Nevada has become the first US state to allow residents to play poker online for money.
The online poker firms take the position that online poker does not violate any U.S. laws, but the Justice Department has consistently said that facilitating for-money online poker is illegal.
Those bank accounts were used to issue checks that represented proceeds from online poker play at Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker, according to online poker players in the state of Washington who received them and spoke to government investigators, the court documents say.
Bitar helped build Full Tilt Poker into the second-biggest online poker company in the world by defying a Department of Justice that claimed online poker violated U.S. law.
Now, Wynn has decided to boldly attach his name and credibility to online poker in return for securing an association with the leading online poker brand.
FORBES: Billionaire Steve Wynn Makes Big Online Poker Bet With PokerStars
Still, U.S. law is vague enough on the issue of online poker that the Justice Department has appeared reluctant to confront online poker firms directly and in court.
Department of Justice officials have for years taken the position that facilitating for-money online poker violates U.S. law, making no distinction between online sports betting clearly illegal and online poker playing.
Late last year the online poker industry almost managed to squeeze through legislation that would have regulated online poker in the U.S. after the casino companies in Las Vegas decided to back the effort, tired of sitting on the sidelines and watching companies like PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker earn hundreds of millions of dollars annually from the large U.S. market.
FORBES: Billionaire Steve Wynn Makes Big Online Poker Bet With PokerStars
The investigating agents contacted Washington state online poker players in July who received checks from Arrow Checks and said the money represented proceeds from online poker playing at PokerStars, court documents say.
With billionaires and casino companies rushing to get ready for the potential of regulated online gambling in America, MGM Resorts on Monday announced an online poker alliance with Bwin.party digital entertainment, which owns PartyPoker, the second-biggest online poker service in the world, and the World Poker Tour.
FORBES: MGM Resorts Strikes Online Poker Deal With Bwin.Party
But states like Nevada and New Jersey are moving toward introducing regulated online poker within their states, with New Jersey legislators considering a law that would only make the market for online poker players in the state open to Atlantic City casinos.
Anurag Dikshit, the former online poker billionaire, was sentenced on Thursday to one year of probation and no jail time in a hearing that highlighted the extreme confusion over how U.S. law applies to online poker.
FORBES: Convicted Former Online Poker Billionaire Avoids Jail
Since online poker is a no-no, according to the federal government, lawyers working for the government are not so sure that the Department of Justice should be paying out money that was won in online poker games.
FORBES: The Big Question For Full Tilt's U.S. Players: Will They Get Their Poker Winnings Back?
The role of states and state law in the online poker landscape will likely play an important role in 2011, especially since Senator Harry Reid was unable to push through legislation late in 2010 that would have federally regulated online poker.
Federal prosecutorial efforts against online poker have in recent years focused on the role of payment processors, making it seem to some that the government does not have a high degree of confidence in its position that facilitating for-money online poker violates U.S. law, specifically the wire act.
The MGM deal, which is contingent on a regulatory regime being established for online poker on either the federal or state level, helps define the competitive landscape as casino companies get ready to enter the online gambling business in the U.S. Boyd Gaming also announced on Monday that it has entered into an online poker alliance with Bwin.party.
FORBES: MGM Resorts Strikes Online Poker Deal With Bwin.Party
PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, which have consistently insisted their operations do not violate U.S. law, have since suspended their U.S. operations and cut deals with federal prosecutors to facilitate the return of funds to online poker players in the U.S. One of the 11 people indicted, Bradley Frazen, recently pleaded guilty and said he had improperly processed financial transactions for online poker companies.
FORBES: Poker Legend Doyle Brunson Gets Fight With Feds He Gambled On
The big casinos, like Caesars Entertainment, which owns the World Series of Poker, have also invested heavily in online poker and gambling plans.
Notably, the announced deals only cover online poker, even though Bwin.party has strong online casino offerings.
FORBES: MGM Resorts Strikes Online Poker Deal With Bwin.Party
The Alderney Gambling Control Commission on Thursday revoked its gambling licenses held by Full Tilt Poker, potentially complicating any deal for the faltering online poker company that could repay poker players whose funds on deposit at Full Tilt have evaporated.
For years Ryan and his staff at PartyGaming, which merged with Bwin earlier this year, had to sit on the sidelines, peering across the Atlantic Ocean at the boatloads of money PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker were making in the U.S. online poker market.
Last year, the game was further weakened when the Justice Department shut three prominent U.S. poker sites, which had around 90% of the online poker played in the country.
Seals With Clubs is an innovative and friendly bitcoin poker site launched in August 2011 by a small team of former online poker players.
Both Lederer and Ferguson were famous poker players, but their interest in the PPA was also driven by their business, Full Tilt Poker, which was well on its way to becoming the second-biggest online poker company in the world.
FORBES: Former Senator Al D'Amato Carefully Distances Himself From Full Tilt Poker
Following a boom fueled by online poker, the recession curbed the betting activity of prospective gamblers.
The role played by highly paid lawyers was an important feature of the online poker boom.
FORBES: Jailed Online Poker Payment Processor Sues His Former Lawyer For Malpractice
Federal prosecutors are again indicating they mean business in going after the online poker business.
Democrat Barney Frank has been one of the most important proponents of online poker in Congress.
The Department of Justice has consistently taken the position that online poker violates U.S. law.
FORBES: The Big Question For Full Tilt's U.S. Players: Will They Get Their Poker Winnings Back?
Wynn has clearly educated himself about the grey legal environment facing online poker firms like PokerStars.
FORBES: How Casino Mogul Steve Wynn Went All In On Online Poker and PokerStars
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