This is not the first time we have heard from federal agents in Maryland.  Maryland was the home for Blue Monday.  That is when Bookmaker.com, Truepoker.com, Doylesroom.com and others had their domain names seized.  Some cash was seized as well.  Only Beted.com was affected by the seizure.  The others are still in business today and it is business as usual.  Maryland was also home to this angering picture to the right (Courtesy Tim Lemke – Odenton Patch) where Anne Arundel County police received over $470,000 in seized poker funds through “Operation Texas Hold’em”.

One source close to the Bodog.com investigation stated that agents were angry at Bodog for their “Recreational Player Model”.  This model involved removing full tables from the lobby, removing wait lists, and removing player names from the poker tables.  Federal agents were apparently extremely angry about the anonymous tables.  Bodog bought some time with their innovative “Note Taking” feature which was added just a few weeks ago, but it was not enough to satisfy federal agents.

We can all sleep better tonight though.  The Department of Homeland Security is out there doing their job.  They are protecting us from the dangers of abandoned domains tonight that forward to evil online gambling sites.  They are also protecting us against anonymous tables and lack of wait lists.  Besides, these domains could come alive at any moment and…

Of course this whole article is a level.  The timing is kind of funny too considering the biggest day of the year for Bodog was just a few weeks ago when they took in the GDP of some nations in wagers on the Super Bowl. I have several questions although I am sure that there are no logical answers for them.

• What took the feds so long to seize the domain anyway?  It has done nothing but redirect for about ten months.
• When they started the investigation, was the domain even in use?
• If the domain was in use, what took so long to get a court order?
• If the domain was not in use, why bother to go to the trouble and expense of seizing an essentially idle domain?
• With the Department of Homeland Security involved, how does this relate to terrorism?
• Are idle domain names now a threat to national security?

I have a feeling that the excuse will be that online poker funds terrorism although no online gambling critic has ever presented credible evidence for that overused excuse for fighting online poker.

A Google search of “Bodog.com” shows Bovada.lv as the first search return, and Bodog.eu as the second.  Anyone that was internet savvy enough to find Bodog in the first place will certainly be able to find them again through search engines.  Who knows what the thought process behind the seizure is.  It does show that the feds have Bodog/Bovada on their radar.  That is not really news though.  This whole thing is really a non event.  Who in the industry did not know Bodog and friends were under the microscope of the feds? The Calvinayre.com website almost laughs at them.  Life goes on at Bodog and at this point, there appears to be no effect on the overall Bodog/Bovada business.

Warning: Political Rant

This brings me to my next point.  There are bills being debated in several states that would bring online poker to millions of players.  Players in California, Iowa, Florida, New Jersey, and really any state, need to be pushing their representatives in their state legislature to get their act together and pass regulated online poker.  Almost every other county in the world that has widespread internet has full access to online poker.  It is embarrassing that the U.S. does not.

The federal government is unlikely to ever get their act together on this.  There are too many self serving politicians that could not care less what the people who voted them in want, only what the people that paid for their campaigns want.  I contacted my representatives in Congress but I live in Nevada anyway and my reps are already pro online poker.  There is nothing to push my state for because online poker is already approved.  Nevada proved that it can be done.  Get involved in the process that will put an end to silly stories like this one where the feds are giving each other high fives for essentially doing nothing.

Not to defend the feds too much here, but they are just doing their jobs.  Until the UIGEA gets repealed, there will be a war against online poker companies that offer their services to U.S. players.  Do your part and help get the laws changed so that we can take our internet back.

Boozman is most certainly not the only legislator who has been flooded with letters, E-Mails, and Social Media comments on the issue of online poker, but he is the first to make a direct statement in the face of the campaign –a sign that the efforts of the poker community are starting to reap some rewards.

