Despite UIGEA, Business as Usual for Online Poker Sites
Written by Matt W | Monday, May 31st, 2010
It’s finally here. After a six month delay, the US government will finally implement the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act on June 1st, and analysts are watching to see how the industry, market and poker sites will react. Will the implementation have any effect on the way operators run their sites? Will fewer poker players visit their favorite online haunts?
It is interesting to note what online poker sites have to say – or what they haven’t got to say – about the UIGEA deadline. The vast majority have not found it necessary to make a public statement on how they will react to the act’s implementation, perhaps because they feel that it’s just like any other day, or perhaps because they don’t feel that the act is even worthy of comment.
One or two have noted that they will no longer accept US players after June 1st, including PokerTime.
Bodog, on the other hand, has specifically stated that it WILL accept US players. “We are confident that we can sustain our partnership with US players for a long time,” said a Bodog rep on the 2 + 2 forum. After the UIGEA was passed in 2006, said the representative, “we adjusted our business model to accept those changes and if there are further negative additions to the Act we will adapt again.”
And what of the top sites that face the US market such as PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker? The chances are slim that they will actually bar US players from holding an account at their site. However, they have much to lose if the authorities do decide to target them and seize accounts on their sites.
All in all, it is believed that it is business as usual for online poker sites, with the vast majority continuing to offer their services to US players.
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· Written by Matt W · Filed Under Poker Gossip · Comments Off
