Online gambling sites lose big to U.S. government
2 Poker Sites Will Forfeit $731 Million
By MICHAEL SCHMIDT, NYT
WASHINGTON — The United States attorney for the Southern District of New York reached an agreement on Tuesday with two of the world’s largest poker companies in which they will forfeit a total of $731 million dollars, some of it to be used to reimburse players who gambled online.
In pursuing the settlement, the Justice Department had two goals: protecting online gamblers and acting swiftly to punish foreign companies that allow Americans to place wagers. (It is legal under United States law for an American to place a bet regardless of whether the casino or bet taker is legally registered to operate.)
According to court documents released on Tuesday, one of the companies, Full Tilt Poker, had taken money from the accounts of the bettors and distributed it to its owners despite telling the bettors that they could withdraw their money at any time. The documents did not say whether any bettors had been prevented from withdrawing their money.
As part of the agreement, the other online company, PokerStars, which is based in the Isle of Man, off Ireland, will forfeit $547 million to the United States government, and the company will acquire Full Tilt Poker, which is based in Dublin. Roughly $184 million from Full Tilt Poker will also be forfeited to the government. It is not clear how much of the forfeiture money will end up in the hands of gamblers.
(More here.)
WASHINGTON — The United States attorney for the Southern District of New York reached an agreement on Tuesday with two of the world’s largest poker companies in which they will forfeit a total of $731 million dollars, some of it to be used to reimburse players who gambled online.
In pursuing the settlement, the Justice Department had two goals: protecting online gamblers and acting swiftly to punish foreign companies that allow Americans to place wagers. (It is legal under United States law for an American to place a bet regardless of whether the casino or bet taker is legally registered to operate.)
According to court documents released on Tuesday, one of the companies, Full Tilt Poker, had taken money from the accounts of the bettors and distributed it to its owners despite telling the bettors that they could withdraw their money at any time. The documents did not say whether any bettors had been prevented from withdrawing their money.
As part of the agreement, the other online company, PokerStars, which is based in the Isle of Man, off Ireland, will forfeit $547 million to the United States government, and the company will acquire Full Tilt Poker, which is based in Dublin. Roughly $184 million from Full Tilt Poker will also be forfeited to the government. It is not clear how much of the forfeiture money will end up in the hands of gamblers.
(More here.)
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