Here is a look at the message posted by Senator Boozman on his Facebook page:

“Back in June of 2011, I noticed an uptick in posts on my Facebook page from advocates of online poker legislation. From the activity on my Facebook page in the past 24 hours, I can see that it this issue remains a concern to many Americans. I would like to thank you those of you from around the country for sharing your thoughts about this issue with me.

“Please allow me to briefly share my views on the issue. I believe that the federal government should have the ability to oversee internet gambling, as it is nearly impossible to regulate, monitor or ensure participants are being fairly treated. As of right now, legislation to oversee internet gambling as not been introduced in the Senate. The bill being referenced in the posts (H.R. 2366) is currently pending in the U.S. House of Representatives. However, please know that should either of these bills or similar legislation come before this chamber, I will keep your thoughts in mind.

“I ask that you please leave your comments on this issue on this note out of courtesy to the people of Arkansas with whom I am trying to share updates and hear from on this page. The numerous posts on this issue to my wall make it difficult to find other posts on unrelated matters that are of concern to Arkansans. Thank you for understanding and sharing your views on the issue.”

Among the respondents to Senator Boozman’s message were Poker Players Alliance big-wigs John Pappas and Rich Muny. Muny offered the following response before directing Senator Boozman to an interview he conducted with Tax-policy wonk Grover Norquist on the topic of online gaming:

“I thank you for reaching out to poker players and to our concerns regarding online poker legislation.

“It is my belief that all conservatives should oppose big government efforts to ban online poker. If we empower big government in areas like this, we empower it to act “for our own good” in ALL areas of our lives.”

The overall hope is that Sen. Boozman’s decision to address the issue head-on leads to other members of Congress to do the same, and either come out in favor of, or in opposition to, online gaming. In doing so, at least we will know where these people stand on the issue, instead of simply ignoring the issue.

From pokernewsboy.com

The eight-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner did, however, come very close to breaking into the top 300, only falling short because his $2,058,948 pay day – the 36-year-old’s biggest ever live tournament cash – for winning the AUD$250,000 buy-in Super High Roller could not be counted towards his ranking points as the event did not reach the minimum required 21-player field for qualification.

Just 16 players paid the huge buy-in, meaning that American Ivey – although picking up some vital GPI points from his 12th place and $102,947 in the AUD$10,000 buy-in main event in Melbourne – hasn’t quite cracked the GPI just yet as he is 35 points behind New York State newcomer Kevin Calenzo, who sits in 300th place on 1050.97 points.

Californian Ivey did collect 359 points from his super high roller success at the Crown Casino, but that score was not enough to take him back into the top 300 for the first time since September – although it does appear that it is only a matter of time before the star’s name is back on that exclusive list.

Concern for Eight-Time WSOP Bracelet Winner

The former Team Full Tilt Poker Pro might have started off 2012 with a bang – following a barren 2011 – but he’ll be concerned that he has been mentioned specifically, along with other high-profile poker pros, in a critical statement made by Groupe Bernard Tapie (GBT) lawyer Behnam Dayanim.

The French investment company’s solicitor stated in an interview with online gaming journal Gaming Intelligence that several stars, including Ivey, Erick Lindgren, Mike ‘The Mouth’ Matusow, David Benyamine and Barry Greenstein, are causing problems with Full Tilt’s sale to GBT as they have still to repay debts owed to the troubled poker room of up to $20 million.

We’ll see if this latest revelation hinders Ivey’s progress and level of play in future events, but for now he will still be thrilled to have started the year off with a success.

With the top seven places remaining unchanged on the GPI, Canadian Sorel Mizzi’s climb of 15 places into 12th spot on 2,273.85 points is more significant than the fact American Erik Seidel remains at number one on 3,069.84.

Sorel Mizzi Climbs Into 12th Place

The Las Vegas-based Canuck – who had been fifth on the rankings back in late October, had dropped out of the top 10 by the end of November and was outside the leading 20 last week – made his big move up the rankings after finishing second at the Aussie Millions AUD$5,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em Heads-Up event for $41,179 and 183 points.

