Black Friday Commemorated by Online Poker Industry
This was published 15-04-2012It has already been a year since the United States Department of Justice swooped down on several leading online poker sites which included Poker Stars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker on April 15, 2011, charging their executives with multiple crimes.
This move resulted in online poker being shut off to millions of US citizens and also had a far reaching effect on poker all around the world, including theUK.
This day immediately became known as Black Friday and marked the day that many online poker players found themselves without access to their funds. Full Tilt Poker players are until this day still attempting to get their money paid out to them.
In order to commemorate Black Friday, the American Gaming Association (AGA) issued a statement which read “This Sunday marks the one-year anniversary of “Black Friday”. Yet, in spite of Department of Justice action against several other illegal internet gambling companies in the year since, hundreds of illegal offshore internet sites are still in operation”.
The statement by the American Gaming Association goes on to say that as long as these sites continue operating outside the reach of US law enforcement and with little to no regulation, millions of Americans who are patronizing these sites are also at risk of being defrauded.
The AGA is calling for the existing gambling laws in theUnited Statesto be modified so as to establish federal guidelines to enable consistent regulations for online gambling in allUSstates that are willing to authorize this form of entertainment.
The US based Poker Players Alliance (PPA) also took the opportunity to commemorate the anniversary of “Black Friday” by re-energizing its campaign for the legalization of online poker with its website transformed with a strong call to action; “Never fold in the fight for America’s greatest card game.”: The PPA is calling for its over one million members to pressure Congress into changing the existing online gambling laws.
