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/congress-to-hold-another-hearing-on-online-poker http://www.parttimepoker.com/congress-to-hold-another-hearing-on-online-poker#comments Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:30:30 +0000 Michael Jones http://www.parttimepoker.com/?p=9526 For the third time in as many months, a U.S. Congressional committee will consider the topic of online gaming and poker.

The United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs will hold a hearing called “The U.S. Department of Justice Opinion on Internet Gaming: What’s at Stake for Tribes?” The hearing will take place on Thursday, February 9 at 2:15 p.m. Eastern. A live webcast of the hearing is planned on the committee’s website.

The hearing is a reaction is to a Department of Justice opinion from December, in which the DOJ wrote that it did not believe that online gaming is covered by the 1961 Wire Act. The opinion stated that the Wire Act is only applicable to sports betting.

The last time the Indian Affairs committee considered online gaming, in November, witnesses called to testify were not in favor of proposed legislation that is currently under consideration in Congress, specifically Rep. Joe Barton’s bill.

Another hearing on online gaming was also held in November of 2011, in front of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade. The tone of that hearing was much more positive on the future of online gaming regulation in the United States.

The KGC claims that out of more than 1,000 complaints made to it, more than 80% were resolved in favor of the person making the complaint. There is no mention of which sites were named in the complaints, although it is likely the Cereus Network is the source of a large majority of them. Players have not been able to withdraw their balances at Absolute Poker and UB.com in the wake of Black Friday in April of last year, when the domains of Cereus sites were seized by the U.S. government, along with those of Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars.

In all, the KGC reported that it received 1,340 complaints, of which 1,178 were considered valid by the commission.

Here is the breakdown of those complaints In the report:

Validated complaints (1178, including those outstanding from 2010) may be categorized
into the following subject matters:
79 complaints pertained to locked or closed player accounts;
963 complaints pertained to late, delayed, or non payment to player;
49 complaints pertained to questions of fairness on operator sites;
87 complaints were categorized as miscellaneous

In all, the KGC claims that 874 claims have been resolved, and about 300 are still outstanding. The report goes on to say that “705 (or 80.66%) were upheld in whole or part in favor of the complainant.” It is unclear from the report if the resolution of the complaints included payments to players. The most complaints were received in June and July of last year, just a few months after Black Friday.

You can read the entire report here.

The AGCC suspended Full Tilt’s license in September, as it was established that the online poker room did not have enough funds to reimburse its players. American players had seen their accounts frozen because of actions of the United States government in April, while it became apparent later on that Full Tilt did not have money on hand to match the balances of players from the rest of the world. Full Tilt still owes hundreds of millions of dollars to players.

The independent review will attempt to provide transparency to the actions taken by the AGCC over the past year. Peter Dean, the former chairman of the British Gambling Commission, will conduct the review.

According to AGCC Executive Director André Wilsenach:

As soon as we became aware that there were possible irregularities in relation to FTP’s operational integrity AGCC acted to discharge fully our statutory obligations. ‘We believe we acted appropriately and fairly at all times but, following our own internal assessment and the inevitable questions that have been raised by third parties, the Commission decided that it is in the best interests of players, licence holders and AGCC itself to commission an independent review and to make the outcome public.

The review is expected to be completed by March 2012.

On Thursday, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs will hold a hearing called “The Future of Internet Gaming: What’s at Stake for Tribes?” The hearing is scheduled for 2:15 p.m. Eastern. A webcast of the hearing is supposed to be available, according to the committee website.

The Poker Players Alliance will be represented at the hearing by chairman Alfonse D’Amato, who is a former senator, and executive director John Pappas. Here is the witness list for the hearing:

Mr. Larry S. Roberts
General Counsel
National Indian Gaming Commission, Washington, DC

The Honorable Bruce Bozsum
Chairman
The Mohegan Tribe, Uncasville, CT

The Honorable Glen Gobin
Vice Chairman
Tulalip Tribes, Tulalip, WA

Mr. Ernie Stevens
Chairman
National Indian Gaming Association, Washington, DC

Accompanied by Mr. Mark Van Norman
Senior Advisor
National Indian Gaming Association, Washington, DC

Mr. Alfonse D’Amato
Chairman
Poker Players Alliance, Washington, DC

Accompanied by Mr. John Pappas
Executive Director
Poker Players Alliance, Washington, DC

Ms. Penny Coleman
Principal
Coleman Indian Law, Washington, DC

Mr. Grant W. Eve
CPA, CFE, Manager
Joseph Eve, Great Falls, MT

On Friday, there will be a hearing in front of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade. That hearing, a follow up to a hearing last month, is called “Internet Gaming: Regulating in an Online World.” The hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Eastern.