American Faraz ‘The Toilet’ Jaka also enjoyed a successful Aussie Millions, with his runner-up spot in the AUD$2,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em Six-Handed event for $79,269 saw him jump 54 spots to 91st on 1,569.10 points.

The San Jose native has seen his ranking improve dramatically recently, following on from his low of dropping to 300th back at the start of last month.

However, a third-place finish in the $10,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em main event of the European Poker Tour (EPT) PokerStars Caribbean Adventure for $755,000 back on January 13 took Jaka to 145th place, while his runner-up spot in Melbourne gave him an extra 210 points to see him break into the top 100.

Faraz Jaka Zooms Up Rankings

Incredibly, since his massive slump in January, Jaka has collected 522 points to leap up 209 places on the GPI.

Let’s take a quick look at the top 10 anyway, even if it doesn’t make particularly riveting reading.

As previously mentioned, eight-time WSOP bracelet winner Seidel – who has topped the GPI for a record 14 of its 32-week existence – remains top on 3,069.84 after adding 16 points to his score.

The New Yorker is followed by fellow American Jason Mercier (2,986.07 points), French Triple Crown winner Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier – who added 19.7 points to stand at 2,839.23 – Ukrainian Eugene Katchalov (2,760.52), Canadian ex-Team Full Tilt Poker Pro Shawn Buchanan (2,672.49), English pro Sam Trickett (2,436.82) and States star Will ‘The Thrill’ Failla (2,423.22) as the leading seven positions show no changes.

Erik Seidel Holds On To Number One Spot

But former Team Full Tilt Poker Pro Seidel – who also enjoyed a record-setting eight successive weeks as number one from October 10 to November 28 – hasn’t managed a cash finish since placing 21st at the WSOP Europe (WSOPE) €10,000 buy-in main event last October for $49,427.

Still, as he recorded numerous high finishes during last year, Seidel has retained his place at the top of the pile, with big scores in Periods 1 and 2 ensuring that, for now, Mercier can’t close the gap sufficiently to oust his fellow American.

In fact, Seidel has four Period 1 scores that count towards his GPI ranking, including a runner-up spot at the inaugural main event – a $20,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em Six-Handed tournament for $604,330 – of the Epic Poker League (EPL) back in August, as well as a fourth place for $184,100 at the EPL’s $20,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em Eight-handed main event, also at The Palms Casino Resort in Vegas the following month.

Incredibly, just three players have been top of the GPI during its eight months, with Team PokerStars Pros Mercier and Grospellier – who fill spots two and three right now – the others behind Seidel.

EPT Deauville Will Influence GPI 300

Hollywood-based pro Mercier has recorded 12 weeks at number one, while Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy’s Grospellier managed six weeks at the top, but Seidel still holds an 83.77-point lead over his countryman while there is a 230.61-point gap between the leader and the French star.

It’s again unlikely that there will be any major movements inside the top 10 next week as the €5,300 buy-in main event of the EPT Deauville was only completed today.

However, numerous side events also took place at the Casino de Deauville tournament and ought to encourage some place changes further down the list.

While the leading seven places are filled by the same names as last week, there was some movement inside the top 10 as Florida’s Matt Waxman (2,400.18 points) climbed one spot above Brooklyn’s Vanessa Selbst – who dropped 15.01 points – into eighth.

Mike McDonald Back in Top 10

That duo swapped places last week, but now Team PokerStars Pro Selbst (2,397.30) has seen her points drop to just 59.77 above 10th-placed Canadian Mike ‘Timex’ McDonald, who sits on 2,337.53.

McDonald replaced French-Canadian Jonathan Duhamel after the 2010 WSOP main event champion slipped six places to 16th on 2,239.66 points after just one week inside the top 10.

Unfortunately, for Duhamel, he recorded the greatest loss on this week’s rankings as his score fell by 137.92 points to 2239.66 after his $272,209 win from last January’s EPT Deauville’s €10,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em High Roller event aged into Period 3.

