The gaming community is still reeling after the US government seized millions of dollars from bank accounts used to process online poker transactions.
Most players thought their money was safe from such seizures as it was held in foreign accounts and handled by foreign companies.
However, many of the third party payment processors carrying out these transactions maintain US bank accounts. These bank accounts are subject to US laws and this allowed the feds to seize or freeze more than $30 million in online gaming funds from multiple banks.
Many major sites have reportedly been affected, including Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars.
One such seizure targeted the assets in a Wells Fargo account held by Account Services Inc. This company processes online poker site transactions from companies that accept US bets.
The details of the seizure haven’t been released and at the moment, the US attorney and Justice Department aren’t making any comments.
The warrant allowing the seizure cited alleged violations of the U.S. Code that prohibit “illegal gambling businesses” and financial transactions with unlawfully obtained proceeds.
Industry insiders seem to be split over how they think this seizure will affect online gaming business. One Las Vegas industry official said that he’s certain this won’t stop anyone from online gaming. He feels it will just make people more militant and bitter towards the government.
However, Christopher Krafcik, editor of IGamingNews feels otherwise. He said, “If I begin to lose players because they’re afraid to deposit with me, then I lose games and the rake they generate. If I was a player, I’d consider taking my money elsewhere.”
It still remains to be seen how this will all play out. At this point no one knows if there are more seizures to come, and just how that will affect the gaming community.
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