The US government have seized the domain names of four of the world’s largest poker sites – Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars, UB.com and Absolute Poker.
The American Department of Justice issued a press release stating that 11 representatives of Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars and Absolute Poker had been charged with “bank fraud, money laundering and illegal gambling offenses”, and that restraining orders had been put in place against more than 75 bank accounts relating to the poker sites, as well as several domain names.
The eleven people charged were named as Isai Scheinberg, Raymond Bitar, Scott Tom, Brent Beckley, Nelson Burtnick, Paul Tate, Ryan Lang, Bradley Franzen, Ira Rubin, Chad Elie and John Campos.
Anyone who attempts to visit Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars, UB.com and Absolute Poker will be greeted by a message indicating that the FBI have taken possession of the websites and that a warrant is out for the arrest of these people. PokerStars has now blocked American poker players from their real money games.
The Department of Justice press release discusses the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) and alleges that, because many American banks and credit card companies were unwilling to process payments to and from the poker sites, the sites attempted to us fraudulent methods to get around the law.
It also alleges that PokerStars and Full Tilt in particular approached small banks in financial trouble and offered major investment, in return for processing payments.
The defendants are being charged with illegally operating a gambling business, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, money laundering and violation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. All could face hefty fines and jail terms.
Despite today’s breaking news, a representative of Bodog Poker said that it was “business as usual at Bodog” for their American poker players.
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