The financial penalties for the poker fraud are broken up
Given the seriousness of the charges against the companies which accepted payments from USA players without authorization, it seems that there will be a lot to pay. The problem stems from the fact that the USA has inconsistent and often punitive restrictions on players. In order to avoid some of these problems, some casinos are simply not able to accept wagers from USA players. It seems that some greedy corporations decided that this is the ideal opportunity to enter the market and make the difference. They used fictitious companies in order to accept payment so that the USA banks were able to comply with the payment requests.How the penalties might be divided for the poker scandal
The headline figure for the punitive elements is $3billion. This is a significant amount of money but it needs to be broken down in order to fully understand how it all fits in. PokerStars will be getting a fine of $1.5 billion. Full Tilt Poker is going to get a fine of $1 billion. The Cereus Network which runs Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet will have a charge of $500 million. Financially speaking these figures are enough to put the companies in question. It will take many years for them to get back to the level of success that they enjoyed before.
The FBI moves in to freeze the accounts and assets
It has been reported that the FBI is freezing the accounts held by the culprits in this poker fraud. It has been estimated that seventy five bank accounts were frozen in the immediate aftermath of the discovery. Furthermore there are five internet domains which were frozen. This means that the accused have very limited financial means until the court decides what to do with the assets in question. Some commentators might be inclined to believe the hype to the effect that these players are being taught a lesson as a deterrent to other potential crimes. In reality this is punishment for egregious behavior that takes a laissez faire attitude to the gambling rules in the USA.
The fallout from the poker fraud continues to grow
It has been reported that live tournaments on the PokerStars website at NAPT and Full Tilt have been cancelled. People that intend to visit the Onyx Cup which promised bonuses of between $100,000 and $300,000 can expect that these will not take place. The sponsored broadcasts on ESPN are also on hold. Speculation is rife that the “Poker after Dark” event is going to be cancelled as well as the High Stakes Poker event. The mid season will look significantly altered if these cancellations go ahead as indicated in the press reports.
Members of the poker fraternity are distressed
As expected the Poker Players Alliance or PPA is not too pleased with the developments. Everyone is worried about the implications for future games. The business rivals already coming out to take the customer gap which will be created due to the difficulties which these establishments are facing at the moment.
