illegal. In november there was a bill almost passed that would have legalized poker in the US by harry reid but didnt get threw.

[Godsmack]

Damn.............there goes some of my off time fun when I come home.


J

[BryanB]

Looks like 2 of the sites are back up to give refunds:

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/04/20...layer-refunds/

[Ken Skip Hill]

Cool. The entire thing is bullshit, though.

Skip

[Jared Ragsdale]

Sadly, they will most likely try to shut these sites down - to allow our own casinos to run online poker instead and profit from the industry these guys have built up.

I remember reading somewhere that the bill that was introduce for online poker in the USA had to have casinos that are at least 5 years old running the online poker site. Meaning no one that doesn't have an ACTUAL casino that is 5 years old can get in on the action..

Sounds like a great idea for competition, fucking retards.