18. No person who is resident in Malta, France and USA may open an account, play, or in any other way participate in the ELG offerings and/or services.

While Everleaf Gaming did not accept players from Malta, the addition of France and USA into that terms is new and was added just today.  This change of terms was brought on by an investigation by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.  This investigation led to the seizure of one of Everleaf Gaming’s U.S. facing payment processors.  The funds held by the payment processor were also seized.

The voice of Minted Poker known as Neil stated that the Everleaf Gaming Network was hit with a cease and desist demand from U.S. authorities.  After a discussion with the Lottery and Gaming Authority, the organization that licenses Everleaf Gaming in Malta, it was agreed that Everleaf Gaming would leave the U.S. market.  It is not known at this time how U.S. players will be paid, how long the process will take, or when U.S. players will be banned from the network.  As of now, U.S. players are continuing to play for real money at Everleaf Gaming Network tables.

Minted Poker assured all players outside the U.S. that it was business as usual and that player funds were ring fenced.  It was also noted that once U.S. players were removed from the network, the entire network would convert to Euros as their only currency.

Everleaf Gaming is expected to make an announcement in the next 12-24 hours that should give players more details about cashouts and when U.S. play will be suspended on the network.  We will continue to monitor the situation and will post updates as they become available.

Other U.S. Poker Rooms Licensed by LGA

Everleaf Gaming is leaving the U.S. in part due to the suggestion of the LGA, who licenses and stores the servers for Everleaf Gaming.  Merge Gaming also holds a license issued by the LGA.  Merge Gaming is a different scenario than Everleaf Gaming though because Merge Gaming’s servers are located on the Kahnawake reservation in Canada which is the home of their primary licensor.  While this may be an interesting next few days, there is no reason to believe that there is any immediate concern about Merge Gaming.

]]> http://www.parttimepoker.com/everleaf-gaming-network-leaving-us-market/feed 0 http://www.parttimepoker.com/everleaf-gaming-to-leave-u-s-market-merge-to-follow http://www.parttimepoker.com/everleaf-gaming-to-leave-u-s-market-merge-to-follow#comments Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:09:43 +0000 Staff http://www.parttimepoker.com/?p=9551 In a post from 2p2, the Minted Poker representative Neil has announced that Minted Poker and other Everleaf Gaming skins (Poker4Ever) are making a hasty exit from the U.S. market due to a cease and desist order from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The network owners have today sought legal advice and also met with the LGA, the Maltese Licensing Authority, who have advised them that due to the nature of the threat and the current climate, the network needs to withdraw its services from U.S. customers.

Unlike the cases with Full Tilt Poker and Pokerstars, by honoring the Cease and Desist order there seems to be no threat of a shutdown and there should be an orderly and quick cashout of U.S. Players with the assistance of the U.S. Government.

There are also unconfirmed rumors that the Merge Network which includes the largest U.S. facing site, Carbon Poker, may also be contemplating a move to voluntarily leave the U.S. market as several Merge skins have acquired licenses from Malta. Time will tell if Merge decides to follow suit.

Part Time Poker expects to have more in-depth information soon, so stay tuned as we update and post more news on the latest round of attacks against pokersites still serving the U.S. market.

PokerStars, the largest online poker site in the world, was granted a ” Casino de Namur A+ license” by the European country. The site will have the domain of www.pokerstars.be.

According to Mr. Etienne Marique, Chairman of the Belgian Gaming Commission:

“This is an important step forward for the regulation of online gambling. Not only is the legal framework offering the possibility for operators to offer their online games of chance, but from an economical point of view gambling operators are given opportunities in Belgium. And all this in an environment that protects players more than illegal websites do – for example, excluded players cannot play at licensed websites and an average hourly loss is applicable to each player.”

Belgium is the most recent country to join the world of state-regulated online poker, joining the likes of France and Italy, where PokerStars also operates under the regulatory bodies of those commissions.

According to a release from PokerStars, Belgian players are able to play in all PokerStars international tournaments, including the Sunday Million, World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) and Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP), as well as cash games.

Guy Templer, PokerStars’ Head of Business Development, said this about the announcement:

“PokerStars is proud to be among the first fully-licensed operators in Belgium. We are delighted to be able to offer a locally licensed product to Belgian players through our partnership with Circus Groupe. This furthers our goal to obtain licences in all newly-regulated markets and we look forward to working with the Circus Groupe and Gaming Board.”

