The world’s largest online poker operator PokerStars has reiterated its position on the legality of its operations in the United States, stating that nothing in the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act which was approved by the House Financial Services Committee this week precludes it from operating in a regulated US Poker marketplace.

Pokerstars welcomed the passage of Republican Barney Frank's legislation through Committee, describing it as the most significant US legislative accomplishment in the history of the internet gaming industry.

Among the amendments to the legislation adopted on Wednesday is a clause that prohibits any entity which knowingly participated in illegal internet gambling after the passing of the UIGEA in 2006 from qualifying for a licence. As we all know Full Tilt Poker and Pokerstars have been operating almost exclusively in the US since all of the other big operating including PartyPoker, Titan Poker and all sites on the iPoker Network as well as Bwin Poker and all Ongame Network Operators.

The company said that it supports the clause despite the fact that it appears redundant in light of the wording of the UIGEA, which states in clear terms that it shall not be construed as “altering, limiting or extending any Federal or State law or Tribal-State compact prohibiting, permitting, or regulating gambling within the United States”.

"As reflected in legal opinions provided to PokerStars, its activities in the US are and at all times have been lawful," the company said in a statement. Therefore the amendment will not "adversely affect the availability of a license for a respected operator such as PokerStars," it said.

"PokerStars maintains its strong support for H.R. 2267 and encourages the full House and ultimately the Senate to move quickly to secure passage during the current Congressional term," said Paul Telford, PokerStars’ general counsel. "PokerStars, a pioneer in operating online poker under stringent regulatory frameworks, looks forward to working with incumbent and new operators in promoting a safe and healthy online poker industry in the United States, as it currently does under similar licensing models in Italy and France."

European operators who exited the US market following the UIGEA in 2006, and attribute the decline in their poker businesses to US-facing operators.

For the full story visit LTDPoker.com - PokerStars reiterates legality of operations

Republican Barney Frank, D-Mass., chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, and Peter King, R-N.Y. unveiled legislation Wednesday that would enable Americans to legally gamble online.

If running major financial institutions and the auto industry isn't enough for the new Obama administration, a new House bill - the Internet Gambling Regulation Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act which would put the Treasury Department in charge of Internet gambling.

Republican Barney Frank, (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, and Peter King, R-N.Y., unveiled legislation on Wednesday that would enable Americans to legally gamble online. "The government should not interfere with people's liberty unless there is a good reason," Frank said. "This is, I believe, the single biggest example of an intrusion into the principle that people should be free to do things on the Internet. It's clearly the case that gambling is an activity that can be done offline but not online."

But the legislation grants the Treasury Department far-reaching power over online gambling. The bill would allow the Treasury secretary to license and revoke licenses of Internet gambling Web sites under the guise of protection Americans' personal freedoms to gamble and consumer protection concerns.

The bill would also allow the Treasury secretary to "assess" license holders for the costs of background checks and investigations of Web sites applying for the license. And the bill provides for mechanisms for state and local taxes to be collected and re-distributed.

The current UIGEA prohibits credit card companies and banks from processing bets placed on online gambling Web sites. The legislation will repeal language passed in 2006 and signed into law by President Bush that made it illegal for banks and credit card companies to process bets made on the Internet.

Among the safeguards in the bill is that any Internet gambling operator would be required to: ensure an individual placing a bet is of legal age (as defined by the law in the state or tribal area) and physically located in that jurisdiction, combats compulsive Internet gambling and money laundering, and protects privacy.

Frank added that he feels this will lift the burden off banks, which are compelled under the current legislation to regulate gambling activity.

The Poker Players Alliance, chaired by former New York Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, supports the bill. D'Amato said Wednesday in a press release that he is "grateful for Chairman Frank's leadership and will be activating our grassroots army made up of over one million members to help him drive legislation."

The list of 200 internet gambling sites that have been targeted by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety has been released. Many of the websites identified do not currently accept players from the United States, which seems to be a very random list and industry insiders are at a loss to the strategy planned.

Headlining the list of targeted sites is Party Casino, which is owned by the same publicly traded parent company as its online poker room counterpart, Party Poker. Neither accepts U.S. players and to complicate matters further, Party Gaming, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, recently reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice admitting to Wire Act violations similar to one struck by company co-founder Anurag Dikshit in December. Party Poker is not on the list. Also appearing is PokerRoom and sister site CasinoRoom which recently closed and now directs players to to bwin and bwin poker.