The other players to benefit from Team PokerStars Pro Duhamel’s fall are 12th-placed Mizzi, Toronto’s Matt Marafioti, who moved up two spots into 11th on 2,295.53 points, Vegas-based pro Sam Stein (up one place to 13th on 2268.94) and New Jersey’s Chris Klodnicki (up one place to 14th on 2264.34).

While London-based Swede Martin Jacobson (2258.73) lost three spots as he fell from 12th to 15th, he still remains above Duhamel.

Five New Names in Rankings

Eleven players entered the top 300 on the latest rankings, with five of those pros – Calenzo, Sebastian Winkler, Grant Levy, Connor Drinan and Daniel Chevalier – making the list for the very first time.

Canada’s Daniel Idema made the most impressive return to the rankings after his eighth place in the Aussie Millions main event for $128,684 propelled him into 158th on 1,323.23 points.

However, the Vancouver native’s impressive re-entry was overshadowed by Aussie Chevalier’s debut at 164 on 1,304.80 points following his 24th place finish for $52,000 at the $10,000 buy-in PCA No-Limit Hold’em main event on Paradise Island and his 13th spot in the AUD$10,000 No-Limit Hold’em main event at the Aussie Millions for $77,211.

The Victoria pro wasn’t the only player to make an impact on the top 300 for the first time, though, as Drinan, of Illinois, debuted at 289th on 1,076.66 points – just above Ivey – Sydney’s Levy entered at 274th on 1,093.92, German star Winkler (1,094.21) shot up into 273rd spot, and New York State’s Calenzo (1,050.97) just made it in at 300 following his first ever tournament triumph from the $1,600 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em main event for $197,451 at the WSOP Circuit (WSOPC) stop at Caesars Palace in Vegas late last month.

The five other players to re-enter the GPI were Brian Hawkins (257th place on 1,122.06 points), Team PokerStars Pro Nacho Barbero (262nd on 1,113.64), Taylor von Kriegenbergh (266th on 1,105.10), Daniel Reijmer (288th on 1,078.21) and Paul Berende (298th on 1,053.79).

Eleven Pros Drop Outside GPI 300

Therefore, a total of 11 pros dropped off the list, with Swedish star David Sonelin showing the most dramatic exit from his previous position of 247th.

The Norrköping native’s best result arrived last April, when he took down the  €10,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller event at The Everest Poker ONE ?in Monte Carlo for $108,352.

Unfortunately, for Sonelin, that event didn’t meet the 21-player requirement to be included in the GPI’s points scoring system after the Scandinavian outlasted a field of just 17 starters.

The other 10 to exit were two-time WPT champion Cornel Cimpan, who – after cashing for more than $3 million back in 2009 – has only managed one Period 1 score so drops away from 263rd place, Denys Drobyna (292nd), Jacob Bazeley (297th), Lucien Cohen (261st), Maria Ho (288th), Martin Finger (299th), Maurizio Sepede (293rd), Owais Ahmed (298th), Sigurd Andreas Eskeland (286th) and Stefan Huber (300th).

The relegation of Germany’s Finger and Swiss Huber might have been particularly tough to take as they had only just made their debuts the previous week.

California’s Ho will also be disappointed after her three-month stay in the 300 has ended. However, with no cashes to count towards her Period 1 scores, Ho – who made her debut on the GPI on October 24 last year – has slipped away.

Jason Koon Jumps 121 Places

It’s never all negative on the GPI, though, as you well know, so we also saw some impressive climbers – and none more so than the leap of 121 places and 434 points attained by Vegas pro Jason Koon.

The American outdid every other player to shoot up to 68th on 1,663.88 points following some good recent results, including his biggest ever live cash with the $271,950 he pocketed for finishing fourth in the PCA’s $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em Eight-Handed High Roller event back on January 12.

He added $36,032 a few weeks later in Melbourne with 27th in the Aussie Millions main event, so ensuring that he has three Period 1 scores.

