FBI seizes online poker sites

[Thewisemann]

should we be cashing out asap? is 5dimes and the others next?

[Luke]

More info please? Seized what poker sites?

Maybe thats why my brother is irrate today

[zY|]

More info please? Seized what poker sites?

Maybe thats why my brother is irrate today

Looks like...all of them.

[Luke]

Looks like...all of them.

Holy crap wow.

How long before they all get .me domains and get up and running again? 12 hours?



edit: or is everyones money gone too

[Ludo]

It looks like they busted them for bank fraud due to some of the major sites claiming up to 76 bank accounts in as many as 14 countries. Something about them setting up fake accounts for payouts or whatever. Hopefully they don't target sports betting too. This is getting ridiculous.

[Thewisemann]

this has me thinking i should cashout

[SPX]

If they seized my shit they'd get about $700. Fuck it. I'll let it ride.

How the fuck are they seizing anything, though? Don't all these sites/books have offshore accounts now? Wasn't there a whole big debacle earlier with Bodog keeping money in the US that solved this problem?

[MMA_scientist]

hmm. I am going try to ride it out. My guess is they won't send you the money now anyway...

[MMA_scientist]

Here is the article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42613518...rts/?GT1=43001

looks like the problem is that the overseas companies set up shell processors to "trick" U.S. banks into processing the payments to them. U.S. banks can't or won't knowingly fund a gambling site, so they set up intermediaries... apparently the feds think that is bank fraud.


Anyway, Luke you and your dream of a cop on every corner protecting us all from ourselves is coming true. Congrats.

[MMA_scientist]

I don't know if the smaller sites like 5d and Bookmaker (small compared to Absolute Poker and Full Tilt) have done the same thing, since I use WU to defraud. It should be the same thing though... they have you send the money to a "private citizen" via WU... I am going to let it sit for a few days, but I might try to cash out some of it just to see what they do. I guarantee they won't pay.

[sbjj]

Just one of the reasons why most of my plays are made in Vegas. I do not completely trust offshore books, and I sure as hell do not trust the Feds.

[MMA_scientist]

I used to send money to a friend in Vegas and have him make plays for me after the poker crackdown about 5 years ago... I finally gave in a couple years ago to the internet sports books. But most likely, I just lost my entire bankroll... so that is a great way to kick off the weekend.

[Luke]

Here is the article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42613518...rts/?GT1=43001

looks like the problem is that the overseas companies set up shell processors to "trick" U.S. banks into processing the payments to them. U.S. banks can't or won't knowingly fund a gambling site, so they set up intermediaries... apparently the feds think that is bank fraud.


Anyway, Luke you and your dream of a cop on every corner protecting us all from ourselves is coming true. Congrats.

This is the FBI not cops on corners.

I guess the FBI's main concern is poker/sports betting and homeland securities is illegal streams.......what a waste of tax dollars

What a POS country we live in

[Luke]

I don't know if the smaller sites like 5d and Bookmaker (small compared to Absolute Poker and Full Tilt) have done the same thing, since I use WU to defraud. It should be the same thing though... they have you send the money to a "private citizen" via WU... I am going to let it sit for a few days, but I might try to cash out some of it just to see what they do. I guarantee they won't pay.

I'd bet money bookmaker or 5dimes will pay you if you ask for a cash out

Bookmaker is not a small site they have a betting limit of 20k on NFL and 10 K on college football if I remember right

[Luke]

I'm honestly not worried about it 50% of my roll was in matchbook and I had to get it sent back to me when they closed the doors to US customers so I dont have as much online as I use to

[MMA_scientist]

Well that is where I have my money (5d and BM). I am going to try to cash out Monday. I am going to start depositing just enough to cover my bets. It is stupid of me to keep it all in the online account anyway.

[Svino]

I wouldn't keep too much in. (Certainly no more than the 5k or so that triggers mandatory reporting.) But of course, it's expensive to make a lot of transactions because these sites always find a way to charge for cash-outs.

[Luke]

Well that is where I have my money (5d and BM). I am going to try to cash out Monday. I am going to start depositing just enough to cover my bets. It is stupid of me to keep it all in the online account anyway.

I think you'll be ok with 5dimes and BM. I'd probably withdraw money too if I had just got a lot back from matchbook

[Svino]

From what I can find, only the sites PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker were targeted so far. But I think all internet gambling sites have to do this kind of illegal shit to operate in the US. It's not legal for US financial institutions to make these transactions, so the bookies either have to fool them or bribe them.

[Vandelay]

I think their main priority is poker sites. If they shut down Bodog or Betus (which i consider to be the biggest and most accessible sites), then i think were fucked. Until then, im not too worried about it. 5dimes doesn't accept a huge amount of US customers anyway and i'm pretty sure their main deposit method is cash transfers.