GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 15 - January 2011

By Aaron Todd I nternet poker players in the state of Washington were dealt a blow last fall when PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker announced players from the state will no longer be able to play real-money games on their sites. The decisions came in response to the state’s Supreme Court ruling that a state law making Internet gambling a Class C felony was constitutional. PokerStars and Full Tilt account for the vast majority of Internet poker play in the United States and in the world. According to PokerScout.com, the sites account for more than two-thirds of Internet poker traffic, with only five other rooms or networks that allowU.S. players averaging more than 500 players at a time over the last several months. Full Tilt’s policy regarding play from Washington residents varies slightly from that of PokerStars. Most notably, PokerStars does not allow residents of the state to play real-money games even when they are traveling outside of the state’s borders. Full Tilt, however, allows Washington residents to play real-money games if they are located outside of the state’s borders. This difference may provide some solace to professional players who live in the state – they’ll be able to play games on Full Tilt when they travel to tournaments. Additionally, they could keep their permanent residence in Washington and set up an apartment as an “office” in Oregon, Idaho or British Columbia with the express purpose of playing their online poker outside of the state. CEREUS Network sites (e.g., UB.com, Absolute Poker), Cake Poker Network sites (e.g., Cake Poker, Doyles Room, Victory Poker), Merge Network sites (e.g., Carbon Poker, Sportsbook.com Poker, Players Only Poker) and Bodog Poker are the largest available Internet poker rooms now available to residents of the Evergreen State. QUOTABLES WEBMASTER NEWS Full Tilt, PokerStars leave Washington “We do have a statute in Nevada that would allow for online gambling. It’s something we’ve given quite a lot of thought to over the years.” – Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairman Dennis Neilander “We do not believe Internet gambling and sports betting will grow the overall market because consumers will continue to feel pressure from economic forces such as high unemployment for some time. We expect revenue would go in one pocket and out the other as gaming companies use different forms of gambling to vie for the same customer base.” –Moody’s Investors Service, in a report about New Jersey legalizing online gambling and sports betting “The industry now recognizes the opportunity that online gaming could provide. It presents a different experience than visiting a casino, and in our view, it would not cannibalize brick-and- mortar, particularly if it was poker-only legislation.” – American Gaming Association President and Chief Executive Frank Fahrenkopf “There is illegal betting in every country in the world. Some [countries] are more effective [in preventing it] than others but not necessarily free of this new scourge of sports.” – IOC president Jacques Rogge “If this passes it could be a tipping point for online gambling. They’ve already showed that casino gambling could be regulated and successful outside of Nevada.” – David G. Schwartz, director for gaming research with the University of Nevada Las Vegas, discussing possible New Jersey online gambling legislation “Making a BIG move . . . leaving UB. Truly lots of great memories, but it’s time to move on . . . Mutual decision . . . Looking forward to BRIGHT future!” – Phil Hellmuth, on his Twitter account, announcing he is leaving UB.com “We are disappointed that Congress failed to act and provide the necessary consumer protections and sensible oversight over this multi-billion-dollar industry. Sadly, some politicians remain with their heads firmly in the sand.” – John Pappas, executive director of the Poker Players Alliance, in an e-mail to ESPN.com Webmaster News