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Babek Azeroglu · Mitglied Beiträge: 59

Gestern war in den USA ein schwarzer tag für alle Poker-Fans!!
Bitte lest hier jetzt die ganze Geschichte :

President Bush signed into law a ban on online wagering, impacting 23 million Americans who enjoy the game of poker on the Internet. By including this legislation in the SAFE Port Act, Congress and the President bluffed the American people who overwhelmingly oppose federal efforts to ban online poker...

"Today is a dark day for the great American game of poker," said Michael Bolcerek, president of the Poker Players Alliance, a grassroots advocacy organization of more than 110,000 poker enthusiasts. "Twenty-three million Americans who play the game online will effectively be denied the ability to enjoy this popular form of entertainment, even in the privacy of their own homes."

Bolcerek added, "Congress had a real opportunity to create good public policy by licensing, regulating and taxing Internet poker. Yet, they chose prohibition. This decision will prove to be detrimental in the long-run and leaves more than $4 billion in annual tax revenue on the table."

In late September, in a move of political gamesmanship, leaders of the U.S. House and Senate hi-jacked the vital port security bill and added the Internet gambling prohibition language.

Living poker legend Doyle Brunson said, "As a lifelong poker player, I can't believe the underhanded way this new bill restricting online poker was passed through Congress. What does Internet poker have to do with the Safe Port Bill? We Texans don't like this kind of trickery. Texas is a state where you can see an enemy coming, a friend is a friend, and you look someone straight in the eyes."

The legislation contains specific exemptions for Internet wagers on horse racing, state lotteries and fantasy sports. The PPA hopes that Congress will evaluate objectively the skill game of poker and afford it similar treatment."

Internet poker is a great source of enjoyment and allows me to compete on an equal playing field with people from around the world," said Ethan Ruby, an amateur poker player who was paralyzed in a traffic accident five years ago. "I can't understand how President Bush would take this game away from me and millions of other Americans."

*** Source: RTG online ***

--- Sportingbet faces £300m loss in retreat from US ---

Online gambling group Sportingbet is expected to make losses of more than £300m in the current financial year after it is forced to write off a string of now almost worthless US acquisitions following a clampdown on unlicensed internet betting by American legislators.

The London-listed group yesterday announced it had sold Sportsbook.com, the largest online bookmaker in the world, for just $1 (54p) to an unnamed private consortium only hours before President Bush signed into law a draconian anti-gambling act. The division's management team will also acquire a stake.

Sportingbet's Paradise Poker business, the third largest poker site in the US, yesterday closed to US customers with immediate effect - wiping out about two-thirds of divisional revenues at a stroke.

Meanwhile, the market leader in US online poker, PartyGaming - until this week a FTSE 100 company - last night issued a statement confirming that its websites had been closed to US customers. Fellow London-listed Empire Online made a similar announcement.

The prohibitionist Republican legislation, rushed through by senate majority leader Bill Frist as part of the Safe Port Act, is designed to target banks and payment services that facilitate online wagering. Its arrival has prompted an exodus from the US, with many London-listed firms joining the stampede.

Like PartyGaming and Sportingbet, London-listed 888 has declared its intention quit the US. Some industry insiders were last night speculating that these firms' customer databases - still valuable to those intending to ignore the act - could reach the black market.

The much smaller World Gaming, the company that hosts Sportingbet's US-facing websites, yesterday became the first company to collapse in the wake of the legislation. It called in administrators as the management team stepped down.

The company took on £23m of debt when it acquired US-facing online bookmaker Sportsbetting last October. Its main creditor is understood to be Barclays, which has extensive interests in the US. On Thursday the British bank said: "We are contacting our customers to ensure they will conduct their operations in full compliance with the legislation."

Royal Bank of Scotland is also believed to be putting pressure on its clients to comply with the act. RBS services all player accounts at Israeli-owned PokerStars, the US's second largest online poker operator. PokerStars, which had been hoping for a London float valuing the business at £1.6bn, is among the few operators to declare that it will carry on operating in the US regardless of the Safe Port Act. RBS may ditch the company as a result.

Meanwhile, Sportingbet's accounts indicate a goodwill value of £386m - well above the firm's market capitalisation of £245m. Some £224m of the goodwill relates to the acquisition of Paradise Poker two years ago, with the remainder mainly comprising goodwill from Sportsbook, acquired in 2002.

Sportingbet shares last night closed down 6.5p, or 10%, at 58.5p - their lowest level since January 2004. Earlier in the year the company had been valued at £2bn. In a statement chief executive designate Andy McIver said: "We are saddened to have to dispose of such a fantastic business as a result of political actions in the US congress."

--- The Back Story ---

PartyGaming closed, with immediate effect, to US business. Empire Online issued a similar statement. Others, such as 888, had already indicated their intention to quit the US. Sportingbet sold its US bookmaker Sportsbook for $1, saving the group from $13m in related liabilities and a potential $14m bill to wind down the business. It has closed its Paradise Poker website to US customers. Shares in Leisure & Gaming are suspended as it too seeks to sell its US business. Private group PokerStars, controlled by Scheinberg family, is to continue trading in the US, as is Bodog. Gambling payment specialist Fireone has put a bar on American business, though rival Neteller has yet to make its position clear.
Babek Azeroglu

*** Source : Guardian Unlimited ***

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