Has Rival given up the US market?
The Friday's indictments of major online poker companies issued by the US federal authorities are still in the main news around the world. New developments after the US federal crackdown of the biggest online poker sites included official comments from Pokerstars and Full Tilt, even though Blanca Games, who own UB.com and Absolute Poker, haven't issued any statements so far.
PokerStars declared in a statement through a pop-up on its poker client that it has stopped real-money play in the United States, advising: "As you may have heard, we have had to suspend real money poker services to people based in the U.S. due to legal developments there. The developments are confined to the U.S. and do not have any impact on your ability to continue using our services. Please be assured player balances are safe. There is no cause for concern. For all customers outside the U.S. it is business as usual," but also it's been added that the PokerStars website had been moved to Pokerstars.eu.
Full Tilt Poker's statement expressed the support for its executives named in the indictments, but it has also suspended its real money services to US players. In addition, planned Onyx Cup poker series has been cancelled. In the statement, the company says, "Online poker is a game of skill enjoyed by tens of millions of people in the United States and across the world. And, Full Tilt Poker remains as committed as ever to preserving the rights of those players to play the game they love online. Mr. Bitar and Full Tilt Poker believe online poker is legal – a position also taken by some of the best legal minds in the United States. Full Tilt Poker is, and has always been committed to preserving the integrity of the game and abiding by the law."
It's also added that, "Full Tilt Poker is saddened by the charges against its CEO Raymond Bitar and offers its full support to Mr. Bitar and Nelson Burtnick." Raymond Bitar commented, “I am surprised and disappointed by the government's decision to bring these charges. I look forward to Mr. Burtnick's and my exoneration.”
An executive director of the trade association Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative, Michael Waxman told the media: “Since the government is seeking to crack down on the freedom of the internet, we need Congress to act more than ever now to legalize and regulate the activity. This is a major development that will bring more attention to this issue. I hope it encourages Congress to move more quickly, especially as concerned Americans look for answers and a solution.”
It was reported by some players that they were told by supporting agents at Rival-powered white label online casinos that they are no longer accepting new US players, and this ban is also confirmed when US players tried to register. Everyone suspects it has to do with the federal action on Friday, but there hasn't been any official public statement on these allegations from Rival or the operators concerned.
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