Posted Thu Jul 20, 2006 2:29 pm GMT by StarlightCoast
Found this at BRB This email was not sent to me but to the person who posted it.
Dear Eurobet Customer,
Please be advised that in the light of recent actions by US regulators, Eurobet has regretfully taken the decision to cease taking any business through its websites from U.S. residents with immediate effect. U.S. residents will no longer be able to transact with our websites and all accounts held by U.S. residents have now been closed.
We are contacting you because we believe that, based on the personal details you have provided us, you are a US resident and therefore affected by this decision.
Where we already have your payment details we will refund any outstanding balance using that method within 7 days from today. If we do not have the necessary details please contact us on +44 1483 773224 or via email at uscustomerservice@eurobet.com to confirm how you wish any existing balances on your account should be repaid including the appropriate financial details.
We commit to processing such refund with 7 days of receiving your payment instructions.
On behalf of the entire Eurobet team we apologise for the inconvenience caused and thank you for your previous custom.
Kind regards,
Emma Jordan
Head of Services
Eurobet.com
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Posted Thu Jul 20, 2006 4:22 pm GMT by JonnyBoy
It is certainly very concerning. This news is popping up over the net. Here are a couple links.
Personally, I have taken all but a few buy-ins out of all of my poker accounts. These 4 poker site have been shut down in the last 24 hours:
http://www.mvpsportsbook.com/
http://www.mvppoker.com
http://www.popularpoker.com/
http://www.bospoker
Must read:
http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2006/July/06_crm_443.html
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2006-07-18-online-gaming_x.htm
U.S. cracking down on offshore betting industry
Updated 7/19/2006 1:51 AM
By Michael McCarthy, USA TODAY
When the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill cracking down on Internet gambling last week, David Carruthers, CEO of online gaming company Bet On Sports, was one of the most outspoken critics of the proposed law. The 49-year-old British executive has more immediate problems to worry about. Federal agents arrested Carruthers on Sunday at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport as he made his way from the company's offices in London to Costa Rica.
As part of a wide-ranging probe of what the American Gaming Association says is a $12 billion online gambling industry, U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway unsealed a 22-count indictment charging racketeering, conspiracy and fraud against Carruthers, 10 others and four companies Monday. A warrant was sworn out for the arrest of 47-year-old company founder Gary Kaplan. U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry also approved the government's request to bar Bet On Sports from accepting bets from this country and forcing it to refund money to U.S. account holders. The FBI has ordered four phone companies to shut off service to the company.
The arrest of Carruthers, a longtime British racing industry executive who joined Bet On Sports in 2000, is setting off alarm bells in Europe and the Caribbean, where the offshore casino industry is based. Bet On Sports asked for its stock to be suspended on the London Stock Exchange on Tuesday. Shares of British gaming stocks, such as industry leader Party Gaming, fell Tuesday in heavy trading, wiping out more than $1 billion in value.
"The No. 1 topic at every board meeting today is 'Am I next?' " says Internet gambling attorney Lawrence Walters. "There's a high degree of concern now that the government has made it clear they think they can prosecute foreign citizens at foreign corporations."
The House bill is the first shot in an attack by the federal government on a foreign industry that considers itself beyond the reach of U.S. law — while generating most of its revenue from U.S. customers. An estimated 23 million Americans play casino games such as poker and blackjack online, according to the Poker Players Alliance.
The Justice Department says online gambling is illegal under the Federal Wire Act of 1961. While authorities have not pursued individual bettors playing poker on their home or office PC, they have gone after some gaming executives.
Despite generating half or more of their revenue from U.S. customers, online gaming companies maintain U.S. laws don't apply to them because they're located in places where online gaming is legal, such as England, Costa Rica and Gibraltar.
U.S. Attorney Hanaway promised the indictments are "but one step in a series of actions designed to punish and seize the profits of individuals who disregard federal and state laws" during a news conference Monday. That means top casino executives will have to worry about personal exposure if they try to catch a connecting flight in the USA, as did Carruthers, says Walters.
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Act passed by the House on July 11 would strengthen the 1961 law by barring banks and credit card companies from collecting for Internet casinos. The bill's main supporter in the Senate, Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., issued a statement Tuesday saying the indictment strengthens the need for legislation to ban Internet gambling.
"I am hopeful that legislation I intend on moving through the Senate this year will provide the Justice Department with the tools necessary to continue aggressively pursuing those that wish to circumvent the rules and engage in this sort of illegal activity," the statement said.
A broad coalition of sports leagues, including the NFL and NCAA, and family rights groups supports the bill. Supporters add the proposed law would stop Internet gambling from spreading to cellphones and other new mediums.
"The House properly recognized that betting via the Internet already is illegal in this country," NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy says. "This bill reinforces the law and would place significant impediments on the operations of fly-by-night offshore Internet gambling companies."
But critics charge the government would be better off regulating and taxing the online gambling industry. Their biggest complaint: The current bill provides exceptions for state-regulated lotteries such as Powerball and horse racing while cracking down on casino games.
