yeah, and all because one moron doesnt understand the difference between "gambling" and "poker" - GOD DA,MN FREGIN IDIOTS

Good contribution, now go get a clue u joke.

First, don't bastardize the Spanish language. Learn to use the tu form properly.

It is you that has the thick skull, mi amigo. I wasn't speaking of the online poker sites. I was referring to the check processors. Peep before you leap.

Estoy hecho hablando con una idiota.

WAT?

I wish you all were Canadian, too!

+1 and it really pisses me off. They let you gamble in the casinos where its not possible to actually win but wont let you play a game where you can actually make a living

You can win at poker in casinos...

What about if you had a legitimate Canadian Issued travel visa... A 90 day stay could rationally include the use of a bank account...

I know, right? It's harder to win online, imo.

BTW, has Pokerstars released a statement yet?

Do you understand that prior to the UIGEA MOST players were American and it is mostly the American fish that do not play anymore. If we can either a) get the UIGEA repealed or b) make the American public and financial institutions at large aware that playing online poker is not illegal then we can entice the American fish to return, perhaps sparking a second poker boom.

i really hate playing live poker but looks like thats the next step.....a bunch of computer nerds sitting in 1-2 nl with 6 regs ,3 old men and 1 of the old mens wife

The reason for this risk exposure is a matter of convenience for both the rooms and for players and ultimately there's no need to have U.S. processors involved at all. Whether or not this action by the U.S. government succeeds, it's just a matter of having the cookie jar put on a higher shelf out of reach.

Having said that this is more of a shakedown than anything else and trying to use the Wire Act here is contrary to the prevailing decision by the American courts. However they are sitting back in their offices smiling at the panic that's setting in and there's no doubt that this will have an effect on player confidence at least short term.

As some people have mentioned it's absolutely ridiculous to think that offshore poker rooms are subject to U.S. law any more than they would be subject to the laws of China. However U.S. companies are, and they just need to be more careful in dealing with this sort of exposure. Again though it isn't necessary.

The worst thing that can happen here really is that players may undergo a bit more inconvenience, although not near as much as the UIGEA caused.

For those people who may be worried about having large sums in poker accounts, that's probably the safest place it could be.

I can confirm the other poster's info as far as non resident Canadian bank accounts go, you not only need Canadian ID but you also must be a resident or have been approved for residency. This boils down to docs from the Canadian government not just driving across the border. However many countries allow non resident bank accounts of course and that's certainly an option, although not one that's really needed at all at this point.

The bottom line is that the paper tiger roared but it's still a paper tiger although they've painted bigger teeth on it and have managed to block traffic a bit, but with payments being honored by the rooms and the fact that this is really no more than a crack in the sidewalk to step over in terms of their options available, there's no need for anyone to be concerned here.

i thought wire act was determined not to apply to poker. so, Justice seems to be setting up to try and apply it. methinks it would be an easy defense.

they can't seize 95% of the sites money as it is not in US banks..

said paradise poker and discovery channel (or was it espn?).

yes we have legal precedent

do you have a source for this?

my intuition says it is not evenly split. my guess would be that stars has > $10mm seized.

Stars said $14MM in their mass emails.

i think this is federal. just based out of NY.

i could be wrong.

great post

The case was Re.Mastercard..The ruling held the Wire Act ONLY covered sports betting...DOJ does not recognized(not sure if the a good word choice) the ruling because they were not a party in the case....The case never went before The SCOTUS....

$14 million was from the wells fargo processor The number climbed to $30 million when you add the other processors that got there accounts frozen without warrants. There is no way to tell how much of the $30 million stars accounted for.

+1

All you guys who think the sky is falling are so ridiculous. Even 5 more wont get stars to leave, they will just stop the e-checks until it is safe to resume using it.

That being said, c'mon PPA, 1 time.

I would suppose that within the total funds seized there were a combination of incoming funds from chip purchases as well as outgoing funds to player cashouts. Just speculation on my part, but who knows.

On June 2nd I requested a payment of $1000 via Instant Echeck on Pokerstars. The payment is no longer listed as pending which indicates it has cleared, however it has not reached my checking account. When contacting Stars I got a form letter response saying my question was being forwarded and I have since not gotten any response to what has happened to this money.

I assume I'm one of the people effected by the seizure but does anyone know if I will ever get this money? I'm just wondering if Pokerstars will bite the bullet and cover their customers. Can someone post the mass email pokerstars sent? I never got it.

Please help!!

Thanks.