US Poker Site Seizures

In the latest move against online poker by the US administration, four of the top online poker rooms that continued to accept American players after the passing of the UIGEA in 2006 have had their websites seized by the FBI.

Having operated in the American market for the last five years when many other poker rooms had pulled out, Poker Stars and FullTilt became the two biggest online card rooms thanks mainly to their US player base.

On Friday the 15th April the FBI seized the primary websites of Poker Stars, FullTilt, Absolute Poker and UB. The sites are no longer controlled by their owners, but the poker rooms are operating properly and players are still able to log in and play. Both Stars and Full Tilt have suspended cash game activity for their US players, while Absolute and UB currently are allowing all players to play.

It is still early, and most people involved will still be scrambling to find a way forward, but there has been a notable absence of statements by the poker rooms involved.

Of course, the fact that the FBI chose to act on a Friday didn’t help any.

This does not appear to be the end of online poker for Americans though, and a number of sites that accept players form the USA have not been indicted. Sites such as Bodog Poker, Doyles Room, Cake Poker, Poker Host and Carbon Poker are still operating freely and Americans can continue to play on those sites.

That may change as the consequences of this latest attack on online poker is digested by those rooms. Carbon Poker appears to be bullish in their response and are actively advertising that US players are welcome in their poker room.

Players from other countries have been affected by this attack too, as the poker rooms have had to move to new sites and have had to update their poker client software. Players may need to download and re-install their poker software. To do that you will need to go to the new web address for the poker room. These new addresses are;

FullTiltPoker.co.uk
PokerStars.eu
AbsolutePoker.eu
UBPoker.eu

Your existing login information should work just fine, and all your account information will be in your account when you log in.

Bodog Poker could be the biggest online poker site if they continue accepting American players.

Aside from the online poker room, Bodog also has an online casino and a sportsbook.

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1. Free Poker Site