Online Poker Sites May Be Forced to Fold
April 15, 2011 | Entertainment, Sports
The FBI has seized the three top online poker sites and the owners of the sites have been accused of fraud and illegal gambling. The sites that are currently effected are PokerStars.com, FullTiltPoker.com and AbsolutePoker.com.
According to Reuters.com 11 online poker executives were cited in today’s charges. Internet gambling has been illegal in the United States since 2006 but those US based companies simply moved overseas to continue to cater to the citizens of the United States.
This civil money laundering charges were also filed and the government is said to be seeking three billion from the companies in penalties. There were 75 bank accounts involved and have been issued restraining orders. Also control of five domain names have been restricted. All the charges that has been raised today certainly have not effected the internet sites all three sites are up and running like nothing has ever happened. This may change soon though often times there is a delay in the updates to the internet servers that will allow it to continue to display older information.
Certainly these type of restrictions could hinder many players livelihood and in an economy like this that could really take a toll on these gamblers. Also The shutdown could have a substantial impact in the world of mixed martial arts as the online poker industry features several companies that have traditionally invested heavily in the sponsorship of entire promotions, as well as individual fighters.
This article was written by: Mark Muligan
Comments (1)
The Major poker sites have many charges against them. Bank Fraud, Money laundering, theses charges have nothing to do with poker. They will be shut down in the US forever. Time to brush on your live play boys. Local casino’s look for a boom.