In a major crackdown on online gambling, the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office have charged the founders of the three biggest Internet poker sites with fraud, illegal gambling and laundering billions of dollars in illegal gambling proceeds.
The FBI said Friday it's indicting 11 defendants -- including the founders of PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker -- with bank fraud, money laundering, and illegal gambling offenses. The feds also seized five Internet domain names used by the companies to host their poker games and issued restraining orders against 75 bank accounts in 14 countries used to process payments. The U.S. attorney's office is also seeking $3 billion in damages. The defendants could face maximum penalties of 30 years in prison $1 million fines.
Former U.S. Senator Alfonse D'Amato, Chairman of the Poker Players Alliance advocacy group, said he was "shocked" by the arrests and indictments. "Online poker is not a crime and should not be treated as such. We are currently gathering all of the information around today'announcement and will offer detailed analysis when the full facts become available."
Earlier, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement: "As charged, these defendants concocted an elaborate criminal fraud scheme, alternately tricking some U.S. banks and effectively bribing others to assure the continued flow of billions in illegal gambling profits Moreover, as we allege, in their zeal to circumvent the gambling laws, the defendants also engaged in massive money laundering and bank fraud. Foreign firms that choose to operate in the United States are not free to flout the laws they don't like simply because they can't bear to be parted from their profits."
"I do not think baseball of today is any better than it was 30 years ago... I still think Radbourne is the greatest of the pitchers." John Sullivan 1914-Old athletes never change.
Anyone have any insight as to where things go from here? I have somewhere around $400 tied up in Full Tilt. I recognize that's not much in the grand scheme of things, but I'm a 22 year old college kid, so it's not pennies.
BronXBombers51 wrote:Anyone have any insight as to where things go from here? I have somewhere around $400 tied up in Full Tilt. I recognize that's not much in the grand scheme of things, but I'm a 22 year old college kid, so it's not pennies.
its going federal. cus their not crooks.
The D.C. Council on Tuesday took a first step toward legalizing online poker and fantasy sports gambling through the city lottery by tucking the proposal into a massive bill aimed at plugging a $200 million budget gap. With budget talks roiling at the both the local and national levels, the council, by an 11-2 vote, passed an amendment — with little notice or public input — that would define the D.C. Lottery to include both “games of skill and games of chance.” Introduced by at-large Democrat Michael A. Brown, the amendment would establish a private computer network run by the D.C. Lottery that would allow customers to play poker online as long as they were playing in the District. Mr. Brown said his proposal would raise more than $13.5 million by the end of 2014.
I don't gamble and I've never used any of these sites, nor will I ever. Doesn't interest me.
So put your thinking caps on. How do any of these sites hurt me, Joe Average Citizen, to the point where the Feds have to go to such lengths? How is this serving me? I don't get what benefit I receive from these crackdowns. If these sites go away, how is my life better/safer? How do I gain more liberty here?
knapplc wrote:I don't gamble and I've never used any of these sites, nor will I ever. Doesn't interest me.
So put your thinking caps on. How do any of these sites hurt me, Joe Average Citizen, to the point where the Feds have to go to such lengths? How is this serving me? I don't get what benefit I receive from these crackdowns. If these sites go away, how is my life better/safer? How do I gain more liberty here?
There are many laws which in no way affect you personally.
"I do not think baseball of today is any better than it was 30 years ago... I still think Radbourne is the greatest of the pitchers." John Sullivan 1914-Old athletes never change.
knapplc wrote:I don't gamble and I've never used any of these sites, nor will I ever. Doesn't interest me.
So put your thinking caps on. How do any of these sites hurt me, Joe Average Citizen, to the point where the Feds have to go to such lengths? How is this serving me? I don't get what benefit I receive from these crackdowns. If these sites go away, how is my life better/safer? How do I gain more liberty here?
WELL
If they're committing bank fraud, then whatever banks they were targeting lose money and they end up charging higher rates for their customers to make up the money that was, you know, stolen from them.
Rocinante2: you know Rocinante2: its easy to dismiss the orioles as a bad team ofanrex: go on Rocinante2: i'm done Rocinante2: lmao
knapplc wrote:I don't gamble and I've never used any of these sites, nor will I ever. Doesn't interest me.
So put your thinking caps on. How do any of these sites hurt me, Joe Average Citizen, to the point where the Feds have to go to such lengths? How is this serving me? I don't get what benefit I receive from these crackdowns. If these sites go away, how is my life better/safer? How do I gain more liberty here?
There are many laws which in no way affect you personally.
knapplc wrote:I don't gamble and I've never used any of these sites, nor will I ever. Doesn't interest me.
So put your thinking caps on. How do any of these sites hurt me, Joe Average Citizen, to the point where the Feds have to go to such lengths? How is this serving me? I don't get what benefit I receive from these crackdowns. If these sites go away, how is my life better/safer? How do I gain more liberty here?
WELL
If they're committing bank fraud, then whatever banks they were targeting lose money and they end up charging higher rates for their customers to make up the money that was, you know, stolen from them.
bank fraud? i promise you no bank was hurt here. this is all about getting a cut of the rake.
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by thedude » Sat Apr 16, 2011 3:51 pm 
