US Gambling Bill - Poker Sites Latest

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This is the offical statement from Cake Poker about the US online gambling bill "US Poker Ban"

Official Statement from CakePoker

"On Friday September 30, 2006 the 109th sitting of the US Congress passed a Port Security Bill including a rider that affected online gambling in the . The common media description of this act called it a ‘ban on online gambling’. This is patently false. All previous attempts at passing legislation banning online gambling have failed. Instead, this act championed by Bill Frist (R -Tennessee), attempts to prohibit payments to online gambling companies from US residents via US based financial institutions. CakePoker will not restrict access to our players from the . It appears that some of our competitors have decided to take this preemptive step for business reasons that are most likely related to the fact that they are publicly listed companies. In other words, they cannot be seen as doing anything that would put their shareholders in a ‘gray’ or precarious position. CakePoker N.V. is a legally licensed and privately held company in the country of Curacao, Antilles . As a privately held company we have no such pressures placed upon us.
Further, this act still has some stages to go through and it may take up to 9 months for the government to fully define and clarify the terms of the law and their effect on financial institutions. If/when this act actually becomes the law, our legal department will re-evaluate our policy on CakePoker’s acceptance of payments from US based financial institutions. At worst we expect to only have to limit some of the ways we accept payments from our players. However, as an alternative to accepting payments from US based financial institutions we have worked very hard to gain official acceptance as a legitimate business entity by some of the internet's most respected, non-US based financial institutions such as NETeller and Firepay.
Needless to say there will continue to be a lot of confusion and misinformation spread in the near future as online gambling companies, players and even lawmakers try to interpret the terms of the act.
Once again, our official position is that the passing of the Port Security Bill does not currently affect us or our valued, loyal players in any way. Our operations have always been 100% legal under Curacao law and comply with all the jurisdictions in which we carry out our operations."

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This is the offical statement from Pacific Poker about the US online gambling bill "US Poker Ban"

"Pacific Poker Statement

As you may have heard, the United States Congress has passed a law barring US based individuals from sending funds to online gaming sites. The new legislation is expected to come into force shortly.

In light of these considerations, the 888.com group has concluded that it is appropriate to suspend participation by U.S. based customers in our online poker and online casino products. As of today, we will not allow real money registrations of new U.S. based customers. "

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This is the offical statement from Titan Poker about the US online gambling bill "US Poker Ban"

"Titan Poker Affiliate Statement

Due to the imminent passing of the Federal Unlawful Gambling Enforcement Act by the United States Senate on September 30, 2006, and in line with the high level of service that we have always provided to our affiliates, it is important for us to advise you that our clients have decided not to accept wagers from residents in the United States. We will therefore stop handling U.S.-based traffic effective October 4 2006.

While the timing of this is a shock to us all, we have been preparing for this possibility for quite some time, and already have the infrastructure in place to make this transition a relatively smooth one.

We will honor all of our commitments and you will be paid in full for all U.S. revenue, but from October 4 2006, U.S. based players will not be able to open new accounts or make deposits."

US player noification from Titan

"Due to the recent passing of the Unlawful Gambling Enforcement Act by the United States Senate on September 30, 2006, and its imminent enactment as federal law, we will no longer allow real money gaming activities from United States residents.

We regret to inform you that, consequently, we are closing your gaming account at Titan Poker.

Your balance is available to you. You may access your account and request the withdrawal of such balance, subject to any conditions that might apply, including bonuses received.

We appreciate your patronage, and apologize for any inconvenience caused. We hope to be able to offer to you our services again in the future.

Robin Steele, Manager Titan Poker"

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This is the offical statement from DoylesRoom about the US online gambling bill "US Poker Ban"

"Hi this is Doyle Brunson

Just want to let you know that is’s business as usual here at Doyle’s Room. I know some of you may be concerned about the online gaming bill recently passed by the Senate. I believe it is far too early to fully understand the implications of this bill on our industry. Until such time as this becomes clearer, Doyle’s Room will operate as normal with our full exciting range of games and tournaments at all limits. Come join me at the weekly Bounty Tournament this Thursday and every Thursday at Doyle’s Room. And finally, please rest assured your money is completely safe at Doyle’s Room. I personally guarantee it."

