European Poker Sites Benefit from US Clampdown
Written by Renee K | Wednesday, June 17th, 2009
As US authorities continue on their witch hunt against US poker sites that dare operate within the country’s borders, it may be difficult to see the silver lining in this whole affair. However, shareholders in companies such as Party Gaming, which was forced out of the US poker market, could be smiling at the irony of how things have worked out for them.
It goes like this. When the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was passed, Party Gaming and Playtech sought to exit the US poker market as fast as possible – partly to avoid the wrath of the US authorities, and partly to establish themselves in other markets in order to get a head start above other companies that followed soon afterwards.
Sites such as Poker Stars and Full Tilt Poker, however, continued to serve US players, despite the UIGEA, saying that the legislation did not cover poker and therefore did not make online poker illegal in the United States.
Because the US market generates over half of the $16 billion fueled by the global poker market, these sites were able to offer massive jackpot prizes and tournament payouts – making European sites pale in comparison and attracting many more players.
However, recent actions by the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York to order the freezing of $33 million in accounts of payment processors that deal with the winnings of nearly 30,000 players at Full Tilt and Poker Stars, may have seen a backfiring in plans.
Although the two sites have promised to pay out every player to the last cent – and we certainly believe such huge and reputable sites – European players who frequent these sites may be tempted back to European sites.
“If this action is the start of a bigger move by US authorities to clamp down on those sites, then this should be materially beneficial for the next-largest providers of poker liquidity, Playtech and PartyGaming, as we would expect to see non-US players migrating away from PokerStars and Full Tilt,” say analysts with Deutsche Bank.
It will be interesting to see how this situation plays itself out.
Check Out Other Related Articles
· Written by Renee K · Filed Under Poker Gossip · Comments Off