Bodog appears on the list as “BoDog.com,” but the corresponding URL points to its casino arm. Bodog accepts players from the United States, as does Full Tilt Poker, whose domain is officially under fire by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Cake Poker Network site Players Only also is part of the group of 200 affected sites. Notably absent are PokerStars, Ultimate Bet, Absolute Poker, Lock Poker, Carbon Poker, Doyle’s Room, and Cake Poker. No informational or forum sites appear to be targeted at the moment. The list seems to be targets gambing genres such as online poker, online casinos, and online sports books.

The Action Poker Network’s flagship site appears on the list, as does Titan Poker, one of the largest sites on the massive iPoker Network. Neither site accepts U.S. players. Fellow iPoker Network site Betfred’s future may now be in jeopardy, as is the longevity of Microgaming site Betway. iPoker Network sites CD Poker, Mansion Poker, and Noble Poker all appear on the list of 200 sites. One of the most visible rooms to find itself in hot water is Everest Poker, which is the official sponsor of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP), which starts in June from the Rio in Las Vegas. This is Everest Poker’s second year as the spectacle’s presenting sponsor. Its logo will don WSOP felts and also appear in signage at the Rio.

Other websites that have been flagged by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety include Gnuf, Golden Palace, Hollywood Poker, and InterTops Casino, which actually appears twice on the list. Publicly traded company Ladbrokes’ online poker site, despite not accepting U.S. players, is on the list, as are PokerRoom School, River Belle, and Spin Palace. Crazy Poker’s dot com and U.K. domain names are both listed. According to Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division Director John Willems, the list of 200 sites was drawn "randomly" without regard to the type of internet gambling employed.

Accounding to a recent report in the Sunday Times, Mitch Garber the former CEO of PartyGaming is about to take a job a Harrah's, which owns the World Series of Poker. The new company will be formed to house its WSOP brand and internet operations.

The timing appears to be perfert for both parties. Garber's current contract with PartyGaming owners of Party Poker officially ends in May, and Congressman Barney Frank is scheduled to introduce in the new couple of weeks a new Gambling Regulation and Advertisement Enforcement Act (H.R. 2046), which aims to setup a legal and regulatory framework for online gambling.

Frank's is also attempting to repeal the Unlawful Internet Gambling and Enforcement Act (UIGEA) which is gathering more momentum

The appointment of Garber to run the online arm of Harrah's would suggest that we are moving closer to legalizing online poker in the U.S. And the obvious leverage of the WSOP-brand as an online poker room seems an obvious next step

Back in September 2007, Mitch Garber in an interview with the The Financial Times suggested he would be open to an approached by a major player in Las Vegas. Watch this space for more news.

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1. UB/AP cheating scandal
Despite the fact that the actual "cheating" in this scandal took place in 2007, the story lingered long enough to dominate the headlines throughout 2008. Fines were handed out, "damage control" statements were made and , investigation teams were appointed. The story even hit the mainstream media when 60 Minutes aired a piece about it.

Unfortunately after all of that, this story may still not be over. And longer it lingers the worse it will be for the industry to recover from it.

2. Kentucky domain case
Ever since it was announced in September that Judge Thomas Wingate would hold a forfeiture hearing regarding domain names to 141 online gambling sites in Kentucky, this story has gripped the online gaming industry across the globe.

The list of sites targeted was "developed by attorneys (conducting the investigation) and are sites where people from Kentucky, using Kentucky addresses, were able to place bets," Casino City was told by Jennifer Brislin, communications director for the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of the government. The targeted domains are held by a mix of domestic and international registrars, Brislin added.

In December, lawyers representing online gambling interests told the Kentucky Court of Appeals that Gov. Steve Beshear's effort to seize domain names is "blatantly unconstitutional" and it appears that there is hope that this decision could turn in favor of online gambling, as the APCW's J. Todd reported in his Dec. 23 edition of Perspective's Weekly.

Stay tuned.

3. Microgaming bails out of U.S.
The impact from the Kentucky domain seizure case (see item No. 2 on this list) was felt big-time when Microgaming – one of the world's largest Internet gaming software providers – announced that not only would it be pulling out of Kentucky but also begin blocking new registrations from all U.S. players.

It's one thing to have a court announce that 14online gambling sites that were subject to a seizure order. But when one of the most well-known software providers reacts to it by entirely pulling out of the U.S., it makes the effect that much more daunting.

4. PartyGaming founder pleads guilty
When Anurag Dikshit, a co-founder of PartyGaming, plead guilty in December of violating the Wire Act in connection with offering illegal Internet gambling services to U.S. residents, it sent ripples through the online industry.

The guilty plea meant that the 37-year-old waived his right to indictment by a grand jury. As part of the plea, Dikshit agreed to cooperate with the U.S. Department of Justice and forfeit a total of $300 million. He was released on $15 million personal recognizance bail, but he faces up to two years in prison. The sentencing curiously won't occur for another two years, however.

