May 15, 2011
The US Government has cracked
down on PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker and
UB (Ultimate Bet) on Friday May 15 2011. If you
are a non US Player it is business as usual. If
you are a US player at these sites your money is not said to
be safe. PokerStars, UB, Absolute Poker and Full Tilt Poker have
pulled out of the USA for real money players until things are clear. 11
people are indicted under fraud, anti money laundering
and us bank wire infractions - the heads of the poker
companies. Poker players have done nothing
illegal. PokerStars, UB, Absolute Poker and Full Tilt
Poker are likely to be out of the US market from 6
months to two years according to one experts opinion.
The US DOJ, and the online poker sites have stated that
their number #1 priority is to return the poker players
their money.
What Happened?
The case is based on infractions of the US anti money laundering and wire acts prohibiting certain financial transactions to online gambling sites which were brought to light by a payment processor Daniel Tzvetkoff - an Australian payment processor that used false information to trick banks into making transactions for the poker sites .
Where to Play Poker Now?
These transactions are limited to the 4 sites that have also have had their domains seized. Apparently these sites are the ones affected and not other ones like Cake Poker which also serves US Poker Players. US players are advised to play at the top US poker sites not affected by these events.
Non US Players
Non US poker players may be concerned since there is an increased risk associated with the blocked poker sites. It is advised that poker players outside the USA play at sites that are in no way associated with this incident for the time being. The biggest and most reputable sites that have no US affiliation. for non US players it is advised that they choose to play at the top non US poker sites where their money will be safe on sites with no us exposure.