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This is the offical statement from Hollywood Poker about the US online gambling bill "US Poker Ban"

UPDATED 13th October 2006

The President of the United States has signed new legislation
that will cause HollywoodPoker to suspend accepting deposits
from your U.S. players and examine potential offerings to your
US player database that would be within the new law. Normal
play will continue for approximately 30 days while we monitor
any new developments surrounding this new legislation. During
this time your U.S. players' will continue to have the ability
to access their accounts as well as play HollywoodPoker games
as they normally would, with the exception of making deposits.
U.S. free money play will not be affected.

All Non-U.S. players will not be affected. They will be able
to access localized poker, Blackjack and soon to be launched
casino and slot games, including progressive slots!

Midmonth Affiliate payments will be paid on schedule. We
understand that you may have a number of questions regarding
this new action, please refer to our Frequently Asked Questions
section on the site to find out more:

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This is the offical statement from Jungle Poker about the US online gambling bill "US Poker Ban"

"Dear Poker Player,

With the recent developments in the US, we wanted to let you know that JunglePoker will continue to service new and existing players from the United States. Our business will continue to run as usual.

JunglePoker is a privately held business located wholly outside the United States. JunglePoker operations are 100% legal under International and Costa Rican law.

New legislation will not criminalize individuals for playing poker online. Instead, the bill will eventually attempt to prevent the transfer of funds to online gaming. As poker is a game of skill rather than pure chance, we hope that it will not be affected by this new bill.

JunglePoker will continue to offer United States customers the very best in Online Poker with the fastest secure deposit and payout solutions. All new and existing customers should be 100% confident in playing with the very best at JunglePoker. You will still be able to deposit and withdraw money from the site and your money will remain completely safe and secure.

JunglePoker assures you that your online poker experience at JunglePoker will not change, and that you will be able to continue to enjoy our wonderful pokerroom.

Thank you, Team Jungle Poker"

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This is the offical statement from Paradise Poker about the US online gambling bill "US Poker Ban"

"Sportingbet will retain the Paradise Poker business, but will, with effect from 11.00am UK time, 13 October 2006, cease taking deposits from US resident customers.

To allow for an orderly wind down of the US Paradise business, Paradise Poker will remain open for US customers for real money poker play utilising their existing account balances for one month. At the end of the month long period, US residents will be prevented from playing real money poker at Paradise. In addition, the Board has taken immediate steps to prevent customers from ten US States where there is law prohibiting internet gambling from playing real money poker at Paradise Poker.
The Group will continue to market Paradise Poker in Canada, Europe and other relevant markets whilst maintaining its "dot net" free to play site for all customers."

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This is the offical statement from JetSet Poker about the US online gambling bill "US Poker Ban"

"Dear Valued JetSetPoker Customer:

We deeply regret to convey that we shall be discontinuing service at JetSetPoker (the "Site") effective Midnight EST on Friday, October 13, 2006.

Initially, and as per our previous statement, we were cautiously optimistic in maintaining operations for our membership after the passage of the "SAFE Port Act HR 4954" on September 30, 2006 by the U.S. Senate. We nonetheless initially believed it to be practicable.

However, given the developments during the preceding week, including but not limited to, the unfavorable view of payment processors and financial institutions regarding online gambling and the extensive advice of our legal counsel, we have been instructed to cease activities and comply with this prohibitionist legislation.

We were fortunate to have a first-rate membership and it was our pleasure to provide a destination site where members were able to enjoy their favorite card games and tournaments with the surety that we were to buttress the integrity of the forum. In this inclement environment however we believe our ability to do so may become impaired nor do we anticipate this matter to improve in the near future.

We once again thank you for your patronage of JetSetPoker and deeply regret these unfortunate circumstances that have materially and adversely impacted both the Site and the industry.

Best regards,
JetSetPoker Management Team

additional info :

JetSetPoker shall remit remaining balances via cheque. Please respond to accountclosure@jetsetpoker.com and provide your accurate name and mailing address to initiate the cheque disbursement process.

We once again thank you for your patronage of JetSetPoker and deeply regret these unfortunate circumstances that have materially and adversely impacted both the Site and the industry.


Best regards,
JetSetPoker Management Team"