Some of the other players to enjoy a positive week are Khiem Nguyen, who moved up 100 places to 162nd on 1,316.74 points, Alain Roy (up 94 to 186th on 1,248.77), Michael Tureniec (up 93 to 127th on 1,424.61), Manuel Bevand (up 87 to 182nd on 1,261.49), Lock Poker Elite Pro Matt Stout (up 72 to 112th on 1,479.75), Jeff Lisandro (up 64 to 185th on 1,297.85), Faraz Jaka (up 54 to 91st on 1,569.10), Dominykas Karmazinas (up 44 to 151st on 1,344.84) and David Steicke (up 43 to 82nd on 1,610.00).

Incidentally, Finland’s Juha Helppi – who is a former poker dealer – climbed 18 places to 20th, after almost three months outside the top 20.

The 34-year-old Helsinki star gained 258 points and $94,296 following his second place at the €10,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller event at the Euro Finals of Poker in Paris last week.

Tom Marchese Eyeing Up GPI Top 10

American Tom Marchese also zoomed up the rankings from 74th to 45th as he attempts to reclaim his high point of fifth back on September 5.

The New Jersey pro has started that climb well with 14th place in the PCA’s $5,000 Eight-Handed No-Limit Hold’em event.

On the flipside, several pros suffered huge falls on the latest rankings list, with Belgian Kenny Hallaert falling 80 places to 256th on 1,122.33 points after his sixth in the EPT Deauville €5,000 No-Limit Hold’em main event for $210,962 at the end of January last year dropping into Period 3.

Hollywood’s Mike Beasley – a consistent in-the-money finisher – recorded the second biggest fall when he fell 70 places to 295th on 1,056.92 points, while other notable losers were Daniel Colman (down 60 to 282nd on 1,087.26), Team PokerStars Pro Luca Pagano (down 52 to 246th on 1,142.87), ex-Team Full Tilt Poker Pro Cristiano Guerra (down 46 to 226th on 1,174.08), Marco Leonzio (down 40 to 223rd on 1,178.74), Tristan Wade (down 37 to 128th on 1,423.84), Jeff Papola (down 35 to 259th on 1,119.94), former Team Full Tilt Poker Pro Justin ‘Boosted J’ Smith (down 35 to 227th on 1,173.91) and Kristijonas Andrulis (down 35 to 168th on 1,292.75),

Remember to check back here at Poker News Report for the latest developments on the GPI.

The Global Poker Index Top 10

1. Erik Seidel (USA) – 3,069.84 (no change)

2. Jason Mercier (USA) – 2,986.07 (no change)

3. Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier (France) – 2,839.23 (no change)

4. Eugene Katchalov (Ukraine) – 2,760.52 (no change)

5. Shawn Buchanan (Canada) – 2,672.49 (no change)

6. Sam Trickett (UK) – 2,436.82 (no change)

7. Will ‘The Thrill’ Failla (USA) – 2,423.22 (no change)

8. Matt Waxman (USA) – 2,400.18 (up one place)

9. Vanessa Selbst (USA) – 2,397.30 (down one place)

10. Mike ‘Timex’ McDonald (Canada) – 2,337.53 (up one place)

Winning after being 12^th at Aussie Millions

No one would have imagined Phil Ivey winning the greatest price money, which Aussie Millions had to offer after he came 12^th in the main event of the much famous $100,000. But it was destiny which was on Phil’s side on Sunday and helped him win the biggest price money of his career the Super High Roller. He also showed up in November in APPT Macau, but it was bad luck for him then; as he was not able to hit the poker prize and returned empty handed from there.

Best players battled it out at the Aussies Millions

The game had a massive buy-in which was in 6 figures as anticipated previously. There were 16 best players of the world; who were in the race for the grand prize, but led to having a bubble of $800,000, which was played among top three spots. Some of the players who took part in the event were Winfred Yu, Paul Phua, Richard Yong, Sorel Mizzi, John Juanda, Jason Mercier, Tom Dwan, Player of the year Sam Trickett, and defending champion Erik Seidel. This was a star studded game, which showed lots of class and excellence in playing poker.

