From Haley -
In the early hours of Tuesday, States time, Mansion Poker removed its poker services from the U.S. market, citing the usual UIGEA-themed stuff. U.S. players logging on to their accounts discovered that those accounts were locked, resulting in something looking like this, on their screens:
Lou Krieger has a great analysis of the US v. Antigua case before the WTO.
Check it out -
The United States suffered another setback in long legal battle with Antigua over Internet gambling restrictions.
What’s this dispute all about?
The trade dispute between the tiny Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda and the United States has been discussed on numerous occasions in this blog, though there’s been little to report over the course of the last three to four months. The dispute centers on whether the United States should drop prohibitions on Americans placing bets in online casinos. A World Trade Organization ruling said that some U.S. laws were in line with international commerce rules, but others were not.Read the rest - Â
The US government, being a big bully, doesn’t seem to care. But Anitgua may strike back by mass-producing black market. Spongebob Squarepants DVDs and Jay-Z albums.
From MSNBC.com -
The US has suffered a setback in a World Trade Organisation case that accuses the country of protectionism against international online gambling companies.
The US admitted on Friday that the WTO had ruled against it in the latest stage of a long-running dispute with the tiny Caribbean island of Antigua over whether US laws allow online gambling on horse racing, but unfairly forbid international companies from competing in the market.
In case you are one of the people who think “it’s all going to be alright, everything will work out in time,” this is the front desk with your WAKE UP CALL!
Neteller has now stopped issuing Neteller cards and as of yesterday you could no longer USE your Neteller card in the US.
From Neteller.com -
How can I withdraw funds from my NETELLER account?
At this time, our ability to provide US members with withdrawals is significantly reduced. As a top priority, we are working to resolve all withdrawal issues, but in the meantime we continue to maintain these funds in trust on your behalf. Please check this page regularly for more updates.
Why can’t I use my Gold NETELLER Card anymore?
The Gold NETELLER Card is not available as a withdrawal option at this time.
We are doing our best to restore our withdrawal options but don’t know how long this will take. In the meantime your funds are safely maintained in trust accounts. We will communicate any updates as soon as possible.
Why can’t I get a Gold NETELLER Card anymore?
We are temporarily not issuing Gold NETELLER Cards. The Gold NETELLER Card is not available as a withdrawal option at this time.
In essence - you can’t get your money. Period. You can’t move it onto another site and withdraw it from there. You can’t get a bank transfer into your account. You can’t put it onto your Neteller card and withdraw from your ATM.
But no, this isn’t a time to make a dramatic statement to the poker sites. This is the time to hold hands, sing Kumbaya and wait for it all to “pass over.”
WAKE UP. The only people with enough money to throw at this issue to get it resolved are the poker sites. The ones that made an estimated TWELVE BILLION (YES WITH A “B”) DOLLARS last year. And about half of it came from US customers. But no, I certainly understand some people not wanting to take a stand and piss off the poker sites that you keep in business with your rake, even though they have only thrown a pitiful amount of money at this problem so far.
Why do I say they’ve only thrown a pitiful amount of money at the problem? Because it’s true! Yeah, several sites have done events where the tourney fees go to the PPA. Congratulations, you played in an event where YOUR money went to the PPA. That money doesn’t belong to the sites until YOU pay it in fees. Until then, it’s YOUR money. So sites that donate juice to the PPA are a good start, but that’s all it is, a beginning.
Join the boycott. Play no poker online or in a casino from Midnight February 8 - Midnight February 12. Show them you’re serious. Force action from those with enough coin to affect actual change.
If you think the Poker Boycott idea is a good one, Digg it to spread the word!
http://www.digg.com/gaming_news/Boycott_Online_Poker
With all apologies to Jonathan Swift.
Now, in the winter of our discontent, it’s time to stop talking. Some small number of people have expressed agreement with my proposal to fix the UIGEA problem (the problem, of course, is the very existence of this onerous restriction on our personal freedom). Of course, as poker players, we are a sedentary lot. No where is the principle of Newton’s First Law in greater effect than in the hearts of the American people. This country is very definitely a thing at rest, and has an unfortunate tendency to remain at rest.
