so as some of you might know, the US Government has really cracked down on internet poker. even though it’s not illegal to play, it is illegal for these poker rooms (and all online gambling) to do business with US customers, even if the poker rooms are offshore.
on Friday April 15th, the FBI and DOJ indicted 4 poker sites, and seized their domains. They arrested people on US soil on account of money laundering. basically, these offshore poker rooms set up fictitious companies to fool US banks, and also bribed them. Now, They are forced to give up on US customers all together, and may have to forfeit their profits from US costumers. (roughly 3 billion US dollars.) I am not condoning money laundering, but there should be no hoops to jump though. This is silly. There are a lot more things to worry about than internet poker.
If it’s about tax money, (and of course it’s all about money.) I have no problem with licensing and regulating US based online poker rooms, if its a Vegas casino owner or whoever. Just get the job done. Poker is an American pastime!
Also, a lot of these players are playing for very small stakes (some of these tournaments only cost a few pennies!) but there are also those who make a living out of this, and are basically out of a job. Neither should be punished for this, leisure play or professional.