From latestpokernews.net

Gary Bolden won two gold rings at Caesars, making him only the second player of the season to win two events in one stop. Bolden won two $340 events, one in pot-limit Omaha and another in no-limit hold’em, securing him the player of the series title and earned him a seat at the 2012WSOP Circuit National Championship in Las Vegas.

In the second largest buy-in of the series, a $1,080 no-limit hold’em event, Bryan Devonshire defeated three-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Eskimo Clark to earn $55,291 and 384 POY points.

From Cardplayer.com

“This year’s WSOP schedule is very exciting,” said WSOP Tournament Director Jack Effel, who will oversee the event for the seventh consecutive year.

“We’re introducing some fantastic new events, while bringing back many successful stalwarts that our players love. We will expand our footprint this year to include extra tables dedicated to cash games, as well as plenty of satellite and single-day tournament space, so players will have an easy time finding a desirable game without ever having to leave the Rio Convention Center.”

The most notable changes involve the Main Event. First, instead of the usual four starting days, there are only three (Saturday, July 7; Sunday, July 8; and Monday, July 9). Also, the traditional day off has been removed. Finally, there will be no November Nine this year because the final table has been moved up a week to accommodate the U.S. presidential election. Instead of happening in November, the final table will be held in two stages. First, nine players will play down to two on Sunday, Oct. 28, and the heads-up battle will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 30.

There are also some new events on this year’s schedule, including Event #3: $3,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha; Event #6: $5,000 Mix-Max No-Limit Hold’em; Event #28: $2,500 Four-Handed No-Limit Hold’em; and Event #49: $1,500 Ante Only No-Limit Hold’em. Furthermore, there will be two new non-bracelet events including a $560 Doubles No-Limit Hold’em and a$560 Bracelet Bounty No-Limit Hold’em, which will see a bounty placed on any former bracelet winner to enter the field.

The inclusion of Event #49: $1,500 Ante Only No-Limit Hold’em comes on the heels of the WSOP’s introduction of the event at the recent WSOP Circuit stop at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. What is an Ante Only tournament? According to the WSOP: “In a twist on traditional no-limit hold’em poker, this event will be played without the small and big blind bets. All players at the table will ante to begin every hand, with the person to the left of the button starting the action with a choice of folding or bringing in the minimum chip amount in play. The event will create a lot of action and multiple-player pots.”

Here are some of the other changes for this year’s WSOP:

• An additional 92 tables have been added, bringing the total number of tables up to 470. The Brasilia Ballroom will be used to accommodate the extra tables.
• The opening weekend, June 2 and 3, will feature a $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Re-Entry tournament.
• The $1,000,000 buy-in One Drop event will be held on July 1.
• The Seniors Event will begin at 10 a.m. and The Big One for One Drop will start at 1:11 p.m.
• Preregistration for the 2012 WSOP will be available online beginning Feb. 8, 2012.

For a look at the entire 2012 World Series of Poker schedule, visit WSOP.com.

From PokerNews.com

Roughly seven months after Todd Terry and several other poker players filed a class action lawsuit against Full Tilt owners, the suit has been dismissed by a New York federal judge.  The suit named a number of individuals and corporations affiliated with Full Tilt Poker and sought the repayment of more than $150 million in player funds in addition to damages.

Law360.com broke the news about the Monday ruling, which dismissed several charges on the grounds that it could not be clearly determined whether the  actions of the defendants named in the suit or the actions of the federal government’s April 15th actions resulted in players being unable to access their funds.

