Online Casinos United States - for US Casino Players

Three of the biggest online poker sites operating in the United States, have been shut down by the FBI after it charged 11 people - including the companies' founders - with bank fraud and money laundering.


One of the companies - Full Tilt Poker - has a subsidiary in Ireland.


Pocket Kings, based in the Cherrywood Business Park in Dublin, is a service provider to Full Tilt Poker and employs 700 people.


Hundreds of online poker players stand to lose tens of thousands of pounds after a crackdown on online gambling firms with links to the U.K. by the USA authorities, a leading gambling expert warned. The USA Justice Department froze gambling accounts linked to three of the biggest online poker sites after accusing those running them of money laundering and fraud.


Prosecutors claimed the operators of Poker Stars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker – three of the most popular online poker sites – tricked US banks into processing billions of dollars from customers. US banks are prohibited from accepting payments from illegal gambling websites.



Online gambling is a fast growing market worth billions of euros, but is illegal in the United States.


The companies themselves have said they believe their activities are legal.

"A bid to offer state-sanctioned online poker in California, USA took a hit Tuesday morning when the leader of the California, USA Senate shot down the idea of passing a bill in the closing month of the legislative session. Meanwhile, opponents of the idea say there is a growing movement against any action this year, and a poll commissioned by one major gaming tribe found that voters were hostile to the idea.

"The effort is led by the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, which operates one of the largest tribal casinos in California, and several card clubs. They have been circulating a five-page draft bill that would create a centralized, U.S. online poker website they would offer to online customers within California's borders. The consortium would have an exclusive right to offer online poker, but all California, USA Indian tribes and card clubs would be eligible to be members. The draft also states a so-far unspecified percentage of fees would be paid to the state.

"...On Wednsday morning, Mark Macarro, the chairman of the Pechanga Band of Luiseסo Indians, sent out a letter to leaders of other tribes stating 'Pechanga has had a standing oppose position to online poker since proposals first surfaced late last year out of concerns for the far-reaching legal, political and policy consequences of an expansion of this magnitude.' Not a CTBA member, Pechanga operates a 2,000 slot machine casino in Temecula.

"Macarro also attached the results of a survey his tribe commissioned through EMC Research. According to the poll of 802 randomly selected California, USA voters conducted August 9-13, 61 percent opposed legalizing online poker in California. This included 44 percent who were "strongly opposed." Only 36 percent were in favor..."

"...On Tuesday morning, Senate Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, was holding a press availability when a reporter asked about the proposal.

"'I don't think it should be taken up in the last four weeks, Steinberg replied. I think it is a legitimate idea for consideration. I only have one question when I hear a proposal like that: how much money for the state General Fund? It's all I want to know. You know, is it two, three hundred million dollars? If it is, I'd consider it. But I think it's going to take more than four weeks to analyze that kind of proposal and the potential economic benefits..."

New Jersey Democrat Robert Menendez has just introduced into the UNITED STATES Senate a brand new piece of legislation designed to legalize and regulate Online poker.

"To amend title 31, United States Code, to provide for the licensing by the Secretary of the Treasury of Internet poker and other games that are predominantly of skill, to provide for consumer protections on the Internet, to enforce the tax code, and for other purposes," the bill begins.

The bill would establish a new legal regulatory framework for USA Online Poker, and also put in place certain consumer protections such as age restrictions. Officially entitled S.8309, the Internet Poker and Games of Skill Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, it was introduced today.

No matter what success this bill meets with, it represents another huge milestone in the nationwide struggle to reclassify poker from gambling to a game of skill. This movement seeks to enable online poker to be not only legalized but also change the way it is regarded in popular culture.

That movement has gained a lot of transaction over the past year, with smaller court victories in states such as Colorado, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina, and with Representative Barney Frank’s recent efforts to legalize and regulate certain sectors of online gambling with his own legislation (which is separate from this bill).

Home to the original UNITED STATES gaming resort destination, Atlantic City, New Jersey has long had its own internal struggles regarding the legality of gaming, and has recently clashed with the federal government on this basis. So it makes sense that the author of this new legislation is is from New Jersey — and a Democrat, the party that is apparently more open to the idea of fully legalized online gambling. (Although it technically has bipartisan support, the vast majority of supporters of Barney Frank’s recent pro-Internet gambling efforts have been Democrats.)

In Goldman Sachs latest notice to investors, it has been predicted that the United States will legalize and regulate the online casino gambling industry. It is another example of how a growing number of people believe the legalization of Internet gambling is inevitable.

Representative Barney Frank has introduced two pieces of legislation regarding online gambling. The first would be to postpone the rules from the UIGEA from going into effect in December.

The second is the more intriguing Bill for online casinos. The legislation calls for legalization and regulation of online gambling in the US. Frank has tried before to overturn the UIGEA, but his latest effort appears to have much more support, and people are taking notice.

"We believe it is logical to assume that the United States market will eventually regulate," wrote Goldman Sachs in a notice to investors today, "given the potential implications forUnited Statestax take, if nothing else."

There is a strong possibility that online poker is legalized in several states before the federal government makes any changes to their laws. Frank's House Finance Committee is focusing their attention on the economy, so the Internet gambling debate has been delayed until at least September.

Even with the delay, Frank insists that the legislation will be passed, and suggests that USA casino online players be patient. Online poker players received a jolt a couple of weeks ago when theUnited Statesgovernment seized bank accounts that held money for United States player payouts.

Several online poker rooms had briefly stopped accepting deposits, but as of late last week the sites were once again taking the player deposits. The move by the government may have backfired, with more people in the United States now joining the call for the right to gamble online.