The Poker Players Alliance was quick to comment on the story. Alphonse D'Amato, chairman of the PPA, emphasized that the settlement was a personal one that in no way constitutes a legal precedent and does nothing to clarify the confusing interpretation of the Wire Act by the Department of Justice.

5. Norway passes own version of UIGEA
More bad news for the industry came in December when the Norwegian parliament passed a proposal in December that mimics the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act that the U.S. adopted in 2006. The Norwegian measure bans financial transactions between the nation's residents and online gambling operators.

Fortunately, it is unlikely the ban will go into effect until mid-2009 at the earliest, but this still remains as yet another black mark for the industry in 2008.

6. AGA President announces shift in attitude for online gambling
In a year filled with downbeat news for the online gambling industry, American Gaming Association President and CEO Frank Fahrenkopf provided a breath of fresh air when he announced at the G2E trade show in Las Vegas in November that "the need for new tax money could drive [online] legalization in both houses of Congress."

While we are likely a long away from this becoming a reality, Fahrenkopf's announcement was a good start, especially if you consider that in the past the AGA's stance towards online gambling was much unenthusiastic.

7. Online gaming sites attacked by bots
It's a scary headline for anyone involved with the online gaming business, but it was true. In February, Full Tilt Poker, Titan Poker, Virgin Games and Party Poker were among the sites attacked by a web-based botnet , according to the Shadowserver Foundation. Full Tilt Poker's site was inaccessible for parts of two days. And Full Tilt had to "pause" the final table of the FTOPS VII Main Event for a brief period with just three players remaining when its client lost connectivity with the Full Tilt servers.

The Shadow Foundation traced the initial attacks to a server hosted by Layered Technologies. That server was shut down, but the botnet moved to a new host and IP address.

"DDos attacks are always going to be out there," said Andre M. DiMino, director of the Shadowserver Foundation. "In the past, they were used to show the might of the botnet. But the real purpose for botnets now is fraud and identity theft."

8. IRS seizes Bodog payment processors
Was this part of the reason Mr. Ayre announced his retirement? Nobody knows for sure, but you have to think that Calvin had an idea something like this was on the horizon.

The news of the seizure came to the forefront in late July when it was revealed that a two-year IRS investigation into Bodog resulted in the seizure of more than $24 million from two payment processors. On Jan. 24 and Feb. 19, the IRS seized about $14.2 million from JBL Services. And on July 2, it seized about $9.87 million from ZipPayments. Bodog quickly released a statement saying the seizures didn't affect its business.

"Not one single player failed to get paid when this processor (JBL Services) was disrupted," Alwyn Morris, chief executive officer of Morris Mohawk Gaming Group, which assumed ownership and operation of Bodog in North America in mid-2007.

9. Calvin Ayre's "retirement"
The online gambling world was taken aback a bit in April when Bodog issued a press release announcing that the estimable Calvin Ayre would be "retiring from his largely ceremonial role as the face of Bodog."

Since this is Bodog we're talking about, questions were raised as to what exactly this meant. Was Calvin literally retiring and heading off into the sunset? Was he trying to avoid the Feds? Or was this some sort of publicity stunt?

Then, in classic Calvin Ayre style, the Bodog founder somewhat clarified his move on his blog stating, "You've likely heard the rumblings and rumors….and for once…..it's true…I'm packing it in! Well who am I kidding, if you're reading this now you know that for the past few years I've been pretty focused on jetting around the world to exotic places and filming crazy sh** for this blog. I was really more of a brand ambassador for Bodog the past while anyway – but it was fun while it lasted."

All cynicism aside, Calvin also stated in his blog that he was going to focus his e on a "balanced private life" and "The Calvin Ayre Foundation, which I am truly passionate about." No matter what the real story was behind his "retirement" you have to hand Calvin credit for the growth of his foundation.

10. Chips fly and records fall at Full Tilt
The combination of big names playing for some big money at a dizzying pace certainly made for one of the biggest online stories of 2008. It was the last weekend in October when the likes of Phil Ivey, Tom "durrrr" Dwan and John Juanda were playing at Full Tilt when the record for the largest online No-Limit Hold'em pot was broken four times within 24 hours.

Dwan got things started when he captured a pot worth $617,968. Later that night Juanda took down a $678,069 pot, before Mr. Ivey got into the action, beating out Juanda for another record-breaking pot worth $687,622. Just nine hours later, Di "urindanger" Dang finished off the record-setting day at Full Tilt, winning a pot worth $723,938 with the help of pocket aces.