US District Judge Leonard B. Sand stated that he did not believe the racketeering charges alleged in the class action suit resulted directly in the confiscation of player funds.  The defendants names in the suit included Ray Bitar, Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, Erik Seidel, Erick Lindgren, Phil Ivey, and several corporate entities including Pocket Kings Consulting.  The charges against all the individuals named in the case were dismissed outright, while some of the charges against Tiltware LLC, Vantage Ltd, and Filco Ltd remain. The plaintiffs were also granted leave to amend some of their complaints against Tiltware and Pocket Kings.

BLUFF reached out to one of the plaintiffs for comment, but he declined.

The defendant’s counsel Jeff Ifrah was obviously pleased with the court’s decision. “The Court’s decision recognizes that relief for the players is being pursued by the United States. There is no compelling basis to open additional doors for private class action lawyers to pursue that very same relief,” Ifrah said in an official statement from Ifrah Law Firm.

This news breaks at the same time as several publications, most notably Gaming Intelligence,  are reporting that Full Tilt is in the final stages of its agreement with the Department of Justice, which will allow the completion of the sale of the site to Groupe Bernard Tapie.

Not a contest of chance

New York state Criminal Court Judge John H. Wilson, who was overseeing the People v. Feng case in which two Mahjong players were accused of promoting gambling and possessing a gambling device, declared in his ruling that Mahjong is in effect a “contest of chance.”

Although the judge did eventually allow the gambling charges to proceed, his findings and the fact he ruled the game to be one of skill and not just luck, could have positive implications for other games of skill like poker which have often been viewed by legislators and the courts as constituting illegal gambling.

Play Mahjong online too!

Mahjong may be the most ancient of table games, with a history going back to the time of Confucius around 500 BC. But that hasn’t stopped top online casinos from offering it to their customers, often under the westernized version Mahjong Solitaire, or in its alternative western form of Rummy.

This ancient Chinese game was even showcased at last year annual Poker in the Park festival in London, where a Mahjong dome was set up next to one for poker. One game is the most popular in the east, the other in the west, and hopefully very soon Americans will be able to enjoy both online, in a legal and responsible gaming environment.

From Onlinecasinoreports.com

According to PlayPokerOnline.com, till recently, countries prohibited people to play poker online for money to protect them from the problems related to gambling. However, with the advancement of technology, measures can be taken at the national and site operator level to ensure player safety.

Legalizing Online Poker in 2012

At the national level, counties like the US are assessing whether online poker falls under the purview of laws that were passed decades ago. Till recently, the US had banned online poker sites from operating within the country on the basis of the Wire Act of 1961 which prohibited few betting activities.

In December 2011 the Department of Justice said that the Wire Act does not expressly ban poker. PlayPokerOnline.com stated that no one within the industry has come to a conclusion about whether online poker is legal. But this has not deterred some of the top poker site operators from entering the country.

Last year, several nations within Europe brought up the need for independent online poker legislations. The motives behind this were different. While a few nations wanted to allow offshore poker site operators to offer games to their players, others wanted to restrict online poker real money games to only their residents.

PlayPokerOnline.com clarified that though the nations are yet to announce their new legislations, they have to abide by a rule that the European Parliament has emphasized on – state-owned monopolies will not be allowed. Italy is the only country that has started offering online poker real money games. In the coming months in 2012, the European countries will announce their plans for online poker.

Player Fund Protection Systems

Kahnawake Gaming Commission, an authority on online poker recently made a few changes to its standards. These are to protect players. The commission now allows players to opt for self-exclusion. When they do this, players with gambling problems can inform the Gaming Commission about their needs. The sites that are regulated by the commission will be informed about the players’ requests.

A few poker sites have joined hands with financial service firms to establish a system which will ensure that players’ funds are protected. Through this system, the financial service provider will monitor whether poker sites have sufficient funds to repay people who have real money accounts with them to play poker online. According to PlayPokerOnline.com, more poker site operators from across the world are likely to adopt this system. The site also mentioned that a move like this shows online poker rooms’ dedication to ensuring that its players are protected at all times.

From PokerOnline.com

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