"This bill's advocates proclaim the immorality of online gaming and shout it will destroy our society — unless you're betting on horse races," declared U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., on the floor of the House during the bill debate.
Michael Bolcerek, president of the Poker Players Alliance, adds, "Prohibitions don't work. Poker players will find a way to play. This won't stop anything. It will just drive people underground."
Posted 7/18/2006 10:50 PM ET
Posted Thu Jul 20, 2006 6:22 pm GMT by crack
Knee Jerk reactions or is this actually more serious than I thought?
I just assumed such a stupid law would never be passed.
Posted Thu Jul 20, 2006 7:04 pm GMT by JonnyBoy
| crack wrote: | | I just assumed such a stupid law would never be passed. |
Actually, they are just enforcing laws already on the books.....
I have a bad feeling on this one. Read those quotes carefully. The US governments does not make idol threats.
U.S. Attorney Hanaway promised the indictments are "but one step in a series of actions designed to punish and seize the profits of individuals who disregard federal and state laws"
Posted Thu Jul 20, 2006 7:39 pm GMT by scez
Would this law effect Canada? Dont tell me that when I will finally be old enough to play online, it will be outlawed :x
Posted Thu Jul 20, 2006 8:15 pm GMT by tame_deuces
Eurobet is a big european sportsbook, they're probably shutting down US poker customers because of their sportsbook activities (which wasn't offering americans in the first place), and they're going to list in London and probably doesn't want bad press/hassle.
It looks as though its just the off-shore sportsbooks that get the harsh treatment by the US yet, but some betting companies have both sportsbooks and poker/other gambling.
Posted Thu Jul 20, 2006 8:21 pm GMT by JonnyBoy
Some of the other buzz on this… Think about the timing here. WSOP ME right around the corner. High profile on-line execs like Sexton, Brunson, Ledderer, Ferguson, and many more flying into Vegas next week. (or already there). Can you see an “Old West Round Up” taking place? Man would that make headlines. I wouldn’t put it past them. Bodog execs may be next in line.
Quote: Up until last Sunday the industry was under the belief that being a foreign national and being publicly traded were layers of protection sufficient enough to avoid the rigor of US laws.
The US Department of Justice proved otherwise. The DoJ message to online gambling operators is loud and clear: we can hit anyone, anytime, anywhere.
http://www.theonlinewire.com/articleView.aspx?ID=1102
Posted Thu Jul 20, 2006 8:52 pm GMT by Skribbles
| scez wrote: | | Would this law effect Canada? Dont tell me that when I will finally be old enough to play online, it will be outlawed :x |
No time soon.
It would take a loooong time for this to pass in Canada.
Posted Thu Jul 20, 2006 9:10 pm GMT by Gettin_gone
| Skribbles wrote: | | scez wrote: | | Would this law effect Canada? Dont tell me that when I will finally be old enough to play online, it will be outlawed :x |
No time soon.
It would take a loooong time for this to pass in Canada. |
I wouldn't count on that Skribbles. If this is a U.S. wire law, it would apply to any transmissions that even pass through the U.S. communications system. Most Canadian servers at some point or another bounce through U.S. servers before accessing overseas sites. I can see the U.S. fascist government blocking access to all sites from U.S. servers which would effectively block Canadian access to them. I'd be interested to know if there's a constitutional case for freedom of assembly in online sites, but it's just one more example of how the land of the free is going down the tubes in a hurry.
Posted Thu Jul 20, 2006 10:22 pm GMT by lwestatbus
As I read the OP my first thought was that this was a "Phishing" scam. It certainly has all of the earmarks. Any of the offshore gambling/gaming sites have the funding origin information for their players. They have no incentive to immediately refund money (and lots of incentives to hold it as long as possible). And the site asks for financial information. This is a huge danger sign.
Posted Fri Jul 21, 2006 1:12 am GMT by khaosanroad
| lwestatbus wrote: | | As I read the OP my first thought was that this was a "Phishing" scam. It certainly has all of the earmarks. Any of the offshore gambling/gaming sites have the funding origin information for their players. They have no incentive to immediately refund money (and lots of incentives to hold it as long as possible). And the site asks for financial information. This is a huge danger sign. |
I was thinking this too. Generally the site will refer to you by name and not have to ask for financial info.
Posted Fri Jul 21, 2006 3:34 pm GMT by weirdofreek
I just got this when I tried to sign into my poker champs account.
Dear Customer,
As part of a recent upgrade, PokerChamps has performed a system change that begins the process of moving to a new platform. We have also incorporated geo-location software which enables us to implement a long standing and consistent Group Company policy of not permitting access to individuals in specific target countries. This applies to individuals from the United States, China and Japan.
You have been identified as residing in one of those countries. However if you believe we are mistaken as to your country of residence, please contact us on support@pokerchamps.com
Unfortunately this means you are no longer able to use your pokerchamps account or open a new pokerchamps account. Pokerchamps is sorry for the inconvenience this may cause, and will endeavour to make the process of account closure and funds withdrawal as painless as possible.
If you have any questions, please contact our support team on support@pokerchamps.com
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