Federal Government Freezes Poker Payouts, Says PPA
The Poker Player’s Alliance has just announced that the U.S. Federal Government is interfering with the release of over $30 million worth of legitimate payouts to online poker players, in the latest effort to enforce the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) and block U.S. players from enjoying and winning at online poker.
A total of 3 banks so far have been ordered by the U.S. District Attorney for Southern New York to put a freeze on all involved payment processor accounts. This is the same D.A. who forced PartyGaming (parent company of Party Poker) to settle a lawsuit for over $100 million for continuing to accept U.S. players even after the 2006 law forbidding it went into affect.
Apparently, a judge in the same district even ordered the seizure of a related bank account last week in a San Francisco Well Fargo.
At the core of this ongoing debate is whether poker is predominantly a game of luck or a game of skill. Poker proponents know that it’s a game of skill and therefore not subject to laws regarding “gambling”. Lawmakers of course see it differently, lumping online poker together with other games of luck like Bingo and Roulette.
While this battle rages on, along with several in other states in the country, House Representative Barney Frank has introduced two related bills before Congress, one to block the rules and penalties imposed by the UIGEA from going into effect and another for regulating online poker so that complying poker sites could once again legally accept players from the U.S.
In the meantime, the PPA and possibly iMEGA too (the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gambling Association) will be busy trying to get that $30+ million released to the proper winners.