Two members of Congress who have been at the forefront of trying to pass legislation on online poker will testify: Barney Frank and John Campbell.

Here is the full witness list:
The Honorable Frank Wolf
U.S. House of Representatives

The Honorable John Campbell
U.S. House of Representatives

The Honorable Barney Frank
U.S. House of Representatives

Mark Lipparelli
Chairman
Nevada Gaming Control Board

Charles McIntyre
Executive Director
New Hampshire Lottery Commission

Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr.
President and CEO
American Gaming Association

Dr. Rachel A. Volberg
Senior Research Scientist
NORC at the University of Chicago

First up will be a hearing in front of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on Nov. 17. The hearing is called “The Future of Internet Gaming: What’s at Stake for Tribes?” According to the committee website, there will be a webcast of the hearing. The hearing is scheduled for 2:15 p.m. Eastern.

A witness list for the hearing has not been released, although PokerNews.com is reporting that Poker Players Alliance Chairman Al D’Amato will testify.

The issue of online gaming has been a hot-button issue for Native American tribes that offer gaming at brick and mortar establishments across the country.

The next day, on Nov. 18, there will be a hearing in front of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade. That hearing, a follow up to a hearing last month, is called “Internet Gaming: Regulating in an Online World.” A witness list has not been released; the hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Eastern.

The committee hearings are the latest good news for interests in the United States that are pushing for regulation of online poker and gaming in the wake of actions by the Department of Justice against PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and other online gaming interests earlier this year.

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.

The news came by way of a press release by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, which oversees the two online poker sites. The KGC said that is has been in “close and regular discussions” with Blanca Games Inc. (the parent company for AP and UB) regarding player reimbursement since Black Friday. Both Absolute and UB.com had their domains seized and faced indictments as a result of actions of the United States Department of Justice in April.

The plan to pay back players is pending the approval of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Here is part of the statement from the KGC:

Over the past several weeks, we were advised of a potential solution prepared by Blanca and its representatives, establishing a process to liquidate Blanca’s assets and distribute proceeds to players. We understand that this process has been presented to SDNY for consideration and approval. The Commission’s foremost concern in this matter has been, and remains, the reimbursement of both US and non-US players, as quickly and completely as possible. To avoid further prejudice to affected players, the Commission has demanded that all parties complete their discussions and implement a reimbursement solution without further delay

Of the sites who were affected by Black Friday, Absolute and UB of the Cereus Network have been the least forthcoming with information in the past six months. PokerStars dealt swiftly with player payback, and is currently operating internationally. Full Tilt is not operational and still owes its players around the world tens of millions of dollars; recently, the Bernard Tapie Group has been involved with a possible purchase of Full Tilt.

The hearing, entitled “Internet Gaming: Is There a Safe Bet?” called several witnesses to testify in front of the subcommittee in what was a fact-finding session for members of Congress. The biggest witness on the list was former Senator Alfonse D’Amato, who is currently chairman of the Poker Players Alliance, a poker advocacy group that lobbies on behalf of poker interests and poker players in the United States.

D’Amato underscored the fact that there is currently no regulation to protect American consumers, and nothing stopping them from playing on online poker sites that still serve the United States, even with sites like PokerStars amd Full Tilt Poker no longer available.

D’Amato said this in his testimony:

“With so many issues before Congress, we are encouraged that ensuring player protections for online poker was raised for consideration by this committee. Clearly Congress is hearing the voices of the thousands of poker players across the country who have expressed their frustration at the government’s actions to restrict their personal freedom to play this great game.”

D’Amato went on to note that regulation of online poker would create tens of thousands of jobs and tens of billions of dollars in revenue for the U.S. government.

All of D’Amato’s testimony can be read here.

Here are the other witnesses who testfied:
–Parry Aftab, Board of Advisors Chairman for FairPlayUSA
Aftab represents a newer lobbying group than the PPA — according to Aftab’s statement, “a coalition of law enforcement officials, consumer protection experts, poker players, and other Americans that seeks to educate policymakers and the public on the broad public policy issues raised by the current ambiguous laws in the U.S.” Former FBI Director Louis Freeh, and former Pennsylvania governor and first Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge are among FairPlayUSA’s members. Like the PPA, FairPlayUSA encourages Congress to regulate online poker. From Aftab’s testimony:

“FairPlayUSA supports Congress once and for all defining what is illegal gambling and providing strong law enforcement tools to ban such gambling, as well as providing a strict regulatory framework for online poker. I believe that FairPlayUSA reflects a growing consensus among a spectrum of stakeholders for an online gambling policy solution that has three principal elements — strong law enforcement and strict regulation, consumer protection, and the rights of U.S. adult consumers to engage safely in legal pastimes.”

