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Online Poker Winnings Confiscated by US GovernmentMany online poker players have not seen the recent fruit of their labor do the latest ascension in the US anti online gambling battle. Over the last couple of weeks, federal prosecutors have ordered four American banks to stop the money transactions destined to those players. Representatives of the online poker rooms involved, PokerStars and FullTiltPoker among them, have stated that they would pay the players the owned money, which sums up to more than $33 million and supposed to be distributed between 27,000 players.
Just when it seemed as if US online gambling ban is coming to its end, with the new legislation suggesting to allow the Treasury Department would to license and regulate online poker and gambling firms that target US citizens, a radical, reactive step was taken by the US government. For the first time, money that belonged to the players was confiscated by the banks, due to the authority of the federal prosecution.
Similar measures have been already taken before with sports betting sites, but applying the same acts on online poker is considered ascension. That is because the poker players bet on each other and win the other players' money, discharging a small fee known as the rake for the poker room, the same as in online backgammon and other skill game betting sites, and unlike sports betting as well as other casino games, where the gamblers play against the house, thus any banning act would be performed on the expense of the companies money and not on the players' awaited winnings.
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