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Matt Hayes TOPS- Top Online Poker Sites Santa Barbara California, 93106 Private |
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TOPS Poker reveals online websites that have directly benefited from the online poker shutdown by the US Government.
Online PR News – 26-April-2011 –TOPS-Poker.org, an online advocacy website for poker players throughout the US, revealed on Tuesday that the government shutdown of the top four poker websites has had little effect on gamblers placing wagers in cyberspace. Websites like Sportsbook Poker, Players Only, and Lock Poker are believed to have retaken almost 70% of the US market that was left up for grabs when Full Tilt and PokerStars were forced out of the United States.
Although it is believed that the arrests and domain seizures by the Department of Justice and the FBI were prompted somewhat in part by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's huge push to completely legalize online poker within the United States, it appears that the efforts were largely in vain. Online gambling, for now, is still illegal in the state of Nevada and since further legislation was not passed on the national level, it is doubtful that Harrah's and the other big-named casino brands will benefit from this move.
"Here's this Senator from Nevada getting all of this money thrown at him over the years to block any kind of legislation that would legalize online poker," said Steven Hastings, a spokesman for TOPS, "and suddenly he does a complete 180° turn a little over a year ago. Now Reid's pushing to make online poker legal as these land-based casinos rush to design poker sites ahead of the legislation and wham...the top four poker destinations in the US are banned from doing business here. To me, that says that these big US casinos are trying to create a monopoly before they even have a product to sell."
Hastings also stated that while the actions of the Federal Government against PokerStars, Full Tilt, and Absolute Poker could not be directly linked to the Senate Majority Leader or any land-based casino, it is not that far of a stretch to imagine that a simple anonymous tip was all that was necessary to spark the online poker shutdowns in the first place.
"Under the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act, foreign gaming websites could not transfer money through the US banking system," Hastings added. "The seized poker sites were clearly doing this so there is not a question of guilt...if they were in fact an illegal online casino. What we find mind-boggling is that this has been going on for years now, why is it suddenly an issue? How did this weak legislation that did not even define "illegal online gambling" suddenly become a means to demand billions in fines?"
While the answers to Hastings questions may never be answered, other poker websites around the Internet do not seem to be worried about the implications contained within the UIGEA. Sportsbook Poker, the destination that has clearly benefited the most from the online poker shutdown, does not expect a problem from the US government since they do not receive deposits directly from player's bank accounts inside the United States. Other gaming sites like Players Only and Lock Poker seem to be following the same guidelines when it comes to accepting US players.
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