May 27, 2011
Iowa is back in the news this week with reports in the QC Times and other regional publications that Governor Terry Branstad has signed into law a bill calling for a full report on the pros and cons of intrastate online gambling. The bill was one of several intrastate legalisation initiatives in the United States […]
May 26, 2011
A new “U.S. legal”, rake-free poker site Rise Poker.com is scheduled to go live on 31 May 2011. Access to strategies and tips from the world’s top poker pros, valuable benefits and rewards and a RISE Poker team comprising of some of the most recognisable pro poker players in the world, are promised in Rise […]
May 26, 2011
The Washington DC daily newspaper The Hill reports that a Republican politician representing Texas, Joe Barton, is planning the launch of a federal online poker legalisation bill in consultation with the Poker Players Alliance advocacy group. Barton told the newspaper that he has already engaged with the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, […]
May 26, 2011
The US federal indictments issued against individuals associated with Pokerstars on Black Friday were the subject of political exchanges in the Isle of Man House of Keys this week, reports the BBC. The IOM-based company has “categorically denied” allegations of any wrongdoing in the United States despite the seizure of its domains by US federal […]
May 26, 2011
In addition to turning away business from five US states as a member of the Merge Poker Network (see previous reports) this week, Lock Poker has taken the wise precautionary move of switching from a .com domain extension to a .eu. No reason was given for the move, but there has inevitably been speculation that […]
May 26, 2011
Industry speculation was running wild this week following the news that Bwin’s Ongame poker network has terminated its association with network member EuroSportPoker after only 4 months. Martin Lerby, the head of Ongame, gave little away when he merely commented that the split was with immediate effect and was the result of EuroSuperPoker breaking the […]
May 26, 2011
The difficulties of operating in the hostile environment of the United States have not deterred Pokerstars from continuing its promotional activities in the more enlightened climate just to the north. PokerStars.net, the promotional wing of the world’s biggest online poker operator, announced in Toronto, Canada this week that it has renewed its sponsorship agreement with […]
May 24, 2011
U.S. enforcement agencies kicked off the week with more indictments Monday and a guilty plea from Black Friday accused Bradley Franzen (41). Franzen, described in the April 15th federal indictments as one of several “highly compensated payment processors” that helped online poker companies to circumvent the UIGEA, appeared in a New York federal court Monday. […]
May 23, 2011
The recent raids on Absolute Poker associates in Costa Rica (see previous reports), which are themselves indirectly related to the Black Friday US federal indictments, spawned another law enforcement enquiry over the weekend, when it was revealed that the Costa Rica and Panama judicial authorities are communicating. The Panama publication Prensa reports that Guillermo Hern?ndez, […]
May 22, 2011
26-year-old Scott Seiver was all smiles at the Bellagio over the weekend after trouncing a star-studded entry field in the $25 000 buy-in ninth World Poker Tour Championship, taking home the $1 618 344 main prize, along with a sponsored seat at next year’s event and a WPT bracelet. It is the young poker pro’s […]