US Government Posturing, Full Tilt Being Investigated by Federal Grand Jury
Longest. Post Title. EVER.
Alright, so i read
today in “The Financial Times of London”(note, the link sucks, as after about 20 seconds you have to register
to read the article….i’ll summarise, but you can feel free to click
to the source if you can handle the registering…i barely could..)
that Full Tilt Poker is currently being investigated by a Federal Grand Jury in Manhattan. The investigation is solely structured around weather specific gambling and or civil laws have been broken by the online poker room.
From the Financial Times:
FBI
agents or prosecutors have spoken to at least two people involved in
disputes with Full Tilt, paying special attention to the possibility of
money-laundering violations, those familiar with the inquiry say.
As
the investigation is under way at the moment (and, has apparently been
ongoing for a little while..) no one is commenting and no direct
information is getting out. There have, however, been allusions to the
investigation looking to prosecute or consequence any pro players who
are associated with Full Tilt poker.
Now, in my opinion, this looks like a scare tactic brought on by the short time left before UIGEA comes into effect. If you make the public see poker as an evil, addictive, money-laundering and illegal pass time, you will have more public support to muscle ahead with the outdated UIGEA.
If on the other hand, if people see all the good poker players do
(there are many reports of poker sites participating in fund-raisers for Haiti, as well as many other acts of selflessness), and realise that it is an acceptable pass time for most American’s, they will have a very difficult time holding back Barney Frank, the PPA, and all the others who see the potential for poker to do more good even than it does now.
