Online Games: Legal Proceedings in the US
- In the United States, the owners of three of the largest online poker companies are accused of having tricked regulators and banks into processing billions of dollars of illegal Internet gambling proceeds. Measures have been taken: accesses have been locked, domain names seized and they are accused of money laundering.
- Eleven people have been arrested, among them Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars and Absolute Poker owners and legal proceedings being held against them for non compliance with the US law on online gambling (illegal in the US since 2006).
- The American versions on the incriminated websites now display the following words: “conducting, financing, managing, directing or owning all or part of an illegal gambling business is a federal crime”.
- Also, about 76 bank accounts have been frozen in 14 countries and the founders of the three websites could face maximum penalty of twenty years in prison (money laundering): they are now wanted and investigations are being carried out by Interpol.
Read FBI press release on this case
- In March, Wynn Resorts Ltd partnered PokerStars and intended to start a collaboration to elaborate a new definition of the term “illegal” applied to online games.
- In compliance with French law on the opening to regulation and competition of the online games sectors enacted 12 May 2010, these activities are now legal in France (see 30 June 2010 Journal Officiel) but they are also subjected to very strict regulation: each application for authorisation is thoroughly studied and each case is regularly monitored.
See March 2011 Watch