By David Atherton
As a poker player of 6 years my Saturday is often taken up playing in tournaments of up to 1,000 people. However yesterday (17th April 2011) the numbers seemed to be down.
The lack of Americans was due to the Federal Bureau of Investigation closing down three of the biggest sites Full Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker and PokerStars and seizing their funds. The owners of the sites have been charged with conducting and financing illegal gambling and accepting funds via electronic bank transfer. Those who have been arrested to face up to five years in jail and a fine of $250,000 and those yet not arrested have had warrants issued against them.
Curiously American operated sites such as WSOP, Bodog and Carbon Poker are still accepting deposits and their websites unaffected, but the European owned and operated ones have FBI warnings. The Americans tried to ban internet poker (with the support of the casino industry) not by banning playing on the internet but making electronic payments illegal via the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). The Europeans took the American Government to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and so far have lost every single round.
Economics and naked protectionism aside this is a very pernicious development in internet censorship.
The European sites are legitimate businesses who advertise on TV and their addresses and telephone numbers are in the public domain. However the government sees fit to stop apparently censor the internet to stop consenting adults having an absorbing and entertaining pastime.
The slippery slope beckons
I think you mean "the Americans tried to ban ALL internet poker (with the support of THEIR casino industry)"
Posted by: Purlieu | 18/04/2011 at 05:34 PM
The slippery slope started long ago, this isn't the start of it but the continuation of a long process still to play its way out.
Posted by: Anonymous | 18/04/2011 at 07:51 PM
@Purlieu
American owned poker sites were unaffected along with betting on the internet on the horses. Here is an American poker site you can download and deposit now.
http://poker.wsop.com/
Posted by: DaveAtherton20 | 18/04/2011 at 10:46 PM
Yes, even I figured that out when I read "Curiously American operated sites such as WSOP, Bodog and Carbon Poker are still accepting deposits and their websites unaffected"
Surely the thrust of the article is that the Yanks shut down the Euro sites but left their own unaffected.
Posted by: Purlieu | 19/04/2011 at 05:51 AM
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-Stadiul de achizitie si experimentare;
-Stadiul de Organizare si Evaluare;
-Stadiul de productie si munca. http://www.gameswoow.com com - dress up games
Posted by: wribInEnueben | 23/05/2011 at 11:23 PM