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Possible DoJ Reprieve For PokerStars And Bodog

Possible DoJ Reprieve For PokerStars And Bodog

Added: January 24, 2014

Three American states, New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware, have introduced legalized and regulated intrastate online gambling. But some of the big international names have been forced to stay away. The reason is that key executives of these operators, like Isai Scheinberg of PokerStars and Calvin Ayre of Bodog, have been indicted for online gambling offences in the United States.

Now this could change according to a report in the publication Calvin Ayre.com. The report cites “unidentified sources” and claims that the DoJ is inclined to review the situation subject to two conditions being met. The first condition is that the persons indicted should not be US citizens and the second condition is that operators did not maintain a physical presence in the US during the period when their alleged illegal activity took place. In such an event the DoJ may accept corporate pleas and impose huge fines to clean the slate. Once the executives are freed from the charges, their companies will be permitted to make the necessary applications in the three states and in other states as and when online gambling is legalized there.

The report is silent on the possibility of Calvin Ayre being allowed to clean his slate, but it claims that the sources reveal that Scheinberg will be cleared this year. Some way out was expected in the case of PokerStars, because the operator has applied for an online gambling license in New Jersey in conjunction with Resorts Atlantic City, and has been pushing hard to re-enter the United States. PokerStars was the biggest online poker room in America before Black Friday. The New Jersey regulator has put the PokerStars application on hold pending resolution of the DoJ problem.

Such a move will undoubtedly be opposed by other online gambling license holders, particularly the land casino owners. They fear that a big chunk of the market will return to the pioneering operators like Bodog and PokerStars if they are allowed to re-enter. The American online poker players were extremely satisfied with PokerStars and will remember that this operator immediately cleared their dues when it was closed down by the DoJ. In fact, the American Gaming Association, which represents the interests of the land casino owners, left no stone unturned to prevent PokerStars from getting a license in New Jersey. Even now, the new head of the American Gaming Association keeps reiterating vocally that ‘undesirable’ elements should not be allowed to enter the US online gambling market.