Busted Flush: Online Poker Takes Fed Hit

While the World Series of Poker continues at the Rio, the world of online poker faces big challenges now that federal law enforcement has tipped its hand.

Prosecutors have asked four major U.S. banks to freeze millions in assets linked to popular online poker sites. Preliminary numbers: $33
million, 27,000 players, and some of the biggest sites involved. FullTiltPoker.com and Pokerstars.com are included on the government’s
target list.

Read more about it: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/10/business/10poker.html

You can bet the government will be pursuing money laundering charges with some of the pay-and-take services associated with the poker sites. It’s a similar strategy employed in the investigation of some Caribbean sports books.