FBI Deals Out Major Online Poker Sites

[Andy Chalk]

FBI Deals Out Major Online Poker Sites

The three biggest online poker companies in the world are in serious trouble with the FBI.

The United States Attorney in New York unsealed an indictment against 11 executives at Absolute Poker [http://www.pokerstars.com/] today, alleging charges of bank fraud and money laundering. Some of the suspects were arrested this morning and federal agents are currently searching for the rest; prosecutors are also working with Interpol and foreign law enforcement to arrest and return suspects who are not currently in the U.S.

Online gambling is illegal in the U.S. but sites like PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker use foreign banks [PokerStars is based in the Isle of Man while Full Tilt operates out of Ireland] and operate under the claim that poker is a game of skill and thus doesn't qualify as gambling. It's a pretty fine line and I never really understood how the spirit of the law could be so openly flouted, even though the law itself always struck me as a little silly, but I guess it just took awhile for the powers that be to get around to dropping the hammer.

"These defendants, knowing full well that their business with U.S. customers and U.S. banks was illegal, tried to stack the deck," said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Janice Fedarcyk. "They lied to banks about the true nature of their business. Then, some of the defendants found banks willing to flout the law for a fee."

Prosecutors are seeking jail time for everyone charged, as well as the immediate closure of all three poker sites [although for the moment they're all still online] and civil penalties of $3 billion. That's right, three billion dollars; I guess things must have been going pretty well in the ol' online poker business.

Sources: CNN [http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2011/04/three-largest-online-poker-sites-indicted-and-shut-down-by-fbi.html]


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[gigastar]

Oh, good now i might get less ad spam from them.

Burn in hell! [sub]Whoever you are...[/sub]

 

[archabaddon]

It's a pretty fine line and I never really understood how the spirit of the law could be so openly flouted, even though the law itself always struck me as a little silly, but I guess it just took awhile for the powers that be to get around to dropping the hammer.

Simple really - a cash-strapped government is going after obvious, law-breaking targets that bring in a lot of money. Certainly just a drop in the bucket as far as the US deficit is concerned, but every penny helps.

 

[Wolfram23]

It's illegal to gamble online in USA?!

That's a wierd one.

Anyway... so long, suckers!

 

[Baradiel]

Ah yes, PokerStar. The reason my mate couldn't call his company Isle of Man Gaming Centre, because apparently the term "gaming" is monopolised by online gambling companies, mainly them.

inb4taxhavenscum

 

[Proteus214]

Poker is not a game of skill, it is still a game of chance. Being skilled at poker has to do with knowing when to take a chance and how much of a chance you should take. Online poker as far as I'm concerned is just a game of chance. That argument will never hold up

 

[Mantonio]

As I read the article and as I opened this comments section, I noticed that the advert bars were for 888 Bingo.

I've never understood how gambling sites seem to INCREASE in a recession. How does that even work?

 

[matrix3509]

Prosecutors are seeking jail time for everyone charged, as well as the immediate closure of all three poker sites [although for the moment they're all still online] and civil penalties of $3 billion. That's right, three billion dollars; I guess things must have been going pretty well in the ol' online poker business.

I hear they're flush full of cash!

I guess they...
*sunglasses*
played their last hand.

http://instantyeah.org/

 

[Celtic_Kerr]

Online gambling is illegal in the U.S. but sites like PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker use foreign banks [PokerStars is based in the Isle of Man while Full Tilt operates out of Ireland] and operate under the claim that poker is a game of skill and thus doesn't qualify as gambling.

Interesting, because I always thought that no matter the level of skill to chance (or ratio in between), placing money into a game in which you are attempting to win the whole of the bets with no 100% guarantee of actually winning is considered gambling.

I live in Canada, and our income tax laws state that non professional gambling winnings (Be it lottery, or casino) are non-taxable. I'm sure if these people won money in Canada they'd claim no Canadian taxes (though they would be subject to home country taxes still)

Interesting to see when someone is willing to admit it's gambling, and when they're trying to cover it as "Skilled game play having nothing to do with gambling"

 

[deth2munkies]

[although for the moment they're all still online]

All 3 of the sites are down right now with an FBI warning up on them. Might want to update the article to reflect that fact.

 

[Jamash]

"They lied to banks about the true nature of their business"

How could companies called PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker lie about the true nature of their business?

I would have thought that Poker and gambling was quite implicit in their name... or do they trade and bank under a different, innocuous company name?

 

[cerebus23]

FUnny that poker is considered pure luck but lotteries are allowed to be run by states, this is just another power grab by the feds, while poker in whatever form has a decided bit of luck involved, there is certainly a good bit of skill also certainly more skill then dropping 10 20 50 dollars in lottery tickets and hope to get lucky by getting the right numbers.

Lest on these sites you cna play purely for free and are not required to put money in or play for real money. If they had every noob that shows up to play put money in then i would see a problem but you can learn exactly what is invoved in poker by playing for free so there it is a bit laughable that you can claim people do not know the risks involved in poker or any game of chance, poker has a distinct advantage of lest weighing your risk vs reward vs many other games of chance.

 

[JDKJ]

"They lied to banks about the true nature of their business"

How could companies called PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker lie about the true nature of their business?

I would have thought that Poker and gambling was quite implicit in their name... or do they trade and bank under a different, innocuous company name?

They could have told the banks that they were operating a game of skill, not one of chance. That distinction is all-important. If it's a game of skill, then it's not gambling and not subject to the gambling regulation and reporting requirements.

 

[LawyerScumGhost]

so Goldman Sachs and the other Wall Street scum who defrauded the country, causing trillions in damage in the sub prime debacle, get NOT ONE indictment for criminal prosecution (and get paid off with our money to boot) and some poker sites get the red hot poker up the ass? Yeah, that's fair. Heaven forbid Americans choose to gamble at poker instead of the fixed game called the financial system, where the same few win every-time...even when they lose. This country makes me fucking sick.

 

[JDKJ]

FUnny that poker is considered pure luck but lotteries are allowed to be run by states, this is just another power grab by the feds, while poker in whatever form has a decided bit of luck involved, there is certainly a good bit of skill also certainly more skill then dropping 10 20 50 dollars in lottery tickets and hope to get lucky by getting the right numbers.

Lest on these sites you cna play purely for free and are not required to put money in or play for real money. If they had every noob that shows up to play put money in then i would see a problem but you can learn exactly what is invoved in poker by playing for free so there it is a bit laughable that you can claim people do not know the risks involved in poker or any game of chance, poker has a distinct advantage of lest weighing your risk vs reward vs many other games of chance.

Chance and luck aren't the same thing. Chance presupposes odds on outcomes that the player, regardless of their skill, can't change. On the other hand, a game of skill (like those you find at fairs and on boardwalks, like shoot the ball through the hoop and toss the ring over the peg) is one in which the player's skill can supposedly affect the outcome.

That's why casinos hate card-counters. If you can count the cards in a blackjack shoe, then you can place bets that are actually informed by the probabilities that particular cards will be dealt. That's actually employing a skill that will affect outcomes. As opposed to what most blackjack players do, which is bet blind and hope for luck.

 

[Kenjitsuka]

"tried to stack the deck," said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Janice Fedarcyk"
Janice, a cardgame pun in a case against poker websites?
Well done ^^

 

[katsumoto03]

"[...]tried to stack the deck," said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Janice Fedarcyk.

Oh my god, did he just say that? I think he did...