Poker websites shut down by the fbi

[davidspooner]

So, I've heard that the big 3 poker websites have been shut down internationally with a .com FBI "warning" in place when you try and access them, ie pokerstars.com

How is this possible?

[pokethepope]

http://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/2011/04/15/g...

So online poker is illegal in the land of the free?

[Mojooo]

pokethepope said:

http://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/2011/04/15/g...

So online poker is illegal in the land of the free?

Sounds more like they are being done for their deceiving tactics.

--

Unsure if the UK authorities have the power to seize a doman though.

[Brighton Derly]

Congress passed a law prohibiting online gambling in 2006, according to the Wail.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1377470/FB...

[erdnase]

Yep.. this is real, and huuuuge.

DNS propogation takes a few hours, but FullTilt, PokerStars, UltimateBet and a few other sites are all showing the "Domain Seized by FBI" image. If they aren't for you, it's just because your ISP hasn't caught up yet.

From 2+2 (biggest poker forum), the gist of it seems to be:

2+2 said:

-This is really bad. This COULD possibly be (trying not to speak in absolutes with such little info at this time) the last shoe dropping on online poker (at least from reputable sites) in the US imo.
-Even if they evade the internet gambling charges on some legal theory, the money laundering and banking charges are damning. What they did was illegal (if the facts alleged in the indictment are indeed true), and they won't be able to dodge the punishment.
-The DOJ rarely loses when they go to trial. I don't see these individuals rolling the dice against them.
-This COULD spur on further efforts to legalize poker and be a net positive in the very long run, but I don't know. However, it did always have to get worse before it got better.
-It is still very early and we know little at this time. Things could rapidly change.

[erdnase]

For anyone whos DNS hasn't updated yet, all the big sites are showing this:

[rxtx]

They've been after them for a few years now, looks like they'll finally get their way.

[fluffnik]

The WTO should be stomping on this, it's flagrant protectionism.

[erdnase]

Word going round now is that Stars, FT and UB will all be offline to players, even in "legal" ountries, within 24hrs. There are a lot of players with big bankrolls on those sites, and it's very dubious if they'll see any of it again. Everyone is cashing out just now, and it's sending the whole poker economy into a spin.

[WhoseGeneration]

erdnase said:

and it's sending the whole poker economy into a spin.

Lol, that'd be the one in private hands.
The one in Governmental hands caries on.

[davepoth]

davidspooner said:

So, I've heard that the big 3 poker websites have been shut down internationally with a .com FBI "warning" in place when you try and access them, ie pokerstars.com

How is this possible?

It's illegal in the USA. The USA owns the internet. Therefore the USA gets to impose moral standards on the internet. If you are grumpy about it, go back 50 years and invent the internet in Holland or something.

[eharding]

davepoth said:

It's illegal in the USA. The USA owns the internet. Therefore the USA gets to impose moral standards on the internet. If you are grumpy about it, go back 50 years and invent the internet in Holland or something.

Some theorists argue this has already happened.

Classic Dutch folk story? - the lad with his finger stuck in a dike.

If the Dutch did indeed invent the internet (via temporal shenanigans) then using Google...or, if you will, Guugle.....to search for the term "finger in a dike" would return billions of results.

Which, indeed it does. Mostly, I grant you, because of spelling errors.

[Bing o]

And still the US claims the moral high ground...it's about time people woke up.

Weren't all these sights based offshore anyway?

[erdnase]

Bing o said:

Weren't all these sights based offshore anyway?

Yes, but as I understand it, it was never illegal to play in the USA. It was just banks were forbidden to process payments, effectively banning it for all but the most determined US players.

The big sites used loopholes and structured payments to accomodate US players, and are going to pay heavily for it. From the big thread on 2+2 (biggest poker forum), here are the cliff notes:

(I was going to copy'n'paste cliff notes, but 2+2 is crashing under the load)

Suffice to say, this is pretty big.. not a sky-is-falling type reaction.

[anonymous-user]

this all comes down to politics..pretecting Vegas nothing else

[dudleybloke]

i could see how the feds could stop us visitors going to the sites but stopping everyone is well out of their jurestiction.

[Bing o]

When have petty little inconveniences like international law bothered the US? Why the rest of the world has allowed a petulant toddler to be de facto world police escapes me.

[Pints]

Bing o said:

When have petty little inconveniences like international law bothered the US? Why the rest of the world has allowed a petulant toddler to be de facto world police escapes me.

Probably because the petulant toddler has the biggest stick in the playground.
Even I'd pay attention if a 2-year old started waving a loaded gun around.

[davidspooner]

So they are shutting these sites just as they are starting to deregulate.... Hmmm

[tinman0]

Bing o said:

And still the US claims the moral high ground...it's about time people woke up.

Weren't all these sights based offshore anyway?

The companies knew what they were doing was illegal, and they have a domain registered in the country that they were doing illegal things in. That is the definition of dumb.

All the other poker companies and gambling companies have blocks on US residents (and ip blocks) to prevent USCs playing on their sites. That is why they are still in business today.

The reason these three got targeted is because the DoJ already rounded up a number of Poker CEOs a few years ago to show they were serious about this. That's when the rest of the industry blocked the US, so that their CEOs could still holiday in Florida.

But these 3 companies didn't bother by the looks of it. So rather than prosecute Capone for murder, they got him by other legislation, which is exactly what they've done here.