Poker Domainer

If you are a US online poker player, then you know that the US Department of Justice indicted Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars, and Absolute Poker on April 15th. In addition, they seized 76 accounts connected with the poker sites as well as five domains connected with the sites. On Wednesday, both Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars reached a deal with the DOJ that allowed them to regain control of the .com domains.

Essentially, the two sites negotiated a domain-name use agreements that allowed Full Tilt to regain use of FullTiltPoker.com and PokerStars to regain use of PokerStars.com. The deal was struck so that the two sites could return funds to their US players.

The deal did come with some very specific stipulations. First, neither site can serve US customers going forward. US customers cannot deposit, nor can they play for either real money, or anything of value. That includes things such as tournament seats, step tickets, etc.

Next, the agreement states that the DOJ never froze any accounts containing player funds and that the DOJ will work with the sites to return the money to US players. Also, a independent monitor will be assigned to oversee this process and to make sure the sites comply with the agreement.

Also, this deal does allow for the sites to conduct business outside of the US through their .com domain name. This agreement does nothing to absolve or dismiss any of the charges facing Full Tilt Poker and Pokerstars. Furthermore, this offer is available to Absolute Poker should they be inclined to accept it.

At present, neither site has begun the process of returning player funds. PokerStars states that they are researching the best method to return funds to players and that the process should begin in several weeks. Full Tilt has stated that despite claims that no funds were seized by the DOJ, accounts containing players funds were indeed seized by the DOJ and there have been no steps taken as of yet to release these funds.

What poker players can take away from this is two things. First, the funds are indeed still there and available to be returned to players. Next, funds will indeed be returned. The timeframe and method of returning these funds is the only process that needs to be worked out.

This is just the first step in a long process to resolving the issues between the US government and the three online behemoths. Are these the first steps to online poker legalization? It is unknown, but in either event, online poker will never be the same.

This Domain issue involving Kentucky is the icing on the cake of this government that claims to be running a “free” country. They have no jurisdiction on domains that are registered in other countriesand they have no jurisdiction over Icann. In fact, these officials are corrupt
and just want more money for Kentucky racetracks.

Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear commented on Judge Wingate’s ruling on the decision to go ahead with the order that goes out to more than 140 domain names including all the big-name poker sites like PokerStars.com and FulTilt.com. Beshear said:
“I am very pleased with Judge Wingate’s ruling. The court validated our concern that there is illegal and unregulated Internet gambling in Kentucky. He has given these parties 30 days to effectively block any access to this illegal activity within the commonwealth of Kentucky or they may be forced to forfeit those domain names to the commonwealth.”
Horse racing peaks in the US at the Kentucky Derby, and Kentuckians adore their derby, as well as horse, in general. In an effort to protect the Kentucky horse racing industry, the governor proposed this plan when the Kentucky economy, which thrives on horse racing, suffered a $170 million loss.
Since domain names are equivalent to “illegal gambling devices,” they can be confiscated by the state or should be restricted from Kentucky residents. Ed Leyden, a Washington D.C. attorney on the defense for the Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association, does not believe that a state court would have jurisdiction over such global things as domain names.
Judge Wingate says those domains that can prove they have prevented Kentucky users from accessing their site will be released from the list of potentially confiscated-by-Kentucky domains. The burden will be on the sites to take the necessary steps to comply with the restrictions. Apparently, it will not be hard for these sites to set up the block and then provide proof, but Web site operators are also being asked to inform Internet registrars that they are blocking Kentucky from accessing their sites, as a guarantee. Some sites have already put provisions in place to reject Kentucky players, which investigators have taken note of. Despite the fact that this stand is being taken by such a small portion of the world’s gambling business, the online gambling industry is taking this all very seriously.
The president of the Internet Commerce Association, based in Washington D. C., Jeremiah Johnston, fears Kentucky’s ruling might influence other states and could have long-term effects and extensive consequences on Internet commerce as a whole. Johnston believes that Kentucky has truly thrown a wild card into any progress that has been made. It may give other states ideas, ones that may have not thought of separating their state from the US as a whole when it comes to online gambling matters.