So by now we all know the background story on the Full Tilt Affair right? Full Tilt Poker was one of the three online poker sites shut down on Black Friday aka April 15, 2011. The casino and its trustees were accused of fraud, embezzlement and breaking the Wire Act and were investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice. Full Tilt received its operating license from the British licensing authorities and in September of this year had that license revoked by the Alderney Gaming Control Commission (AGCC). The AGCC has now begun its own independent investigation of their actions in regards to Full Tilt Poker.
Because the Full Tilt Affair has been so public and because the company still owes its former customers somewhere in the region of $300 million, AGCC seems to be concerned about how it handled their case. Representatives of AGCC stated that their decision to commission an independent review was based on [...]
Well any of you that know online poker know social network site Facebook offers a no money poker game. But did you know that the networking giant is thinking of offering cash money poker games? It seems the folks over at Facebook are retracting a very strict advertising policy to allow poker sites in the U.K. to use their site to promote online gambling.
According to Pokernews.com, Facebook U.K. is talking with Brit poker sites 888 Holdings and Gamesys. The thought is eight licenses will be offered by Facebook for UK online casinos to advertise on the social networking platform. It seems the poker sites are hiring additional employees in anticipation of the licenses becoming available in the spring of 2012.
Zynga Poker is Facebook’s current poker offering. The game is just for fun. Well they do offer cyber money to players to keep the game going but nothing illegal is happening. The advertising contract between Zynga [...]
This week saw a discussion and hearing on American online gambling and the possibility of federal regulation held by a subcommittee of the US House Energy and Commerce Committee. Overall the hearing is being viewed as a positive step forward.
After opening statements by the Subcommittee’s chairwoman, the subcommittee on Commerce Manufacturing has six people with different gambling related backgrounds speak about the state of American gambling and what steps should be taken to move the country forward.
Parry Atfab, Chairwoman of the Board of Advisors of FairPlayUSA was the first speaker who used her unbias and logical argument to explain that the present gaming laws needed to be strengthened to protect American consumers. Regulation at a federal level would help prevent such things as Black Friday in the future. As Atfab explained the lack of American laws has players using out of country sites that give them little protection as American consumers. Indeed by [...]
Like many involved in the world of professional poker well known on and offline magazine Card Player is looking for new ways to keep people in the poker game and attract young folks since the online poker world took its hit on Black Friday. That’s why they are launching the Native American Casino Poker Tour soon to be known as the NACPT.
With around three hundred Native American owned casinos currently operating in the United States, the NACPT has lots of options for national tournaments. The first NACPT will be held at the Choctaw Casino and Resort in Oklahoma. There will be buy ins as low as $100 and the tournament will run from December 1 through December 11, 2011. Winners will receive a seat in the WSOP Choctaw tournament to be held in January of 2012.
The winner of the NACPT will be featured on the front cover of the print version of Card Player magazine [...]
Yes the games are free and the money is the unspendable kind but the new online poker website launched by a consortium of California based organizations may help fill the gap between the fall of the Big Three and the passing of American based online poker legislation. This new website, Calshark.com offers American poker enthusiasts a place to polish their game, network with other poker fans and try out new techniques all without having to worry about federal indictments.
Calshark.com offers players the chance to either download their software or play the game through their browser, an option not often found at online casinos. So for those with memory space issues or virus paranoia you can still play poker. You receive 1000 chips for signing up. Another great feature for many of us is the no credit card required option. I for one hate to use anything but PayPal when online and this site saves you [...]
I read online that state gaming commissions may be cracking down on illegal gambling play but they are leaving the home games alone. There has been a surge in live play since the fall of the big three online casinos. Can we expect the trend to grow as the world of online poker and gambling becomes more precarious?
A lot of die hard online poker fans may struggled with the change occurring in the poker world. There are new poker leagues, different online rules and of course the fear that your online casino will shut down and your deposit will become a part of a federal lawsuit. A lot of players have switched to no money online play but it doesn’t have the same thrill or earning potential as traditional virtual casino play.
That’s why many a motivated poker fan has begun nightly or weekly poker game sin their own game room, den or at their kitchen [...]
The breaking (yet wholly expected) news in the poker world is that Full Tilt has lost its e-gaming license. After a six day closed to the public hearing before the Alderney Gaming Control Commission (AGCC) in London, the extent of Full Tilt’s deception to players and the Commission became clear. No wonder they didn’t want an audience.
Only the other day we heard about the civil complaint by the Department of Justice being amended to individually name several of Full Tilt’s head honchos. The accusations of fraud and money laundering seemed an established habit for the once online casino giant.
In a statement released by the AGCC we see just how deep Full Tit’s hole really is.
“…it emerged that FTP had fundamentally misled AGCC about their operational integrity by continuously reporting as liquid funds balances that had been covertly seized or restrained by US authorities, or that were otherwise not actually available to the operator.”
Because Full Tilt [...]
I’m always mentioning the Poker Players Alliance or PPA on this blog but don’t really ever explain who they are and what they stand for. It seemed like it was a good time to talk about PPA in depth what with the Full Tilt meltdown and the possible online gaming legislation on the table.
The PPA isn’t some governmental organization or a group of high minded civil interest groups. It’s an organization of poker players, professional and amateur, on and offline, who want to provide a voice for players in regarding to potential gaming and poker legislation. Think of them as lobbyists for poker.
PPA stands for safe and secure poker play and consumer rights for online poker players. They believe poker to be a game of skill rather than just another form of gambling and work hard to educate people on the issues confronting poker players around the world but especially in the United States. As [...]
Aaah Full Tilt Full Tilt Full Tilt. When will the excuses end? Pokernews.com reported on yet another press release from the former poker giant in which they tried once more to state their current position and provide a note of optimism for former clients. Unfortunately the empty statements may have been to curry public favor as their September 19 license hearing looms.
We all know the story by now. Full Tilt along with PokerStars and UB Poker were seized by the U.S. Dept. of Justice back on April 15 for alleged violations of the Wire Act, embezzlement and money laundering. Since that time both PokerStars and UB have managed to start the process of refunding their U.S. players but Full Tilt continues to roll out excuses as to why it can’t do the same.
After promises of new investors and a capital infusion Full Tilt seems no further along than it was five months ago. All the [...]
I for one am sick of hearing how Full Tilt is unable to pay its players back the money they owe them. It seems the company has a thousand excuses as to why they can’t pay. This week more excuses have come to light and are supposed to be viewed as a reason for all of Full Tilt’s issues.
It seems from a statement issued to Forbes magazine and then paraphrased on the Poker News site that Full Tilt is now claiming that they had financial problems two years before Black Friday. They were subject to federal review, dealing with lawsuits, thefts and government cash seizures according to the latest press release. I have to wonder why all this information didn’t come out earlier. I mean can we trust this stuff isn’t being made up to escape culpability?
Full Tilt, didn’t any of you see what was going to happen? Really?
UB Poker and PokerStars seem to be [...]