The decision for Bodog to leave the U.S. market was actually announced earlier this year. On Wednesday, Bodog announced that the company that operated Bodog in the United States, the Morris Mohawk Gaming Group, would now service Americans at the website Bovada.lv. That website currently accepts American customers, and it appears that all American accounts at Bodog have been transferred to Bovada.

From a press release on the move:

The Bodog brand is confident MMGG’s customer account information and funds will continue to remain safe and secure, as it has done since MMGG entered its original agreement with the Bodog Brand in 2006 and we would like to wish MMGG the greatest success in its new venture.

And according to the Bovada web site:

Bovada.lv offers its customers pre-eminent sports betting opportunities across all major leagues, tournaments and events in North America, a thriving and dynamic poker community, and a full Vegas-style casino with web-based and downloadable games.

Bovada.lv is licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, which operates out of Canada.

Additionally PartTimePoker is offering stakes at High Pulse Poker – to qualify all you have to do is Download the software and enter Referral code: PartTime when creating your account. With High Pulse Poker’s unique affiliate program you will be able to refer friends and get paid commission on their play, regardless of who you sign up under. You can get started for free by getting staked at PTP Staking after creating your account.

As stated in our poker room review of High Pulse Poker we believe High Pulse is set to be a major player in the online poker market as they have spent 2 years developing and beta testing superior software and have injected 750,000 euro into 60,000 player accounts which became real money at today’s launch. This coupled with a 50% VIP-Rakeback program and the tiered affiliate program, High Pulse Poker is slated to become a premium and popular online poker site.

High Pulse Software
The High Pulse Poker software is unique – in a good way. The lobby is clean and functional. The game play is unique, from the way the cards are dealt, to the emoticons, to the borderless look and feel. The features are those that you would expect from a quality poker room – resizable tables, hand histories, a viewer for previous hands played, player notes, 4 color deck, chat block functionality, friend lists, and more. The software has been in beta testing for two years and it shows.

Online veterans will remember PokerChamps – the site endorsed by Gus Hansen in 2005. PokerChamps had a 4×4 table format that allowed for easy multi-tabling at a time when resizable tables were not yet commonplace. High Pulse is founded by some of the same team as PokerChamps. Look for an interview on PTP next week with Henrik Olsen, who was involved with both projects.

Table Liquidity: The €750k Fix
The most significant challenges facing new independent poker rooms is building an active lobby. Players don’t want to play on a site without players. High Pulse has a plan to overcome that problem – give away €750k. During the beta period of the last two years, 60,000 beta testers have earned over €750k which will be live on the site when they launch for real money on Tuesday. According to a poll of more than 600 High Pulse players, 57% intend to use the funds to play rather than cash them out.

If free money interests you, there is still time to get in on the cash. Thousands will be given away in the coming weeks with freerolls running every hour. You can sign up now here.

High Pulse VIP Program
Our instinct tells us that if savvy players are aware of €750k in the hands of freeroll players, they will come for the soft games alone. But High Pulse also has a VIP program that allows players to earn 50% rakeback by raking just $500 a week. $25 in rake a week more your style? You’ll still earn 30% rakeback.

Instead of a separate programs for affiliates it’s wrapped right into the standard VIP program which means everyone has access to great referral rates. Theres no $50 refer-a-friend bonus here, you’ll earn up to 25% on your friend’s rake. Do the math on your buddy thats grinding NL100 – you’ll both be happy with this system.

Management at High Pulse have emphasized to us their interest in transparency with the players and creating player friendly environment and VIP program. Their goal is to mimic the level of service at PokerStars. This is easier said than done, but better said than not said.

Unfortunately for many of you, High Pulse is not open to US players. High Pulse is licensed in Malta.

Interest in checking it out? Head over now. And keep an eye on the PTP Staking forums for thousands of dollars in stakes we’ll be giving out on High Pulse. High Pulse Poker Referral Code: PartTime

The two companies agreed to offer online poker in a joint venture, if and when the United States fully legalizes and regulates online poker. There is currently a piece of legislation in front of Congress that would regulate online poker, while a Congressional subcommittee held a hearing on online gaming and poker last week.

