What does the seizure of more than $30 million in players' money mean for online poker here in the States?
The Poker Players Alliance has released a statement about this, of course.
So, what's the future of online poker here in the States as a result of this? What will the government do next, if anything? Are they going to get away with seizing players' money without warrants?
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M$4 Answers
I don't completely understand the Online Poker fad though. I enjoy sitting around a table and playing for cash as much as the next guy, but it's always been about the people more then the money for me.
My laymens view on this also leads me to believe that while Online Poker will certainly become less popular... but that there are a lot of people out there who will go back to the online tables when they're available.
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M$
If the money is returned, I don't think there will be any prolonged effect on Online Poker. The sites are hosted in other countries and it appears that merely participating is not yet a criminal offense. As long as it is not a crime to sign on to these sites, people will have no reason to not keep playing.
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M$
The sticking point here, for me at least, is that the seized funds belong to the players. This whole thing is confusing, because I'm not exactly sure of what the government thought they were doing. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which is vague at best re: online poker, doesn't even go into effect until Dec. 1 of this year, so they aren't using that (or shouldn't be, anyway). The Wire Act's been upheld in court as relating to sports betting in particular, so online poker, online backgammon, et cetera, aren't really involved, at least as far as my layman's understanding of this situation goes.
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M$
- Unless there was evidence of money laundering going on through these channels, this seems like total overkill
- Even if there was evidence of money laundering, it looks like due process was not followed. In that case this will probably get overturned in the courts.
In any case, I think US policy on poker smacks of Prohibition, and is out of touch with reality and public opinion.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/10/business/10poker.html
http://www.pokernewsdaily.com/attorney-for-payment-processors-discusses-federal-online-poker-funds-seizure-2873/
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/25/sports/othersports/25poker.html
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M$
So it's a "good thing" for the government to freeze up individual citizens' monies without first obtaining warrants? Hey, the government failed to obtain warrants at *least* twice during this fiasco. If they're just doing their jobs, then why aren't they going through legal channels to do so?