–Ernest L. Stevens, Chairman of the National Indian Gaming Association
Stevens addressed the current climate of legalized gambling regulated by Native American tribes across the country. He acknowledged that not all tribes are on the same page when it comes to federal regulation of online poker and gambling, with some supporting it and others believing it is a threat to the brick and mortar casinos run by many tribes. Overall, he said the interests he represents are in favor of regulation. However, Stevens says his group opposes the current legislation before Congress unless it is amended to address the concerns of Native American gaming interests.

–Keith Whyte, Executive Director, National Council on Problem Gambling
Whyte addressed the issues with condoning online gambling in today’s climate:
“Gambling has benefits but also has well documented negative consequences. And internet gambling is no exception. The most ethical and cost-effective response to problem gambling issues raised by internet gambling—regardless of legality—is a comprehensive public health approach. Problem gambling, like other diseases of addiction, will likely never be eliminated, but we can and must make better efforts to mitigate the damage. It is inconceivable that internet gambling would be legalized without dedicating a portion of revenue to reduce the social costs of gambling addiction. Unfortunately, none of the internet gambling bills introduced to date currently contain any funding for such programs.”

–Kurt Eggert, Professor of Law, Chapman University School of Law
Eggert, who teaches gambling law, preached caution in moving forward with online gambling regulation:
“By legalizing Internet gambling, we would be causing perhaps the greatest single increase in legal access to gambling ever. With smart phones, many Americans carry the Internet in their pockets, and so gambling would for many always be just a click away, on the train, in the Laundromat, in the school library. Making such a great change should be done with great caution.”

–Dr. Dan Romer, Director, Adolescent Communication Institute, The Annenberg Public Policy Center
Romer talked about how regulation could help limit possibilities for children and teenagers to gamble online. He also emphasized the idea of age verification in a regulated climate:
“By controlling online gambling the federal government could minimize the harm that this activity can inflict on the young and their families and could also make the use of these sites safer for them. Additional research is needed to determine the best ways to implement such controls and to determine how best to protect children and other vulnerable populations from exploitation by gambling site operators.”

Full testimony from all the witnesses can be read here.

The initial news broke earlier today, when the Alderney Gambling Control Commission said it was revoking Full Tilt’s gaming license. In its release on the matter, the AGCC said that $331 million had been seized by the U.S. You can read more about the earlier developments here. The AGCC release came after last week’s news that the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York amended its civil complaint against Full Tilt Poker on Tuesday, saying that the company acted like a ‘massive Ponzi scheme’ and alleging that $440 million of player funds were taken by Full Tilt executives.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said in today’s release that it has “received a number of new inquiries from individuals regarding the recovery of their funds from Full Tilt Poker.” Players across the world have not been able to withdraw their funds from Full Tilt Poker since June, when the AGCC first suspended Full Tilt’s license. Americans have not been able to access Full Tilt funds since April, when the U.S. government first started taking action against several online poker sites.

Here’s what the release went on to say regarding the status of seized funds:

By way of background, in April of 2011, this Office entered into a domain-name use agreement with Full Tilt Poker. That agreement, among other things, expressly authorized Full Tilt Poker to return player funds to players. However, as the September 22 amended complaint alleges, Full Tilt Poker did not in fact have player funds on hand to return to players. Instead, the amended complaint alleges that Full Tilt Poker had, among other things, (a) transferred significant amounts of players’ real money deposits to principals of the company, while (b) allowing many players to continue to gamble, and “win” and “lose,” with phantom credits in their player accounts.

At this time, this Office, together with the FBI and other agencies, is attempting to trace, secure and forfeit as much as possible of the funds derived from operation of the fraud committed by Full Tilt Poker and its board members that is alleged in the amended complaint. The Office is also attempting to obtain and examine the books and records of Full Tilt Poker. Many of those books and records are kept overseas. The return of forfeited funds to victims of the alleged fraud may be possible, but will depend on several factors, including the successful conclusion of the litigation, the amount of funds seized and ordered forfeited by the court, and compliance with other procedures the Department of Justice may eventually establish regarding return of forfeited funds to victims who lost money as a result of the alleged fraudulent conduct.
We cannot predict the duration of proceedings in this case, other than to state that they will last for many months at the least. We will apprise victims of the alleged fraud of future developments as appropriate.

From the statement, it appears that players who have their funds locked up on Full Tilt may be able to recoup them via the United States government, eventually, although that is not a certainty at this point.