Bwin.Party currently operates an online poker platform via Party Poker internationally, but not in the United States.

According to a press release on the agreement:

“MGM has long been supportive of Federal legislation to strengthen UIGEA and provide the needed regulations and consumer protections for online poker,” said Jim Murren, Chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts International. “MGM is proud to have bwin.party as our partner as they have the assets and experience that, combined with our brands, can ensure a secure, fair and entertaining online poker experience.”

The move is the latest sign that gaming interests are positioning themselves for the day when online poker is regulated in the United States. Fertitta Interactive recently acquired CyberArts to provide a possible online poker platform, while free to play or subscription-based sites like Zynga Poker, ClubWPT.com and others have grown in recent months.

Players to be Repaid. DOJ Needs to sign off

‘Groupe Bernard Tapie’ is the party signing the Acquisition Agreement. The next step will be to clear the sale with the Department of Justice. The full Press Release follows.

Dublin, Ireland (September 30, 2011) Laurent Tapie, Managing Director of ‘Groupe Bernard Tapie’ announced today that the group has signed an exclusive agreement with the Board of Directors of Full Tilt Poker to acquire the company and all of its associated assets.

This agreement, which includes the repayment of Full Tilt Poker’s world-wide players in full, is subject to several conditions; the first of which is a favorable resolution with the United States Department of Justice. Discussions with the United States Department of Justice will begin immediately.

‘Groupe Bernard Tapie’ has over 30 years of experience in the salvation of financially distressed businesses, with over 40 companies acquired and managed to profitability, the most well-known being the sport equipment giant, Adidas.”

See the original release on Poker Strategy. Read the 2p2 reaction here.

In the current climate, there have been more players being dropped as pros than signed. But PokerStars got one of the top online players in the world with the signing of Petersen, who has earned more than $4.3 million playing online tournaments. About $2.1 million of that was earned on PokerStars.

Perhaps his most impressive feat was cashing 16 times in the 2010 edition of the Spring Championship of Online Poker, winning $300,000 in that SCOOP, according to PokerStars. He is also a two-time winner of FTOPS events at Full Tilt Poker.

A pro from Denmark, Petersen got his start playing Magic: The Gathering. He is also a pro at CardRunners.

According to PokerStars’ blog, Petersen had this to say after his signing:

“I see signing with world’s biggest online site as the next logical step in my career and hopefully I’ll be able to build on my resume live as well as online and promote both PokerStars and the game in a positive light.”

In the statement, which was originally reported by Forbes.com and Subject: Poker, Full Tilt explains the series of events that led today, starting with actions of the United States Department of Justice in April, in which its domain was seized and its ability to serve the U.S. market taken away. In the wake of that incident, Americans had been unable to withdraw their funds from the site. A few months later, in June, the site’s gaming license was suspended, and it has been unable to give players anywhere in the world access to their funds.

You can read the statement in its entirety at Forbes.com’s website, with the comments accompanying a larger story:

The events of Black Friday came on the heels of prior government enforcement activities and significant theft. Over the two years preceding Black Friday, the US government seized approximately $115M of player funds located in U.S. banks. While we believed that offering peer-to-peer online poker did not violate any federal laws—a belief supported by many solid and well-reasoned legal opinions — the DOJ took a different view. In addition, as was widely reported, a key payment processor stole approximately $42M from Full Tilt Poker. Until April 15th, Full Tilt Poker had always covered these losses so that no player was ever affected. Finally, during late 2010 and early 2011, Full Tilt Poker experienced unprecedented issues with some of its third-party processors that greatly contributed to its financial problems. While the company was on its way to addressing the problems caused by these processors, Full Tilt Poker never anticipated that the DOJ would proceed as it did by seizing our global domain name and shutting down the site worldwide.

The statement goes on to talk about groups that have been interested in investing in Full Tilt, going so far as to say that several have visited the offices of Full Tilt’s parent company in Dublin. The site also reiterated in the statement that it remains committed to paying all players their money.

After months of silence, Full Tilt has had a relative flurry of communication in recent days. Last week, Full Tilt issued a statement exclusively to PokerNews.com, which you can read about here. This week, an attorney for Full Tilt has been answering questions at the 2+2 forums; more on that here.