Talking is not an action. Writing, no matter how well it is done, is not an action. Only taking action is an action. And now it is time to take up arms against this sea of troubles, and by opposing, end them.
It seems I will owe apologies to more than one dead writer (and one dead physicist) before this post is finished.
This is our action - collective, decisive, and unified inaction. I hereby call upon all my friends that play poker on the internet to boycott all internet poker for three days. I would like for you to join with me in declaring Friday, February 9th Black Friday - the day Internet Poker stood still.
From Midnight on February 8th (EST) through Midnight on Sunday February 11 (PST), do not play any internet poker.
The poker sites have the money to fight this bill, but they aren’t pouring enough of it into the Poker Player’s Alliance to make our voice heard. If all American poker players (and anyone not in the US who would like to join in) took the weekend off, it would provide a clarion call to poker sites to take some of our hard-earned rake and throw more money at this problem until the UIGEA is repealed.
No carveouts. No exemptions. Repealed. If there’s ever been a time in our country when money talks, and BS walks, it’s now. If we collectively withhold our rake for three days, including the evenings with the highest traffic of the week and the Sunday major tournaments, the sites will see that we are serious in this effort and will be forced to take us, and this issue, more seriously.
Three days with no Americans playing anywhere on any internet poker site. Maybe sites won’t care. Maybe they feel that they can survive without the American market. Well let’s band together and show them exactly what the future holds unless they step up and fund the Poker Player’s Alliance with every nickel they can spare. Money can absolutely turn this problem around, and if you don’t believe me, ask how many internet horse betting sites or internet lotteries are facing issues from the UIGEA.
Spread the word. A frontal assault on the email boxes and websites of poker sites may be ineffective, but a viral attack will certainly get their attention. Tell your friends, tell your enemies, tell folks in the chat boxes on web sites. Link to this, reprint this, post it over the urinals where you play Pub Poker. But let’s get together. For once.
UPDATE - Shelto left the following comment - “I’d like to see a complete poker boycott for that weekend. I don’t want casinos to benefit from online’s demise. I suspect that their lobbying efforts have contributed to the mess we’re in now. “ I agree, let’s go bigger. Take the weekend off completely from poker. Harrah’s was a major contributor to Bill Frist’s war chest, so let’s put our feet on the path and walk out of every casino’s poker room that weekend as well.
Anyone, anywhere is welcome to link to or repost this article with attribution, and preferably not for profit.
Neteller has withdrawn from the US gaming market, several other e-wallets are following suit, and now the Department of Justice has subpoenaed the records of four Wall Street investment banks to see who else they can round up in their witch hunt.
GG online poker. Enjoy Europe.
Two founders of Neteller were arrested Monday in US Airports, on charges of money laundering tied to their creation of the popular e-wallet company.
Visit the Gambling Weblog for more information.
As reported by Haley at Pokernews -
Approximately $13,000 was seized in the raid, reportedly all the money in possession of all people in the building, while two firearms were among the other items seized. Besides the tables, cards and other gaming equipment, additional seized property included two computers, several flat-screen TVs and a currency-counting machine.
This leads me to think it might be good to bring only a portion of your ‘roll when you head out to the underground games this week.
Technorati Tags: poker, poker raid
Haley over at Pokernews does a great job of covering the big Sunday weekly tourneys every weekend, and this week is no exception, as Pokerstars landed their biggest tournament prize pool EVER for a non-WCOOP event.
Here’s Haley’s take on the big weekly at our favorite poker site -
Full Tilt $400,000 Guaranteed
2,473 players joined the action in Full Tilt’s $400,000 Guarantee, generating a prize fund of $494,600. 351 people made the money, with first prize topping $90,000 ‘imgrinding’ was the runaway leader as this event’s final table began, his $2.75 million in chips more than three times the closest competitor. The first final-table knockout occurred on the very first hand, when a ‘Kush789′ pushed from the small blind with a suited A-7, but ‘ESPIGA’ made the call from the big blind with A-J, which stood up.