Online Poker Ban

[Pokerlayer]

I've read, and read and read about this nonsense and have been told not to worry and blah blah blah, but is the day finally here? Is Online Poker in the United States going the way of the dodo? One of the poker forums I belong to had a posting from a user that said when he tried logging into his acct it said that it had been locked. I just logged into my pokerstars acct w/o incident. Is it certain sites that are shutting it down immediately....Any comments or reflections would be appreciated.


This really couldn't have come at a worse time, I got a real bad taste in my mouth from the WCOOP and wanted to make a big cash in this Sundays Millions event.

[notter]

i was on partypoker with no problems yesterday. Don't know if this is new but they show where you are from if you drag you mouse over a person. Partypoker is just showing USA for everyone...

I'd be worried about any very small site at this point...

anyone know where I can read the bill???

[Pokerlayer]

I'll get on that for you Notter, oh and on Stars if you run your mouse over the players name it shows what city they list as their residence....I used to get a ton of funny comments about the town that's listed for me. Obviously. I do know where I can get my hands on the Poker Players Alliance proposal that they drafted.

[Pokerlayer]

Brief Analysis of Internet Gambling Prohibition Act (Attached to Safe Port Act)
First the bill does not make poker playing illegal on the Internet at a Federal Level,
although it will make it much more difficult to enjoy “your game” on-line. As we have
mentioned before we are immediately working on your behalf to obtain an exemption for
Poker prior to the financial enforcement provisions are finalized (estimated between 3 to
9 months). This is the most important thing that the Poker Players Alliance and its
members can do in the short term.
This version of the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act that amended the Safe Port Act
contains no amendment to the 1961 Wire Act. However this bill provides additional
enforcement powers to the Wire Act that will presumably be applied to wagering on
Poker. Although Poker is a skill game and even the Department of Justice recently
testified in the April 2006 Judiciary Hearing that “games subject to chance” clause may
not apply to “games such as Poker”, it is likely that they will take a broad brush approach
to enforcement and use these tools defined by this prohibition act to restrict your ability
to access poker sites and fund your accounts as you have done in previously.
The enforcement mechanisms as it relates to Internet Poker falls into two broad
categories:
Financial
The Internet Gambling Prohibition amendment will require financial institutions to
monitor and block your funding of your poker accounts, whether you use Credit Cards,
ACH, Stored Value Cards, electronic checks (debits), electronic funds transfers or
physical checks. Within 270 days the Federal Reserve Board and the Attorney General
will proscribe policies and procedures with which banks and other financial institutions
will enforce this act to monitor and block financial transactions. Banks are absolved of
any liabilities by the Federal Government by a “reasonableness test” in complying with
this legislation. We assume this to be applied liberally given the consequences for
financial institutions who not comply. Although it is unclear how a financial institution
could block a transfer to a personal account off-shore, but for most players it will be
difficult to enjoy the game they love. Additionally is likely to very costly for financial
institutions to “play the morality police”, but they are under order of the Federal
Government to comply.
Internet Hyperlink Blocking
The IGP amendment requires that “Interactive Computer Services”, essentially Internet
Service Providers (ISPs), remove or disable access to internet links and hyperlinks “that
reside” on the ISPs servers to “Internet Gambling” upon written notice from a State
Attorney General, or the Attorney General of the United States. There is no affirmative
monitoring provision for ISPs, but no liability for compliance.
The exemptions included in the “Prohibition” are for wagering on Horseracing, Intrastate
Lotteries, Intrastate Gaming (where legal), Indian Reservations, and playing Fantasy
Sports, but nothing yet for Poker. This must change.
The Poker Players Alliance will renew its fight to obtain separate treatment for a great
game of skill, poker, and a community game. In then next several months, this will be
our focus, to ensure that Poker is protected from this outrageous intrusion into the lives of
70 Million poker players.
Long term we seek to have Poker affirmatively legalized, licensed, regulated and taxed
on a Federal level. You have our commitment on this.
Regards,
Michael Bolcerek
President
Poker Players Alliance

[Pokerlayer]

Also, here is a link to the study that found some rather interesting results that could mean a ton of money for the US.

http://www.pokerplayersalliance.org/PDF ... RT_7_9.pdf

[Micelli]

I received this from FULL TILT as im sure many of you have....

Dear micelli,

Full Tilt Poker is here to stay!

As an online poker player, you have probably heard about the new legislation passed by the U.S. Congress earlier this week that attempts to prevent you from being able to transfer money to online gaming sites.

While this new law has prompted some sites to announce plans to abandon the U.S. market in coming days, we assure you that Full Tilt Poker will continue to provide all of its players - both inside and outside of the United States - with a full complement of real money ring games and tournaments for their enjoyment.

After consultation with numerous legal experts in this field, we want to make you aware of the following:

* Legal

The new U.S. legislation does not in any way attempt to criminalize the act of you playing online poker. By playing online at Full Tilt Poker, you are not breaking any U.S. Federal laws.

* Full Access

The passage of the new Internet Gaming law will not have any impact on your day-to-day experience at Full Tilt Poker. We will provide all of our players, everywhere in the world, with full access to all of our games and tournaments.

* Easy Deposits and Withdrawals

We will continue to provide our players with all of the safe, secure and convenient methods for transferring money to and from the site. In fact, in recent discussions with our payment processors, we have been assured that this new law will have no immediate impact on their day-to-day business. And as always, any monies that you have on deposit with Full Tilt Poker remain completely safe and secure.

Furthermore, we firmly believe that online poker is not encompassed by this new legislation. In any event, we will continue to lobby for an express carve-out for online poker and for your right to play a truly American game from the privacy of your own home and computer.

We are excited about the future here at Full Tilt Poker and in the coming weeks and months, we plan to roll out many new features designed to enhance your online poker experience.

We appreciate your loyalty to our site and, in turn, want you to know that we will remain loyal to our valued players in the United States and throughout the world.

We look forward to seeing you at the table.

Sincerely,

Full Tilt Poker

[Pokerlayer]

Good stuff Micelli, I received an email from Titan Poker stating that US accounts would be closed. Full Tilt is good people. I just posted a new article on my blog: http://pokerlayer.blogspot.com
regarding some information that I just recieved...check it out...good news for the online player. :D