163:, an opponent of expanding internet gambling, pressured the Southern District to retaliate in light of Frank's proposal. Another theory states that the Southern District performed the raid to ensure that Frank's bill would pass. Rose explains that California law enforcement agencies raided a retirement home bingo game shortly before a vote to raise people's awareness of the issue. As the seizure occurred at a time where poker players might be seeking to participate in the
91:, online lotteries, and horse/harness racing. The law makes exceptions for games of skill as opposed to games of luck; thus, opponents of the measure argue, it should not apply to poker. Numerous studies have shown that poker is a game of skill, for example pointing to the predictive power of player's rankings on future success.
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the actions of the
Southern District may never be tested. Since the sites are making the player whole, they may not have standing to challenge the Southern District. "Payment processors won't want to show up in court in the U.S. and, even if you could find a player," Rose said, "would they be willing to testify under oath?"
110:, a think tank "dedicated to free enterprise and limited government", the Justice Department has taken the stance that online wagering is prohibited by the Act, "despite the fact that the courts have repeatedly smacked down any attempt to apply the federal Wire Act ... to non-sport related Internet gambling."
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After the funds were seized all of the affected poker sites reimbursed the players the money that was seized. According to one PokerStars player, the site gave him an additional 10 percent credit. Professor Rose indicated that because the poker sites are reimbursing the players, that the legality of
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action was "very aggressive, and I think it's a gamble on the part of the prosecutors." Professor Rose indicated that it was unclear as to what law would allow for the seizure of money from individuals as compared to the companies involved. Previous government actions focused on sports betting, not
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Immediately after the seizure, the Poker
Players Alliance issued a statement. In the statement, the PPA alleges that "in at least two cases" the seizure of funds was done without first obtaining the proper warrants. The statement states that the action was taken despite the fact that "no federal or
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The law, opponents argue, does not address transfer of money to individuals nor does it make online gambling illegal. The only state that has a law explicitly banning online poker is
Washington. The federal government holds that playing online is a violation of the Act. Arlo Devlin-Brown, the
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may have seized the accounts as a money grab on the belief that nobody would fight the seizure in court. "It's a tremendous gamble," Rose said, "on the part of the U.S. Department of
Justice to go after players and even more of a gamble to go after poker players."
102:, says that the U.S. government can seize the funds "because they constitute property involved in money laundering transactions and illegal gambling offenses." In seizing the money, the federal government did not cite the UIGEA but rather the 1961 law "
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poker and that according to Rose, many courts and legal authorities believe poker is different from sports betting because poker involves a transfer of money between individuals, while sports betting is between an individual and online casino.
155:(CEI) noted that the timing occurred at a time where, "regulators had finally begun to think about internet gambling as a legitimate activity that citizens have the right to engage in." They also noted that new legislation proposed by
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Account
Services lawyer Jeff Ifrah said that the government "has never seized an account that belongs to players who are engaged in what would contend is a lawful act of playing peer-to-peer poker online."
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and
Goldwater Bank and Alliance Bank of Arizona to freeze the accounts of Allied Systems and Account Services. Allied Systems and Account Services are two of the account-management companies that
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39:. The action occurred around June 8, 2009, when the government ordered four banks to freeze over 34 million dollars in payments owed to about 27,000 poker players. According to the
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state court has ever found a payment processor or a player accessing an
Internet poker site to have violated the federal laws alleged by the Southern District in this case."
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to legalize and regulate online poker "seems likely to pass." Rose mentioned other theories related to the timing. According to one theory, the
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was passed in an effort to combat terrorism at United States' harbors. One of the provisions included in the act is known as the
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The timing of the
Southern District's actions has been the subject of considerable discussion. The
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390:"PPA Statement on Southern District of NY Action Against Online Poker Players"
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The legality of online poker in the United States is uncertain. In 2006, the
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43:, a grass-roots organization for poker players, federal prosecutors ordered
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Southern
District of New York (SDNY) Action Against Online Poker Players
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466:"Southern District of NY Freezes Online Poker Cash, PPA Takes Action"
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United States
District Court for the Southern District of New York
444:"Gambling Law Expert Nelson Rose Comments on Online Poker Seizure"
167:, Ifrah hypothesized that the raid was timed to coincide with the
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Southern District of New York Action Against Online Poker Players
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Nelson Rose, a law professor who specializes in gambling law at
83:(UIGEA). This provision prohibits the transfer of funds from a
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to an Internet gambling site, with the notable exceptions of
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United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York
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280:"Hard Evidence: is poker a game of chance or skill?"
412:"Legal Status of Online Poker in the United States"
81:Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006
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361:"Web's Poker Winners Face Delays in Collecting"
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104:The Wire Act and Illegal Gambling Business Act
77:Security and Accountability For Every Port Act
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258:"U.S. Deals Blow to Online-Poker Players"
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392:. Poker Players Alliance. 2009-06-09
278:van Dolder, Dennie (26 March 2015).
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225:"Feds Freeze Poker Champ's Winnings"
513:Law enforcement in New York (state)
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332:"Feds Crack Down on Internet Poker"
67:use for the disbursement of funds.
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334:. Competitive Enterprise Institute
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307:. Competitive Enterprise Institute
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508:Legal history of New York (state)
464:Newell, Jennifer (10 June 2009).
330:Morrison, Richard (2009-06-10).
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31:was a legal action taken by the
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223:Goldman, Russell (2009-06-11).
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523:Gambling in the United States
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359:Richtel, Matt (2009-06-09).
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256:Audi, Tamara (2009-06-10).
187:United States v. Scheinberg
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173:U.S. Department of Justice
169:2009 World Series of Poker
442:Cypra, Dan (2009-06-18).
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161:National Football League
71:Legality of online poker
528:Poker in North America
119:Costa Mesa, California
106:." According to the
41:Poker Players Alliance
503:2009 in New York City
260:. Wall Street Journal
165:World Series of Poker
85:financial institution
33:Department of Justice
518:2009 in American law
115:Whittier Law School
446:. Poker News Daily
366:The New York Times
493:Poker and society
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470:. Retrieved
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157:Barney Frank
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61:Ultimate Bet
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305:"About CEI"
49:Wells Fargo
487:Categories
450:2009-06-30
396:2009-06-30
372:2009-06-29
338:2009-06-29
311:2009-06-29
264:2009-06-29
235:2009-06-29
231:. ABC news
194:References
65:PokerStars
97:assistant
472:28 April
418:28 April
180:See also
134:Response
45:Citibank
468:. Bluff
414:. OCBB
147:Timing
289:1 May
37:poker
474:2014
420:2014
291:2020
63:and
27:The
117:in
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