US Crackdown 3.0 (April 2011)

As you are probably aware, the US-facing poker sites of PokerStars, FullTiltPoker and UB/AB have been blocked by the United States Department of Justice. PokerStars and FullTilt have stopped accepting US players and there are widespread reports that players have been experiencing difficulty withdrawing funds. As visitors to PokerPulse will remember, this was not unexpected and we have warned players to avoid sites accepting US players and sites with open issues with the US DOJ (see US Action April 2011 below).

US Action, April 2011

A visit to PokerStars and several of the other "you should AVOID" sites saw:

The Matt Richtel story about the April 2011 seizure falls apart when author interviews self-apptd expert Walters, who seems to think there are jurisdictions that would not surrender citizenry accused of gambling offenses in the U.S. Ha! I’d like to see even the smallest fiefdom attempt to escape America’s most formidable Web of treaty-backed provisions known as the global financial crimes network. Then there’s that old bugaboo – the WTO challenge to U.S. online gambling provisions, which ultimately supported Prohibition 2.0. The new poker-playing president has little or no interest in Internet gambling – for a lot of political reasons, no doubt.

Here's the map of U.S. Internet gambling prosecutions still to come - Manhattan U.S. Attorney Charges Principals of Three Largest Internet Poker Companies with Bank Fraud, Illegal Gambling Offenses and Laundering Billion in Illegal Gambling Proceeds.

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PokerPulse Letters and blogs: Some of our comments and outreach related online gaming industry issues. And starting in March 2009, monitor PokerPulse updates @pokerpulse on Twitter (http://twitter.com/pokerpulse). Blog January 21, 2009 -- Could this mean the end of Prohibition 2.0? Senator Obama: I read the other day that Senator John McCain likes to gamble. He likes to roll those dice, and that's OK. I enjoy - I'm making a confession here - I enjoy having a little friendly game of poker myself once in awhile. Republican Illinois Senator Kirk Dillard remembers a few of those games! Now you can tell the new president how you feel about Internet gambling at the new White House Office of Public Liaison. Quote: The Office of Public Liaison & Intergovernmental Affairs (OPL-IGA) is the front door to the White House through which everyone can participate and inform the work of the President. To: ministre@msp.gouv.qc.ca, August 2008 -- ...The federal justice minister has advised me to seek your counsel regarding the extent of your discretion to apply (or not) federal gambling prohibitions in Kahnawake. (See enclosed e-mail of Aug. 13/08). According to the minister, "The general scheme of the gambling provisions of the Criminal Code is to prohibit all forms of gambling, except those specifically permitted by the Code. While Parliament enacts the gambling provisions found in the Code, the prosecution of these offences is the responsibility of the provincial attorneys general." ... From Ministerial Correspondence Unit (for Honourable Rob Nicholson), August 2008 -- ...The general scheme of the gambling provisions of the Criminal Code is to prohibit all forms of gambling, except those specifically permitted by the Code. While Parliament enacts the gambling provisions found in the Code, the prosecution of these offences is the responsibility of the provincial attorneys general. If you have not already done so, you may wish to write to Mr. Jacques P. Dupuis, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Quebec, who is responsible for the administration of justice in Quebec. His office is located at Louis-Philippe-Pigeon Building, 1200 route d’Église, Floor 9, Québec, Quebec G1V 4M1 To Canadian Minister Nicholson and MP Cullen, April 2008 -- PokerPulse trackers were delighted to read a recent account in the corporate media of 'discussions' you're having in Ottawa regarding the possibility of regulating an online gambling industry here in Canada - one that might be open even to taxpaying Canadians with no history of weapons, armed stand-offs or cross-border smuggling. We were wondering, will Quebec Mohawks and one or two or the eastern racetracks continue to set unwritten Canadian gambling rules, or might 'interested others' like us be included among the 'stakeholders' in those discussions? To WSJ EU Ediition, April 2008 -- We've been tracking for some time now developments in the slow-burn trade dispute between Antigua and the U.S. over America's remote gambling ban, which many in the industry now refer to and not affectionately as Prohibition 2.0. Many of us are still catching our breath after the wildly disappointing result obtained in the arbitrator's report at Christmas when panelists slashed Antigua's claim of $3.4 billion - a figure arrived at by a legion of actuaries - to a paltry $21 million using a bizarre, utterly unprecedented legal approach we call the Four-Flusher Fantasy. (more...) To Variety, March 2008 -- It's a good day when an international trade law story such as yours makes it to Variety... What I hope most fervently is for the sinfully lucrative American film industry to be sufficiently outraged by the harm the U.S. position has caused Antigua and indeed the world that industry leaders will grow some guts and start lobbying the U.S. Trade Representative aggressively to stop restricting trade in gambling. (more...) Kahnawake Gaming Op Ed Piece -- In the wake of residential school settlements that have literally taken out organized religion in Canada, there may be understandably little sympathy for First Nations claiming a special and exclusive right to such a lucrative business. But if they do the homework to show their business is both eco-friendly and an important traditional feature of a unique culture, Mohawks may be able to persuade the feds to open up Internet gambling in Canada once and for all. (more...) CBC Early Edition source claims online gambling is an industry operated solely by organized criminals! -- Read the PokerPulse letter to CBC management here. (more...) Free David Carruthers -- our say on the dubious U.S. prosecutions of foreign nationals and seizures of foreign assets. (more...) View more letters here.

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