I’m sure you heard the bad news. The domain names Fulltiltpoker.com, Pokerstars.com, AbsolutePoker.com and UB.com were seized by the FBI. On Friday April 15, 2011 these poker sites were charged with bank fraud, money laundering and illegal gambling. The good news is that these poker sites did not close, but they don’t allow US players anymore.
What does this mean to the players?
This is especially bad news for US players. Pokerstars and Full Tilt already pulled out of the US market and it is not clear if or when they will be back. Pokerstars assures that all player balances will be unaffected, however I am not sure about the American accounts. For European players everything remains the same.
How can I withdraw my money from these poker sites?
- Full tilt poker: www.fulltiltpoker.co.uk
- Pokerstars: www.pokerstars.eu
- UB: www.ubpoker.eu
- Absolute Poker: www.absolutepoker.eu
What should European players do?
I recommend you find another poker site, until the situation is resolved. Party Poker has always been the most trusted poker site in my eyes. I don’t recommend you play on FT,Stars,UB or AP for now.
What’s next?
I have no idea. This is by far the biggest news in Online Poker, at least since 2006. It is also unclear which one the biggest poker room will be in the future. Poker sites that still accept US players are Bodog, Cake Poker and Carbon Poker. It’s also possible that all poker rooms will pull out of the US market, which would mean no online poker for US players. Leave a comment and tell us what you think about this.
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