Pokerstars.com closed by FBI

Seems like this thread is a little behind in information. PokerStars is still going strong and players account money is still there, just moved to a ".eu" domain (see the email they sent out below). If you go to their former address, www.PokerStars.com, you will see the FBI notice that the domain has been taken, which it has.

The lesson to be learned in all of this is to avoid registering domains that are handled by VeriSign or Afilias as both companies are based in the US and therefore subject to US control. VeriSign operates .com, .net, .cc, .name and .tv while Afilias operates .info, .org, .mobi, .in, .me, .aero and more. This advice and other great advice on avoiding being shut down by the US Feds here: http://webmasterpost.com/showthread.php?t=5746 Sadly, the United States government believes it has a right to be the police of the internet and enforce arbitrary rules that are good for the United States. The government will continue to abuse it's power and over-reach into the internet until us Webmasters learn our lessons and follow the steps to boycott all companies associated with the United States.

 

who cares ? fk pokerstars ..

everyone knows that online poker is RIGGED .. 100 % without a doubt .

 

I heard the same thing from a live poker player one time. The conversation was cut short though, he lost his money pretty quickly.

 

I am seeing Site Stolen by the FBI.

Internet Gambling is illegal in the USA. Their is big business in Gambling sites, and that move them offshore., so if
you register your gambling site via a US register, then it can be taken by the FBI, fact is, FBI has more powers then
you think...in the end, no matter where you are, the feds will get you...the problem with having a gambling site
abroad is money exchange, so now the govt is cracking down with money exchange sites, so if a pay processor
helped anyone convert money relating to gambling, then the govt could shut-them-down.

Sorry internet tax evading gambling sites; Until the govt decides a way to make money from you
guys, then your sites will be considered illegal, and the feds will be going after you in a big way.

I am not sure why it is illegal....

the IRS makes mega dollars watching you die from smoking (taxes)
in fact there is a lot of things you can consume that is bad for your health,
and the govt makes mega dollars, then they want to increase taxes on
bad food thinking you will not buy it; BS, just another idea for more revenue....

This could be another money maker for the govt; Just a matter of
time, and it does not kill you as fast as cigerettes and alcohol.

people do not seem to undersand, if you are doing something illegal, then the govt
can seize anything you own, including domains, even your fat ugly dog, it doesnt matter...

 

Gambling is not illegal in US, you just need to pay a lot more for taxes than in other states. Pokerstars.com tried to escape all the US laws by having their headquarters and bank account in Isle of Man.

If gambling was illegal, let's close an entire city, Las Vegas shall we ? Same for internet gambling, if you are an honest poker manager and pay all the taxes and so on, they will do nothing.

 

The law was a bit of a grey area. Gambling is not illegal, it was online gambling they didn't like because they couldn't find a way to tax the revenue, but from my understanding it wasn't illegal for U.S. players to play on online gambling sites. Instead, the govt went after the payment processors for processing gambling transactions and now the owners of some of the major online poker rooms.

 

pokerstars are still advertising developer jobs on th eisle of man. The IOM, AFAIK, has a 'zero tax' approach to gambling.

 

I think your way of looking at this of "PokerStars tried to escape all US Laws" is the wrong perspective because it assumes all online Casinos should be paying taxes to the US, which they shouldn't if their not even located here. Let's take the Monte Carlo Casino in Monaco for example. The US Government receives no tax money from the Monte Carlo Casino yet hundreds of thousands of US citizens have gambled there over the years, so why doesn't the US shut them down? They don't yet have live gambling on their online site, but they probably will someday and does that mean the US will try to shut them down? http://en.montecarloresort.com/Casino-de-Monte-Carlo,507.html. No because they are recognized as being in a foreign country and the US has no right to intervene. And wouldn't you laugh at me if I said, they built the Monte Carlo Casino in Monaco just to escape US taxes!! How arrogant and stupid would I look?

Then why do we lose this logic when we examine PokerStars that is located in the Isle of Man and assume that it must pay US taxes even though it is in a foreign country? This is insane, it would be like China trying to shut down the Vegas casinos because their not receiving any tax money from them. Are we to assume no other country but the US has a right to have an online casino?

In seizing these domains the US Government has shown it's ethnocentricity, arrogance, and utter stupidity. It is no wonder foreign countries see us as corrupt because cases like this prove that our Government really is. The earth is not the center of the Universe and the USA is not the center of the world.

 

It might be a smidgin more complicated than that. For example, the US has the right to dictate what people do when they are on US soil. When they are abroad, the local laws take precedence. You can lose a hand for stealing in arab states, for example, but the US doesn't chop off hands for shoplifting in Macy's. I suspect that a US citizen, using an online gambling site while they are (eg) in France, wouldn't attract the attention of the US authorities.

But I could be wrong...

 

Wow, thats a breaking news! I think the other Non US poker sites will be happy because of the all Pokerstars users goes there...

 

There are a lot of opinions parading as facts in this thread. Only time will tell if the allegations hold up, but the Federal prosecutors (not the FBI) obtained an indictment based on fraud, money laundering and running illegal casino operations.

The U.S. enacted a law in 2006 barring banks from processing payments to offshore gambling websites. The indictment charges that PokerStars, Full Tilt and Absolute worked around the ban to continue operating in the U.S.

If companies based on the Internet don't want to be subject to U.S. laws, then they need to not deal with U.S. residents. Don't take money from U.S. residents and don't use U.S. banks. You can't have it both ways.

 

But I can see no FBI notice and the site is working fine.

 

Uh...including...VeriSign?

It'll just take time for your ISP to update. Or clear your browser's cookies and what-not
to see it.

 

glad to hear that.
i hope all poker site and porn site will be closed by fbi

 

Fine up to $250K? lol, thats cheap changes for these guys.

 

I think they make that money in a day or less ?

 

This clear up this misunderstanding...

According to CNN...

Online Gambling in the USA is *NOT* legal therefore it is Illegal...This is why gamble
sites are moving offshore, and the feds are even closing in those that are trying to evade the
system by moving offshore, so the feds can not actually get you offshore, or it is harder for
them to touch your offshore site, but the feds can go after financial institutions that swap
currency to gambling sites offshore, if the feds choke the money stream, then the gambling sites
will dry up and die, the is why the feds are going after money sources linked to offshore gambling.

Dont believe me? Setup a gambling site in the US, then let the FBI know where you are....

You will be shutdown as soon as they get their paperwork in check....

=================

20 April 2011 - On 15 April 2011, PokerStars ceased providing real-money poker to residents of the United States and related territories.
Real money play and deposits by US residents are strictly prohibited.

An agreement has been reached with the US Department of Justice to allow United States PokerStars customers to cashout their funds. PokerStars will work diligently to expedite those withdrawals. All PokerStars player deposits are completely safe. More information here.

Players from the United States can continue to play on our site for play money only. New players who wish to create an account will need to do so using our play-money-only software, available at http://www.pokerstars.net.

Pokerstars is only up as they made an agreement with the US not to allow anyone in the US to play for real money, they can only play for fake money....

Check and Mate....

of course this can always change in the future if the US allows online gambling in the US....

Our govt would rather spend 100's of billions of dollars/year on 3 pointless wars...I am surprised
that the government does not allow this right away for extra tax/income stream....

 

I can still see that www.PokerStars.com is turning to www.PokerStars.eu and a fully working site.

 

Man that sucks. Not all at once but they will stop them one by one.

 

They made a redirect or something