Absolute Poker and UB Ban New USA Players


By Dan Cypra - Apr 17, 2011

UB
The news just keeps getting worse for online poker players in the United States. One day after PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker banned real money players from the United States, the CEREUS Network sites Absolute Poker and UB.com blocked new sign-ups from the U.S. Existing real money players on UB.com and Absolute Poker from the United States are able to play, but they’re unable to cash out, deposit, or transfer funds for the immediate future. When this will change remains to be seen.

AbsolutePoker.com was seized as part of Friday’s U.S. Department of Justice raid on the online poker industry and has since moved its façade to AbsolutePoker.eu. Similarly, UBPoker.eu serves as the new site for what was formerly UB.com. Both mirror their former sites.

PokerStars has pursued the same path, moving its operation from the seized PokerStars.com domain to PokerStars.eu. Full Tilt Poker’s dot-com website, which like its compatriots’ sports an FBI warning, can now be found at FullTiltPoker.co.uk. However, American real money action at PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker is unavailable.

Bodog is allowing real money play for U.S. clientele. Bodog features one of the softest player bases in the industry as a result of users coming over to poker from its sports betting site.

Despite the recent setbacks, several posters on PocketFives.com were making the most of the situation. One member of the popular poker forum wrote, “I can’t think of a better time to try to make some serious money. When you have 0 fear of losing, you can play some pretty great poker, not to mention some sick overlays all day.” On Sunday, the industry’s Majors may take place as usual, albeit with considerably smaller fields.

The founders of Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars, and Absolute Poker were indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice on Friday. The charges include conspiracy to violate the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), violation of the UIGEA, operation of an illegal gambling business, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracy.

In other fallout, ESPN’s coverage of the PokerStars-backed North American Poker Tour, or NAPT, may not occur as normal on Monday night. An ESPN official told us, “We are aware of the indictment only through what has been announced publicly. For the immediate future, we are efforting to remove related advertising and programming pending further review.” ESPN has eliminated its PokerStars-sponsored “Inside Deal” from its website and also axed PokerStars banners.

Stay tuned to TheNuts for full details as they become available.

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