Major Poker Domains Seized by FBI

Last week many online players based in the US and other players from all over the world awoke to discover that the FBI has seized the domains of some of the world's major online poker rooms and blocked them.

Players attempting to reach PokerStars.com, FullTiltPoker.com or Absolute Poker websites were greeted with the following message: "This domain name has been seized by the F.B.I. pursuant to any Arrest Warrant in Rem obtained by the United states Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and issued by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York".

Behind the seizures is The Department of Justice, in cooperation with the FBI, and they have coincided with indictments issued against eleven defendants, including the founders of the three biggest companies providing US players with online poker solutions in breach of US federal laws.

The eleven indicted will need to answer charges regarding illegal gambling offenses and illegal gambling money transactions, banking fraud and money laundering.

In addition to the criminal charges the US is planning to pursue civil money laundering actions and will examine these companies' assets and those of their payment processors.

Furthermore the FBI has issued restraining orders against over 75 bank accounts and payment processing companies as any financial institution within the US that has handled money transactions to and from online gambling companies was doing so in violation of the UIGEA.

The UIGEA stands for Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act and was introduced in the US in 2006 under the Bush administration.

The UIGEA does not criminalize US residents who play online poker for real money, but rather criminalizes the operators and the financial institutions that provide them with financial services.